In 2004, I created a graphics program that simulated a population of stickmen and stickwomen through various iconic stages of life: birth, play, love, work, rest, travel, and death. From its humble beginning as a school project (thanks Marty!) the Society of Stickpeople has gone through many incarnations, detailed below.
Helios was the sun god in Greek mythology, and a perfect name for this artwork, which came from my life-long fascination with cosmology. Specifically, I have always loved x-ray solar photographs and their coloration and forms, which served as reference and inspiration for this piece.
The sweeping forms of this strange attractor outline an abstract face that reminds me of the head of a Chinese dragon kite. Be sure to view the larger size to see the fine detail.
Star birth takes place in a faraway mathematical galaxy, not unlike MG16, the Eagle Nebula, from which I sampled color for this piece.
Besides the fact that this attractor looks like an abstract butterfly, the title of the piece is an homage to Edward Lorenz, a pioneer of chaos theory. Most people have heard of the “butterfly effect” and the idea that the weather is a chaotic system with sensitive dependence on initial conditions, which is what makes it so darn hard to predict 
A delicate kite-like form drifts up towards you on unseen mathematical currents…
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© 2012 Nathan Selikoff. All Rights Reserved.
The Art of Nathan Selikoff is produced by DAS and Creative Outsiders.