How the stain is made.

Rule-based. No image model. No training data. No direct page scraping.

FEEDSTAIN is a live generative-art system. The artist authors the renderer, structure, palette library, drop conditions and edition logic. The machine reads a public data field; it does not compose the final artwork.

The eight shares are joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger and anticipation. The two strongest determine a Plutchik dyad. That dyad selects one of twenty-four palettes authored and print-checked by FEEDSTAIN.

Every drop names a reproducible UTC window. The current reading is computed from the completed 24-hour period shown on the live page. The raw eight-vector, article count, source version and calculation time are stored with the drop record.

The public chart shows relative emotional composition, not a positive-versus-negative score and not article volume.

The work runs continuously. CUT freezes one visual state and records its exact UTC timecode, visual time and generative seed. Releasing it deals a new structure; the held state cannot be replayed through the public interface.

A purchase transfers the physical print or digital object specified at checkout and ties it to one capture ID and UTC timecode. FEEDSTAIN retains copyright in the artwork, renderer and generative system unless a written agreement says otherwise.

The archive may continue to display the captured record, collector handle and provenance data.

The consent protocol behind this work is part of an art paper accepted for Ars Electronica Expanded 2026. Publication details will be linked here when the proceedings are public.

Data source credit: GDELT Project and the relevant GCAM/WordNet-Affect documentation.