{"id":546,"date":"2009-12-06T02:35:14","date_gmt":"2009-12-06T07:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=546"},"modified":"2009-12-07T00:55:54","modified_gmt":"2009-12-07T05:55:54","slug":"more-phase-two-thinking-about-fractal-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=546","title":{"rendered":"More Phase Two Thinking about Fractal Art"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Art<\/p>\n

Art and photograph by adak’76<\/a><\/p>\n

Repeat viewings of the 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest<\/a> winners consistently leave a bitter aftertaste.<\/p>\n

I’m convinced, especially after reading Tim’s latest OT series on the distinctions between art and craft, that very little of what BMFAC will exhibit next year merits being called art.\u00a0 The winning works are, at best, well-crafted craft — decorative, ornamental, and technically accomplished eyecandy.\u00a0 With perhaps one or two exceptions, none of winning images fulfills any non-motivated function of art — like mysterious experience, imaginative expression, universal communication, or symbolic function.\u00a0 The winning images also come up short in meeting motivated functions like social inquiry (as Guido Cavalcante’s recently discussed image<\/a> does), psychological purposes, contemplating thought, elucidating concepts, or provoking ideas.\u00a0 I’d even settle for lesser pursuits like demonstrating open propaganda<\/a>.\u00a0 No, for the most part, only one criteria apparently is necessary to be a BMFAC winner: beauty.\u00a0 The winning images are, without fail, pretty pictures.<\/p>\n

One recent commenter, Esin Turkakin<\/a><\/span>, responding to Tim’s last post, seemed to confuse craft with medium — as if the two things were one and the same. She went on to say:<\/p>\n

\n

If you only judge images by their artistic value as you seem to do, medium becomes completely irrelevant \u2013 we can\u2019t talk about \u201cfractal art\u201d. It\u2019s merely defined by its message and expression, independent of the medium used.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is nonsense.\u00a0 Would you make the same claim about sculpture, ceramics, or photography?\u00a0 If we judge photographs by their artistic value, can we no longer talk about photographic art?\u00a0 Absolutely not. Actually, what we should no longer assume is that fractal images that are merely well crafted automatically rise to the level of art.\u00a0 This is the modus operandi<\/em> of BMFAC, the late Fractal Universe Calendar contest, every Fractalbook<\/a> high schoolish it’s-another-masterpiece mutual admiration society comment thread, and (sometimes it seems like) the whole fractal “art” community.<\/p>\n

But if you’re going to use the term fractal art<\/em>, then I sincerely hope you’re judging such work by its artistic value.\u00a0 Maybe if BMFAC was a little more “independent of the medium used,” we wouldn’t have nearly every winner using the very same “mediums” (UF<\/a> and Apo<\/a>) — that is, fractal generators coincidentally designed by two of the contest’s judges.<\/p>\n

Art should always be the primary concern for critical judgment.\u00a0 Otherwise, let’s start talking about fractal craft<\/em> instead and just spend our time swooning over studying the intricacies of par files — which, by the way, is the preferred entertainment of the UF Mailing List<\/a>.\u00a0 Art remains art across mediums — whether the format be painting, sculpture, music, poetry, fibers, film, criticism, or computer-generated work.\u00a0 Art certainly can be well-crafted — but just as emphatically does not have to be.\u00a0 Is Duchamp’s urinal<\/a> “well-crafted”?\u00a0 The question is irrelevant, even absurd.\u00a0 What matters is expression.<\/p>\n

And that’s the limitation of craft.\u00a0 It doesn’t express anything.\u00a0 It just lies there and looks good.<\/p>\n

~\/~<\/p>\n

Another commenter, Nada Kringels<\/a>, makes the following observation as to whether Tim’s contention in his last post<\/a> that an image by Guido Cavalcante rises to the level of art:<\/p>\n

\n

I do respect Guido\u2019s passion and engagement, but hadn\u2019t I been told what the image was all about I wouldn\u2019t have seen it by itself. I had to read the whole horror to interpret something as garbage which I had seen as an unhappy color combination before. An instrument has to be practised, studied and played a lot before, MAYBE, it has this direct magic.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Using Kringels’ logic, here is an extrapolation of what she’d probably say about Picasso<\/a>:<\/p>\n

