By Larry Maraggay
Art's long history has seen the word morph into a plethora of meanings. Such meanings invariably and inevitably embrace the various sensibilities it appeals to, including the changing modes of thought, the politics of the times, and the advancement of technology. This has brought a number of names to distinguish each movement or tendency from the other. Thus, one speaks of impressionist, expressionist, realist, dadaist, modernist, and futurist art, among many others, to speak only of the Western tradition.
One movement that is slowly gaining recognition in the contemporary period is organic art. From the name, one gains an impression that it is related with the natural world, the most primal of environments that the first artists worked in. One envisions a backdrop of lush mountains and cool seas, perhaps songs by birds or insects in the air. Indeed, such an environment is apt for birthing organic art. However, if one thinks that organic art is only about attempting to replicate the beauty of nature, one is sorely mistaken.
Organic art is beyond the mimesis of nature as it appears to the naked eye. One might well argue that mimetic, representational art is the province of realist art or even impressionist art, where the objective is generally to observe nature and replicate its appearance for the viewer. Thus, for a realist or an impressionist, a tree in real life looks very much like a tree in a painting, as does a horse or a sunflower. Mimesis is one of the oldest ways of thinking about art, and one that has undoubtedly endured to the present times, with good reason. Mimetic art is easy to access, even for people who have not been taught how to appreciate art. The standard that one applies in judging whether such piece of art is good or not often boils down to how much likeness it has with the original subject.
On the other hand, organic art is interested in extracting the very framework that governs nature, the myriad patterns that produce the deceptively simple appearance of a many-veined leaf, or the human hand, or the wing of a beetle. Indeed, it seeks to understand nature in an entirely different way from what realists or impressionists do, plunging into its depths in the hope of hauling out a new insight into the object in focus from the way the patterns are arranged. Organic art’s method is comparable to how a linguist probes the discrete units of grammar to understand a language and gain a clearer picture of how it assembles itself to create meaning. It is often, therefore, non-representational or abstract, finding much value in the repetition of lines, shapes, and colors in the work, instead of how much likeness it has with the subject. Indeed, organic art may sometimes look nothing like the subject, for it is not representation that the artist is concerned with. Rather, he or she hopes that by means of his or her careful examination of the subject and its patterns, he or she may instill upon the viewer a renewed sense of appreciation for the subject or at least a different way of perceiving it.
To help themselves probe into the patterns of nature, the organic artist often make use of tools offered by mathematics such as algorithms, automata, and L-systems. To one particular branch of mathematics, organic art owes a great deal. Fractal geometry is a study of geometry pioneered by Benoit Mandelbrot in the1980s. Mandelbrot discovered that larger patterns in nature, such as the general shape of a mountain, get repeated infinitely at smaller and smaller sizes when the large shape is examined closely. This has caused a revolution in mathematics, with people starting to notice that this phenomenon of repetition occurs in virtually all natural forms. Mandelbrot has thence been named a generative artist, since his discovery of such patterns has led to much production of art that is directly inspired by fractals.
There is, therefore, more complexity to organic than one might initially suspect, for depending on the judgment of the person executing or performing the work of art, it can be made to be highly precise to the point of being entirely mathematical, as in the case of fractals being used in art.
Therein, perhaps, lies the charm of organic art: its ability to conflate contradictions. As an art movement, it is capable of assimilating the voguish appeal of mathematical precision and computer aid in art as well as the timeless fascination with the natural world. It likewise contributes to a wider, perhaps panoramic view of the world by means of the smaller details that are in nature.
The sensibility of organic art can be applied to various art forms. Paintings and sculptures are particularly popular media for showing the intricacies of nature. Often, paintings and sculptures that are done in this style are composed of repeating shapes, lines, and colors, to mirror such repetitions in nature. However, architecture, music, and dance, might also show the inclinations of organic art by foregrounding patterns.
Yet perhaps, the most interesting direction that organic art might take is in the development of newer media. At present, the principles of organic are being utilized to create more realistic computer-generated imagery (CGI) in video games and movies.
Organic art has great potential to develop into a more popular style of art, granted that a relatively few number of artists are working in it. Among them are William Latham, who used a computer software to generate a so-called “evolutionary tree of forms” into various figures that are found in nature. Darrel Anderson, for his part, created GroBot, which is a drawing software for children that teaches biological principles using art. Another artist, Steven Rooke, has created a world virtual creatures that breed and sometimes mutate, creating various new forms.
Perhaps, as mathematics progresses and more people gain more awareness about its possibilities, organic art can develop new branches that will allow for more insights about the natural world and its close link with mathematics. Then, perhaps, more will realize that the two are not necessarily oppositional, rather is a well of possibilities for both art and technological advancement.
