So what’s the deal here? Is the image above “Art” and the one below “not Art”? Let’s be generous and assume that at least one is. They are both from the same source. And yet, one looks (at least) artsy, and the other not so much. Don’t worry, I’m not about to plunge down the “what is art?” rabbit hole. From my perspective, the point is that getting from one to the other is fun.
I like to tinker with technology. In this case, the technology of digital image-making. Photoshop, GoArt, Prisma and Mirror Lab are my main tools of choice. The images that result from such tinkering are, well, abstract. But abstractions of what? This question has always puzzled me when I think about abstract art. The traditional answer, going all the way back to Hilma Af Klint, Wassily Kandinsky, et al., involves “Spirit”. The artist in me is happy with that notion, but the Little Voice in the back of my mind still whispers “what’s that?” Hence, Adventures in Whatness.
Also, as explained on my Who is Nextus page, I like evolution. Which can only happen within a framework that incorporates (cue ominous music) the Second Law of Thermodynamics. So forget about evolution being blithely “onward and upward”, and leave some room for random variation.
Here is a link to some more Before and After samples
And here are some notes on specific images:
- Remembering Mop
- Remembering Mop 2018
- Hippo on the Banks of Time
- Ha! Said the Mouse
- Getting Fishy
- Red Sun at Morning
- Marbled Pawns
- Little Garden
If you like my images (and even if you don’t) I would encourage you to visit the web site of my talented friend Ulrike Grannis at https://ulrikegrannis.com/. Her marbled papers often provide inspiration for me.
Unless otherwise noted, all work on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Letters2Nextus 