Patterns Artist Karen Hochman Brown | Arbol Con Vid

This is a souvenir from our New Year’s trip to Argentina. A side trip took us to Estancia Santa Susana, a working ranch located in the district of Campana, Buenos Aires province, and near the town of Los Cardales. The home of the original owners, Francisco and Susana Kelly, has been turned into a museum to ranch life in the late nineteenth-century. The day was full of Gauchos, traditional dancing and roasted meats. This smooth-barked tree, entwined in a ficus vine caught my attention. The repeating design in the background in reminiscent of dusty old wallpaper.

My work harkens back to the days when I played with a simple kaleidoscope in my mother’s garden. Fragments of the world around me are fodder for my digital lens. I reflect my photographs through mirrors constructed from mathematical algorithms, utilizing fractal space and polar geometry. The resulting blend balances math and art in a perfectly symmetrical mandala form.

I have manipulated my photograph using a modular graphics-synthesizer program where I can pull out specific elements from the photographic imagery, then alter these, layer after layer, to create new compositions of kaleidoscopic reflections. I digitally cut apart and stack the layers in a composite image. Finally, I manipulate shadows and lighting to create an illusion of depth.