Art's long history has seen the word morph into a plethora of meanings. Such meanings invariably and inevitably embrace the various sensibilities it appeals to, including the changing modes of thought, the politics of the times, and the advancement of technology. This has brought a number of names to distinguish each movement or tendency from the other. Thus, one speaks of impressionist, expressionist, realist, dadaist, modernist, and futurist art, among many others, to speak only of the Western tradition.
One movement that is slowly gaining recognition in the contemporary period is organic art. From the name, one gains an impression that it is related with the natural world, the most primal of environments that the first artists worked in. One envisions a backdrop of lush mountains and cool seas, perhaps songs by birds or insects in the air. Indeed, such an environment is apt for birthing organic art. However, if one thinks that organic art is only about attempting to replicate the beauty of nature, one is sorely mistaken.
Organic art is beyond the mimesis of nature as it appears to the naked eye. One might well argue that mimetic, representational art is the province of realist art or even impressionist art, where the objective is generally to observe nature and replicate its appearance for the viewer. Thus, for a realist or an impressionist, a tree in real life looks very much like a tree in a painting, as does a horse or a sunflower. Mimesis is one of the oldest ways of thinking about art, and one that has undoubtedly endured to the present times, with good reason. Mimetic art is easy to access, even for people who have not been taught how to appreciate art. The standard that one applies in judging whether such piece of art is good or not often boils down to how much likeness it has with the original subject.
On the other hand, organic art is interested in extracting the very framework that governs nature, the myriad patterns that produce the deceptively simple appearance of a many-veined leaf, or the human hand, or the wing of a beetle. Indeed, it seeks to understand nature in an entirely different way from what realists or impressionists do, plunging into its depths in the hope of hauling out a new insight into the object in focus from the way the patterns are arranged. Organic art’s method is comparable to how a linguist probes the discrete units of grammar to understand a language and gain a clearer picture of how it assembles itself to create meaning. It is often, therefore, non-representational or abstract, finding much value in the repetition of lines, shapes, and colors in the work, instead of how much likeness it has with the subject. Indeed, organic art may sometimes look nothing like the subject, for it is not representation that the artist is concerned with. Rather, he or she hopes that by means of his or her careful examination of the subject and its patterns, he or she may instill upon the viewer a renewed sense of appreciation for the subject or at least a different way of perceiving it.
To help themselves probe into the patterns of nature, the organic artist often make use of tools offered by mathematics such as algorithms, automata, and L-systems. To one particular branch of mathematics, organic art owes a great deal. Fractal geometry is a study of geometry pioneered by Benoit Mandelbrot in the1980s. Mandelbrot discovered that larger patterns in nature, such as the general shape of a mountain, get repeated infinitely at smaller and smaller sizes when the large shape is examined closely. This has caused a revolution in mathematics, with people starting to notice that this phenomenon of repetition occurs in virtually all natural forms. Mandelbrot has thence been named a generative artist, since his discovery of such patterns has led to much production of art that is directly inspired by fractals.
There is, therefore, more complexity to organic than one might initially suspect, for depending on the judgment of the person executing or performing the work of art, it can be made to be highly precise to the point of being entirely mathematical, as in the case of fractals being used in art.
Therein, perhaps, lies the charm of organic art: its ability to conflate contradictions. As an art movement, it is capable of assimilating the voguish appeal of mathematical precision and computer aid in art as well as the timeless fascination with the natural world. It likewise contributes to a wider, perhaps panoramic view of the world by means of the smaller details that are in nature.
The sensibility of organic art can be applied to various art forms. Paintings and sculptures are particularly popular media for showing the intricacies of nature. Often, paintings and sculptures that are done in this style are composed of repeating shapes, lines, and colors, to mirror such repetitions in nature. However, architecture, music, and dance, might also show the inclinations of organic art by foregrounding patterns.
Yet perhaps, the most interesting direction that organic art might take is in the development of newer media. At present, the principles of organic are being utilized to create more realistic computer-generated imagery (CGI) in video games and movies.
Organic art has great potential to develop into a more popular style of art, granted that a relatively few number of artists are working in it. Among them are William Latham, who used a computer software to generate a so-called “evolutionary tree of forms” into various figures that are found in nature. Darrel Anderson, for his part, created GroBot, which is a drawing software for children that teaches biological principles using art. Another artist, Steven Rooke, has created a world virtual creatures that breed and sometimes mutate, creating various new forms.
Perhaps, as mathematics progresses and more people gain more awareness about its possibilities, organic art can develop new branches that will allow for more insights about the natural world and its close link with mathematics. Then, perhaps, more will realize that the two are not necessarily oppositional, rather is a well of possibilities for both art and technological advancement.
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