Re: (FS) Serpinski Seed/Egg computer art by T. Bates Posted by Connie McClellan on September 22, 1997 at 11:06:36:
In Reply to: (FS) Serpinski Seed/Egg computer art by T. Bates posted by Molly E. Holzschlag on January 23, 1997 05:00:00:
: TITLE: Serpinski Seed/Egg
: DEFINITION: Computer Art
: CREATOR: Tom Bates
: MAIN CATEGORY: Art
: ALTERNATIVE CATEGORIES: consciousness, science
: RELATIONSHIP TO THE CORE WAVE: What is dark? What is light?
: MAIN QUOTE: "I find this image very evocative in many ways. Seed within egg. Recursion. Mystery as to outcome. The void giving birth . . . The fractal interpenetration of dark and light . . . Its creation is a real meeting of science (math) and art, which is one of my favorite things." -- Tom Bates
: HIGHLIGHT QUOTES: "It's also pretty trippy turned ‘upside down’ -- strange alien head in a heart shape." -- Tom Bates
: HIGHLIGHT RECOMMENDATION: Looking at the image "right side up," I think of the Shofar--the ram's horn--used by Jews in ritual and remembrance of the power of God. The external shapes make me think of the Shofar, and the internal shape--a musical note.
: The difference clouds create a moody background that holds--almost entraps--energy. It is a dark and intense energy--viewed from behind a geometric veil. Psyche. The cloaked parts of spirit, mind, and emotion that are reachable but only through a predetermined, well-plotted course.
: DEEPER: None
: CONNECTIONS: None yet.
: IMAGES AND CLIPS: URL for image listed in “Optional Image URL” field.
: ACCESS AND DISTRIBUTION: The image is the access.
: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The Serpinski Seed/Egg contains within it infinite possibilities. It sits at the center of the Four Directions, four commentaries on Emergence. The North-South poles mirror each other as do the East-West poles.
North Pole - The Glass Bead Game represents the Humanities and Creativity.
South Pole - Brazil represents Technology and Control.
East Pole - Blade Runner represents Darkness, Chaos, Vitality.
West Pole - THX1138 represents Light, Order, Sterility.
The East-West pair turn on its head the Western dichotomy of light - good, dark - evil. They force us to confront our notions of good vs. evil as embodied in order, which we seek, and chaos, which we fear. THX1138 is a well-lit, orderly world of utter sterility. Blade Runner is a world of darkness and decay, but also a seed-bed of vitality and liveliness.
In the same way, the North-South pair reflect each other in distorting mirrors. The world of the Glass Bead Game is an environment for contemplation of man's greatest achievements and for the creation of exquisite mind games. The world of Brazil is that of a mad, decaying, monolithic dictatorship.
What is common to all four of these worlds is their inability to sustain the human spirit, forcing those capable of it into Emergence. First, as it must always be, is Emergence of the mind from its conditioned world view, then Emergence of the body into an unknown future of infinite possibilities. East and West poles leave that possible future a question mark.
The South Pole, Brazil, closes the door to future possibilities with a retreat into dreams, the only escape allowed, other than death. The North Pole, The Glass Bead Game, climaxes Emergence with death and transcendence. Thus the North Pole represents the highest achievement of which the human is capable.