Many different types of artworks mimic the properties of natural fractal patterns -in particular, statistical self-similarity at different scales.Here, we describe examples of abstract art created by us and wellknown artists such as Ruth Asawa and Sam Francis that evoke the repetition and variability of biological forms. We review the 'drip' paintings of Jackson Pollock that display statistical self-similarity at varying scales, and discuss studies that measured the fractal dimension of Pollock's drip paintings. The contemporary environmental artist Edward Burtynsky who captures aerial photographs of mancreated and man-altered landscapes that resemble natural patterns is also discussed. We measure fractal dimension and a second shape parameter -fractional concavity -for borders in three of Burtynsky's photographs of man-made landscapes and of biological tissues that resemble his compositions. This specifies the complexity of patterns in Burtynsky's photographs of diverse man-impacted landscapes and underscores their similarity to fractal patterns found in nature.
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