Michael Harper’s Tech & Art Blog

I finally get to plug a screensaver that’s available for Linux. There aren’t too many outstanding ones around and I’m still searching for a way to use Mac and Windows screensavers in Linux. This screensaver uses the power of fractals and grid computing to create completely unique and visually stunning “fractal flame” based screensavers. A computer that is using the Electric Sheep screensaver will connect everyday to the ES servers to download new art. Users can get involved and create their own fractal flames or let the machines rule us by mixing the available fractal flame code together to create its own offspring. I’m trying to get some more info from the site but for some reason it’s down right now (www.electricsheep.org). Despite that, I remember the site as being not so well developed (most of their time is apparently spent making great screensavers). Instead check out the wikipedia article that is very clean and to the point - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Sheep.

The Polar Clock is a work of art by a guy (for lack of an available real name) that goes by Pixel Breaker. The clock represents the time and date by basically using concentric colored circles. Very smooth design based in Flash. Check it out.

http://blog.pixelbreaker.com/polarclock/

I came across this collaborative art project the other day called ZOOMQUILT. The original came out in 2004 and was the creation of about 15 different artists. The artwork features many different environments and worlds that are continuously being zoomed into each and seem to follow a red line that runs through each piece of art. I would it call it surrealism but you really have to see it to get an idea of what it truly is. It’s presented as a Flash site, screen saver and still images. Don’t forget to check out the sequel to the original, ZOOMQUILT II.

I realize this may be a twist, but I’ve decided to change the focus of my blog ever so slighty (it’s my blog so that’s ok). I would like to start covering some of my art interests. In my quest to become a better graphic designer, I’ve started to appreciate art increasingly more in the past few months and I think I’m going to feature what inspires and/or moves me. Who knows what this will bring about but who really cares, right? Don’t be mistaken - I will still be covering tech just as much but for now I have a few upcoming posts that are centered on digital art, the industry itself and the digital artists I admire.