The Real and the Artificial
i have had the opportunity to think about the difference between a man-made or contrived piece and a good piece or natural object. it is all to do with detail.
Artificial or handmade items appear to have limited detail - limited by the skill, eyesight, willingness to spend time creating and the size of the tools being used. when you zoom into the surface detail, this is the only level of detail.
Natural structures or good quality works are like fractals; the closer you look into the surface, the more detail you find. This detail in the real/natural items continues to unravel all the way to cellular/atom level. by utilising methods which engage the natural, intrinsic behaviours of the materials, these deeper details are created.
Natural or real objects also have information/details/marks which would not be 'designed' to be included if handmade. a scratch, scar, crack, defect, mutation - these make an object interesting and mysterious. Man-made/contrived objects do not have these details and we know that they are not real - the lack of detail mean they are not as interesting.
