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|A Little-Knov\ n Story about a Movement,

a Magazine, a n d t h e C o m p u t e r s Arrival i n \ r t :
lent Bit Iflf * nation ;
 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

oce-^iV' ct
oot e* o t* <
• QUO O (' (
 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

in collaboration with Peter Weibel, Darko Fritz, and Marija Gattin

published by ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany

The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA / London, England
i
 Table of Contents

Editorial 9 Radoslav Putar

[Untitled] 76
bit international
[Nove] tendencije. Computer und visuelle Forschung Artists' Commentaries 82
Zagreb 1961-1973
Installation views ZKM | Karlsruhe, 2008-2009 '5 I962-I963 89

Jerko Denegri
The Conditions and Circumstances That Preceded L'Instabilite
the Mounting of the First Two New Tendencies Exhibition 90
Exhibitions in Zagreb 1961-1963 19

Francois Morellet
Margit Rosen
The Case for Programmed Experimental Painting 92
The Art of Programming:
The New Tendencies and the Arrival of the Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel
Computer as a Means of Artistic Research 27 Nouvelle Tendance 94
Peter Weibel arte programmata. arte cinetica,
Digital Art: Intrusion or Inclusion? 43 opere moltiplicate, opera aperta
Exhibition 96
Darko Fritz
The Work of Vladimir Bonacic: A Temporary
Umberto Eco
Realization of the New Tendencies' Program 49
Arte Programmata 98

I96I
57 Meeting of the Nouvelle Tendance 102

nove tendencije Oltre la pittura. Oltre la scultura.

Preparation 58 Mostra di ricerche di arte visiva
Exhibition 106
Almir Mavignier
Letter to Matko Mestrovic 59 Umbro Apollonio
Bozo Bek [Untitled] 108
Letter to Mary Bauermeister 62
I963-I964 109
Almir Mavignier
Letter to Matko Mestrovic 63 nove tendencije 2
Exhibition
nove tendencije no
Exhibition
64 Matko Mestrovic
[Untitled]
Matko Mestrovic 114
[Untitled]
68 Artists' Commentaries 122
 Table of Contents

Timeline 128 Francis Hewitt

Zagreb from Michelangelo 234
Francois Molnar and Francois Morellet
For a Progressive Abstract Art 136
I968 235
Nouvelle Tendance - recherche continuelle 144
tendencije 4 /tendencies 4
Bulletin No. i 145 Preparation 236

nuova tendenza 2 Radoslav Putar, Dimitrije Basicevic, Boris Kelemen,

Exhibition 148 Ivan Picelj, and Bozo Bek
nt4 program for 1968 237
neue tendenzen
Radoslav Putar, Dimitrije Basicevic, Boris Kelemen,
Exhibition 152
Ivan Picelj, Vjenceslav Richter, and Bozo Bek
Continuation of the Discussion about the Concept
I964-I965 157
of nt4 on December 6,1967 238

Propositions visuelles du mouvement international Program Information 1

Nouvelle Tendance tendencija 4 239
Exhibition 158
Program Information 7
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 240
Karl Gerstner
What Is the Nouvelle Tendance? 162 Waldemar Cordeiro
Letter to Bozo Bek 241
Arte Proqrammata. Kinetic Art
Exhibition 174 Information exhibition accompanying the colloquy
tendencije 4. "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"
Bruno Munari tendencies 4. "Computers and Visual Research"
Arte Programmata 176 Exhibition 242

1965 177 tendencije 4. "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"

tendencies 4. "Computers and Visual Research"
nova tendencija 3 Colloquy 260
Exhibition 178
Abraham A. Moles
Editorial Board Introduction to the Colloquy 263
Remarks 182
Vjenceslav Richter
Giulio Carlo Argan Dilemma 267
Art as Research 194
Alberto Biasi
Waldemar Cordeiro Situation 1967 268
Semantic Concrete Art 202
Frieder Nake
Dimitrije Basicevic Reply to Alberto Biasi 270
Actuality of Functional Art 206
Vladimir Bonacic
Anonima Group Capabilities of the Computer in Visual Research 272
[Untitled] 212
Branimir Makanec
Abraham A. Moles The Role of Interaction in Artistic Expression
Cybernetics and the Work of Art 217 by Means of Computer 275

Matko Mestrovic and Radoslav Putar Marc Adrian

Brezovica, August 18,1965 Notes on t-4 277
Working Meeting of the Participants of NT3 229
 Table of Contents

Jiri Valoch Radoslav Putar

Computer. Creator or Tool? 283 New Tendencies 4 336

Meeting of the t-4 Organizational Board 285 Almir Mavignier

nove tendencije i-A Surprising Coincidence 344
Program Information 10
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 289 tendencije 4. kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja
tendencies 4. computers and visual research
Program Information 11
Exhibition 360
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 291

bit international 1. teorija informacija i nova estetika Boris Kelemen

bit international 1. the theory of information and the new Computers and Visual Research 365
aesthetics
Program Information 13
Magazine 292
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 368

