Iteration as a creative process in visual art

Comput. & Graphics Vol. 13, No. 3, p. 397, 1989

0097-8493/89 $3.00 + ,00 © 1989 Per~mon Prem plc

Printed in Great Britain.

Chaos and Graphics ITERATION AS A CREATIVE PROCESS IN VISUAL ART HARRY SELDOM Art Machines, 611 Broadway, Suite 613, New York, NY 10012 Almtract--ln this short picture essay, an artist shares his experience with the use of iterative processes in the production of computer art. The intricate patterns are produced solely by duplicating and contracting simple, planar geometric shapes. "'At that time Arjuna could see in the universal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place although divided into many, many thousands." - - Bhugavad-gita ! 1.13

I am an artist with a little computer aptitude and an affection for patterns. Graphic illustrations in the pop-

Fig, 3. Pattern produced by scaling and translating motif in Fig. I.

ular and scientific literature (e.g., see Ref. 1 ) have inspired me to apply the principles of iteration to my work. Using a simple vector-based graphics system (Genigraphics SI000, Version 9.3)designed for creating business presentation graphics, I have produced original art work. The system facilitates the creation and duplication of opaque, 2-D geometrical shapes. Commands may be executed using a menu "tree" and the cursor can be used as an "attractor" for the manual creation of these figures. Starting with an initial geo, metric design, inspired by an Arabian architectural pattern (Fig. 1), and duplicating, repositioning and scaling the forms on a plane, a variety of artistic fractal images can be produced (Figs. 2 and 3). In Fig. 3, the central diamond shaped pattern is based on the same initiator but with modified dimensions and a different color scheme. This style of creative process may seem obvious to those whose primary experience is with computers; however, individuals with art backgrounds may not be as aware of the ways that vector based graphics systems can expand their creative horizons and introduce them to the visually rich world of fractai geometry.

Fig. 1. An initiator pattern used as a basic motif for Figs. 2 and 3.

"\ /

'

v

/i (

-/'\ ,

Fig. 2. Pattern produced by scaling and translating motif in Fig, 1.

397

REFERENCE

i. J. Gieick, Chaos, Viking, New York ( 1981).