A quick thread about Robert Mallary, the artist who wrote with the help of his son an algorithm to create the very first computer-generated physical sculpture in 1968. Read on to discover more:
Robert Mallary (1917 - 1997) was an American abstractionist and a true pioneer in computer generative art. Famous for his work with found objects and resin, he was well known for his "junk art," also sometimes referred to as "Neo-Dada."
While Ben Laposky was working on his epic collection called "Oscillons" in 1953, Robert Mallary released in 1951 his series called "Luminous Mobiles." As much as there's a resemblance between the two, it's essential to note that Mallary was not using only analog materials.
From 1968 we can consider Robert Mallary as becoming a "computer artist" when his computer-generated sculpture using Fortran on Amherst's IBM 1130 and called "Quad 1" was displayed in the legendary exhibition called "Cybernetic Serendipity" in London.
Georg Nees, started to work on his "computer sculptures" as early as 1965, but his work was only displayed in 1969 at the Nuremberg Biennale hence the assumption that Mallary was most likely the first to create a computer-generated sculpture.
Like François Morellet or Sol Lewitt, Robert Mallary had a systemic approach to his creative process. His approach was also unique as it was deeply rooted in Shannon's information theory. He described his practice as "transductive art" as it was based on systems of relationships.
During his entire career, Mallary was always ahead of his time. He worked on a virtual reality system as early as 1992 with the 'Cave Automatic Virtual Environment' system developed in the laboratories of the University of Illinois.
One of my favorite quotes from Mallary is from 1968 when he declared "Sculpture has always reflected the technology of the time". If you think about it, 3D printing is indeed a good representation of the current state of our mainstream technological evolution.
Beyond his immense artistic legacy, Mallary was also an astute theorist and a great teacher. He taught non-stop for more than 48 years and finished his career at the University of Massachusetts.
To illustrate his engagement with his students, when he saw their frustration because of hand-punched cards he built himself in 1978 a software libraries using Fortran so they could have an "easier" experience learning computer graphics (how lucky we are today with p5js).
Robert Mallary's artwork has been exhibited in some of the most prestigious museums in the world. His immense contribution is being slowly discovered, for example, "Quad III" was acquired by the Tate in 2019
If you want to learn more about the artists mentioned in this thread:
I love computer generative art and as an artist I believe it's important to share the history of the pioneers of our movement. They've been through the hardships of radical innovation so we can have a much easier time right now. I hope you enjoyed these threads!
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1/ A quick thread about Joan Shogren, the secretary who convinced Chemists to create the very first algorithm to generate computer generative art.
2/ Joan Shogren (1932-2020) was a true pioneer in computer generative art. As soon as 1963, she believed computers should be able to create artworks if they were given "rules of art."
3/ Five years before Sol Lewitt and his "Wall drawing" Joan convinced a potential graduate student called Jim Larsen and Dr. Ralph Fessenden an assistant of chemistry, to convert her instructions into a computer program.
Everything you need to know before minting your first artwork on Solana. My experience minting Generative art and 1/1 on Solana since December 2021. A whole thread to help you get started: 🧵👇🖖
Is it environmentally friendly to mint on Solana? Yes. Each block minted on Solana consumes less energy than a google query, and since December 2021, Solana has achieved carbon neutrality!
Is it expensive to mint on Solana? There is no need to think about high gas costs; minting on Solana will cost you pennies, and it's damn fast (a Solana cluster can do subsecond confirmation for thousands of nodes).
(🚨) A 30-second summary about Sonia Delaunay, a pioneer of abstraction and an endless source of inspiration for computer generative artists, a thread: 🧵🖖👇
Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979) was a French artist born in Gradizhsk. Her childhood memories of folkloric costumes strongly influenced her work with colors.
She started creating abstract works when her son was born in 1911. While working on a blanket for him, she had a breakthrough that made her think about cubism. She then started to use the same process with objects and design.
(🚨) A 30-second summary about a legendary computer generative artist, Mark Wilson, a Thread: 👀👇🧵⬇️
Mark Wilson was born in 1943 in Oregon. He started using computers in 1980 and started to learn and invent his procedures to create computer generative art. His first computer was a Texas Instruments 99/4a
In 1985 he wrote a classic book revered by many creative coders to this day; it's called "Drawing with computers."
(🚨)A 30 seconds summary of computer and generative art pioneer Michael Noll, a quick thread:🧵🖖👇
Michael Noll, born in 1939, was an engineer and professor emeritus at the University of Southern California. He is the author of the first computer artwork (1963). This world's first computer art creation was called "Gaussian-Quadratic."
Did you know that Michael Noll started computer art by accident? He serendipitously identified the artistic potential of an abstract linear design while looking at a colleague microfilm plotter.
(🚨) 7 things you may not know about Desmond Paul Henry, one of the first computer art pioneers. A thread: 🧵👇🖖
Born in 1921, Desmond Paul Henry was one of the first British artists to experiment with machine-generated visual effects.
During his career, he built five drawing machines; Three of them were built using bombsight analog computers spare parts—the last two used photochemical techniques.