Since the late 1960s, the historiography of computer art has been developing a canon that is prog... more Since the late 1960s, the historiography of computer art has been developing a canon that is progressively broadening. However, this canon reveals significant blind spots, particularly due to the predominant success of digital computers leading to computer art being almost exclusively identified with digital technology. This identification overlooks other significant classes of computers, notably analogue and hybrid systems, leaving the contributions, artworks, and ideas of many early pioneers in the field unrecognized. Consequently, the history of art created with analogue and hybrid computers remains largely unexplored both in art history and media archaeology. This article seeks to illuminate this relatively obscure chapter of history by introducing the individuals and projects that utilized analogue computers, drawing on previously unknown historical sources. The aim is to underscore the historical significance of a technology that is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest in the field of computer science. The findings reveal that before the advent of artistic experiments with digital computers, analogue computers were the subject of pioneering exploration. The real-time intuitive operation of analogue computers was a unique advantage, foreshadowing a human-machine relationship now commonplace with digital technology. The narrative of the analogue computer constitutes an essential domain for understanding the diversity of computing technologies at the dawn of the computer age. Despite the scarcity of sources documenting these artistic endeavors, this article serves as a call to action for further research in this neglected area. https://artnodes.uoc.edu In the beginning, there was the analogue. An alternative history of the beginnings of computer art Universitat Oberta de Catalunya artnodes 2
This article examines the complex historical and conceptual development of the relationship betwe... more This article examines the complex historical and conceptual development of the relationship between computer technology and visual art in Europe, focusing on the interaction between the Groupe d'Art et de Calcul en Vincennes (GAIV) in Paris and the New Tendencies movement in Zagreb. It traces the origins of these artistic explorations, starting with the 1961 ‘Nove Tendencije’ exhibition in Zagreb, which challenged post-war art conventions by emphasising collective experimentation and scientific approaches to art production and perception. The study highlights Zagreb's central role as a hub for artistic and technological innovation, which led to the integration of computers as creative tools in 1968, and shows how this was connected to the GAIV's vision of art as a form of systematic research.
Central to this narrative is the transition from a romantic notion of the artist to that of a knowledgeable programmer and researcher, reflecting the broader changes in the cultural and intellectual landscape. The article highlights the contribution of French theorists and artists to this dialogue, in particular the GAIV's commitment to developing visual languages rooted in programming and language theory.
Through a detailed historical overview, the article shows how these movements conceived of art as a collaborative process that seeks to apply scientific methods. The GAIV demonstrated that computers were not only tools, but also mechanisms for designing and theorising new artistic possibilities.
The article examines the musical and artistic projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask f... more The article examines the musical and artistic projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask from the 1950s to the end of the 1970s, including the "Musicoulour," the moody light organ, the "Fun Palace" and its "Cybernetic Theatres, as well as the "Colloquy of Mobiles," which Pask created for the exhibition "Cybernetic Serendipity" at the ICA London.
The article focuses on music and art projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask from the 1... more The article focuses on music and art projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask from the 1950ies to the end of the 1970ies. These projects are seen as embedded in Pask's general scientific work. Project Musicoulour is described as a learning machine which produces light effects according to the variety of the performance of a piano player. Thus theatres and dancing halls became cybernetic laboratories. Another example of Pask's activities in the field of art was Fun Palace, which was described as a system for encouraging the creative behaviour that is necessary in an automated society. Participation of the audience was a key element of project Fun Palace and a projected central part of it, the Cybernetic Theatre. Finally the Colloquy of Mobiles, Gordon Pask's most famous installation which has been prepared for the exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity, is discussed.