Why bit Appears 294 Vladimir Bonacic

Art as a Function of Subject, Cognition, and Time 371
Max Bense
Aesthetics and Programming 296 Compos 68 (J. B. Bedaux, J.Clausman, A.Veen)
"Definitions..." 375
Abraham A. Moles
Experimental Aesthetics in the New Consumer Marc Adrian, Gottfried Schlemmer,
Society 300 and Horst Wegscheider
SYSPOT 378
bit international 2. kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja
bit international 2. computers and visual research tendencije 4. typoezija / tendencies 4. typoezija
Magazine 304 Exhibition 402

Jerko Denegri Zelimir Koscevic

A New Perspective: Computers and Typoezija 403
Visual Research 306
tendencije 4. "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"
Hiroshi Kawano
tendencies 4. "Computers and Visual Research"
The Aesthetics for Computer Art 309
Symposium 404
A. Michael Noll
The Digital Computer as a Creative Medium 313 Vera Horvat-Pintaric
Georg Nees Today's Research and Tomorrow s Society 407
Computer Graphics and Visual Complexity 320 Martin Krampen
Psychological Aspects of Man-Computer
Relations 411
bit international 3. internacionalni kolokvij kompjuteri i
vizuelna istrazivanja, zagreb, 3-4 kolovoz 1968 Umberto Eco
bit international 3. international colloquy computers and [Untitled] 415
visual research, zagreb, august 3-4 1968
Magazine 326 Karl Gerstner
Producing Art with the Computer 419
I969 — 329 G. Hyde, J. Benthall, and G. Metzger
Zagreb Manifesto 421
tendencije 4. nove tendencije 4
tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 Gustav Metzger
Exhibition [Untitled] 422
330
Leonardo and Laura Mosso
Anonymous
Computers and Human Research: Programming
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4
335 and Self-Management of Form 427
 Table of Contents

Kurd Alsleben tendencies 5. constructive visual research,

The Philosophy of Visual Research 432 computer visual research, conceptual art
Exhibition 476
Herbert W. Franke
Social Aspects of Computer Art 435
Radoslav Putar
Josef Hlavacek t-5 482

On the Interpretation of Programmed Art 438

Boris Kelemen
Gary Rice Computer Visual Research
For ARC: Cybernetics Proposal 442
Marijan Susovski
bit international 4. dizajn Conceptual Art 512

bit international 4. design

Magazine 444 tendencije 5. "Racionalno i iracionalno u vizualnim
istrazivanjima danas"
Tomas Maldonado and Gui Bonsiepe tendencies 5. "The Rational and Irrational in Visual
Science and Design 446 Research Today. Match of Ideas"
Symposium 520

bit international 5/6. oslikovljena rijec. konkretna poezija

bit international 5/6. the word image, poesie concrete Oskar Beckmann
Magazine 452 Computer Art and the Construction of an Art
Computer in Terms of Experimental Computer
Zeljko Bujas Science 522

First Croatian Literary Texts

Edward Zajec
Computer-Processed 454
A Proposal for an Interactive Program Exhibit 525

1971 457 Patrick Greussay

S Expressions 527
"Umjetnost i kompjuteri 71"/"Art and Computers 71"
Colloquy 458 1978 529

Jonathan Benthall tendencije 6. "Umjetnost i drustvo"

The Computer as a Medium 461 tendencies 6. "Art and Society"
Symposium 530
Frieder Nake
There Should Be No Computer Art 466
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti
t-6 = "Art and Society," Invitation 531
I97I-I972 469
Appendix 533
bit international 7. dijalog sa strojem
bit international 7. dialogue with the machine Susann Scholl and Margit Rosen
Magazine 470 The International Artists' Movement
New Tendencies in Zagreb:
bit international 8/9. televizija danas: televizija i kultura - A Timeline 534
jezik televizije - eksperimenti
Participants in the New Tendencies Exhibitions 542
bit international 8/9. television today: television and
culture - the language of television - experiments Biographies and Group Chronologies 548
Magazine 472
Bibliography 564

1973 475 Index 569

Photo Credits 576

tendencije 5. konstruktivna vizuelna istrazivanja.
kompjuterska vizuelna istrazivanja. konceptualna umjetnost

