Tracy Mac

My art is conceived to be larger than I can possibly make it. Because its roots are mathematical, the size is independent of the form. I seek to combine the power and infinitude of mathematics with the aesthetics of color, composition and texture. The larger my art is viewed, the more it can be appreciated. The web is not an ideal place to display it but it's a great medium to explore the ideas behind the art and to make it available to a wider audience...

Brushes of the Mind
Maplewood artist Tracy Mac works like no other artist. His artwork goes directly from his mind onto a canvas or other surfaces. He is truly a 21st Century artist and one that deserves serious recognition for his innovative techniques and images. The only tools he uses is his own artistically written software, 20 years in the making, and some special ink printers. “Off the shelf software will never be able to do what I do because I am seeking artistic individuality, not conformity,” Mac says of his “Art Fountain,” as he calls it.

His art is bursting with small details, colors, layers and textures which are completely original because they are essentially a fingerprint of a highly developed artistic thinking process and years of inventing these new algorithms or, as he calls them, “imaginary brushes.” Instead of composition and physical techniques which traditional artists practice, Mac has pursued perfecting artistic concepts such as expressionism or cubism or color theory and “encoding” the DNA for those concept into Art Fountain. Over the years, thousands of such concepts have been added and the permutations are staggering. Once encoded, Mac can then take any image and manipulate it into a unique work of art by playing with it like a sculptor plays with clay. The result may or may not resemble the original “seed image.” He uses millions of random numbers to create an essential organic feel to his art. I’m not very interested in most computer art because it always seems like an attempt to simulate what artists do, albeit in unusual and often beautiful ways. I’d rather have the real thing., say Mac. Contrary to what one may think, this is not a shortcut to great art. A finished work may take anywhere from ½ hour to several weeks to complete, very much like any other artist. However, along the way, he might produce hundreds of variations which in themselves are often stunning.

More than exhibiting pure imagination, Mac’s canvases convey  a deep understanding of mathematics, color and aesthetics. There is a playful, yet very controlled, random quality that permeates every molecule of his work. Because all of his works are of mathematical origin, they can be created at any size with no loss of quality. This allows Mac to offer a new way to buy art as well…buy the size you can afford or want. He mostly does not sell multiple editions and wants people to see them larger so the details are visible, but makes exceptions all the time. Final larger works often have additional acrylic features added to the canvas if not just for enhanced durability and UV protection.

Mac reflects on technology in art, "There is a long history of collaboration between artists and scientists, always pushing the boundaries. Artists aren't about to let some new material or medium get used by everybody else and not use it themselves. They are often scientists themselves—hypothesizing, experimenting and discovering new methods of construction and expression. You see this from Da Vinci's experiments with pigments to Alber's color studies or David Salle's use of projectors for tracing images. Warhol fancied himself as a machine. Now the machines are much fancier and I'm happy to use them," says Mac.

Mac's works have been exhibited in New York, New Jersey, Santa Fe and in 1992, he and his brother Michael (a New York artist), had the final installation in the full chronology of the human face called "A Visage Découvert", near Versailles, France at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art. Their installation was included amidst works by the luminaries of art including Picasso, Matisse, Giacometti and many others as well as Maori and African masks.