Few visual art styles are as dramatically influential as Cubism. Pioneered by the likes of Picasso and Braque, Cubism jettisoned the notion of realistic depictions of nature and sparked an aesthetic revolution that would impact every modern art style throughout the twentieth-century. Inspired by this movement, web artist William Ngan has created browser-based app Kubist that allows users to upload their own personal photos to create modern collages of geometric oddity.

The app uses algorithms that map points, either randomly or through specific collision detection, to generate corresponding shapes to the photo. Colors are then detected and mapped to associate with these generated compositions. “One of the most fascinating aspects in digital arts is the interplay between imaginations and algorithms,” says Ngan. “the unending surprises derived from tweaking your ideas and tweaking your code, back and forth.”

The importance of the Cubist movement cannot be understated. More than just Picasso’s claim to artistic fame, it boldly dismissed the preeminent rule of realism in portraiture and paved the way for every form of abstract art that succeeded it. Besides being a love letter to one of the most important visual art movements of the twentieth-century, Kubist is a stealthy impromptu tool in art education for users otherwise looking for a simple distraction.

Try out the Kubist app on its website.