Autonomous Art Making Machine

Following his recent show in Cork Street, this month’s image is by that great pioneer Harold Cohen, the only artist I know who is tackling the problem of building a program that actually makes art, rather than modelling human art-making.  Summer Equinox (below) is representative of the latest development of AARON his art making computer program, and uses paint applied by Harold by hand over underpainting produced by the program.  Read the full article here :http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/40294

Summer Equinox by Harold Cohen, 2010. oil over pigment ink on canvas, 121.9x192.7 cms. copyright the artist, reproduced with permission
Summer Equinox by Harold Cohen, 2010. oil over pigment ink on canvas, 121.9×192.7 cms. copyright the artist, reproduced with permission

Fascinating new book published on an aspect of Computer Art’s history

A Little-Known Story About a Movement, a Magazine, and the Computer’s Arrival in Art: New Tendencies and Bit International, 1961-1973, edited by Margit Rosen has recently been published by MIT Press. I’ve long admired Margit’s work at Germany’s ZKM and this book, clearly the result of years of hard work, brings together Margit’s significant research and curatorial skills. It is a great, weighty tome that delivers a big bang for your buck, illuminating an exhibition movement that took place predominately in Europe – although its reach extended to Britiain and elsewhere (particularily seen in the work of Gustav Metzger, Alan Sutcliffe and others discussed within). Highlights include a clear and useful introductory essay by Margit, re-printed original texts by Metzger, Herbert W Franke, Joanthan Benthall to name just three and numerous photographs and illustrations. The whole publication is wonderfully clear and beautifully laid-out as you might expect from a top-class museum like the ZKM. Well worth a read if you’re interested in questions of why we are where we are today.

A Metaphysical World

May’s image is a still from Ruth Gibson & Bruno Martelli’s, Vermilion Lake, an interactive artwork comprising 3-D computer graphics driven by videogame technology, inspired by the artists travels to the snow-driven mountains of the Canadian Rockies. It is a hauntingly beautiful landscape of forests and reflective water under a big sky full of dazzling stars and snowflakes. Read the full article here: http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/40012

Screenshot from Vermilion Lake by Gibson & Martelli (igloo), 2011
Screenshot from Vermilion Lake by Gibson & Martelli (igloo), 2011

I am always on the lookout for striking new digital and technologically-mediated images, so please send me your latest works, artists statements, events, etc. for consideration

Space Synapse

A talk by artist, designer and entrepreneur Anna Hill, founder of Space Synapse Systems, is scheduled for Thursday 19th May at 6.30pm at Birkbeck, Gordon Square. Space Synapse aims to bring the experiences of Space to the Internet through gaming, virtual edutainment and environmental engineering.

All are welcome at what promises to be a fascinating presentation by this artist who has worked with NASA.

For address and map see: http://www.computer-arts-society.org/

Anna Hill Space Synapse Systems
Anna Hill Space Synapse Systems