{"id":738,"date":"2010-02-01T01:17:33","date_gmt":"2010-02-01T06:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=738"},"modified":"2010-02-01T01:17:33","modified_gmt":"2010-02-01T06:17:33","slug":"fractal-fields-of-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=738","title":{"rendered":"Fractal Fields of Lightning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Lightning<\/p>\n

Lightning Fields 128<\/em> by Hiroshi Sugimoto<\/a><\/p>\n

I learned to capture the lightning shock…<\/em>
\n—Roger McGuinn<\/a>, “Lover of the Bayou”<\/p>\n

The fractal properties of lightning have long been evident in dramatic photographs<\/a> of self-similar jagged bolts caught in a split-second of illumination.\u00a0 But few have pursued lightning so deeply “to its hiding place,” as Victor Frankenstein<\/a> once put it, than Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.<\/p>\n

Armed with a camera, a metal table, and hundreds of thousands of volts, Sugimoto freeze-frames the fractal zing of electrical charges in his “Lightning Fields” series.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Lightning Fields 138<\/em><\/p>\n

Wired<\/em><\/a> outlines Sugimoto’s process:<\/p>\n

He wields a Van de Graaff generator to send up to 400,000 volts through film to a metal table. The resulting fractal branching, subtle feathering, and furry whorls call to mind vascular systems, geologic features, and trees. \u201cI see the spark of life itself, the lightning that struck the primordial ooze,\u201d Sugimoto says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\"Lightning<\/p>\n

Lightning Fields 147<\/em><\/p>\n

In describing his work<\/a>, Sugimoto reminds us of of the historical connectedness between scientific experimentation with electricity and photography:<\/p>\n

In 1831, Michael Faraday<\/a>\u2019s formulation of the law of electromagnetic induction led to the invention of electric generators and transformers, which dramatically changed the quality of human life. Far less well-known is that Faraday\u2019s colleague, William Fox Talbot<\/a>, was the father of calotype photography. Fox Talbot\u2019s momentous discovery of the photosensitive properties of silver alloys led to the development of positive-negative photographic imaging. The idea of observing the effects of electrical discharges on photographic dry plates reflects my desire to re-create the major discoveries of these scientific pioneers in the darkroom and verify them with my own eyes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\"Lightning<\/p>\n

Lightning Fields 119<\/em><\/p>\n

The romantic notion of suffering for one’s art appears to literally be true in Sugimoto’s case.\u00a0 ArtInfo<\/a> reports that Sugimoto’s creative process can be, well, shocking at times:<\/p>\n

The practice is not without its risks (the generator is ominously labeled “Danger High Voltage”). When I ask if he\u2019s ever electrocuted himself, Sugimoto chuckles. “Quite often. Sometimes the spark comes to my belly. It hurts. It\u2019s hard to describe \u2014 it\u2019s just shock, it\u2019s like cutting yourself, twisting.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\"Self-Portrait\"<\/p>\n

Self-Portrait<\/em> by Hiroshi Sugimoto<\/p>\n

Genevieve Quick, writing in Shotgun Review<\/em><\/a>, sums up Sugimoto’s achievement as follows:<\/p>\n

By essentially establishing a micro-environment in the dark room akin to the conditions of an electrical storm, Sugimoto creates lush large-scale black and white prints that resemble botanical and biological images, landscapes, high-power microscopic magnifications, and lightning itself. This richly layered process creates works that, in the tradition of Talbot before him, elegantly blur the boundary between science and photography.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The fractal properties evident in Sugimoto’s work are simply stunning.\u00a0 If I didn’t know better, I’d swear these images were rendered in a program like Tierazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

~\/~<\/p>\n

Tags:<\/strong> fractal<\/a>, fractals<\/a>, fractal art<\/a>, fractal blog<\/a>, digital art<\/a>, hiroshi sugimoto<\/a>, lightning fields<\/a>, art that shocks<\/a>, cruelanimal<\/a>, orbit trap<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lightning Fields 128 by Hiroshi Sugimoto I learned to capture the lightning shock… —Roger McGuinn, “Lover of the Bayou” The fractal properties of lightning have long been evident in dramatic photographs of self-similar jagged bolts caught in a split-second of illumination.\u00a0 But few have pursued lightning so deeply “to its hiding place,” as Victor Frankenstein … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3181,"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-738","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\/02\/LightningFields128_Sugimoto.jpg?fit=322%2C400","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4592,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=4592","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":0},"title":"Danger: High Voltage","author":"cruelanimal","date":"2 March, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A Shocking Fractal \u00a0 I have previously written about both fractal fields of lighting and about shocking flowers, but here is an experiment that merges the two topics. A Pratt Institute student, Melanie Hoff, attached cables carrying 15,000 volts to what looks like plywood planks. One would expect the wood\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=4592#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/fractal-wood.jpg?fit=450%2C253&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":166,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=166","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":1},"title":"Mysteries of Faith and Art","author":"cruelanimal","date":"5 March, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Why did the fractal cross the road?To travel back in time?Compare this image: The familiar Mandelbrot Set form. With this image:An Ottoman illustration of the sacrifice of Ismael (1583). The resemblance should not be a surprise. We've all seen fractal forms embedded in nature -- trees, river currents, lightning, cauliflower,\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=166#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5075,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5075","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":2},"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":4154,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=4154","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":3},"title":"Blocked Drones and Shocked Flowers","author":"cruelanimal","date":"18 November, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Death from Above [Click on images to view at higher resolution on source sites.] \u00a0 \"New aesthetic\" visionary James Bridle's latest project is Dronestagram --an Instagram feed that posts satellite images tied to U.S. drone strikes in the Middle East and Asia. 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