{"id":366,"date":"2009-02-19T00:50:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-19T04:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=366"},"modified":"2009-02-19T00:50:00","modified_gmt":"2009-02-19T04:50:00","slug":"my-what-a-big-fractal-you-have-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=366","title":{"rendered":"My What a Big Fractal You Have #1"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Do<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
No art, Sherlock…<\/em>
<\/em><\/div>\n


<\/em><\/p>\n

Tim,<\/p>\n

I really enjoyed your last post. I, too, have been thinking about the desire some fractal artists have to reveal more of their images in ever expansive detail. The methods fractal artists use for doing so seem to vary. Some prefer to draw the viewer into the act of making the image and employing interactivity by including parameter files (as you discuss<\/a>). Others prefer a more static, sensory bombardment for viewers by allowing ever larger and more high rez versions of individual works to be studied in detail. My question is: What’s behind this impulse to go big?<\/p>\n

What brings this whole matter to the forefront is that two well-known Ultra Fractal artists, Samuel Monnier and Janet Parke, have used a new tool called Zoomify<\/a> to display zoom-and-pan windows that allow considerable detail to be seen in large images. Two by Monnier can be found here<\/a>, and Parke’s can be found here<\/a> and here<\/a>. Why, exactly, are they doing this? <\/p>\n

Is it because we know deep zooming is cool? We like checking out those YouTube vids<\/a> of endlessly Zen lower depth dives into fractals exhibiting rivering recursion and self-similarity that stream out of the frame and immediately reappear. So, is Zoomify a deep zoom mechanism for still 2D images? Or is it just a digital magnifying glass?<\/p>\n

Or are these two UF artists starting to look at their own works from the viewpoint of a big canvas? After all, both announce on their web sites that prints of their work are available for purchase. Could they be moving through the paradigm shift I call passing from monitor mode<\/em> to wall mode<\/em>? These are radically different mindsets. Once you begin to “see” all of your work as a poster-sized print on a wall rather than something the size of a sheet of typing paper on your monitor, everything — from perspective to aesthetics — changes.<\/p>\n

Which brings me back to Jim Muth’s musing from my last post<\/a>: Are there really some fundamental differences in the fractal community between people focused on math and people focused on art? And isn’t a fusion of both the final goal: fractal art<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Here’s my concern. When I peer through the Zoomified looking glass at these images, you know what I see? Bigger fractals. What I don’t see is more detailed art.<\/p>\n

If you’re going to start acting like your fractal images are indeed similar to a large canvas, shouldn’t you start paying much more attention to the concept of texture? Even just a little bit? Isn’t texture a long established critical component for art?<\/p>\n

And how much texture do these ultra-magnified Ultra Fractal images have? I’d argue absolutely none. Not a single, tactile peak or valley can be seen.<\/p>\n

And isn’t that odd? Many UF images certainly look highly textured. Does Zoomify demonstrate that seeing is not believing? For all those piles and piles of layers and masks, are UF images really flat as a pancake? <\/p>\n

Or, do I mean flat as an unprocessed photograph? <\/p>\n

And am I looking at the details of fractal art — or merely the details of a picture of a fractal? It really does matter. It matters as much as what you see looking at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers<\/em> in a museum and what you see looking at a picture of Sunflowers<\/em><\/a> in a book. <\/p>\n

And that brings me back to prints. If you’ve blown off all concerns about texture to the point of having none at all, then why bother making anyone a Gicl\u00e9e fine art print to museum specifications using archival inks and papers? After all, there’s no surface grain to showcase or enhanced tactility to “bring out.” Save your money, collectors. Opt for that cheaper, flatter photographic print instead.<\/p>\n

I think one’s fractal art should have as much art as it does fractal. Otherwise, I question whether one is truly a fractal artist. Perhaps, instead, one is a fractal maker.<\/p>\n

