Category: Creativity

Sometimes, it is worthwhile to have another look at art. Particularly when we talk about abstraction.

The truth is that our brains tend to analyze subconsciously every image that we come across. It is not something we are generally aware of. In fact, we may be aware of about 5% of all input information that our brain processes.

Case in point. A couple of dear friends who used to come to lunch on weekends at my house. For more than a year, there was a big abstract painting on one of the walls in our living room. The painting was big, had lots of color, had spotlights on it dedicated to show it off… it was obviously very visible.

One Sunday, as they came in, one of them said “My God! That is a gorgeous painting. Obviously new...”. Then, and as she turned to look at me, her husband responded surprised “Are you kidding? That painting has been there for about a year…“

Cutting to the chase, the truth is that it took us all a few minutes to finally convince her that, in fact, it had been there all along. Once convinced, I explained what had probably happened. Abstraction, and synesthetic abstraction probably more so, requires our brain to analyze, scan and rescan the graphisms, colors and textures as it looks for clues and decides whether it is going to give you a thumbs up or down. It is obviously looking for those things that will make you hate it, or love it.

Thank God, after a year and at least 10 or 12 visits, her brain suddenly said to her… “please, pay attention to this, it is great“… and so she “saw it” for the first time. That prompted her sudden need to tell us all how much she loved it.

That is not unusual, although it is not a rule either. For those of you with a wider artistic eye, it may be immediate (or at least it will take you a lot less time than 12 months!), to decide whether you like a painting or not.

So, I invite you to have another look at these four paintings of mine. And, above everything, I hope you enjoy them.

Until next time

Ignacio

©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com

There is a growing theory surrounding one of the most unusual, smart and capable animals on the planet.  It is the octopus.

Genetically, it is…well, weird. And certain members of the scientific community have started to theorize if this incredible animal is not, in fact, a visitor from outer space. They even have a possible home planet. Europa, one of Jupiter´s moons. And even if that is a plausible yet improbable origin story worthy of DC Comics or the Avengers, it is still one of the most incredible, intelligent and shy beings on this little planet.

I will not bore you with details. Just watch this short and fun description of how the incredible octopus may -or may not- be a visitor from…well…. who knows.

Enjoy! 

Until next time

Ignacio

©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com

From the description:

Abstract Expressionism is a term applied to a movement in American painting that flourished in New York City after World War II, sometimes referred to as the New York School or, more narrowly, as action painting.

The varied work produced by the Abstract Expressionists resists definition as a cohesive style; instead, these artists shared an interest in using abstraction to convey strong emotional or expressive content. Abstract Expressionism is best known for large-scale paintings that break away from traditional processes, often taking the canvas off of the easel and using unconventional materials such as house paint. While Abstract Expressionism is often considered for its advancements in painting, its ideas had deep resonance in many mediums, including drawing and sculpture.

Robert Motherwell (Aberdeen, Washington, Usa 24/1/1915 – Provincetown, Massachusetts, Usa16/7/1991). American painter, one of the founders and principal exponents of Abstract Expressionism, who was among the first American artists to cultivate accidental elements in his work.

Enjoy!

Until next time

Ignacio

©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com

Las últimas obras disponibles de la serie de 2019, realizadas sobre papel acuarelable de 300 grs. con una técnica de tintas deshidratas, tintas al aceite, acrílicos y lápices acuarelables.

Se entregan listas para colgar, enmarcadas y bajo vidrio.

Consultas por WhatsApp: 01157804742

Until next time

Ignacio

©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com

Las últimas obras disponibles de la serie de 2019, realizadas sobre papel acuarelable de 300 grs. con una técnica de tintas deshidratas, tintas al aceite, acrílicos y lápices acuarelables.

Se entregan listas para colgar, enmarcadas y bajo vidrio.

Consultas por WhatsApp: 01157804742

Until next time

Ignacio

©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com

Las últimas obras disponibles de la serie de 2019, realizadas sobre papel acuarelable de 300 grs. con una técnica de tintas deshidratas, tintas al aceite, acrílicos y lápices acuarelables.

Se entregan listas para colgar, enmarcadas y bajo vidrio.

Consultas por WhatsApp: 01157804742

Until next time

Ignacio

©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com

Mandelbrot is popularly known for two things in particular. Fractals, a description created by him to explain the nature of the sets he had discovered, and the Mandelbrot set. A simple iterated equation based on only sums and multiplications which, with the use of computers given its complexity, we were able to find that it created ever repeating and closely related patterns that could be larger than the whole universe within their own restrictions.

