Jeffrey Ventrella
Artists
Jeffrey Ventrella
Algorithmic Artist
Petaluma, California, USA
Statement
I'm an algorithmic artist. As a student, I was perpetually poor at math, not well-suited to the way it was taught. My self-propelled studies in fractal geometry culminated in a thesis on fractal art for the first of two graduate degrees. Further work in cellular automata, particle systems, physical simulation, and genetic algorithms exposed me to more concepts and tools for developing a visual language. I now have a deep appreciation for math - especially number theory. I am a true believer in the power of natural selection - the mother of all creativity.
Artworks
Tree
software algorithm in pure javascript rendered to html canvas and printed on archival paper
2022
This artwork emerged in the process of developing a technique for generating self-avoiding, space-filling fractal curves using integers in the complex plane, and the generalization to cyclotomic fields. The shapes in this image exhibit a scaling factor of the square root of 2. It is related to the Pythagorean Tree.
My fractal curve-based images are made in two phases: (1) software algorithm design resulting in a single line; (2) non-algorithmic color processing. Self-avoiding fractal curves divide the plane into two domains; I apply blurred photos in each domain to evoke a sense of space and to create figure-ground ambiguity. Self-similar interlocking puzzles are good exercise for the eye-brain.