Mathematics Creates Art

The term "fractal" was first utilized by the father of fractal geometry Benoit Mandelbrot in the late 70's.The word fractal comes from the Latin word fractus (“fragmented,” or “broken”). A fractal is an object possessing the property of self-similarity which means that the object's component parts resemble the whole. This reiteration of details or patterns occurs at progressively smaller scales and can, in the case of purely abstract entities, continue indefinitely, so that each part, when magnified, will look basically like a fixed part of the whole object.  The following figure is made of embedded squares where the large squares are arranged like the smaller squares, and the smaller squares like the larger squares. This figure visually explains the basic concept of a fractal

Fractals are different from Euclidian geometrical figures as they are capable of describing irregular shaped figures in nature such as coast lines, plants, or mountains. Fractals are fascinating patterns that can be considered as pieces of art and beauty.