{"id":1195,"date":"2010-05-14T12:55:39","date_gmt":"2010-05-14T16:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1195"},"modified":"2010-05-14T13:00:14","modified_gmt":"2010-05-14T17:00:14","slug":"fractals-dont-have-to-be-fractals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1195","title":{"rendered":"Fractals Don&#8217;t Have to be Fractals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I often find myself preoccupied with justifying fractals (and other types of computational imagery) as art; trying to link fractals with the larger stream of visual art that has flowed and enriched (and provoked) our culture since pre-history.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t know why it nags me so much.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t think most fractalists are very concerned with what outsiders think about fractals or how they may label them.\u00a0 Maybe that&#8217;s a more sensible attitude to have than the one I have which seems to keep wanting to write an Art Manifesto, Bill of Rights or a Declaration of Independence for fractals.<\/p>\n<p>My latest inspiration to write a fractal Magna Carta occurred when I saw this Mandelbox image by Pauldelbrot (Paul Derbyshire, I think) posted at Fractalforums.com.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1198\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fractalforums.com\/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=2324\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1198\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1198\" title=\"Eschers Eiffel\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Eschers-Eiffel.jpg?resize=545%2C409\" alt=\"\" width=\"545\" height=\"409\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1198\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Escher&#39;s Eiffel by Pauldelbrot, 2010<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s weird, but I <em>hear<\/em> things when I look at this image.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t really mean I hear audible sounds (that&#8217;s nuts!), but the image suggests to me the sound of icebergs bumping against each other underwater:\u00a0 Great, massive objects in motion.<\/p>\n<p>Or mountains.\u00a0 Does this image not make you look up and see the distant, towering faces of whatever that smooth-sided thing is?\u00a0 Is there a basement of the mountains, where the roots and feet of them are exposed and we see where they come from and what they stand on?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Pauldelbrot&#8217;s Mandelbox image here is every bit as expressive as a great <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Adams_The_Tetons_and_the_Snake_River.jpg\">Ansel Adams photograph<\/a> or one of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.artcyclopedia.com\/history\/group-of-seven.html\">Group of Seven<\/a> landscape painters whose impressionistic and semi-abstract style displayed the raw, muscular beauty of the Canadian wilderness.<\/p>\n<p>A few disjointed thoughts about fractals and art:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The images speak for themselves<\/li>\n<li>They are what you see (and hear)<\/li>\n<li>It doesn&#8217;t matter how they were made<\/li>\n<li>They&#8217;re as much an art form as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.artnet.com\/Artists\/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=A416512828CE58B0\">Paul Klee&#8217;s<\/a> work is<\/li>\n<li>They express themselves in a language of shape, form, color and pattern<\/li>\n<li>They have a symbolic kind of expression<\/li>\n<li>Good art is the stuff you keep coming back to look at<\/li>\n<li>Design and ornamentation is visual music<\/li>\n<li>Serious art is any kind of art you take seriously<\/li>\n<li>Fractals are captured, not painted<\/li>\n<li>Fractals are an abstract and imaginary type of imagery like <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abstract_expressionism\">Abstract Expressionism<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Surrealism\">Surrealism<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fractals are an interesting world just to explore; you don&#8217;t have to take your camera with you<\/li>\n<li>Fractals don&#8217;t have to be fractals, they can be landscapes, sacred smudges or forbidden cities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s two more by Pauldelbrot.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1197\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fractalforums.com\/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=2322\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1197\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1197\" title=\"Moss\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Moss.jpg?resize=545%2C409\" alt=\"\" width=\"545\" height=\"409\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1197\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Moss by Pauldelbrot, 2010<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The moss-covered stone ruins are a good example of the imaginary kind of themes that fractals seem to instinctively display.\u00a0 It looks realistic, but the strange patterns in the stones are unreal.\u00a0 Can you spot two cavities or spaces in the stones that look the same?\u00a0 This shows the enormous creativity of the Mandelbox fractal: everywhere you look there&#8217;s something new.\u00a0 That&#8217;s what creativity is all about: <em>new things.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1196\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fractalforums.com\/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=2323\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1196\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1196\" title=\"Trusses\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Trusses.jpg?resize=545%2C409\" alt=\"\" width=\"545\" height=\"409\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1196\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trusses by Pauldelbrot, 2010<\/p><\/div>\n<p>How about: <em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grendel\">Grendel<\/a> trashes the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mead_hall\">mead hall<\/a>?