What I saw in the last few minutes of that TV program had such a HUGE effect on me not only because of the beauty of the images, but especially because of what they stood for....INFINITY...ETERNITY....FOREVER.

This (apparently) "simple" mathematical equation, made possible for viewing with the current day's more powerful computers, demonstrated that INFINITY is in fact REAL and truly "x"ists.  Now this is DEEP.  It brings up questions of GOD and ETERNITY, and makes us take another look at our own reality and what we perceive it to be.

Now as an artist, I only need to be interested in the images of fractals, and do not need to know their mathmatiX or implications, (thank goodness!).  I can easily "x"plore this beautiful other dimension by opening up one of several different programs out there to do so.  But as a person with a curiosity about the universe around him, I am FASCINATED with the images of fractals, where they come from, and how they can actually relate to my every day life.

(ABOVE) The "complete" MANDELBROT SET (at "00" coordinates).  The image above is the "spider" or "bug" that continues to appear throughout the set, no matter how far it is zoomed into.  Coined as "The thumb print of God", each "bug" is a NEAR copy of the original, yet is an individual "universe" unto itself with subtle and original variations.  One could "x"plore the above image FOREVER and still see new worlds.  In fact, you can actually "zoom in" to the Mandelbrot Set as seen above until the original image is larger than the universe itself.  Truly, it is an equation of INFINITY.

No matter where you zoom into the set, you will eventually encounter more Mandelbrot "bugs".  You can "x"plore their boundaries, or check out the "bolts" or other areas around them.  There is an INFINITE number of these "bugs", each containing an INFINITE number of more "bugs".  All are similar, yet each an individual.  It is difficult to perceive FOREVER, but the Mandelbrot set allows us to actually "see" it and "x"plore it.  It is an equation of FOREVER, of FREEDOM, and of INFINITE CHOICE.

The Mandelbrot Set is REAL.  Just like you and me, it "x"ists, and it proves there is INFINITY.  No matter where you "x"plore it, it takes you to another possibility and different outcome.  It shows that WE have FREEDOM in this universe and can take any paths in our lives out of INFINITE possibilities.  I told you...it is DEEP, and it is one of the main reasons fractals are so BEAUTIFUL.  Their images take our minds to another dimension, familiar...yet alien, and they invoke thoughts about our physical world as well as our spiritual.

The other day while I was checking out PM's animated fractals at YouTube, I "stumbled" upon that very program I mentioned above, where I happened to catch just a few minutes of the end of it way back in the 90's.  I couldn't believe my luck and immediately watched the entire thing!  It's called "Fractals: The Colors of Infinity", and is presented by the late author, Arthur C. Clarke, and attempts to "x"plain the Mandelbrot Set...the most FAMOUS of any fractal discovered, (or should I say, "created"?).

Now if you found the above images and the teXt I wrote below them to be interesting, you will LOVE the following clips.  If it is all just too "deep" for you, move on and enjoy fractal artwork for what it is...which is BEAUTIFUL!

I wanted to include this following presentation though, because it had such a profound effect on me personally, (and it might just do the same for YOU!).  When I begin to understand things like the Mandelbrot Set, I can't help but think how truly insignificant I am in this world, this universe, and the 'other' places that "x"ist within & outside of it.  I can't help but KNOW that there is a Grand Creator behind it all, whose precision and PERFECTION become more apparent with the increased knowledge we mere humans acquire as time goes by.  I will spare you of my religious beliefs though, (for now), as this is merely an article about 'fracals' and why they are "beautiful", but take a gander at the following movie clips and TRY to tell me it's all just a "simple coincidence"....

Now keep in mind that this television program was first aired back in 1994.  The fractal images ANYONE can now create with their home computers are actually SUPERIOR to the images we'll see in this movie, but the SUBJECT of this program, the Mandelbrot Set, is what it is all about.

So why are fractals so captivating, so intriguing, so fascinating, so BEAUTIFUL?  Because they are REAL.....even if we can't actually touch them.  Because they reflect and demonstrate the physical world that is all around us, and maybe even the spiritual world that "x"ists in the SAME PLACE, yet somehow also "elsewhere".

I hope you will enjoy this following presentation now as much as I did back then.  ;)
"X"
Sept.3/09