"Disintegration (Volumetric Strange Attractors)"

2. Inkjet Print, 13" x 15.22", 2008.

This artwork more clearly reveals the three dimensional form of a strange attractor by using volumetric rendering techniques. As the form is rotated and slowly "decays," one can see not only the outer skin or surface of this almost creature-like architectural form, but also its internal filamentous structures. These renderings and the final work were produced during an artist's residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, FL.

"Improvisation (Grid of Strange Attractors)"

Inkjet Print, 6.5" x 21", 2008.




Utilizing custom software, the parameter space of a class of strange attractors can easily be explored, and the search for unique, aesthetically pleasing forms is on. This grid shows a subset of one such improvisational session with the software, and captures both the subtle alterations and the seemingly random jumps from shape to shape.

"Apparition (SA_1205610099)"

Lightjet Print, 24" x 24", 2009.

Underlying this artwork is a three-dimensional plot of the "typical behavior" of a chaotic dynamical system, a strange attractor. The base image is computed with a set of iterated functions, which serve as a numerical approximation to integrating the underlying differential equations. The iterated functions contain four coefficients, which are controlled by sliders in interactive custom software and control the appearance of the attractor. Once the particular form is chosen, it is rendered as a high-resolution 16-bit grayscale image, colorized using gradient mapping and edited to enhance contrast, control composition, and add special effects.

"Sign Language (SA_1205610477)"

Lightjet Print,16" x 24", 2009.




Underlying this artwork is a three-dimensional plot of the "typical behavior" of a chaotic dynamical system, a strange attractor. The base image is computed with a set of iterated functions, which serve as a numerical approximation to integrating the underlying differential equations. The iterated functions contain four coefficients, which are controlled by sliders in interactive custom software and control the appearance of the attractor. Once the particular form is chosen, it is rendered as a high-resolution 16-bit grayscale image, colorized using gradient mapping and edited to enhance contrast, control composition, and add special effects.

Nathan Selikoff, Independent Artist
Orlando, FL

"I love to experiment in the fuzzy overlap between art, mathematics, and programming. The computer is my canvas, and this is algorithmic artwork—a partnership mediated not by the brush or pencil but by the shared language of software. Seeking to extract and visualize the beauty that I glimpse beneath the surface of equations and systems, I create custom interactive programs and use them to explore algorithms, and ultimately to generate artwork. In chaotic dynamical systems, minute changes in initial conditions produce radically different outcomes. The interface of my software gives me hooks into these sensitive algorithms and allows me to exert creative control. Art and mathematics, the right brain and the left, are inextricably linked in this work. My art depends on mathematics, yet simultaneously illuminates and unravels its beauty. I am the explorer who uncovers something extraordinary, bringing into view that which was always there to be discovered."