A UPR is probably something that can be copyrighted because it’s really no different than a computer script. And computer software can be copyrighted… so is that the end of it? But what if someone changes something in your parameter file just a little bit? What if I take a “1” and make it a “10” and then start selling prints of the image online? What distinguishes a derivative work apart from an original work with respect to a parameter file? With images it’s a whole lot simpler. Continue reading →

Known as JackOTradez or FractAlkemist and probably a few others, Lloyd Garrick (a name he rarely goes by) has made a sizable collection of fractal videos using Fractint and some very effective musical soundtracks. Continue reading →

Although the works of Max Ernst (1891-1976) might exhibit a pronounced frontal brow on their foreheads, closer examination reveals startling similarities between them and the contemporary fractal art that now inhabits the same landscapes they once did. Continue reading →

Back in the Halcyon group-hug salad days of Orbit Trap, I put up a post about titling.  I used my own images (and several others) to investigate whether titles unfairly nudge viewers to the artist’s interpretation or favorably provide additional meaning-making material.  I’d like to re-visit the question using some images I recently saw on … Continue reading →

~ Click on images to view full-size on original site ~ In defense of Valerie, tohu777’s image fooled me too.  I thought it was an art installation out in some desert somewhere. Even now I’m not so sure it’s not a real photograph.  But of course, what difference does it really make? It makes a … Continue reading →

I have a few rules of thumb I like to keep to when it comes to reviewing fractal art.  One of them, if it were boiled down and expressed as a revolutionary slogan painted on a flag, is “Art, not Artists”.  It’s not a hard rule to follow in the fractal art world where the … Continue reading →

"Think of color, pitch, loudness, heaviness, and hotness. Each is the topic of a branch of physics." Drawing seen on foreignpolicy.com. …into history. From pcmag.com: Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry, has died at the age of 85, the AFP reports. The French-American mathematician discovered mathematical shapes called "fractals," and developed a geometry that … Continue reading →

Cornelia Yoder was true to her words: the Fractal Universe Calendar 2011 is made up exclusively of her images and retains the traditional name although the publisher has skipped like a stone from Avalanche to Lang to Perfect Timing.  She has also kept up the time-worn tradition of adhering to that tested and true style … Continue reading →

If you’re a critic on the Internet, everyone can hear you scream. –Cameron Woodhead, The Sydney Morning Herald Image seen on blog.hr. It should go without saying that when folks speak out about OT in online public forums, I can hear them.  Sometimes, I like to return the favor of pleasant conversation   I guess … Continue reading →

What has it done for fractal art? It’s brought publishers to the realization that fractal art can be bought in bulk like any other stock imagery they already use. The years of contests, editors, sorting, sifting, short-listing and final cutting are over; just find someone who knows how to make the stuff and order a dozen. Continue reading →

We’ve all heard of blur.  It’s one of those basic graphic effects that every graphics program, and even some fractal programs, automatically include.  Most of us though are probably more familiar with the sharpen effect which does the exact opposite which is to get rid of, or at least reduce, blur. Few digital artists, and … Continue reading →

Is DNA an algorithm?  Can its renderings be presented as Algorithmic Art?  Will they jump down off the wall and attack the well-dressed gallery patrons? Consider the humble jumping spiders of Oklahoma: As always, click on any image to view it on the original web site or in full-size. It’s easy to define (and limit) … Continue reading →

Macro photography and fractals have a lot in common.  I don’t know what that is, but I just sense that they have a “family resemblance”.  Imagine you’re trying to put together a jig-saw puzzle but someone has accidentally thrown in another puzzle with it.  While looking for the pieces that match up with the ones … Continue reading →

My blogging slows down in the summer when other projects get moved to the front burner. But I’m still lurking around. The 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest exhibition begins in a little over a week in Hyderabad, India, at the 2010 International Congress of Mathematicians, although (so far) publicity for the event has been … Continue reading →

Many people have a favorite sport.  Some follow soccer, others american football or hockey, basketball, baseball, cricket…  I follow hurricanes, the tropical storms or cyclones that form in the Carribean during summer and fall of every year.  There’s never a players strike and you can follow all the action over the internet.  In fact, you … Continue reading →

I’ve been surfing. From the noisey beaches of Deviant Art to the silent shores of guano islands. Every one here’s a gem to me. Each one gleamed in its own way when I saw it. Continue reading →

There’s actually a lot of goldmines out there in the outer reaches of our computer system.  None of us have been to all of them, but we’ve all been to some of them.  I don’t know where exactly this one is, but you can find all the scenes from it here. This is what’s written … Continue reading →

