An interactive map of the computers used by pioneering artists around the world to create computer-generated art in the mid to late 1960s
William Fetter coined the term "computer graphics" in 1960. He created "Boeing Man" (1964-67), the first computer-generated three-dimensional images of the human figure, developed for cockpit ergonomic studies. His wireframe human figures were shown at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968).
Grace C. Hertlein began creating computer art in 1968 at Chico State College, becoming one of the first women in the field. A professor of computer science, she programmed in FORTRAN to generate abstract geometric compositions. She first exhibited her work in 1969 and went on to found one of the first university computer art courses. She was a key organizer in the computer art community through the 1970s-80s.
John Stehura began developing the film "Cibernetik 5.3" here in 1960, programming algorithms through 1964 and producing the final film from 1965 to 1969. Working in UCLA's basement with an IBM 7094 and punch cards, with no graphic display, he waited days to see output.
John Whitney Sr., a pioneer of computer animation, was IBM's first Artist-in-Residence (1966-69). Using GRAF, a FORTRAN extension developed by physicist Jack Citron at IBM's Los Angeles Scientific Center, he created the abstract computer-animated film "Permutations".
Kerry Strand created figurative plotter art at CalComp, unusually producing recognizable images from algorithms. His "Hummingbird" won first prize at the 6th Annual Computer Art Contest (1968) organized by Computers and Automation magazine, and "The Snail" was included in the Cybernetic Serendipity portfolio.
British artist Harold Cohen arrived here in 1968-69 and began his legendary exploration of computer-generated art. His early DITRAN-based works from 1969 led to the creation of AARON, an AI art program he developed over 40+ years.
Maughan Mason, head of Thiokol's Analog Simulation Lab, created plotter drawings resembling Op Art with moiré patterns. He would visualize the desired pattern, then conceive a circuit arrangement on his analog computer to produce the effect. Multiple works were shown at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968).
Frederick Hammersley, already an established hard-edge painter, began making computer drawings in 1968 using ART1, a program co-developed by Richard Williams and artist Katherine Nash. He created intricate lace-like drawings using 26 letters, 10 numerals, and 11 symbols arranged on 50x105 character grids.
Donald K. Robbins created "3D Checkerboard Pattern" (1968), based on the mathematical "four-bug problem" where four bugs at the corners of a square each crawl toward the next, creating spiral curves. The work was featured on the poster for the landmark Cybernetic Serendipity exhibition (1968).
Colette and Charles Bangert began creating nature-inspired algorithmic plotter drawings from 1967. Their "Grass" series aimed to represent organic forms like grass and landscapes. Colette was one of the few women in early computer art.
Trieste-born artist Edward Zajec began creating computer art in 1968 while at Carleton College in Minnesota. Using FORTRAN IV on an IBM 1620, he created the "RAM" series (1969) of algorithmic plotter drawings. He later co-authored "Computer Art: Color-Stereo Displays" (1971), an early publication on computational aesthetics, and continued his computer art at Syracuse University.
Johan Severtson created possibly the first computer-generated sculptures (c. 1966). His programs generated structural specifications (how many pieces, angles, shapes, and notch placements) from which he selected and physically constructed his preferred versions. Shown at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968).
Charles Csuri, called the "father of computer art," created algorithmic artworks here. His "Hummingbird" (1967), acquired by MoMA, used mathematical transformations to morph a line drawing, becoming one of the most recognized early computer artworks.
Leslie Mezei, a Hungarian-Canadian computer scientist, joined U of T in 1965 and created SPARTA and ARTA, the FORTRAN-based graphics languages that enabled drawing, transformations, light pen interaction, and keyframe animation. He established the Computer Graphics Group, laying the foundation for the Dynamic Graphics Project.
Lloyd Sumner was possibly the first person to adopt computer art as a full-time career. Working at UVA's Computer Science Center from 1964, he programmed in extended ALGOL and published "Computer Art and Human Response" (1968), the first monograph by a computer artist, dedicated to "my good friends the Burroughs B5500 and the Calcomp 565."
Inspired by Disney animators at a 1969 conference, Burtnyk and Wein completed their key-frame animation software in 1969/1970, where the computer interpolates between artist-drawn key frames. This technique became the foundation of subsequent computer animation. They collaborated with animators from the National Film Board of Canada and received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 1997.
Bell Labs was the epicenter of early computer art research. Artists produced groundbreaking works including the famous "Computer Nude" and experimental films. Max Mathews, the "father of computer music," created the MUSIC programs here, while Suzanne L. Hanauer co-created works with physicist Manfred Schroeder, including "Eye II" (1968).
Fluxus artist Alison Knowles collaborated with composer James Tenney to create "The House of Dust" (1967), a work of computer-generated poetry. Tenney programmed the Siemens 4004 mainframe in FORTRAN IV to randomly combine phrases about materials, lighting, inhabitants, and locations into quatrains describing imaginary houses. Published in 1968, it remains one of the most cited examples of early generative literature.
