On the artist's webpage there's following note in the footer:
"Note: Contrary to some errors made in certain press articles, McCollum's Shapes are not "generated" in a computer with an invented or scripted "program." Every shape is laboriously created by the artist using Adobe Illustrator — a common, everyday graphics program — by drawing little parts, cutting and pasting the parts into bigger parts, then cutting and pasting those parts into even bigger parts, and so on, and keeping track according to a written protocol, to insure against repetitions. The first exhibition of the project, in 2006, took around two years to complete."
So, they are generated in a computer using an invented program, but the mid level graphics API is implemented on his hand, instead of wholly inside the computer.
On the artist's webpage there's following note in the footer:
"Note: Contrary to some errors made in certain press articles, McCollum's Shapes are not "generated" in a computer with an invented or scripted "program." Every shape is laboriously created by the artist using Adobe Illustrator — a common, everyday graphics program — by drawing little parts, cutting and pasting the parts into bigger parts, then cutting and pasting those parts into even bigger parts, and so on, and keeping track according to a written protocol, to insure against repetitions. The first exhibition of the project, in 2006, took around two years to complete."
Anyway, thanks for a very interesting link.
EDIT: More info on the tedious labor involved: http://allanmccollum.net/amcnet2/album/shapes/shapesworkshee...