As a natural follow up to yesterday's romp down Sesame Street, I thought that today I would expound a bit on how philosophy and theoretical physics relate to art. I don't actually know anything about these subjects, and as such, I feel especially qualified to write the garbage which follows.
Well, I was back in York this week-end, at another art exhibit at T.R. Kaltreider's Studio / Gallery, and I accidentally found myself caught in the middle of an intelligent conversation between two other persons (one being Tyler Kaltreider and the other an unidentified woman). The woman mentioned that she had recently discovered the joy of fractals in art, and she and Tyler briefly exchanged some pleasantries regarding the "Mandelbrot set" ( a well known example of a fractal, which is an object which repeats its pattern at successively smaller scales). During this conversation, I managed to nod in an astute sort of way, and made a reassuring "mmm hmmm" noise, which merely meant that I was ready for more honey roasted peanuts.
But now today, I was reading again in Paul Davies' book, "The Mind of God", and woo hoo, the subject of the Mandelbrot set just happens to come up! This book sheds some light on how fractals are of more than just a passing interest in art (though that is not the main theme of the book in any way). Davies explains that the Mandelbrot set is an example of proof that mathematics is not merely a human construct with coincidental similarities to the properties of nature, but is a real, vast landscape which exists both inside and outside of human knowledge, waiting for our gradual exploration and discovery of it (apparently, these contrasting viewpoints of the true nature of mathematics are a source of debate). The Mandelbrot set has a depth of complexity which is outside of man's imagination to create. As mathematics are thus a type of ethereal yet genuine world ripe for exploration, the mathematician Roger Penrose sees a connection between mathematical study and the work of inspired artists, in that both seem to be stumbling upon great truths that can live without man's creative input (but can be summoned into consciousness by man's imagination). So while previously I might have considered fractals to be a yawn inducing aspect of art, being too cold and mathematically precise to induce any emotion in the viewer, perhaps the real attraction is a broader appreciation for discovery and the human craving for order and hard facts in a sometimes grayish universe. Maybe I wouldn't even mind hanging a picture of a Mandelbrot set on my bedroom wall, right above the bowl of honey roasted peanuts and assorted snacks. As the artist / blogger Sam Nielson might take an interest in (see post dated 3-15-11), perhaps the fractal art strikes enough of a balance between order and chaos in order to be maximally appealing in an artistic sense. Although the complexity of a fractal is dense and hard to fully digest, it's overall general patterns of repeating shapes is pleasing and easy to look at. Hmmmm. Well, I'd still rather see art depicting oddly colored aliens or something freshly risen from the grave. :)
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