Even though I hate math... I love what can be created using geometric patterns. While there seems to be many different styles of art that fit under the umbrella name of a Fractal, what I found when I went looking for more information about them was a treasure trove of amazing art. Make sure to click the images below to see the entire fractals in all their wonder. Thanks to manekineko for starting the conversation in the forum that inspired this post.
A fractal is generally "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole,"[1] a property called self-similarity. The term was coined by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning "broken" or "fractured." -Wikipedia
Approximate fractals are easily found in nature. These objects display self-similar structure over an extended, but finite, scale range. Examples include clouds, snow flakes, crystals, mountain ranges, lightning, river networks, cauliflower or broccoli, and systems of blood vessels and pulmonary vessels. Coastlines may be loosely considered fractal in nature. -Wikipedia
Feeling inspired? Ready to try making some fractals yourself? Here is a program to try out and some resources to help you make your own mathmaticaly awesome art.
Apophysis is a freeware Windows program for designing and rendering fractal flames. It was created by Mark Townsend and has since been improved and updated by Peter Sdobnov, Piotr Borys and Ronald Hordijk.
The Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest is continuing efforts to promote fractal and algorithmic art, they organized a new exhibition to coincide with the Year of Mathematics and Science. The contest is to select some of the artwork to be used in the exhibition.
What distinguishes fractal geometry within mathematics is an exceptional and uncanny characteristic. Its first steps are not tedious, hard, and unrewarding, but playful and extraordinarily easy, and provide rich reward in terms of stunning graphics. To the mathematician, they bring a bounty of very difficult conjectures that no one can solve. To the artist, they provide backbones around which imagination can play at will. To everyone, a few steps in about any direction bring extraordinary pleasure. Nothing is more serious than play. Let’s all play.
—Benoit Mandelbrot
[...] pomenit de noi de-a lungul timpului de câteva ori, a publicat acum două zile articolul Fractal Art: Complex and Beautiful Color Inspiration. Găsim acolo o selecţie de imagini cu fractali, generate pe calculator dar şi din lumea reală. [...]
[...] brief article, with a lot of good pictures, about fractals on an art forum can be found here. This was written by Grant. Posted on Monday, September 1, 2008, at 1:18 pm. Filed under Link. [...]
[...] they’re famously found in nature and artists have created some incredible renderings as well. Fractals are purely a wonder - too irregular for Euclidean geometry; iterative and [...]
[...] Fractal Art, at least the visual kind, is often referred to as art that is made up of a consistent pattern at varying degrees of size. So the entire image often looks similar to a tiny portion of the image. Sometimes that rule is pushed beyond the limit, or a tiny portion is zoomed in and adjusted. But regardless, the effect is mesmerizing. Another interesting aspect of fractal art is that the images are initially created via mathematical formulae. Interestingly, formulas can be attributed to the growth patterns in nature, or the construction of both animate and inanimate objects. The fractal art form takes those concepts a step further into the world of creativity. For a quick overview of some amazing fractal art, check out this great series of images created by fractal artists entitled, Fractal Art: Complex and Beautiful Color Inspiration. [...]
[...] still have fun with fractals. They make cool class projects (for students!), they inspire ideas on colour combinations (for those architects and designers out there), they make mathematicians go crazy (in a good way), [...]