Such simple rendering and yet, such powerful rendering.  Remember, most of MC Escher’s great drawings were done in pencil, so there’s no reason why a grayscale or monotone image has to be dull.  Just look at the detail in blob’s image, how it’s all over the place in every nook and cranny and has such … Continue reading →

What exactly does it mean to be un-Cola?  Cola drinks, like Coca-Cola, are dark-colored and contain caffeine.  The opposite would be light-colored without caffeine?  But both of them are sugary, carbonated drinks sold on the same shelf and dropping out of the same vending machine, or at least side by side vending machines (7Up is … Continue reading →

I don’t dislike everything.  The OT faithful probably know from past posts that I often see fractal art works I find interesting. When Tim and I were first forming Orbit Trap and discussing its possibilities, one idea we knocked around was to post an occasional fractal art photoblog — that is, allow the blog to … Continue reading →

The first time I saw an image made in FractalWorks it was in the gallery section of Fractalforums.com.  I was impressed and yet, I couldn’t quite figure out why I was so impressed.  There wasn’t anything really special about it and yet there was something really special about it.  It was one of those “height … Continue reading →

I want to talk about the money in fractal art. Where in the fractal world is there any sort of commercial success?  I don’t mean someone making some trivial amount of money, I mean someone making enough money to, as they say, quit your day job, kind of money. Of all the artists, programmers, publishers, … Continue reading →

Did you miss me? Shot of the 2011 Infinite Creations calendar. [Image seen on BarnesandNoble.com.] Just when you thought it was once again safe to enter your local chain bookstore… The Fractal Universe Calendar (FUC) gets a name change and a new coat of renders.  But kick those familiar, sappy, spiral tires — and it’s … Continue reading →

I’m just like the Olympic torch.  I travel the world, and no one knows my route in advance. [Promotional poster for the 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest Exhibition.  Image seen on Sandra Reid’s blog.] Apparently, the 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest Exhibition has begun. Of course, you’d never know this from checking the … Continue reading →

Dance first.  Think later. It’s the natural order. —Samuel Beckett [Photograph seen on Janet Parke’s Sketchblog.] In a post to the Ultra Fractal Mailing List, Janet Parke describes a recent project mashing fractal art with ballet.  She links to an entry in her Sketchblog where she outlines the genesis of the mixed-media performance as follows: … Continue reading →

Have I mentioned what a great addition to the fractal world Fractalforums.com is?  As someone who likes to review exciting new things in fractal art it’s really made my job much easier.  Before, I used to wander around Flickr or check out links on the UF mailing list or just stumble on something while surfing … Continue reading →

It’s mine!!  All mine!! [Image seen on nikadon.com.] Can one patent abstract ideas?  Or claim equations as intellectual property? The U.S. Supreme Court will likely make a decision in the near future concerning the constitutional scope of patents.  The decision could have profound implications pertaining to the legality of free software — and possibly have … Continue reading →

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.  I don’t know why it nags me so much.  I don’t think most fractalists are very concerned … Continue reading →

I don’t know what happened, but all of a sudden there’s a new crop of 3-D fractals sprouting up and they’re seriously amazing. I’ve seen 3-D fractals before but these Mandelbulb and Mandel-box things have taken 3-D to a whole new level of sophistication. The best phrase I can think of to describe them is Majestic Panorama. It’s like a glimpse of a new world not merely a new rendering technique or formula. Continue reading →

Another program from the extensive digital treasury of Terry Gintz.  Unlike Fractal Vizion which contains, metaphorically speaking, a full fractal orchestra, Hydra is a solo performance where the star is the quaternion, a richly talented Pavarotti of the fractal world who needs not even a piano for accompaniment. Perhaps the label Michelangelo of the Fractal … Continue reading →

Detail of Tuna by Chris Jordan I thought it might be fitting to once again examine pushing fractal art into its second phase.  Tim laid the initial groundwork for a Phase Two approach to our discipline, and I’ve presented several examples of what a Phase Two fractal art exhibition might look like. One facet of … Continue reading →

Of all the things that the Genetic Art java program Kandid does, I had always found (until recently) it’s cellular automata features to be the most enticing and the most disappointing. The cellular automata, true to their synthetic, space age name, looked very computer-ish and although the high contrast color palettes complimented this quite well … Continue reading →

Subtext by EssG This is the conclusion of a series that began with a review of an article on deviantART entitled “People who’s [sic] Fractals SUCKED!!!”  The series focuses on responding to criticisms raised by some of the DA fractal art “masters” to my initial review and hones in on some poor rhetorical strategies of … Continue reading →