Fractal Artist
In this article I take a moment to reflect on what inspired me to become a fractal artist and how the intersection of chaos culture and the advent of home computers enabled people like me to immerse themselves in this captivating art movement.
While attending art college, I discovered a deep fascination with fractals. My passion for dynamism and the Futurist art movement led me to examine the world through a scientific lens. Fractal shapes offered a way to describe the inherent patterns I observed in nature.
During a visit to Claude Monet's garden at Giverny, I found myself oddly more enthralled by the Japanese woodblock prints of Katsushika Hokusai, which adorned Monet's home, than by Monet's own Impressionist masterpieces.
I was captivated by Hokusai's portrayal of smaller waves nested within larger ones, mirroring one another at different scales, a concept that aligns beautifully with fractal geometry.
Though Hokusai may not have set out to create fractals, I could see how his keen observation of natural forms influenced his depiction of the fractal shapes that waves naturally exhibit and how this influenced his work.
As I delved deeper into fractals and art, much to the disappointment of my art tutors, who viewed this style as a Victorian novelty, I stumbled upon and admired artists who adeptly wove fractal shapes into their designs while grasping the underlying mathematics.
I enjoyed experimenting with shapes like the Sierpinski triangle in my illustrations and 3D designs. Additionally, I featured iconic patterns such as the Koch curve, which is significant to the emerging science of fractal geometry.
The illustrations of M.C. Escher were a great inspiration for me. His recurring themes of tessellating shapes that seem to descend infinitely mirrored my own aspiration to capture the sense of infinite scale that fractals possess in my art.
Escher's tenacity in pursuing his passion for mathematical illustrations, even when met with more accolades from mathematicians than the art community, made him a figure I greatly admired.
In the late 1980s, I grew increasingly intrigued by computer-generated fractals and the emerging concept of Chaos theory. James Gleick had just published his groundbreaking book Chaos, which made the principles of Chaos theory and the role of fractals much clearer to me. These new 'Mandelbrot' fractals showcased a revolutionary way of thinking at that time.
Our family had recently acquired its first home computer, modest by today's standards, but it enabled me to install Fractint, the premier fractal software of the era. For the first time, I could create my own fractals and I was hooked.
Great patience was required as the image slowly appeared on the screen, one pixel at a time, often taking hours to render completely.
Despite the low-resolution screens, the unfolding infinite complexity and futuristic style of computer-generated fractal imagery quickly captured my imagination.
There was always something new and more breathtaking to discover on the next cyber dive into these infinitely fascinating structures, and the temptation to give it one more try never seemed to fade.
Feeling much like an explorer bringing back photos from uncharted territory, I began collecting these images as mementos of my journeys.
Gradually, I improved my skills in exploring, framing, and interpreting the fractals with color along the way.
During this time, I came across a copy of The Beauty of Fractal Art. This was the first time that I encountered fractals discussed as a true art form, which opened my eyes to endless possibilities.
The book featured stunning images from the 1985 exhibition Frontiers of Chaos, which showcased computer-generated fractal art. These artworks were breathtaking compared to much of what I had seen before.
It even included a contribution from Benoit Mandelbrot himself, who held an almost mythical status in the field, having a famous fractal named after him. He strongly advocated for recognizing fractals as an art form.
Mandelbrot argued that fractal art was unique because it represented “art for the sake of science,” an idea that appealed to me.
I believe this was the moment I decided to become a 'fractal artist', inspired by the trailblazers of this new art movement.
Initially, I began by taking photographs of the fractals I created, literally snapping pictures of my computer screen with a camera.
At the time, computer-generated imagery was new and exciting, and bookstores and head shops bought these photographs from me to sell alongside their postcards.
During that summer I used to go to free parties and festivals across the UK and to make a bit of money on the side I would sell these images by setting them out on a cloth where people passed by.
People were genuinely interested in them, and they never failed to attract attention.
As fractal art surged in popularity, poster and postcard companies began to take notice and started selling fractals alongside other popular images of the time.
Under the name The Chaos Laboratory I started selling my designs directly for publication and in 1992 I transitioned to working full-time in a studio.
The psychedelic and futuristic aesthetic of the imagery made them a hit with students, who would use them to decorate their rooms.
Over the following years, I produced a wide range of commercial fractal art. This was printed and distributed by Dennis print of Scarborough and GB Posters of Sheffield.
As computer power advanced and new software emerged, I expanded my work from 2D fractals to 3D fractal landscapes.
By combining fractals with ray-traced software, I was able to construct and explore fractal landscapes with reflective surfaces, light, and shadows.
In the mid-90s, galleries and museums began to show interest in Chaos theory and fractals, allowing me to showcase a selection of my artwork in various venues across the UK.
The exhibition The Art of Chaos featured my work in locations including Derby Industrial Museum, Warwick Central Art Gallery, and Milton Keynes Long Lounge.
The exhibition displayed prints on A1 photographic paper in A0-sized frames, accompanied by explanatory text. I had the exciting opportunity to discuss my work on regional news programs and radio shows.
It was a fantastic experience to share my art in such a way, which is what I set out to do, and I think 1995 represented the peak of the fractal art movement for me.
Following this time, the hype and popularity of fractal art began to dwindle. I made the decision to step away from commercial work, and despite my lack of academic qualifications, my portfolio allowed me to gain acceptance to a degree course in fine art at Manchester Metropolitan University.
1998 was a great time to study art, and Manchester was at the center of British culture at this time. This was an amazing time for me and allowed me to delve deeper into both the history of art and its underlying concepts.
In the early '90s, fractal art became an integral part of the UK rave scene. The kaleidoscopic appearance of fractals became emblematic of the 24-hour party generation, embodying new age ideals and hedonism.
Fractal art was frequently featured in promotional materials for warehouse parties and club nights, as well as in visual projections on the venue walls. Fractal rave flyers from nights and nightclubs such as The Eclipse, Millwakies, Hypnosis and Energy where distributed to promote all-night events and often kept as souvenirs to decorate people walls when they got home.
Many flyers featured images from the book The Beauty of Fractals, and unbeknownst to me at the time, some of my own artwork was used. Though I was not credited for this, I consider it an accolade to be included in this scene.
Although fractals may have drifted into a cliché category in recent times, I still create and share my fractal art.
Social media has provided platforms for sharing these designs, often now created on people's phones, and it has given me access to this vibrant community, which did not exist in my time before the internet.
Facebook groups are overflowing with people sharing their fractal designs, and I enjoy connecting with people who still find the process of creating fractal art exciting.
Fractal art is now moving away from the original manifestos published in the '90s that artists like me tried to follow. AI-generated fractal imagery is here and applications now, combining exploring fractal realms with 3d rendering, adding a new dimension to this art form.
For me, the essence of generating fractals while engaging in their scientific concepts remains strong. I've been developing my own fractal software to pursue this passion further. Fractal art app
When I share with young artists just how labor-intensive creating fractals was back then, before the internet, using floppy disks, and limited to just 256 colors, they often look at me in disbelief.
However, I'm glad this art form still survives in whatever form it takes, even if a deeper understanding is no longer needed.