<\/em> Amazingly photographic.\u00a0 Note the glinting reflection of light on the truss in the foreground.\u00a0 Would a professionally taken photograph of a ruined temple be clearer or more vivid than this?\u00a0 There&#8217;s great imagination at work in the construction of these trusses and it all comes from a fractal formula (and an enormous amount of computing).\u00a0 There&#8217;s a touch of the surreal in this image; its as if it was the illustration to one of those H.P. Lovecraft stories about million-year-old, pre-human temples of the cosmic elders.<\/p>\n<p>Well, I haven&#8217;t finished my odyssey, but Pauldelbrot&#8217;s recent Mandelbox images posted to Fractalforums.com have certainly moved me on to the next island.\u00a0 Actually, I don&#8217;t care if a voyage like this never ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I often find myself preoccupied with justifying fractals (and other types of computational imagery) as art; trying to link fractals with the larger stream of visual art that has flowed and enriched (and provoked) our culture since pre-history.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t know why it nags me so much.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t think most fractalists are very concerned &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1195\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Trusses.jpg?fit=600%2C450","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":318,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=318","url_meta":{"origin":1195,"position":0},"title":"Fuzzy Times in Fractalville","author":"Tim","date":"12 June, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"My apologies to jamfancy, Funny Bunny and tibiloo, but I found this online vignette was just too precious not to share it with the loyal, die-hard, though thick and thin, grassroots supporters of Orbit Trap -- the greatest thing since sliced Mandelbrot. (That's a joke on the German word for\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2848,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=2848","url_meta":{"origin":1195,"position":1},"title":"Rebooting Fractal Art: Part 3","author":"Tim","date":"4 August, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"What fractals fail to do... You can't make art with them.\u00a0 And we all need our heads examined for thinking we could in the first place. I should be a bit more specific when I say, \"art\".\u00a0 I mean the thinking man's stuff.\u00a0 The kind of image that provokes your\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 6 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 6 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=2848#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Beardsley-peacockskirt.jpg?fit=400%2C547&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5672,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5672","url_meta":{"origin":1195,"position":2},"title":"Everything you need to know about Fractals and Art in one blog post","author":"Tim","date":"11 August, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Fractals are many things to many people but as an art form they're really very simple:\u00a0 Fractals are a visual medium. Do not be fooled by such simple language and such a simple statement,\u00a0 \"medium\" is the thin edge of the wedge that splits fractal art apart and reveals all\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"322px-Mandel_zoom_00_mandelbrot_set","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/322px-Mandel_zoom_00_mandelbrot_set.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3009,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=3009","url_meta":{"origin":1195,"position":3},"title":"Fractals: A New Medium","author":"Tim","date":"22 September, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I think I've found a better way to explain what makes fractal art so different than other art forms.\u00a0 The differences are there simply because fractals themselves are a different medium to work with.\u00a0 Fractals are different than paint and canvas or chisel and stone. In fact, fractals are probably\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=3009#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Zon9.jpg?fit=500%2C500&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":267,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=267","url_meta":{"origin":1195,"position":4},"title":"Beware of the Anti-Fractal","author":"Tim","date":"26 January, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I know this will probably crack some folks up at first, but bear with me as I tell you about something that came to mind just recently while browsing the big page of \"winners\" at the 2007 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest site.First, let me draw your attention to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 9 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 9 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=267#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4552,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=4552","url_meta":{"origin":1195,"position":5},"title":"3D Printing: Will this be Fractal Art&#8217;s Big Break?","author":"Tim","date":"7 March, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"With 3D printing technology, fractal art can cheaply and easily enter the domain of sculpture.\u00a0 It's an exciting development and offers the ever dazzling world of fractals another venue in which to capture that proverbial and elusive, \"mainstream\" audience.\u00a0 Will this be fractal art's big break or just another demonstration\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=4552#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/674x501_897361_839458_1361914708.jpg?fit=447%2C494&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1195"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1201,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions\/1201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}