Funny, I was Googling something a week ago, and while following a link to the 2009 gallery of winning images for the Fractal Universe Contest I found myself looking at an error page.
These things happen, of course, so I went to the main page and noticed that both the 2009 and 2010 galleries — had vanished!
Naturally, in keeping with the general atmosphere of secrecy and silence that I’ve experienced with the Fractal Universe Calendar, there is still no mention of anything to do with this strange metamorphosis of the gallery displays. Since it’s been a week, I’m sure it’s not a technical problem but rather an “editorial” decision — a change in policy.
Which of course raises the questions, “Who? and Why?”
That’s all Orbit Trap can really do — raise questions. Questions that people seem to prefer to avoid, not to answer. So I’m not expecting to find out what’s been going on over there any time soon.
My best guess is that Avalanche Publishing has decided not to post the winning images from their annual Fractal Universe Contest anymore while that calendar is still being sold, as an attempt to avoid online criticism of their current (or future) products. That would mean the 2009 images would go on display in October 2009, when I believe the 2010 calendar replaces it in Avalanche’s product line.
It’s a small victory for Orbit Trap, but a victory nonetheless. Perhaps the retreat of the Fractal Universe Calendar back to the display racks of drugstores and shopping malls and away from the front lines of the online Fractal Art world is a sign that the Fractal Art genre is maturing into a respectable art form. Avalanche Publishing seems to think so.
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