A 1949 profile in Life magazine brought the painter and his work widespread attention. What he's actually doing is fine-tuning the fractal content. And we found that he refined and perfected his technique over the years. This is the one which lies at his peak after 10 years of refining his technique. Taylor says people often are disappointed with nature's fractals compared with artificial fractals generated on computers.
Fractals are shapes that repeat themselves on different scales within the same object.
For example, a fern is fractal because each frond is composed of subfronds, each a miniature but not necessarily identical copy of the whole. Fractals represent mathematical equations that can be used for studying nature's irregular, unpredictable patterns, from weather to heartbeats. Some medical researchers are using fractals to help doctors distinguish between a healthy heart and one that is headed for trouble. Nature's fractal patterns may be aesthetically pleasing to people, and that might explain why Pollock's work is popular, Taylor said. Maybe we find these patterns comforting in a way.