Robert Mallary created TRAN2, a FORTRAN program that generated three-dimensional sculptural forms through mathematical transformations. His "Quad" series (1968-69) were among the first computer-aided sculptures, with Quad I shown at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968). The program computed contour cross-sections that Mallary then realized as physical sculptures.
Home to Ivan Sutherland's revolutionary Sketchpad (1963), the first graphical user interface. By 1969, the GENESYS animation system was developed here, becoming the first animation language to use interactive sketching techniques.
The Grupo de Arte y Cibernética, organized in 1969 under the direction of Jorge Glusberg at CEAC (Centro de Estudios de Arte y Comunicación), was Latin America's computer art collective. They used an IBM 1130, exhibiting at the landmark "Arte y Cibernética" show at Galería Bonino in 1969.
Waldemar Cordeiro, a leader of Brazil's Concrete Art movement, began collaborating with physicist Giorgio Moscati in 1968 to create "Arteônica" using an IBM 360/44. He coined the term (combining arte and eletrônica) and is considered a pioneer of technological art in Latin America.
Manuel Barbadillo was the first Spanish artist to use a computer (1968), creating modular compositions and binary structures. The landmark "Formas Computables" exhibition (1969) showcased works by Asins, Sevilla, and others exploring computational form generation.
Tony Pritchett created "The Flexipede" (1967) on the University of London's Atlas computer and is widely considered the first entertainment character computer animation. It depicts a walking multi-legged creature. The work was processed on the Benson-Lehner 120 microfilm recorder at Culham Laboratory. Shown at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968).
Hungarian-French artist Vera Molnár began using computers in 1968, becoming one of the first women in computer art. She developed her "machine imaginaire" concept before gaining computer access, then realized these ideas through algorithmic works exploring geometric forms.
German artist Manfred Mohr wrote his first computer algorithms at the University of Paris 8 (Vincennes) in 1969, then gained formal access to a CDC 6400 at the French weather service in 1970. He later became the first artist to have a solo computer art exhibition at a major museum (Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1971).
Peter Struycken was one of the first Dutch artists to use a computer. In 1968-69, he created systematic color-field compositions (called "Computerstructuren") generated using ALGOL 60 programs at the Institute of Sonology in Utrecht. He exhibited these works at the "Computerkunst" exhibition in 1969, and his computer-generated color studies influenced his large-scale environmental art commissions.
Edward Ihnatowicz created "The Senster" (1968-70), one of the earliest computer-controlled interactive sculptures. The 15-foot hydraulic structure, with a head inspired by a lobster claw, responded to sound and movement via microphones and radar. Commissioned by Philips, it was displayed at the Evoluon technology center in Eindhoven from 1970 to 1974. Ihnatowicz had previously shown "SAM" (Sound Activated Mobile) at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968).
Under the influence of philosopher Max Bense's "information aesthetics," Frieder Nake created some of the earliest computer artworks using ALGOL programming at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart.
Georg Nees was one of the very first computer artists, exhibiting his algorithmic drawings in 1965. His "Schotter" (Gravel) demonstrates ordered-to-random transitions through simple algorithms.
Herbert W. Franke transitioned from analog oscilloscope work (1950s) to digital mainframes in the late 1960s. In 1968, he created his first digital computer art, the QUADRATE series, on an IBM 1130 at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, programmed in FORTRAN by Dr. Georg Färber. By 1969, he was creating plotter drawings on a Siemens 4004. His digital works were exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1970.
Starting in 1964, Zdeněk Sýkora collaborated with mathematician Jaroslav Blažek to use computer calculations to determine the placement and color relationships of geometric elements in grid-based abstract paintings. Working behind the Iron Curtain with limited computer access, he was one of the first artists to use computers as part of the creative process for painting.
Vladimir Bonačić created his interactive computer-controlled light installations starting in 1968. His "DIN GF100", exhibited at Tendencies 4, allowed viewers to start and stop programmed light patterns.
In 1968, mathematician Nikolai Konstantinov and his group at Moscow State University created "Kitty" (Koshechka), one of the earliest computer animations. Using a BESM-4 mainframe, they mathematically modeled a walking cat using ordinary differential equations, outputting the animation as printed characters on a line printer. The work was published in the journal "Problems of Cybernetics."
The Computer Technique Group (CTG), founded in December 1966 by Komura, Yamanaka, Tsuchiya, and Kakizaki, was Japan's pioneering computer art collective. Additional members including Fujino joined in 1967. They exhibited at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968).
Japan's first computer artist, Hiroshi Kawano published Mondrian-inspired computational compositions (titled "Design 3-1" etc.) in the Japanese IBM Review in 1964. Later known as "Digital Mondrians," these led to his formal "Artificial Mondrian" series (1966-69). A philosopher by training, he approached computer art through aesthetics and information theory.