I am a visual explorer of nature and creation. I follow the path of randomness that leads to the emergence of self-organized complexity, creating visual expressions of complex systems in our world. I also follow the path of symmetry, deconstructing the visually complex into smaller units and recombining them to form novel yet related species — like a kind of visual DNA.
In these ways, I explore the nature of creation. The building up of contingent layers of mutual dependency leads to visual complexity, a state of being homologous to that which exists between the ordered and the chaotic in the physical world and characteristic of so many robust, earthly systems.
Individual shapes and colors cease their independent existence and lend themselves to a cohesive whole that remains dynamic with no preferred orientation or fixed composition. Relationships within the composition change steadily as we unconsciously rearrange and reemphasize them in a kind of perceptual dance. This is visual complexity.
The breaking down of visually complex compositions to their constructive agents — groups of shapes and colors that extracted from the whole now appear chaotic — and reiterating them along axes of symmetry, leads to the creation of new visual wholes but wholes imbued with a different character than their antecedents.
These offspring of complexity bear the mark of symmetry — chaotic building blocks conjoined to order give rise to compositions of great intricacy and beauty. Biomorphism is replaced by geometry. Where once there was random interaction there is reinforcing purpose. A kind of fixity replaces earlier visual flux and yet they remain vibrant. This is symmetrical chaos.
It is my art to assemble and disassemble. The beginning is the end is the beginning again. An enormous cycle occurs transitioning from parts to wholes to different parts and different wholes. Now, I see no starting point nor do I detect an endpoint — permutations, reshufflings, and recombinations without end give rise to a seemingly limitless stream of novel and unique outcomes. Is that the nature of creation?
I strive to provide a vision of reality that reflects the interconnectedness of all being, emphasizing cooperation and interdependence. My primary motivation is to engender appreciation for the dynamics of the natural world and living systems. The biosphere — a vast web of interrelationships functioning across many scales and levels of organization — is where life occurs on Earth. It is our responsibility to safeguard the global environment that has created it.

 

 
© copyright 2023, Jim Modiano