Editorial
"Doubtless considerable time will have elapsed before art­
ists will have the opportunity to use electronic equipment,"
wrote Kurd Alsleben in 1962 in his book Aesthetische Redun-
danz [Aesthetic Redundancy]. He was commenting on four
plotter drawings, which he had created together with the
physicist Cord Passow on an analog computer at the Deut-
sches Elektronen-Synchrotron [German Electron Syncho-
tron] (DESY) research center in Hamburg, in December i960.1
The artist also surmised that with the use of the computer in
art, the subject of the artwork would re-establish its impor­
tance by way of a new type of imagery: "The viewer will learn
to observe curves and their parameter changes."2 In actual
fact, by 1968 at the latest one could not fail to notice that art­
ists had discovered the computer as a medium, and that en­
gineers, mathematicians, and meteorologists were also using
this tool of theirs for aesthetic experiments not directly re­
lated to their work.3 However, the ability to interpret the en­
velopes of differential equations remained the kind of exper­
tise still not quite demanded of gallery and museum visitors.
The history of the use of the computer in fine art - Kurd
Alsleben's plotter drawings as cited in the above are one ex­
ample - began approximately sixty years ago.4 Yet, until about
ten years ago, a kind of eternal present reigned in the world
of digital art. Computer art5 had a past, but lacked a mem­
ory.6 History had not come to a standstill, as in 1984, because
someone had erased all traces of the past; it simply had not
been written.7 Contrary to the Orwellian scenario, this was
not about covering up the fact that an alternative to the world
in which we are living in at the moment was possible. Being
oblivious to history was rather a side effect of the computer's
fate in art and society. For the last fifty years, it has been con­
demned to remain the new medium. Works, exhibitions, and
festivals of so-called digital art were advertised for decades
with the promise of providing a glimpse into the technologi­
cal future of civilization.
This was due, not least, to the desire to attract attention
and funding for an area of artistic practice that, for the most
part, has been excluded for a long time from key structures
of the art world - the art market, museums and galleries, and
9
influential art criticism - and has met with difficulties in es­
tablishing an alternative economic base. As an editor of Art-
forum once remarked in October 1967 to a young art critic
who had submitted a piece on the computer graphics created
by the artist Charles Csuri, "I can't imagine Artforum ever do­
ing a special issue on electronics or computers in art, but one
never knows."8
This atmosphere, marked by doubt and hesitation,
changed very little in the years that followed. In the 1960s,
the hurdles artists were obliged to surmount whenever they
sought to work with computers were considerable, and more
so in Europe than in the USA: mainframe computers, well
cooled and shielded from dust, were located in the com­
puter centers of governments, universities, insurance compa­
nies, and mail order firms. Entire institutions or companies
shared one or two machines, and computing time was ex­
pensive. Mini-computers were introduced in the U.S. in the
mid-1960s, yet they remained unaffordable for private house­
holds and artists studios.9 Access to this technology was also
made more complicated by the fact that even the simplest
applications presupposed specialist knowledge which was
difficult to acquire under contemporary conditions. Thus,
only a rather small number of works were produced by a
handful of artists.
The most productive, and, in terms of their number, most
dominant protagonists at the time were men who earned
their living as mathematicians, engineers, physicists, or me­
teorologists. A few art theorists, curators, and gallery own­
ers became spokespersons for the works produced by the sci­
entists and presented them to the public: as objects of art, as
models for a future art form, or as examples of a new scien­
tific image world that had emerged unnoticed in computer
centers - or all of these at once. The engineers and scien­
tists would rarely by themselves enter into the negotiations
that made their objects culturally visible. Whenever this
was the case, their statements, almost without exception, did
not seek any direct connection to contemporary discussions
about art, neither through explicit identification nor by bla­
tant provocation, but triggered a parallel discourse. In all
 Editorial
these negotiations between artists, scientists, theorists, cura­
tors, and gallery owners, the contours of the computer as a
tool for artistic practice began to be discernible, albeit only
very gradually.
At the turn of the new millennium, interest arose in writing
the history of this first phase of artistic experiments with com­
puting technology during the 1960s. A number of art histori­
