While it is possible to classify the work as abstract, surreal, or psychedelic, it is also simulacratic on several levels; a simulacrum is a derivation or vague copy of an original, as well as something that could be imagined by the viewer (like seeing unreal faces in a rocky cliff.)  By working with special processes, the artist converts an original object into an unreal or hyperreal entity - an abstract image that fascinates the viewer because it is indefinable but once was a real object.  The effect of the work is something like a Rorschach inkblot test, with individual reactions seemingly reflecting aspects of personality.  Sometimes the artist’s own definition becomes lost unless he is there to explain or merely hint with a title.  For this reason, the artist finds endless intrigue in the reactions of individual viewers.

Another special aspect of the work is that the images are not purely fractal, but metafractal.  In 1975, the mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot coined the term fractal for the image of an equation that attempts to define infinity. Parallels were found between this kind of math and complex objects and processes in the real world, such as found in the roots of a plant , the shapes of clouds, or the erosion of soil.  A fractal cannot be represented by classical geometry, so it is scaled, or fixed into a two-dimensional framework that  assimilates a three-dimensional space, like a window that looks out to infinity.  Because a fractal is self-similar when divided into parts and infinitely scalable, it is inherently simulacratic. Since the advent of computer imaging, many mathematicians, programmers, and visual artists have put forth many beautiful examples of pure fractals by experimenting solely with scaled equations.  This work goes a step further to incorporate images taken from the real world, and involves other complex processes of manipulation in multiple layers (such as cloning, spherizing, kaleidoscoping, and liquefaction) that are particular to the choices of the artist.  Hence, the metafractal is born in the virtual space of the artist’s computer.  Also, by starting with photographs and other non-fractal image sources, there is a wider variation of possible imagery.

The influence of chance (chaos) also plays a strong role in the production of each work; much could be related to this process by an examination of the chance-based interpretive systems like the Tarot or the I-Ching.  The artist sees this approach as a very pure form of aestheticism based on the innate human fascination with the many forms of order and chaos in the natural world. Universal science dictates that space is actually twisted beyond our comprehension, and that what we see is an illusion of order, a finite reference point in the infinite chaos of the universe (see string theory and quantum physics).  Of course this is all still theory, but experiments with fractals confirm this position and hint at our future understanding of our place in the universe.

It is interesting then that synthesis and chaos, if applied thoroughly and with careful control, can ultimately appeal to the sense of what is naturally beautiful or meaningful.  For the same reason one may ‘see’ faces on rocky cliffs, or the Virgin Mary randomly burned into a grilled cheese sandwich(!), one may derive individually unique reactions from viewing the work.  To the artist, this is still one of the most wonderful mysteries of the human mind.

Some relevant history of the artist:

• Began study of Aerospace Engineering at Boston University, changed major to Fine Arts after three years
• Transferred to the University of Southern California; received a BA degree in Fine Arts
• Apprenticed under Kenneth Price; Ken is known for his intricate and colorful ceramic sculptures and his affiliation with other accomplished Los Angeles artists such as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollack
• Has worked in many other mediums, including: cardboard & wood sculpture; welded steel sculpture; ceramic sculpture and glazing (specializing in raku); digital color photography; analog black & white photography; oil, acrylic and gauche painting; drawing; graphic design including color printing, layout and packaging; field recording; home studio recording, engineering and production; and creative model rocketry

Some influential artists (including film and writing):

Walt Disney, Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Jean Baudrillard, Salvador Dali, Gustav Klimt, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, M. C. Escher, Robert Williams, Robert Anton Wilson, Brian Eno, Timothy Leary, David Byrne, William S. Burroughs, J. G. Ballard, Carl Sagan, Noam Chomsky, Steven Hawking, Akira Kurosawa, George Lucas, Pedro Amoldovar, Jan Svankmajer, Luis Buñuel, The Brothers Quay, and the ancient stone sculptors of Easter Island