Reclaiming Art / Reshaping Democracy – The New Patrons & Participatory Art, 2017
in: Estelle Zhong Mengual, Xavier Douroux (Hg.), Reclaiming Art / Reshaping Democracy – The New P... more in: Estelle Zhong Mengual, Xavier Douroux (Hg.), Reclaiming Art / Reshaping Democracy – The New Patrons & Participatory Art, Les presses du réel, Dijon, 2017
When electronic computers caught the attention of artists and art theorists in the 1960ies, the i... more When electronic computers caught the attention of artists and art theorists in the 1960ies, the idea of a “rational”, “scientific” or “programmable” art was in the focus of interest. The technology seemed to offer a way out of the much criticized arbitrariness of post war abstract art and its alleged social irrelevance. This paper explores the use of the concept of “programming” both on the base of historical theoretical texts as well as of the actual handling of computers by the artists. The consideration of the use of self-built analog or hybrid devices to which artists referred to as “computers” not only allows for deepening the discussion of the idea “programming” in the artistic context, but for adressing the methodological problem of approaching so called “computer art”. ∗Speaker sciencesconf.org:hapoc2013:27054
This book documents a short but intense artistic experiment that took place in Yugoslavia fifty y... more This book documents a short but intense artistic experiment that took place in Yugoslavia fifty years ago but has been influential far beyond that time and place: the "little-known story" of the advent of computers in art. It was through the activities of the New Tendencies movement, begun in Zagreb in 1961, and its supporting institution the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti that the "thinking machine" was adopted as an artistic tool and medium. Pursuing the idea of "art as visual research," the New Tendencies movement proceeded along a path that led from Concrete and Constructivist art, Op art, and Kinetic art to computer-generated graphics, film, and sculpture. With their exhibitions and conferences and the 1968 launch of the multilingual, groundbreaking magazine Bit International, the New Tendencies transformed Zagreb-already one of the most vibrant artistic centers in Yugoslavia-into an international meeting place where artists, engineers, and scientis...
Since the late 1960s, the historiography of computer art has been developing a canon that is prog... more Since the late 1960s, the historiography of computer art has been developing a canon that is progressively broadening. However, this canon reveals significant blind spots, particularly due to the predominant success of digital computers leading to computer art being almost exclusively identified with digital technology. This identification overlooks other significant classes of computers, notably analogue and hybrid systems, leaving the contributions, artworks, and ideas of many early pioneers in the field unrecognized. Consequently, the history of art created with analogue and hybrid computers remains largely unexplored both in art history and media archaeology. This article seeks to illuminate this relatively obscure chapter of history by introducing the individuals and projects that utilized analogue computers, drawing on previously unknown historical sources. The aim is to underscore the historical significance of a technology that is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest in the field of computer science. The findings reveal that before the advent of artistic experiments with digital computers, analogue computers were the subject of pioneering exploration. The real-time intuitive operation of analogue computers was a unique advantage, foreshadowing a human-machine relationship now commonplace with digital technology. The narrative of the analogue computer constitutes an essential domain for understanding the diversity of computing technologies at the dawn of the computer age. Despite the scarcity of sources documenting these artistic endeavors, this article serves as a call to action for further research in this neglected area. https://artnodes.uoc.edu In the beginning, there was the analogue. An alternative history of the beginnings of computer art Universitat Oberta de Catalunya artnodes 2
This article examines the complex historical and conceptual development of the relationship betwe... more This article examines the complex historical and conceptual development of the relationship between computer technology and visual art in Europe, focusing on the interaction between the Groupe d'Art et de Calcul en Vincennes (GAIV) in Paris and the New Tendencies movement in Zagreb. It traces the origins of these artistic explorations, starting with the 1961 ‘Nove Tendencije’ exhibition in Zagreb, which challenged post-war art conventions by emphasising collective experimentation and scientific approaches to art production and perception. The study highlights Zagreb's central role as a hub for artistic and technological innovation, which led to the integration of computers as creative tools in 1968, and shows how this was connected to the GAIV's vision of art as a form of systematic research.
Central to this narrative is the transition from a romantic notion of the artist to that of a knowledgeable programmer and researcher, reflecting the broader changes in the cultural and intellectual landscape. The article highlights the contribution of French theorists and artists to this dialogue, in particular the GAIV's commitment to developing visual languages rooted in programming and language theory.
Through a detailed historical overview, the article shows how these movements conceived of art as a collaborative process that seeks to apply scientific methods. The GAIV demonstrated that computers were not only tools, but also mechanisms for designing and theorising new artistic possibilities.