ans wrote essays and dissertations on the subject; artists be­
gan researching the history of the tool and medium in which
they worked; conferences and exhibitions were organized.10
All of a sudden the protagonists of the pioneering era received
letters and requests for interviews. When visited by research­
ers, they patiently pulled out portfolios containing computer
graphics from behind closets, and searched offices and cel­
lars for films, publications, operating manuals of digital, an­
alog and hybrid computers, and peripheral devices, as well
as bits of self-built hardware. Whether or not the early works
of computer art survived depended mainly on individuals. In
the 1960s and 1970s only a handful of works had been pur­
chased by museums, where they were laid to rest forgotten,
though protected, in the depths of climate-controlled depots.
Had changes taken place that awakened interest in this
particular period of the past? Unlike other technologies used
for artistic purposes, such as photography, film, and video,
to this day no year, event, or name associated with a birth
date of computer art is in circulation, however fictitious such
dates may be. If the fact that a technology has become self-
evident is taken into account, even though it is a process
which, by definition escapes perception, then the interest
in the history of computer art may be seen as a reaction to
the ubiquitous presence of computer technology as means
of production and medium of presentation in artists' studios,
galleries, exhibition halls, and museums of contemporary art
- a development that began in the mid-1980s. Photographs,
video films, paintings, sculptures, invitation cards, posters,
and books are today constructed, processed, designed, and
displayed on the computer. (To make note of this observa­
tion here seems as banal as stating that electric current flows
through all houses and streets. Yet, the spectacle of the elec­
tronic brain has faded, as did the theatrical electrification of
bodies in the salons of the eighteenth century.)
A more tangible reason for the burgeoning interest in the
early years of the artistic usage of computers is that history of
art had begun to take greater interest in scientific and techni­
cal images. The proliferation of publications on art and sci­
ence, fields that have mutually defined themselves since the
Renaissance, directed the gaze also towards computer-gener­
ated art that had originated in the laboratory." A further rea­
son for this emerging interest was of course the succession of
generations.
When scholars and artists set out to find the protagonists
and works of the pioneering era of artistic use of computer
technology, magazines and catalogs of group exhibitions
functioned as maps. For, from 1963 onwards, it was maga­
zines that publicized the term "computer art" and published
the first examples of such works.12 Early exhibitions present­
ing artistic computer graphics have been documented since
1965.13 Magazines and exhibitions were the formats in which
signification of the artifacts, created in universities and com­
panies, far removed from the art academies and studios,
would be constructed, maintained, and occasionally decon­
structed.14 These were places of negotiation and translation,
both of the works, as well as of the models and values of art­
ists, scientists, engineers, theorists, and exhibition organizers.
Computers and Visual Research: A Little-known Story
from Zagreb
The present volume is not about one single exhibition, but
about a series of exhibitions, symposia, and publications and
the international artists' movement with which they were
connected: the New Tendencies.
The chronology in brief: In 1961, a young Brazilian artist
living in Germany put together an exhibition for the Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art] in Za­
greb. The exhibition was then followed by further shows in
the Croatian capital, as well as in Italy, Germany, and France
with an increasing number of participants. Half a year after
the first exhibition, the contours of an evolving artist move­
ment were to become apparent. In April 1968, a new theme
was announced that would be implemented by a series of ex­
hibitions, symposia, and publications: "Computers and Vi­
sual Research." In 1978, a final symposium marked the end of
the New Tendencies.
Already this short chronological list adumbrates the sig­
nificance of the events in Zagreb for the history of the use
of computers in art: the New Tendencies was an existing in­
ternational movement of artists and theorists into which
the computer was programmatically assimilated as artistic
means. The discussions and experience of the artistic prac­
tices in the years between 1961 and 1965 influenced the gen­
eral perspective on this new technology, and also informed
the expectations and hopes with regard to their aesthetic, so­
cial, and political potential.