And I have my doubts that these two designations are the same thing.<\/p>\n

I’ve been working in wall mode since 2003, as the Binoculars Room<\/a> on my web site should demonstrate, and texture has become an essential part of my self-expression. But, of course, I admit to heavy and deliberate post-processing to the point where I am satisfied that my (sometimes atom smashed) fractals have also turned the corner to become art. That’s the point of wall mode. To help viewers see the big big picture as you see it. Not in a book to wonder how<\/em> you made the piece. But on the wall to more clearly see how<\/em> you made it.<\/p>\n

It seems these two UF artists have that big big fractal thing down cold. Now, maybe it’s time to fully embrace wall mode and not just flirt with putting a magnifying glass to a flat, canvas-sized picture. Maybe it’s time to take the first baby-steps toward that equally important big big art thing.<\/p>\n

I am troubled by these thoughts and their ramifications. I hope we can have a conversation about some of these reflections. I look forward to hearing what you think.<\/p>\n

Terry <\/p>\n

Tags: fractal<\/a>, fractals<\/a>, fractal art<\/a>, fractal blog<\/a>, fractal artist<\/a>, fractal maker<\/a>, samuel monnier<\/a>, janet parke<\/a>, monitor mode<\/a>, wall mode<\/a>, my what a big fractal you have<\/a>, zoomify<\/a>, ultra fractal<\/a>, the world is flat<\/a>, cruelanimal<\/a>, orbit trap<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No art, Sherlock… Tim, I really enjoyed your last post. I, too, have been thinking about the desire some fractal artists have to reveal more of their images in ever expansive detail. The methods fractal artists use for doing so seem to vary. Some prefer to draw the viewer into the act of making the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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-366","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\/2009\/02\/NoArtSherlock.jpg?fit=385%2C185","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5462,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5462","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":0},"title":"Maybe You Should Stop Calling Yourself a “Fractal Artist”","author":"cruelanimal","date":"17 August, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Oxford Tire Pile 9b by Edward Burtynsky [Click on images to see higher resolution renditions.] \u00a0 Shut up and play your guitar. --Frank Zappa Seriously. I mean it. Calling yourself a \"fractal artist\" could be damaging your fine artistic street cred. On the Wikipedia Fractal entry, as Tim revealed in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/EdwardBurtynsky_OxfordTirePile9b_sm.jpg?fit=450%2C364&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":198,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=198","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":1},"title":"A Dream of Post Post-Processing","author":"cruelanimal","date":"26 June, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes. I'm returning to rant again on my favorite pet peeve: the never-say-die stink surrounding post-processing. I know some of you feel this is a dead issue. We all get along now... ...except we don't. The old biases just keep cropping up.From \"Recent Evolution in Fractal Art\" from Ken Keller's\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=198#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Last Bee (Detail)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/06\/lastbee_detail_lrc.jpg?fit=450%2C286&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5672,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5672","url_meta":{"origin":366,"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":5075,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5075","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":3},"title":"The Synthetic Aesthetic – Part 1","author":"Tim","date":"22 August, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is another one of those theoretical postings; you might want to skip it and go look at some fresh fractal art instead.\u00a0 But if you're still interested, in this posting I intend to examine what fractal art has come to be and show that this evolution of the art\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/jhl16.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=334","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":4},"title":"Images of the Week: Three on a Match","author":"cruelanimal","date":"24 July, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"A Goblet Emptied by clifftoppler As I predicted, the boundaries of what is and what is not fractal art would have to be reshuffled once the Fractalbookers shelled out for Ultra Fractal 5. I said UF5 could be downgraded to a Photoshop plug-in, and here we see the proof. A\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/AGobletEmptied_clifftoppler.jpg?fit=225%2C477&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5109,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5109","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":5},"title":"The Synthetic Aesthetic 3: Ultrashop and Photo Fractal","author":"Tim","date":"3 September, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the third part of a series on The Synthetic Aesthetic: artwork which is mechanically made as opposed to handmade ( Part 1 \/ Part 2 ).\u00a0 Fractal art borders on this synthetic realm because it is one of the most powerful tools for the computational generation of imagery.\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5109#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/20061012-vor10-by-Samuel-Monnier.jpg?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\/366","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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}