CATTANI ~ My Story

MY STORY

My intuitive technique was to paint, turn the pad, and paint some more. With no one side being dominant, the idea of "Revolutionary" Art was born for me. Within about four hours, I realized that I had a previously unexposed and unyielding artistic passion.

From that day forward, my painting has never stopped. I feel that this is just the beginning. Today I happily live in Madison, Wisconsin, inspired by the beauty of the city, its parks, and the kindness of its people.

Now a little about my art.

Please do not panic; I will try to be clear.

My math specialty was the stunning Chaos Theory which, in essence, uncovers the underlying order in seemingly disorderly systems. It occurs in systems such as the weather, sand dunes, population growth, the stock market, brain waves - including my own brain waves, - and in my painting.

Recreating the qualities of order masquerading as disorder, complexity bred from simplicity, and fractional dimension, my paintings contain a natural echo of Chaos Theory. The result according to Chaos Theory: unbounded possibilities of simultaneous form, evolving from the first simple brush stroke and the act of turning.

Although I believe my art stands in any orientation for its own sake, there is a unique feature. Each painting is equipped with a mechanism on the reverse that allows the painting to turn within its plane. Hence, each piece is correctly hung only when allowed to move to each of the four directions. At least this is how I prefer to view and display my own paintings, with the revolving nature in which they develop. As with other things, even science and math, of course, everyone has their own perspective. That is, simply, the definition of perspective.

I began painting with the intuitive technique of painting then turning my developing colors and shapes. Only on the subconscious level danced thoughts about theoretical math and Chaos Theory.

Later I learned some interesting art history regarding revolutions. I learned the fascinating story that the Father of Abstract Art, the great Wassily Kandinsky, was surprised one evening when he returned home and did not recognize his own representational painting as it leaned against the wall on its side. The story is that, with that moment of simple revolution, Kandinsky was moved by the profound beauty he discovered in his visually organized chaos and leapt from representational art to pure abstraction in color and form.

Jackson Pollack, of course, revolved his art by pacing around his canvas as it lay on the floor and physically changing visual perspectives as he splattered colored chaos and emotion into order and beauty. The story I learned is that he would then cut the canvas and designate a final mounting direction, finally signing the piece at the "bottom."

Now, chose one of the paintings on this page. Imagine it in a different orientation. Watch the painting turn. You may experience your imagination being sparked - a revolving Rorschach Test, an encouraged Freudian Slip. My wish is that each painting makes an excellent conversation piece for others. And, as for me, my paintings are both very serious and great fun, order in chaos, simplicity and complexity, all depending on how your perspective turns.

Phone: (608) 225-4155

I became an artist completely by accident or, one might say, by grand design.

I was beginning my final class for a degree in Theoretical Mathematics when my father, in Dallas, Texas, was diagnosed with an operable, "benign" brain tumor. I left that class and moved to Dallas to be with my dad, staying for almost a year.

It was at the end of that painful and difficult year, early November 1999, when I first picked up a sketch pad and paints. From the moment I held that brush to the paper, my mind focused, my soul calmed, and my life changed directions.

HOME

MY STORY

THE ART

REVOLUTIONARY ART

REVOLUTIONIZES THE RORSCHACH TEST

AND ENCOURAGES THE FREUDIAN SLIP