In the 1960s, the artists and theorists of the New Ten­
dencies sought to establish a position that was clearly dis­
tinct from Abstract Expressionism and Tachism. They es­
poused the ideal of a demystified art whereby the irrational,
unrepeatable creative act associated with the idea of the ge­
nius would be superseded and replaced by a methodically
planned artistic practice that was to some extent oriented on
procedures as used in science. Many members of the move­
ment explicitly referred to their artistic work as "research"
thereby not just indicating a working method, but rather the
complete reorganization of artistic practice with respect to
 iIl£] the public. The passionately wielded brush Computer] opened at the Technische Universitat [Technical
the markt)'ti from the studio in favor of "programmed paint- University] Berlin; Cybernetic Serendipity was shown in August
vvas bat"11 materials like metal and plastics, as well at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Some
ing-'"5 an uhich were transformed into objects, many of More Beginnings at the Brooklyn Museum and The Machine as
aS m°r°r^er moved mechanically in graceful slowness, or Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age at the Museum of Modern
vvhich el manipulated by the "viewer." The overawed, Art, both of which started in November, also included com­
.• L qQ Lll^* t t #
w [ eholder was to be replaced by the active "partici- puter-generated or computer-controlled artifacts.17
^aSS'" All traces of art's sacral and aristocratic past were to Nevertheless the events in Zagreb hold a special position
Pant' ^ pjnally. many of the New Tendencies artists em- within this period. The exhibitions dedicated entirely to cy­
eras ^ tjje industrial production of multiples, as bernetics or computer-generated artifacts, as listed in the
^raCe nted one possible strategy for circumventing the above, were single projects conceived by a particular curator.
11
orjen ted art market, and for distributing the artworks, And the emerging computer art groups - as, for example, the
el t i 01 as referred to as "examples of research,"16 to a wider Computer Arts Society or the circle of artists and architects
cijch vvd*
, i- tU p New Tendencies defined a new art for an ideal participating in the seminars "Generacion automatica de for-
public- i n ... j
democratic, industrialized society. mas plasticas" [Automatic Generation of Plastic Forms] at
By 1965. the New Tendencies were an internationally ac­ the computer center of the University of Madrid - could not
knowledged phenomenon. Their members were represented look back at a longer collaboration and history. Its members
it the Venice Biennale as well as the documenta III and the met when they gathered around the new symbol-processing
exhibition The Responsive Eye at the Museum of Modern Art machine that was yet to be explored. The Zagreb initiative
in New York. In the same year, the exhibition in Zagreb wit­ "Computers and Visual Research," by contrast, built upon an
nessed an international expansion of participants, which existing artistic movement and series of exhibitions, both in
once again made visible the influence of the Croatian hosts terms of content and organizational structure. Works, writ­
and the unique Yugoslavian situation as a non-aligned coun­ ings, and biographies of New Tendencies artists and theo­
try on the evolution of the movement. Bypassing the Iron rists make it possible to follow traces that lead from the ideas
Curtain, the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti presented within and practices of major art currents of the twentieth century
nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3] works by artists and the­ - Concrete art, Op art, and Kinetic art - through to visual
orists from the U.S., from Western Europe, Poland, Hungary, research by means of computing technology. They also re­
Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union. However, 1965 was veal historical caesuras and moments of perplexity between
also the year of a severe internal crisis and the movement those who dreamt of the machines, and those who actually
ground to a halt. Serious doubt prevailed about whether the submitted themselves to the unspectacular procedures of
possibility of establishing art as research under the present programming - to the preparation of punch cards and the
social conditions was viable. In this situation, a small group waiting for allotted computer time.
ot Za§reb curators and artists took the initiative and reached The discussions between the years 1968 and 1973, as doc­
°Ut t0 a new tQol of artistic research that was the technolog- umented in this book, describe a spectrum of subjects and
lca symbol of the future and promised to confirm the move- positions that to this day continue to reverberate throughout
sc|entific claims and social relevance: the computer. the electronic arts: the hope of discovering in the computer

