*What an interesting interview. I must read this book.
*Always nice to see the legendary Zagreb scene get a look-in.
*Someday the tech-art scene will get over its resentment for being sidelined for fifty years. Maybe, as is hinted here, when art has lost its analog character so utterly there's nothing else left.
(…)
"A. Outside the U.S. there was Bit International. This magazine was published in Zagreb, a city that remains a center for new media art. Published between 1968 and 1972 it showcased artworks and the theoretical directions underpinning the new tendency movement. In the U.K. the Computer Arts Society was formed in London to promote the creative potential of computers in art. Founded in 1968 by George Mallen, Alan Sutcliffe, and John Lansdown as a subsidiary of the British Computer Society, the society was set up to facilitate the growth of computers in art (BCS still promotes digital art today). As a highly successful venture, the society produced the magazine PAGE, which featured international computer artists’ works and seminal writings concerning computer art practice.
"Q. My picking out of Mohr, Molnar and Nake earlier is hardly happenstance, those artists have continued to produce work relatively late into their careers and have successfully engaged subsequent generations of artists that are using computers to make art. While these stars continue to shine, who would you identify as being some of the ‘forgotten heroes’ of computer art?
"A. Yes, this is a great question. My favorite lost hero is the American computer artist Lloyd Sumner. (((To my shame, I've never heard of him.))) Independent of any research program, Sumner started producing computer-generated drawings as early as 1964. Although he studied art at the University of Virginia, it should be noted that his primary study was engineering. It was while working at a part-time job at the campus computer science center that Sumner first came in contact with computing. Eventually Lloyd Sumner would become one of the first to use the computer solely for aesthetic means, and his publication Computer Art and Human Response (1968) was the first text devoted entirely to an individual computer art practice. He was also the first artist to sell substantial amounts of his work. In fact, in 1971 he funded much of his famous round-the-world bike expedition by selling computer artworks and lecturing on the subject. (((Good heavens.)))
"Sumner’s travel memoir, The Long Ride (1978), which records the artist making and selling artworks to finance the next leg of his journey, became legendary amongst adventure cyclists. Even with his success – he was exhibited in “Cybernetic Serendipity” – he does not feature in key histories of digital art.
"Q. On that note, “Cybernetic Serendipity: The Computer and the Arts” framed computer art in relation to the then-emerging field of cybernetics and was the first exhibition to receive international attention. Beyond this show, what would you consider to be the most historically significant computer art exhibitions?
"A. The 1970 Venice Biennale was historic. It was the first time computer art was featured at the Biennale. Computer art had made it to the world stage. Some of the biggest names in European computer art at the time, such as Auro Lecci, Frieder Nake, Georg Nees and Herbert Franke were all shown. In addition, the highly experimental Japanese computer art group CTG (Computer Technique Group) were also represented. Adding to the sense of legitimacy, computer art was shown next to the constructivist artworks of Josef Albers and Max Bill. The Venice Biennale continues to showcase the most important new media artists today…."
