Photograph
1960-1990 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This photograph is a copy of a computer-generated image by Andrew Colin. The original "dot matrix" print was produced on the Atlas Computer at the University of London in 1963. At the time, Atlas was one of the world's most powerful supercomputers.
Colin's computer pictures were included in Cybernetic Serendipity, an exhibition held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1968. The same image is reproduced in the book accompanying the exhibition, along with the following explanation:
"These pictures are essentially action paintings. The programme which generates them has a "repertoire" of five standard shapes: the circle, the ellipse, the triangle, the square and the rectangle. Before generating any pictures, the programme selects subsets of these shapes at random. It then generates examples of each shape... The different shapes are distinguished by the use of different symbols." (p.95)
The photographic reproduction of Colin's print was donated to the Museum by the Computer Arts Society, which organised a number of exhibitions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Colin's computer pictures were included in Cybernetic Serendipity, an exhibition held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1968. The same image is reproduced in the book accompanying the exhibition, along with the following explanation:
"These pictures are essentially action paintings. The programme which generates them has a "repertoire" of five standard shapes: the circle, the ellipse, the triangle, the square and the rectangle. Before generating any pictures, the programme selects subsets of these shapes at random. It then generates examples of each shape... The different shapes are distinguished by the use of different symbols." (p.95)
The photographic reproduction of Colin's print was donated to the Museum by the Computer Arts Society, which organised a number of exhibitions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Black and white photograph after a dot matrix print, originally produced on the Atlas Computer at the University of London |
| Brief description | Black and white photograph of a computer-generated image by Andrew Colin, originally created in 1963 |
| Physical description | Black and white photograph after a dot matrix print. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | 'ATLAS' (Lower left side in computer text as part of the original print. Refers to the Atlas Computer Laboratory where the work may have been created.) |
| Credit line | Given by the Computer Arts Society, supported by System Simulation Ltd, London |
| Summary | This photograph is a copy of a computer-generated image by Andrew Colin. The original "dot matrix" print was produced on the Atlas Computer at the University of London in 1963. At the time, Atlas was one of the world's most powerful supercomputers. Colin's computer pictures were included in Cybernetic Serendipity, an exhibition held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1968. The same image is reproduced in the book accompanying the exhibition, along with the following explanation: "These pictures are essentially action paintings. The programme which generates them has a "repertoire" of five standard shapes: the circle, the ellipse, the triangle, the square and the rectangle. Before generating any pictures, the programme selects subsets of these shapes at random. It then generates examples of each shape... The different shapes are distinguished by the use of different symbols." (p.95) The photographic reproduction of Colin's print was donated to the Museum by the Computer Arts Society, which organised a number of exhibitions in the late 1960s and early 1970s. |
| Other number | 12 - Previous owner's number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.199-2008 |
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| Record created | April 10, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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