dja'su8 ^"dencies. since 1961 hosted by the Gale- a tool unburdened by art history; the critique of computer

istra^v^01"06 Um'etnost'> launched "Kompjuteri i vizuelna technology as an instrument of militarism and capitalist ex­
with n''' ' Computers and Visual Research," a program ploitation; the will to not be subjugated to technological de­
azine ^np°Sia* exhibitions, and publications. For the mag- velopment, but to proactively influence it; the delight in us­
tively ? ^°Unded, the group opted for a title of provoca- ing machines for purposes other than those for which they
ti0n 0f b- n°'°§ica' r'g°r: hit international. "Bit," the abbrevia- were built; the hope of finding in the new technology a me­
and Co °ary ^'git, a term employed in telecommunications dium of emancipation and independent production; the de­
^infbrmat""1^ S'nCC^'3te I94°s' re^erreri to the basic unit mand for media specificity; the discussion of the relation­
2agre J '°n st°rage and communication. ship between determinism, calculated pseudorandomness,
wereto ^ not on'y l°cation where art institutions
0 and viewer participation; the question of a possible aesthet­

Marked ^ ex^1^'t'on 'ria^s to comPuters. The year ics based on the findings of psychophysiology; the quest to
He" as the h"'nternariona' zenith of student protest, as establish a structure that grants finance and cultural visibil­
^fst Phase 'n the euphoria surrounding the short ity beyond the art market; and the question as to what artis­
^fna [The B COtTlPuter art: tn February, the Dum umeni mesta tic research might be.
C0>ut rn° House of Arts] in Brno put on the exhibition
er In the exhibition Die Algorithmische Revolution [The Al­
"c> in July, Kunst aus dem Computer [Art from the gorithmic Revolution], the ZKM | Center for Art and Media
 Editorial
Karlsruhe had already shown in 2004 how computer-re­
lated art could be treated historically without restricting it to
the history of its technology and milieu. Conceived by Peter
Weibel, this exhibition18 sought to reveal the structural con­
nections between Kinetic art, Concrete art, Fluxus, happen­
ings, Concept art, computer-generated or computer-facili­
tated art, architecture, and music. Reflection on the history
of the electronic arts in connection with contemporary cur­
rents is a precondition for developing differentiated artistic
and museological practice and theory. Engaging in the his­
tory of the New Tendencies allows for a verification of this
approach by applying it to a concrete, historical case study.
Within the framework of this long-term strategy, the ZKM re­
alized the exhibition bit international. [Nove] tendencije. Com­
puter und visuelle Forschung Zagreb 1961-19/3 [bit international.
New Tendencies. Computers and Visual Research Zagreb
1961-1973] in 2008, and the present volume, both of which
were generously supported by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes
[German Federal Cultural Foundation].
Origins
This book forms part of a project, which originated from an
idea of the Croatian artist and curator Darko Fritz. After Her­
bert W. Franke's seminal book Computergraphik. Computer-
kunst [Computer Graphics. Computer Art] and the doctoral
dissertation Die Anfdnge der Computerkunst [The Beginnings
of Computer Art]19 by the German art historian Heike M.
Piehler brought the events in Zagreb to my attention in 2003,
I came across the exhibition / Am Still Alive, which Darko'
Fritz had organized in 2000 in cooperation with the Multi-
medijalni Institut [Multimedia Institute] (mi2) at the Galerija
PM [PM Gallery] in Zagreb.20 I Am Still Alive featured com­
puter graphics from the years 1964-1972, as well as works of
contemporary low-tech media art and net art.21 Although the
marvelous archives of the Muzej suvremene umjetnosti Za­
greb [Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb] (MSU Zagreb)
had always been open to all researchers, Darko Fritz was the
first to become aware of this forgotten history of the pioneer­
ing days of computer art years before it came to the attention
of the international scientific community. However, he was
unable to find any support for continuing his research un-
LSX
"1 2004, when accepting my invitation to develop this project
wtth the ZKM I Center for Ar, and Media k to­
gether wtth Peter Weibel, „e then conceived an initial con­
cept for an exh,baton and a publication, which evolved dur­
ing the course of the project Research commenced together
tn November 2oo4, but then proceeded independently with
ttxszxszzsS
Landesmuseum Joanneum [New Gallery Graz at the State
Museum Joanneum] in 2007, and a revised and extended ver­
sion of this exhibition, curated by Darko Fritz, Margit Rosen,
and Peter Weibel, shown at the ZKM | Center for Art and
Media Karlsruhe in 2008."
The Book: A User's Manual
This is a source book chronologically documenting the exhi­
bitions, symposia, and publications of the New Tendencies
from 1961 to 1978. It features letters, minutes of meetings, es­
says that appeared in catalogs and the magazine bit interna­
tional, transcriptions of audio recordings, photographs of ex­
hibitions, conferences, and works, a timeline, statistics that
show which artists participated when in the New Tendencies
exhibitions, a bibliography, and biographical notes. Four es­
says provide the introduction. Jerko Denegri describes the
context in which the New Tendencies movement originated
and how it developed; Peter Weibel analyzes the art histori­
cal program that led to the use of computers; Margit Rosen
sheds light on the arrival of computers in the New Tenden­
cies, and Darko Fritz presents Vladimir Bonafic as an artist-
scientist who realized the goals of the movement in the age of
cybernetics in an exemplary fashion.
The selection of texts from the years 1961 to 1965 is guided
by the question as to which of the concepts and practices
of the New Tendencies inspired openness towards accept­
ing the computer as an artistic tool.24 While number 8/9 of
the magazine bit international is documented by its cover and
its table of contents, the texts have not been included since
video art and television are beyond the scope of this book.
All issues of bit international will be made available on the
MSU Zagreb website. The documents and photographs re­
cording the events in Zagreb originate almost without excep­
tion from the Archive MSU Zagreb, which has cooperated
c osely with the ZKM throughout the entire project, some­
thing for which we are, indeed, most grateful.
The strongly visual format of the book follows a proposal
put orward by Peter Weibel. The publication offers a chro-
no ogical narrative in images that runs parallel to the texts.
Barring some exceptions, a reconstruction of the works actu­
al ly shown in the above-mentioned exhibitions was possible.
Obtaining examples of works by all artists for the purposes
of reproduction was not possible, and in some cases a cer-
l,ri u eXaCtitude had <° be accepted: the work details
vo| ^ T ^atal°gS'the notes and recollections of those in-
C C
olved, and the views of the exhibition in some cases proved
o ragmented that it became impossible to assemble a co­
herent picture.
En?hUSea°f the "ame "NeW Tendencies" m this book - in
artsts TV" ? ' ~ reqUireS a Word °f explanation. The
ri n he°r'StS'° Wh°m tWs book is dedicated, no. only
Tendanc -N tendencies, but also in the "Nouvelle
Tendance, Nove tendencije," "Nuova tendenza," "New Ten-
 Editorial