A simple explanation would be that all numbers that exist outside the set are there, but the set within its own boundaries can grow to infinity. I know it is difficult to rap one’s mind around it, but once you see it graphically it all makes sense. Some people have ventured that since there is such a mathematical bases for everything in the Universe, maybe “God’s equation” of creation may look something like the Mandelbrot set.

Leaving aside metaphysical considerations, and for those who have not heard of the set and fractals before, I will try to give you a simple and tasty explanation that may make some basic sense, before we delve into the documentary.

I use this example in class very often to show that things are not necessarily following what we call “obvious patterns”, or “common sense” explanations. It is also a very simple visual tool to show the nature of fractals. Basically it attempts to explain how from a finite object, and without changing most of its basic characteristics or those around it, we can derive into an infinite set.

Basically I take any pound square cake (the use of a cake allows everybody to have a piece at the end! 🙂 ). It weighs a pound, and its length, lets say for argument´s sake, is of 30 cm. We half it and we put one half on top of each the other (we add height but we do not change the total length nor the weight). We half again and put it on top, and so we go on and on. The idea is to graphically show how I could build an infinite cake -in height at least- from a finite one in length (which added will always remain the same if no crumbs were lost) and weight. If I had the right tools, instead of a simple knife, we could go into slices in microns, and even further, as we keep dividing and piling up ad infinitum. That is how we get infinite height from a finite and well defined object.

The documentary I have found, which is a remix someone has made from several documentaries that are available online, will explain in very simple terms the nature of the Mandelbrot Set and fractals. For artists like myself, it is of great interest as it reveals patterns from nature and the Universe that can be replicated as artistic creations, but the set -obviously- goes way beyond such a menial use. In fact it may give us a glimpse of how the universe may be structured.

I hope you see it and enjoy “The Mandelbrot Set”.

Until next time

Ignacio

©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com

FIRST PUBLISHED ON PULSE BY LINKEDIN

Since it first visibly emerged on the market, I thought Tesla was a company to watch. And the sporty lotus-based electric car that first appeared at the end of the Bush presidency, really made me pay attention. Until then, a fast and long charge battery operated electric car was almost a dream.

It hit a lot of us in the right spots. And then it’s owner, Elon Musk, got a lot of support from the Obama Administration to help him shake up the automotive industry.

That seems now eons ago, as Musk’s companies are now going into space, and into high speed transport, as well as not only electric cars, but also boats and airplanes.

But amongst this child like love of adventure and new technology that Mr. Musk transmits everywhere, there is also a little feeling, maybe a nagging one, about the fact that he doesn’t seem to be all that interested in some of the byproducts of his adventures. Egos are wonderful things, and success is built on them and, more often than not, it feeds enormous ones.

It is quite clear that battery operated electric cars are the most ecologically friendly solution we have found as yet, in terms of everyday transport, so both he and Tesla are to be thanked for being very helpful to the general planetary environment in that regards. And his batteries and solar panels are definitely great.

But I find extremely annoying, as well as visually polluting, the fact that his 1300 little Starlink satellites that he’s sending into our lower atmosphere to provide wi-fi everywhere (again a great idea) seem to keep popping up more and more into our daily night skies. 

It is true that there is enough junk out there – a major problem in terms of space pollution- to make this 1300 Wi-Fi providing satellites just a spec in a sea of space debris. Now, unlike Starlink, all that debris cannot be seen by the naked eye.

These orbiters are quite the opposite. Furthermore, they are supposed to be seen, partially allowing us to marvel at the technology, but also as a marketing exercise, leaving us wondering why we have to be forced to see how a commercial enterprise changes our view of the Earth’s sky forever.

These satellites are plainly visible, and as they grow into bigger and bigger sets, they will be crisscrossing our night sky more and more. In fact, it is plainly obvious that sooner or later, other companies will start doing the same, thus changing our night views, and our nights, forever.

That is why I believe that it may be a good idea to start raising our voices if we feel that this is not acceptable to us. I understand that the sky seems to be nobody´s, but it’s actually everybody’s.

Furthermore, it may be time for some internationally sponsored regulations on the subject -sooner rather than later- on a worldwide scale. That is if we wish to avoid the unchecked pollution of our planetary orbits, and the making of our night sky into just another branding exercise for those who can afford it. And as long as we are there, we may revisit the need to start cleaning up what we can´t see from here, but which is so dense already that it presents a problem -for example- for a future Mars Mission, since it will have to go so much debris that is may damage a spaceship.

So, what do you think? Do we need to start doing something about it? I would love to hear your thoughts about this. Go ahead, make your comments known.

Until next time.

IA

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©2021 by Ignacio Alperin Bruvera

Ignacio Alperin Art
http://www.ignacioalperin.com
http://www.theartofthinkingoutloud.com