Kerry Mitchell
My work is composed primarily of computer generated,
mathematically-inspired, abstract images. I draw from the areas of
geometry, fractals and numerical analysis, and combine them with image
processing technology. The resulting images
powerfully reflect the beauty of mathematics that is often obscured by
dry formulae and analyses.
An overriding theme that encompasses all of my work is the wondrous
beauty and complexity that flows from a few,
relatively simple, rules. Inherent in this process are feedback and
connectivity; these are the elements that generate the
patterns. They also demonstrate to me that mathematics is, in many
cases, a metaphor for the beauty and complexity in
life. This is what I try to capture.
This image examines the chaotic nature that Newton's method can
exhibit. Here, the routine attempts to solve two real equations
independently, however, the equations (x^2 = -1 and y^2 = -1) have
no solutions. To exacerbate the
chaos, the routine was modified to include a weight, making the
process unstable. Each solution proceeded
independent of the other, but the values were combined to generate
the color of each pixel.
This image examines the chaotic nature that Newton's method can
exhibit. Here, the routine attempts to solve a
system of two real equations in two variables, using the matrix
formulation of Newton's method. The method has
been augmented through the inclusion of a matrix weight, whose
elements were chosen to prevent finding a
solution. A complex number was formed using the variables as
components and the image was colored by the
polar angle of the complex combination.