jciiCy""[MeueTendenz,""NuevaTendencia,"and "Nieuwe Ten- Picture research and correspondence of the present vol­
denzen."25 This ^st names f°r the movement is stamped ume was only possible with the help of Adam Rafinski and
on a letter by Henk Peeters, dated November 27, 1963, to­ Martina Metz. I thank Simon Bieling for producing an exten­
gether with the signet designed for the movement by Yvaral. sive collection of biographies and Petra Zimmermann for her
In the history of the New Tendencies, however, there ongoing help with procuring literature.
are even more variants, both of the titles of exhibitions and And that a book such as this can result from all this re­
the name of the movement. After nove tendencije [New Ten­ search is no less thanks to the great experience, expertise,
dencies] (1961) came nove tendencije 2 [New Tendencies 2] and patience of the ZKM | Publications department - Miriam
(1963/1964), nuova tendenza 2 [New Tendency 2] (1963), neue Sturner, Jens Lutz, Katharina Holas, and Natalie Kraus - and
tendenzen [New Tendencies] (1964), Nouvelle Tendance [New the designer Renata Sas. To them I also want to express my
Tendency] (1964), nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3] (1965), personal gratitude.
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 (1968/1969), tendencije 5 / tendencies The ZKM must extend its especial thanks to Zagreb, to
5 (1973), and, finally, tendencije 6 / tendencies 6 (1978). In the the staff of the Muzej suvremene umjetnosti. We thank the
documents written in French by the Groupe de Recherche director Snjezana Pintaric, who offered her support to the
d'Art Visuel [Visual Art Research Group], the term "Nouv­ project throughout all its phases. Thanks also to the cura­
elle Tendance" [New Tendency] as a description of the move­ tor Jasna Jaksic, who assisted work on the book from 2008 to
ment appeared in January 1962." One year later, this term 2010 in Karlsruhe and Zagreb, and not only supported this
received a further addition: the name Nouvelle Tendance - project in Croatia, but also through research in Italy.
recherche continuelle [New Tendencies - continuous re­ Finally, my personal thanks to Marija Gattin, senior cu­
search] was introduced. During this phase, other languages rator and head of documentation at the MSU Zagreb, who
still retained the plural. unfortunately could not accompany the book in the final
In this book, the term "New Tendencies" is used as an um­ phase of production. Without her knowledge, commitment,
brella term for the entire phenomenon of the exhibition se- and humor neither the exhibitions nor the book would have
r|es and artists' movement. However, the alternate use of been possible. Marija Gattin not only opened the cabinets
e plural and singular - as well as the temporary use of the and boxes of the rich archive of the MSU Zagreb for us in
c term Nouvelle Tendance in other languages - is re- 2004, answered queries, responded to all manner of requests,
it 'n t'le translations of the historical texts. International- and helped to identify works and protagonists and to assem­
the C dr'°us symPathies, and the balance of power among ble the chronology of the Zagreb-related events, but she also
grouPs and countries remain visible in these variants. pointed out new clues and unknown documents and solved
riddles and contradictions. From her we learned that for
Acknowledgments
strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go
'hanks'11' l^e ZKM wishes to express its sincere to the archive itself, which is always far more daring than any
h'tious'° t^e ^u'turst'hung des Bundes for financing this am- effort of the imagination.27
greb f0r ^r°^ect ant* t0 'he Muzej suvremene umjetnosti Za-
The Several years of excellent and fruitful collaboration. Margit Rosen
ble with"63''231'011 k00^ would not have been possi-
and co ° U t t ' l e '^ose who participated in the events
as we]i r')Utec^to 'he publications of the New Tendencies, 1 The drawings were produced on an analog computer, an EAI 231R.

iiuseo,^ r'1e'r fatmihes, and the collectors, foundations, and 2 Kurd Alsleben, Aesthetische Redundanz. Abhandlungen iiber die artistischen
Mittel der biidenden Kunsl, Schnelle, Quickborn, 1962, p. 52; translated from
rnateriaj Provided us with information and image the German.
in8permj' am V6r^ 8rate^u^ to Almir Mavignier for grant- 3 From August 3 to October 10, 1968, the Institute of Contemporary Arts
H '1° not SS'°n t0 Pubhsh his letters, and to the many people London showed the exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity, which was visited by
about 40,000 people. From November 25, 1968 to February 9, 1969, the
assist
ecj .°n^ released information on their own work, but
Museum of Modern Art New York presented examples of computer-generated
art'sts | Provi^ing considerable information about other
ari graphics in the exhibition The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age.
e)(te 4 See, for example: Lejaren A. Hiller and Leonard M. Isaacson, Experimental
n^
c^arify"ng institutional connections: thanks must
Music, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1959. Bell Telephone Laboratories, Music from
ran e(* to Matko Mestrovic, Ivan Picelj, Danielle and
?ois
Mathematics. Played by IBM 7090 Computer and Digital to Sound Transducer,
p^ala. ^ °fellet, Vera Molnar, Frieder Nake, and Karolj Decca Records, New York, 1962. Theo Lutz, "Stochastische Texte," in:
rS and t'l9n'cs a'so 8°to 'he authors Jerko Denegri, Darko augenblick, vol. 4, no. 1, 1959, pp. 3-9. Nanni Balestrini, "Tape Mark I," in:
Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 1962, Boinpiani, Milan, 1961, pp. 145-151.
,'e''hski 5Usann Scholl. 1 am deeply grateful to Siegfried 5 On the use of the term "computer art" see: Nicholas Lambert, A Critical
°nVersap °r's Gr°ys. and Timothy Druckrey for inspiring Examination of "Computer Art": Its History and Application, Ph.D. thesis, Oxford
Utt^ esSe^0r,s, and especially to Peter Weibel, who contrib- University, 2003, unpublished, pp. 3-22.

'ally to the conception of this book.

14 Editorial

.4 Reesa Greenberg. Bruce W. Ferguson, and Sandy Nairne. -Introduction." ,n:

