Fractal Art
posted by Keith at 11:36 AMThis is the time of year that I think about submitting fractal art to one of the big fairs in my area. I am not going to do it this year. My fractal flame has dimmed a lot, but I still like to reflect back on past experience with that fair. Here are some random thoughts about it.
It's a pretty big art show. I don't remember the exact number, but I think that last year there was around around 600 entries accepted. It does not include a photography category but it does have oil, sculpting, watercolor and several others, including computer art. Again, I am not sure of the exact numbers, but I think that the computer art category had around 30 entries, so it was about 5% of the total show. Out of the 30, there might have been 2 or 3 fractal based pieces, so let's say that fractal art comprised of less than 1% of the entire show.
I have told this story before, but I think it is worth repeating... I'll never forget the time that I had a fractal based print in that show. I was standing next to it when a couple approached it. The first thing that the man said was, "that's just Photoshop". He was a pen and ink artist and it was obvious to me that he didn't have a lot of respect for "computer art". I had heard about that computer-did-all-of-the-work attitude before and that day I saw it face to face.
Let's face it, when it comes to fractal art, the computer does do a lot of the work. I wonder what impact that has on fractal art being accepted as legitimate art? I am thinking, probably not as much impact as that less than 1% number. Out of 600 accepted entries, only 2 or 3 were fractal based.
What is fractal art anyway? I don't know. I don't think that there is a clear definition. I also don't care. I am content with a computer category. At least there is one of those. Besides, with only 2 or 3 entries per year it would not make sense to create a separate category for fractal art.
Fractal art is a tiny spec on that world of art. It practically doesn't exist. It seems like there are thousands of fractals posted every day on the community sites, so how can I say that fractal art practically does not exist? I am looking at it based on my (limited) experience in context with traditional art.
I still believe that the best thing that anyone can do to promote the art of fractals is to get it printed and out there where it can be seen sitting next to traditional art. I still do not believe that the Internet is the best way to promote it. The community site are especially ineffective at promotion, at least outside of the community.
Last year I noticed a fractal in the judges section of the gallery. It was just a simple black and white Mandelbrot. At least that judge knew what a fractal was, but I think that he is an exception. Most people do not know what a fractal is . Even those of us in the middle of it cannot put a definition on "fractal art".
I'm OK with that. It's wide open. We can define fractal art as we go along. The people who do print and promote their own art have little to no competition. Take advantage of it.
Labels: fractal art
