Patterns Artist Karen Hochman Brown | Aloe Amplification

The desert garden at the Huntington Library and Museum in Pasadena, CA holds many wonders. This spectacular Aloe Marlothii is known for the distinctively horizontal branches of its inflorescence (flower clusters around the stem of a complicated arrangement of branches). I was attracted to the contrast of its spiky leaves against the climbing ficus.

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.