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A brief history of computer Art in the 20th-Century
The use of a computer to create art was a radical concept in the mid-20th-Century. It raised questions about art process and creative behavior and challenged the notion of what art was or could be. This talk considers how the coding of algorithms and digital technology was used to make a surprising variety of art in the mid-1960s – 70s. Learn about the origins of digital and generative art – a rare and often overlooked example of inter‐disciplinary cooperation within the history of art.
By its very nature, early computer art was an experimental process, with many failures along the way. At a time when the finished object was less important than the process and collaboration, the pioneers of this medium were unafraid to show work in progress and were just as interested in what could be learned from errors.
Catherine Mason [UK]
Catherine Mason is an American independent art historian and writer based in the UK. She has been focused on recovering the history of computer and digital art since 2002. Her books include A Computer in the Art Room: The Origins of British Computer Arts 1950-80 (JJG: 2008 & eBook 2021) and most recently Creative Simulations: George Mallen and the Early Computer Arts Society (Springer: 2024).