The article examines the musical and artistic projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask f... more The article examines the musical and artistic projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask from the 1950s to the end of the 1970s, including the "Musicoulour," the moody light organ, the "Fun Palace" and its "Cybernetic Theatres, as well as the "Colloquy of Mobiles," which Pask created for the exhibition "Cybernetic Serendipity" at the ICA London.
The article focuses on music and art projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask from the 1... more The article focuses on music and art projects of the British cybernetician Gordon Pask from the 1950ies to the end of the 1970ies. These projects are seen as embedded in Pask's general scientific work. Project Musicoulour is described as a learning machine which produces light effects according to the variety of the performance of a piano player. Thus theatres and dancing halls became cybernetic laboratories. Another example of Pask's activities in the field of art was Fun Palace, which was described as a system for encouraging the creative behaviour that is necessary in an automated society. Participation of the audience was a key element of project Fun Palace and a projected central part of it, the Cybernetic Theatre. Finally the Colloquy of Mobiles, Gordon Pask's most famous installation which has been prepared for the exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity, is discussed.
Reclaiming Art / Reshaping Democracy – The New Patrons & Participatory Art, 2017
in: Estelle Zhong Mengual, Xavier Douroux (Hg.), Reclaiming Art / Reshaping Democracy – The New P... more in: Estelle Zhong Mengual, Xavier Douroux (Hg.), Reclaiming Art / Reshaping Democracy – The New Patrons & Participatory Art, Les presses du réel, Dijon, 2017
When electronic computers caught the attention of artists and art theorists in the 1960ies, the i... more When electronic computers caught the attention of artists and art theorists in the 1960ies, the idea of a “rational”, “scientific” or “programmable” art was in the focus of interest. The technology seemed to offer a way out of the much criticized arbitrariness of post war abstract art and its alleged social irrelevance. This paper explores the use of the concept of “programming” both on the base of historical theoretical texts as well as of the actual handling of computers by the artists. The consideration of the use of self-built analog or hybrid devices to which artists referred to as “computers” not only allows for deepening the discussion of the idea “programming” in the artistic context, but for adressing the methodological problem of approaching so called “computer art”. ∗Speaker sciencesconf.org:hapoc2013:27054
This book documents a short but intense artistic experiment that took place in Yugoslavia fifty y... more This book documents a short but intense artistic experiment that took place in Yugoslavia fifty years ago but has been influential far beyond that time and place: the "little-known story" of the advent of computers in art. It was through the activities of the New Tendencies movement, begun in Zagreb in 1961, and its supporting institution the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti that the "thinking machine" was adopted as an artistic tool and medium. Pursuing the idea of "art as visual research," the New Tendencies movement proceeded along a path that led from Concrete and Constructivist art, Op art, and Kinetic art to computer-generated graphics, film, and sculpture. With their exhibitions and conferences and the 1968 launch of the multilingual, groundbreaking magazine Bit International, the New Tendencies transformed Zagreb-already one of the most vibrant artistic centers in Yugoslavia-into an international meeting place where artists, engineers, and scientis...
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Papers by Margit Rosen
Central to this narrative is the transition from a romantic notion of the artist to that of a knowledgeable programmer and researcher, reflecting the broader changes in the cultural and intellectual landscape. The article highlights the contribution of French theorists and artists to this dialogue, in particular the GAIV's commitment to developing visual languages rooted in programming and language theory.
Through a detailed historical overview, the article shows how these movements conceived of art as a collaborative process that seeks to apply scientific methods. The GAIV demonstrated that computers were not only tools, but also mechanisms for designing and theorising new artistic possibilities.
Central to this narrative is the transition from a romantic notion of the artist to that of a knowledgeable programmer and researcher, reflecting the broader changes in the cultural and intellectual landscape. The article highlights the contribution of French theorists and artists to this dialogue, in particular the GAIV's commitment to developing visual languages rooted in programming and language theory.
Through a detailed historical overview, the article shows how these movements conceived of art as a collaborative process that seeks to apply scientific methods. The GAIV demonstrated that computers were not only tools, but also mechanisms for designing and theorising new artistic possibilities.