Hunting the hidden dimension

I just finished watching the NOVA program Hunting the hidden dimension on PBS. It was great to see all of the practical applications for fractal geometry, like measuring coast lines and rain forests. It was especially cool to see that fractal geometry has made cell phone antennas possible.

The show was cool but I couldn't help but feel a little frustration when I realized that they were not going to mention that fractals are a valid art form. I guess that they sort of did, but they did so in a way that gave credit to traditional artists who created fractal art and architecture before fractal math and technology was invented. Today there are probably thousands more fractal artists in the world than there are scientists and engineers who are creating practical applications for fractal geometry. Why not give the artists a little recognition?

On the other hand, I guess that we have to follow the money. If someone can use fractal geometry to make a cell phone antenna or save a rain forest, that is where the attention will be.

Traditional artists make art by expressing the feelings that nature presents to them. So do fractal artists. Fractals are natural and the NOVA program does a great job of illustrating that point. We might not use a canvas and paint brush to do it, but the way that we express ourselves is just as valid as the way that a traditional artist does it.

The organic, natural shapes in fractals are why they are beautiful to us. We see them every day, all around us. That's why fractals can be art.

Exciting Art News

I've been meaning to blog about my exciting news for a few days - so here it is.

A while ago I entered the Yellow Pages Group Art Awards and to cut a long story short my work has been short listed. What this means is that if (when) my piece wins, it will feature on the front page of our local phone book. Given that Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, this is quite exciting.

What makes it even more exciting is that the piece in question features an apophysis fractal as a background.

The image in question is this one.



Here's where I need help. The next step in the process if to ask pretty much everyone I know to vote for the piece. Thus what was once an art competition has become a rather interesting networking exercise / popularity contest.

Its all for a good cause though. Should the image "make it", Project K will be $10,000 better off.

So here is the official plea for your vote. Hopefully this is where the fractal community can really shine - in a way, this one is for all of us!

Did I mention that the work will be auctioned off for charity at some stage? Hopefully this next auction experience will be better than my last. At any rate, the auction is a long way away (the piece gets auctioned as its a finalist) - so of course, I'll blog about that experience in due course.

Edit: Voting has now closed. I'd like to thank everyone who voted for my piece. Your support is greatly appreciated!

More unfair use

"EXQUISITE IMAGES! Thank you for sharing your beautiful art.
Do you mind if I print a slide or two to hang on my wall?"

That is one of the comments on another slide show that is packed full of my art. At least the person asking the question had the integrity to ask for permission before printing "a slide or two", even though the slide show creator has no authority to grant that permission.

There are a few other slide shows on slideshare.com with my art as well, but that list is getting smaller.

My first discovery of my art on slideshare.net was in Kapitán József's gallery. After some conversation, Kapitán and I agreed on what he could put in his show. I explained to Kapitán that I wanted him to say that he used my art with my permission. That was important to me because I did not want to give the impression that my art is free for anyone to take. That's a valid concern because it is exactly what happened on at least one other slide show. That slide show, now removed, was copied from another slide show.

What's happening here is that people are innocently thinking that the art in these slide shows is art that is in the public domain. I mean, I used to do it all the time. I would get an e-mail with a cool slide show or pictures and forward it on without a second thought.

When I looked at the stats for one of the slide shows on slideshare.net, I found that it was embedded on a 5th grade school teacher's web site. That teacher was showing her students my ripped off art. What am I supposed to do with that?

I have the same concern about my images that appear on blogs or websites under the fair use doctrine. I don't want people to assume that they have automatic permission take whatever they want from my galleries just because one small piece appears in a blog.

Home Grown

Its been too long since my last post and I finally have something to share. My latest series of wallpapers all use components from a recent project.

The project in question was an entry for a competition which involved designing a piece of art that would be suitable for the Auckland phone book (you can stop laughing now). This means that the design would need to feature images that Aucklanders can easily identify with.

Happily, I already had reference photos of two Auckland landmarks ready to make into illustrations. The background of my entry is, of course a fractal and it will be interesting to see how it is received by the judges. In the meantime, below are my "off cuts" - faithful readers of this blog may recall that I'm "into" digital recycling.

Aotearoa Dreaming



Harbour Bridge



Sky Tower



Click on the above images to go to the associated flickr pages and feel free to download the wallpaper version. These will of course feature on my personal blog at some point in the future.

So here's the challenge: Take something from your surroundings and make your own "home grown" image.