Early computer art in the 1950s and 60s #Art #Computers @amygoodchild

Around 100 years after Babbage and Lovelace discussed the Analytical Engine, a mathematician named Ben Laposky was inspired by an article written in Popular Science which suggested that decorative patterns could be created using oscilloscopes.

Laposky began creating his “electrical compositions” in 1950, using a cathode ray oscilloscope along with electronic circuits like sine wave generators. He captured the moving outputs using long exposure photography. In later pieces, he rotated filters in front of the screen to add colour to the images.

Artists like Vera Molnar, Manfred Mohr, Georg Nees, Frieder Nake and A Michael Noll heralded the advent of generative computer art. These artists – who were mostly actually scientists or engineers – used code to create algorithms and began to think about the place of the computer in the art world, as well as exploring randomness and chaos.

See more in the article by Amy Goodchild.