Fractal Attractors of Discrete Dynamical Systems

History of the Project

1974 The beginning of the Visual Math Project at UC Santa Cruz.

We had a primitive storage-scope for black and green graphics, and held an art competition for our students, inspired by recent and revolutionary work by Christian Mira and his group in Toulouse.

1991, May 27-30 Workshop on Mathematical Economics, Cellular Dynamics and Spatial Economics in Siena, ITALY.

Here I met Christian Mira and Laura Gardini, and was greatly impressed by recent computer graphics of chaos in 2D discrete dynamical systems.

1992, October 17 Concert of visual math in New York.

With Amy Radunskaya and Peter Broadwell, preformed live computer music and visuals based on 2D chaotic dynamics. Our project was called MIMI and the Illuminti, MIMI for Mathematiclally Illuminated Musical Instrument. Our final performance was in April, 1997, at the San Francisco Art Institute.

1993 Began a series of annual visits to Urbino, ITALY.

I worked with Gardini and Mira on bifurcations of 2D discrete dynamical systems, culminating in our joint book, Chaos in Discrete Dynamical Systems, 1997, aka JPX.

1993 Publication of Strange Attractors, by Julian C. Sprott, aka SA.

This provided an inspirational atlas of chaotic atrractors of 2D disctete dynamical systems.

2009, December 8 Met Ben Niell at a workshop on improvisation at UC Santa Cruz.

We began a partnership to renew the lapsed MIMI project, creating 2D fractals to project on the stage in a duet between MIMI and Ben's invention, the mutantrumpet.

2014, December 30 The first phase of the new project, now called The Fractal Note Gallery, is finally complete.

This comprises all the 2D and 3D chaotic atractors from both books, JPX and SA, in a gallery of 152 color images, nearly 400 digital sounds, and 25 (so far) short movies.

Revised 30 Sept 2015 by Ralph