While I admire Pablo’s “passion and engagement,” looking at “Guernica”<\/a> I saw just a bunch of “unhappy color combinations,” and I “had to read the whole horror” to interpret it as something like firebombing.\u00a0 If only Pablo had taken Janet Parke’s VAA course<\/a>, then he could have “practiced his instrument,” meaning Ultra Fractal naturally, and better honed his craft to produce more “direct magic.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Did I mention that both Turkakin and Kringels are recent 2009 BMFAC winners?\u00a0 Check the links on their names above and you can determine whether their soon-to-be-exhibited entries are well crafted.\u00a0 But do either rise to the “direct magic” of being art?\u00a0 If not, then can they be said to live up to BMFAC’s billing of presenting “the most important fractal artists in the world<\/a>“?\u00a0 \u00a0 And maybe because OT asks such questions is why both Turkakin and Kringels keep showing up here to argue that, at least when it comes to fractal art, distinctions between art and craft are arbitrary and\/or meaningless.<\/p>\n

~\/~<\/p>\n

The question of artistic mediums raises another problem I have with BMFAC.\u00a0 It is far too limited in its vision of what fractal art is and can be.\u00a0 To me, fractal art is precisely what it says: art with fractals.\u00a0 BMFAC believes fractal art is art (well, craft actually, but let’s not get caught in a recursive loop) with programs — and, really, after examining what won, pretty much only Ultra Fractal and Apophysis — whose authors, if you don’t mind my pointing out the same feedback cringle once again, conveniently served as BMFAC judges during the last go around (talk about getting caught in a recursive loop).<\/p>\n

Previously on OT, Tim outlined<\/a> the necessity for fractal art to iterate into Phase Two, and I gave example<\/a>s of what a Phase Two exhibition of fractal art might look like.\u00a0 So let’s talk mediums today, or, more specifically, avenues for expressing fractal art that are not heavily dependent on software.<\/p>\n

\"Photograph<\/p>\n

Photograph and art by adak’76<\/a><\/p>\n

When I first saw the image above, I thought it was a digital\/fractal image that had been post-processed with Photoshop filters like Flaming Pear’s Lacquer<\/a>.\u00a0 But this is a photograph, and a horizon can clearly be seen near the top of the picture.\u00a0 Whatever this is, it’s big.<\/p>\n

Exploring adak’76’s other galleries<\/a> on Picasa provides some clues.\u00a0 This shot<\/a>, in particular, suggests the artist is proficient in metalworking and constructs his artistic installations on a grand scale.\u00a0 The reflections of light on the photographs of fractal forms above suggest these pieces could be the size of a small bedroom floor and are likely highly varnished.<\/p>\n

This fractal artist seems like a perfect fit for BMFAC.\u00a0 After all, his installations far exceed even BMFAC’s massive file restrictions.<\/p>\n

\"Fractal<\/p>\n

Fractal 23<\/em> by Takeshi Miakaya Design<\/p>\n

I saw this on BoingBoing<\/a>.\u00a0 It’s a fascinating example of 3-D recursiveness, although the task of having to dust “infinite” drawers seems a bit daunting.\u00a0 There are twenty-three functional drawers on this chest, and you can own this piece for a mere $19,000.\u00a0 One commenter noted that Miakaya built two of these — one for himself and one to sell — but then quit and observed that such fractal furniture was “a pain in the ass” to make.\u00a0 I suppose such sentiment qualifies as suffering for your art.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I could find no working web site for Miakaya.<\/p>\n

\"Fractal<\/p>\n

A fractal carving by Terry W. Gintz<\/a><\/p>\n

Terry W. Gintz is a true Renaissance Man.\u00a0 He’s a programmer, artist, poet, photographer, and sculptor — and even a superb cook.\u00a0 He’s recently updated his fractal carvings gallery<\/a> — small sculptures based on 3-D fractals created with QuaSZ<\/a> and other Mystic Fractal programs of his own design.\u00a0 Gintz notes that “like fractals, every rock tells a story.”\u00a0 In truth, Gintz has many fascinating galleries<\/a> of his lapidary art.\u00a0 I especially like his Flintstones Minatures<\/a> gallery.<\/p>\n

\"Gloria<\/p>\n

Gloria Caeli<\/em>, a balloon by Jonathan Wolfe and Friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sky Dyes<\/a>, a project headed by Jonathan Wolfe and his friends, designs “flying fractal art balloons.”\u00a0 Talk about an impressive palette.\u00a0 In this case, it’s the sky itself, surrounded by (fractal) clouds.\u00a0 Wolfe notes<\/a> that:<\/p>\n

\n

The fractal balloons will contain roughly 100 billion pixels, about \u00a0the same number of stars as are in our galaxy and as many neurons as are in our brain\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Well, that should be big enough to (barely) meet BMFAC’s gigantic size limitations.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A fractal thong courtesy of Fractal Generation Galleria<\/a><\/p>\n

