Topic awaiting preservation: Abstract Shapes

Ok, I've been messing around in 3d-Studio MAX for a while, figuring out the interface (I decided on 3dsmax over LW7), and was wondering about objects (like those seen) here.

How are these made, I was looking at Extrude and Spike features, but those don't seem to give me that kind of object.

Can anyone point me to a tutorial on this topic, or give me some assistance.

Most of those are either simple shapes with modifyers like "bend" and then a displace map applied. Or arrays of many simple shapes like cones, spheres, or cylinders.

Noise modifier is popular for those.

Aha...It kind-a works, oh well, those images kinda get old, and I'd rather work on organic modelling.

Well that is some really cool stuff. I have noticed that if you take a mesh and start pulling verts around you will start to get something that looks like those shards of shapes. I find it mind numbing to have 200 points to move around but maybe I don't have the right technique.