There are programs available, like Potrace, which can do something similar - that is, trace the boundaries of what the software considers the main elements of an image and save that information as the usual vector file of nodes rather than bitmaps. What DeCelle has done, to my thinking, is vectorized Nordström’s painting. Here are the more pertinent questions: Is DeCelle’s image a fractal - and is it any more a fractal than my lightning-round exercises of importing a digital copy of Nordström into Photoshop and making rapid-fire adjustments? How DeCelle made the image is purely a technical question. The point is that Ultra “Fractal” has been and now will even more become a tool for producing a hybridized, “fractilized,” mixed-media art.
Whether DeCelle’s image was brought in whole or built piece-by-piece is not the real issue here. In fact, I think it’s worth noting that (so far) no one has come forward to dispute or refute any of those points. And, actually, I’m glad to learn my guesswork fell short, since it means that my initial review of DeCelle’s image - which I noted that I stood by - still rings true.īut simply because I mistook DeCelle’s reconstruction for importation, it does not follow that the rest of the reflections or claims made in my last post were also in error - especially my suppositions concerning the ramifications that Ultra “Fractal” 5 may have for both fractal art and our artistic community. My speculation was hardly a wild shot in the dark, though - given the timing of DeCelle’s posts and UF5’s release. My guess turned out to be wrong, and I stand corrected and appreciate those who wrote Orbit Trap - including DeCelle himself - to set me straight. When the image importation features of UF5 were announced, I guessed - and I made clear I was only guessing - that Paul DeCelle had used this feature to reconstruct a copy of a painting by Lars-Gunner Nordström. I’d also like to address some of the points made in the comments about my previous post on UF5. I’ve had a little more time now to reflect on the implications of the digital image import features added to Ultra “Fractal” 5, so I hope I can clarify some of my initial observations.