Saturday, February 28, 2009

San Base: Art in the 21st Century

Where is left for art to go in the 21st century? Hasn't it been just about everywhere it could possibly venture? It has evolved from cave paintings to beautifully crafted portraits and landscapes, to imaginative impressionist scenes, abstract canvases, surreal impressions of reality, fantasy...where else could it possibly go?

Digital.

San Base, a Russian-born artist who now lives in Canada, has developed a way to combine artistic talent with computer skills to produce pieces of ever moving artwork using a technique known as known as dynamic painting. I take the liberty of copying a simple explanation of this from here:

"Dynamic Painting is a form of digital generative art that is truly the original creation of the artist - a new kind of art -created by human, and developed endlessly by a computer. It is based on an original idea described in a precise mathematical way that governs the shape, color and dimension of the generated image, converting brush strokes into algorithms. The algorithms of a dynamic painting represent the DNA of the picture, mutating to generate a series of distinct images that follow the style and concept of the original painting."

Examples of San Base's mobile works are available on-line, at San Base's site. One example is on the Main Page here, and another in the "Demo" section. YouTube has a selection of samples - one is embedded at the end of this post, though I fear the size of the screen may be too small to display the work properly.

I can imagine his artwork hanging in a VIP lounge at an airport, for example. Visuals are never repeated exactly, each moment is unique - for ever - rather as in a natal chart!
"Sometimes the images are glamorous, sometimes they seem psychedelic. At times, they may even seem to momentarily fall asleep, but only to regenerate their power, and strike once again with a new mesmerizing recombination -- luring the viewer into a parallel, Nirvana-like universe of art... It's like you keep watching for a comet to streak across the sky but, in this case, a possibility of discovering a new wonderful event on your screen is immeasurably higher."

"San Base was born in 1956 in Russia of the former USSR. As a little boy, San displayed remarkable skills in arts and science. At the age of 12, on his own initiative San began studies at an Fine Arts School. All the same time, he indulged in his other passion – mathematics. After completing the high school programme, San had a difficult choice before him. If he continues his studies in Arts, he’d be a subject to military conscription. To avoid the conscription he joined a post-secondary institution with a profile in applied science, specifically Cybernetics ......."
I was curious to see San Base's natal chart. His date of birth is 1 December 1956, born in Russia, but I can find no detail of exactly where. In order to get some idea of planetary placements I set up a chart for Moscow on his birth date.

Skills needed to produce such complicated art works must include a strong placing of Saturn for the mathematical component, Uranus for the inventiveness of it all, and Neptune for creativity and imagination, also, of course, Venus for the very necessary artistic talent.



Guided by a chart for Moscow on 1 December 1956 , which will show planets in signs, though not house positions, ascendant sign or exact Moon position:

Ha! Sun and Saturn are conjunct in Sagittarius - the strong Saturn placing, close to sun (self). Mercury 10 degrees beyond Sun, also in Sagittarius, and Moon in either late Scorpio or early Sagittarius depending on whether birth was before or after 5pm.

Uranus, planet of invention and the avant garde is at 6 Leo, in harmonious trine with the Sun/Saturn conjunction - here is drive enough to invent something new based on mathematical formulae.

Neptune and Venus, creativity, imagination and art are conjunct within 6 degrees in Scorpio, semi-sextile the conjunction of Sun/Saturn, a mildly harmonious but definite link. Here's where the artistic talent meets the mathematical skills.

Mars in late Pisces opposes Jupiter (his Sun's ruler) in late Virgo: this aspect indicates someone who looks for challenges, may on occasion go too far in seeking to be competitive - but it's a dynamic aspect to find in the chart of a person pioneering something new.

So yes, his natal chart does describe San Base's unique blend of talent: the old art of using pencil and paint creatively, in tandem with mathematics and new technology of the digital age.


4 comments:

anyjazz said...

Thanks for patching us on to your discovery. Art forms are constantly renewing. We must be aware of the directions they take or we will be left with gaps in our learning experience. Good page.

Shawn Carson said...

My wife was also born during this same SA/UR trine and possesses talent for creating very original pieces of art. In her case, these are created from old, discarded objects. This artists Sun/Saturn conjunction implicates his father as well. I wonder if his dad was an artist?

Twilight said...

Anyjazz ~~~ Thanks! :-)
It's interesting, but I doubt it'll catch on as a pastime for The Great Unwashed, in the same way as having a sketch book or a few tubes of paints and a canvas has done over the centuries. One needs too much skill in other areas to keep up with this development. :-)

Twilight said...

Hi again Shawn ~~~ I haven't found anything on his parents yet. Yes, Saturn might be significant in a paternal linkage - or any kind of authoritative figure in his life.
I think in this case though, it's showing up as an aptitude to deal with structured thinking as in cybernetics and mathematics - something I can't even imagine being able to approach within a million miles.

Oh trash art? I love it. I have a small collection here which I've found in various stores or at art fairs. It should be a trend for the future with a depression looming - your wife might easily make a name for herself producing that stuff! :-)