Software is so pass\u00e9<\/em>.\u00a0 Thongs are the new new wave in cutting edge fractal art.\u00a0 Nothing proclaims your seriousness as a fractal artist more than slapping your work over the genital areas of complete strangers.\u00a0 You never have to worry about penis envy when someone’s family jewels are draped with your self-similar infinity.\u00a0 Perhaps BMFAC could make fractal thongs a separate category in the 2011 competition. Then, finally, one could honestly claim those massive entry sizes do matter.\u00a0 Moreover, such skimpy, fractally-enhanced undergarments might be just the ticket for presenting “our art form to a world that largely does not know it<\/a>.”\u00a0 Why maybe the BMFAC selection panel members (no pun intended) could even model the contest finalists — strutting the pageant ramp in a live YouTube fractalpalooza.<\/p>\n

I’d buy that<\/a> for a dollar.<\/p>\n

~\/~<\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

On September 25, 20o9, on the Ultra Fractal Mailing List, Damien M. Jones made the following remark concerning my OT post<\/a> about a mysterious “winners page” where BMFAC director Jones appeared to be sorting contest entries into winning and losing categories before the BMFAC judging panel had ever convened:<\/p>\n

The interpretation of what [Terry] saw was all his; he elected to spin it in a way that favors his cause. It’s demagoguery<\/strong> [emphasis mine].<\/em><\/p>\n

On December 6th, as a comment to this post, Esin Turkakin, one of BMFAC 2009’s winners, made the following remark:<\/p>\n

What I find sad is why you\u2019re actively trying to avoid a civil discussion and immediately resort to demagoguery <\/strong>[emphasis mine] .<\/em><\/p>\n

Does it sound to you like someone has marching orders to repeat established talking points?<\/p>\n

Isn’t it interesting how quickly you can become a “demagogue” as soon as some people disagree with what you’ve said? They’ll earnestly accuse you of incivility — as they flat out call you names.<\/p>\n

~\/~<\/p>\n

Tags:<\/strong> fractal<\/a>, fractals<\/a>, fractal art<\/a>, fractal blog<\/a>, art criticism<\/a>, more phase two thinking about fractal art<\/a>, benoit mandelbrot fractal art contest<\/a>, esin turkakin<\/a>, nada kringels<\/a>, adak’76<\/a>, takeshi miakaya<\/a>, terry w gintz<\/a>, jonathan wolfe fractal balloons<\/a>, fractal thong<\/a>, the perils of deep zooming private parts<\/a>, cruelanimal<\/a>, orbit trap<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Art and photograph by adak’76 Repeat viewings of the 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest winners consistently leave a bitter aftertaste. I’m convinced, especially after reading Tim’s latest OT series on the distinctions between art and craft, that very little of what BMFAC will exhibit next year merits being called art.\u00a0 The winning works are, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3185,"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-546","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\/12\/FractalThong.jpg?fit=450%2C450","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":494,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=494","url_meta":{"origin":546,"position":0},"title":"Art, Craft and Fractals: Part 2","author":"Tim","date":"23 November, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I got a couple of comments to my previous post, Art, Craft and Fractals, which raised an issue which I think needs to be clarified.\u00a0 The term, Craft, is used in many ways and most of them are probably derogatory in the context of art.\u00a0 But it's not my intention\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=494#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":319,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=319","url_meta":{"origin":546,"position":1},"title":"Fractal Universe Calendar …In Retreat","author":"Tim","date":"15 June, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5462,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5462","url_meta":{"origin":546,"position":2},"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":320,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=320","url_meta":{"origin":546,"position":3},"title":"Disappeared Art","author":"cruelanimal","date":"16 June, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Disappearing should be an art form, a seductive way of leaving the world. I believe that part of disappearing is to disappear before you die, to disappear before you have run dry, while you still have something to say...--Jean Baudrillard As Tim noted yesterday, the online images for the 2009\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"No Art Is Better Than Bad Art","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/blankjan2010.jpg?fit=450%2C583&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":416,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=416","url_meta":{"origin":546,"position":4},"title":"Is the Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest Run Like the Fractal Universe Calendar?","author":"Tim","date":"26 September, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"How is the judging actually done?I've always assumed that in order to give every submission an equal chance of winning, the judges independently viewed the submissions and then chose the ones that they thought ought to be included in the exhibition. The choices of all the judges would then be\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":450,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=450","url_meta":{"origin":546,"position":5},"title":"Ups and Downs of the 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest","author":"cruelanimal","date":"8 November, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Ups and Downs.\u00a0 Design by Roller Coaster Tycoon. The 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest results have been announced.\u00a0 If you're a regular OT reader, you already got this news.\u00a0 We announced it on Thursday -- apparently before the contest itself was ready to do so.\u00a0 When, on the UF\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=450#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ups and Downs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/UpsandDowns_RollerCoasterTy.jpg?fit=450%2C550&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\/546","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=546"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":558,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546\/revisions\/558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}