So long, and thanks for all the fish

Orbit Trap is closing down.  This is the last and final post you will be reading here.

No, this is not a joke.

After almost 6 years of continuous weekly and sometimes daily (hourly?) publishing, we, the co-editors of Orbit Trap, Tim Hodkinson and Terry Wright have decided that the blog has run its course and now it’s time to move on to new projects.  If you’ve just discovered Orbit Trap and are curious about it’s 6-year history, I suggest you check out the About Page.

The blog and all its postings will still remain online for at least the duration of our current web hosting contract, as an archive, but there won’t be any more new content posted to Orbit Trap from this point onward (February, 2012).

If you’d like to hear our opinions on where the Fractal Art world is going or what we have to say about Fractal Art in general, or our commentary on any of the various events or entities in the Fractal-sphere, then I’d suggest you read the blog (again?).  Anything posted by “Tim” is a good bet.

In Terry’s words, “We came.  We saw.  We left.”

In the words of Sergio Leone, “You can’t be a communist if you own a villa.”

In the words of Arthur Dent, “I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe.”

In the words of Dirty Harry, “I know what you’re thinking. ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ ”

But as is always the case in the Blogosphere it’s the comments section that gets the last word.

How comments work: After the approval of your very first comment you will be able to post future comments immediately to any posting. Any username or fictitious email is good enough.

14 thoughts on “So long, and thanks for all the fish

  1. i discovered your blog not a year ago – and now it’s over…
    it was allways a pleasure to read your glorious praises as well as the scathing criticism. i’m glad, that i didn’t go to rack and ruin here so far. maybe you could keep up the notified readers about your forthcoming projects.
    i’m sure your verbal talents will find a new challenge.
    all the best!

  2. Terry and Tim both demonstrate that fractal is not a mere entertainment, but this medium absorbs all the demands and concerns of contemporary art. Without making concessions to sentimentality and art “for above the sofa,” the OT was posed as a theoretical tool for reflection and innovation.

  3. Goodbye, I’ll miss this blog. Also I only recently noticed a blog entry from some months ago where one of my works was featured. Thanks for that, and for the nice comments. Wish you the best!

  4. Good luck!

    Sorry to see you closing down but the recent articles show you leaving on a high, and you have given much enjoyment (and a little controversy) in the past.

  5. I have much admired all the hard work you’ve put into this blog, there is really nothing quite like it elsewhere in the fractal scene. I will miss your thought provoking perspectives and healthy criticism very much.

    Best of luck with all your future endeavors!

  6. I have never commented on here before, but I suppose I will before the comments are closed just once. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these articles and I am quite proud to have been mentioned a couple of times. I will be sad to see it closed :c

  7. This seems to be the only way to post past the deadline…

    Dear Tim, I’m sorry for the late response to your article.
    I’ll have to admit I was flattered, partially because of the attention, but I also felt for once – understood! As I write in an interview by “Fractalic”:
    “But we want to differentiate between what is called “Eyecandy” and a more meaningful, artistic expression. “Eyecandy” has nothing to offer but beauty, but so has my wastepaper-basket, when I look at it through a kaleidoscope. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with beauty for the sake of beauty – it has its place – and some fractal images and animations are just breathtakingly beautiful!

    As Tim Hodkinson in his blog: “Orbit Trap – A Blog About Fractal Art” in a not uncritical, but still very generous article about my Tralfamadore paintings says: “I’ve often thought fractals are better used in supporting roles than playing the starring role themselves. I think that’s the lesson to be gained from this collection of Brummbaer’s fractal art.

    ”Yes, everybody has to determine for themselves if they regard something as art, but an image is not necessary art because it is “beautiful” or “fractal”. Particularly in a fast paced environment, where 30 frames a second rule, a still painting has to offer something more substantial, something lasting, something that reveals itself over time. Like a zen koan.

    My fractals are romantic, they are very emotional statements…”

    So far the interview…( http://fractalicdesign.com/psychedelic/interview-with-fractal-artist-brummbaer/ )

    I did read a few more of your blogs, and not only do I agree with most of your assessments, but I’m immensely impressed with the knowledge you possess about all things fractal and the people who are involved.

    I’m sorry my response comes so late, but my health is a little fragile and, selfish as I am, I rather spend my available time creating animations and paintings.
    I noticed in your article that you skipped over my animation works, which does not surprise me — a lot of my fractal animations are pure eyecandy, but the boundaries are flexible here, because imagery, sound and music might create an emotional response and belong in a different category than still images. You will notice that I do create animations with obvious (or very obscure) meanings. (Check my latest stuff on YouTube “Brummbaer45” — One video achieved the amazing amount of about 50 000 hits — I can’t explain why, but do enjoy the compliments… especially the ones that claim my animations make the viewer horny… that’s a new one… horny by fractals..?)
    A lot of what is going on at fractalforums — Jesse permanently upgrading the program and giving it away for free, everybody sharing advice and project fies — reminds me of another time at the beginning of the whole digital thing, when everything was shared, when it was a serious injunction of the rules to read a manual, which were rare and crappy anyway! Now, of course, everybody is in the biz, trying to make a living in a miserable economy, but in this little group of people I feel the same old excitement. Like we are discovering something new — we’re on the edge — we are leaving tracks in places where nobody has ever been before, very much like “I claim this fractal for Queen Isabella of Spain!”
    So, I want to thank you again for a wonderful article — as attachment I will send you a few more pictures, that you will hopefully like and if I ever can do something for you, please ask, I will happily try to assist you.
    Greetings from a clouded backyard in Culver City,
    Brummbaer

    The pics don’t seem to come thru — maybe you have a email address? B.

    When the Last Dollar twists in the Wind

    From Here On Proceed Without Baggage…

    Lost in Space

  8. Sad to see you go. Can you at least let someone else host the content before it disappears forever?

    Best, Dan (a co-discoverer of the Mandelbulb)

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