6 I owe this formulation to the introduction of the research project "Pionniers et
Reesa Greenberg, Bruce W. Ferguson, and Sandy Nairne (eds.l. I hiniing about
precurseurs" of Leonardo/OLATS, available online at: http://www.olats.org/
Exhibitions, Routledge. London. New York. p. I.
pionniers/presentation.php, 04/07/2010.
15 See, for example: Francois Morellet. "Pour une peinture experimental pro
7 Prior to 2000, there were isolated examples of authors engaging in the early
grammee," in: Croupe de Recherche dArt Visuel. Pans 1962. exhib. brochure for
years of computer art. See: Peter Weibel, Zur Geschichte und Aslhetik der digitalen
L'lnstabiliti, Maison des Beaux-Arts. Paris. 1962. n. p. Almir Mavignirr. "48
Kunst, supplement to the exhib. cat., Ars Electronica, Linz, 1984. Frank Dietrich,
Serigraphien." in: ausstellung mavignier. exhib. cat., studio f. I Im. 1962. n. p.
"Visual Intelligence. The First Decade of Computer Art (1965-1975), in:
16 "Divulgation des exemplaires de recherche." in: nova tendencies J. exhib. cac,
Leonardo, vol. 19, no. 2, 1986, pp. 159-169. Cynthia Goodman, Digital Visions.
international version, Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb, p. 5.
Computers and Art, exhib. cat., Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, Harry N.
17 computer graphic, Diim um£ni mistii Brna. February 4 March 3. 1968. Brno,
Abrams, New York, 1987. Martin Sperka, "The Origins of Computer Graphics
curated by Jiri Valoch: Cybernetic Serendipity. Institute of Contemporary Ana.
in the Czech and Slovak Republics," in: Leonardo, vol. 27, no. 1, 1994, pp. 45-50.
8 Philip Leider, editor of Artforum, letter to Matthew Baigell, associate professor London, August, 2 - October 20. 1968. curated by Jasia Reichardl; Kunst aus

of art history, Ohio State University, October 30, 1967. dem Computer, Technische Universitiit (Technical University] Berlin, accom­

9 In 1965, the Digital Equipment Corp. introduced the PDP-8 in the USA, the panying the joint summer conference. Massachusetts Institute of lechnology.

first commercially successful mini-computer. With a market price of $18,000, Technische Universitat Berlin, curated by Herbert W. Franke; Some More

it was sold to thousands of manufacturing plants, small businesses, and
scientific laboratories. See: "Timeline of Computer History," Computer History
Museum, Mountain View, CA, available online at: http://www.computerhistory.
org/timeline/, 04/07/2010.
10 Scholars and artists who engaged in research in this field from roughly 2000
to 2007 included, among others, Yoshiyuki Abe, Paul Brown, Barbara Buscher,
Enrique Castanos Ales, Jungkwon Chin, Darko Fritz, Charlie Gere, Susanne
Grabowski, Hans-Christian von Herrmann, Christoph Hoffmann, Stephen
Jones, Christoph Kliitsch, Nicholas Lambert, Wolf Lieser, David Link, Catherine
Mason, Frieder Nake, Barbara Nierhoff-Wielk, Horst Oberquelle, Christiane
Paul, Claus Pias, Heike M. Piehler, Margit Rosen, and Grant D. Taylor.
For conferences between 2000-2007, see, for example: "Stuttgart 1960.
Computer in Theorie und Kunst," September 30 - October 2, 2004, Akademie
Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart. "Refresh! First International Conference on the
Histories of Media Art, Science and Technology," September 28 - October 1,
2005, Banff New Media Institute, Banff, Canada. "Sonic Acts XI. The Anthology
of Computer Art," February 23-26, 2006, Paradiso / De Balie, Amsterdam.
For exhibitions between 2000-2007, see: 2000,1 Am Still Alive, Galerija PM,
Zagreb. 2004, Die Algorithmische Revolution. Zur Geschichte der interaktiven
Kunst, ZKM |Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. 2004, Digitala Pionjdrer -
Visuella elektroniska experiment i Sverige 1960-1980, Elektrohype, Malmo. 2004,
Frieder Nake: Die prdzisen Vergniigen, Staatliche Kunsthalle Bremen. 2004,
Scratch Code, bitforms Gallery, New York. 2005, Georg Nees. Kiinstliche Kunst.
Die Anfdnge, Staatliche Kunsthalle Bremen. 2006, Anfdnge der Computergraphik
aus der Sammlung Etzold, Stadtisches Museum Abteiberg Monchengladbach.
2006, Vera Molnar. monotonie, symttrie, surprise, Staatliche Kunsthalle Bremen
(exhibition in connection with the d.velop digital art award [ddaa] of the
Berliner Galerie Digital Art Museum [DAM]). 2006, 20th Century Computer Art:
Beginnings and Developments, Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo, Japan. 2006
Otto Beckmanns Kunstcomputer und die Anfdnge der Computerkunst, Staatliche
Beginnings. Experiments in Art and Technology (E A T). Brooklyn Museum. New
York, November 25. 1968 - January 5. 1969. organized by Experiments in An
and Technology: The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age, I he
Museum of Modern Art, New York. November 25. 1968 February 9. 1969,
curated by Pontus Hulten.
18 Co-curators: Dominika Szope, Katrin Kaschadt. Margit Rosen. Sabine
Himmelsbach.
19 Herbert W. Franke. Computergraphik. Computerkunst, Munich. Bruckmann.
Munich, 1971. Heike M. Piehler. Die Anfdnge der Computerkunst. dot Verlag.
Frankfurt am Main, 2002.
20 The exhibition was produced by mi2. in collaboration with the Hrvatsko
druStvo likovnih umjetnika [Croatian Association of Artists] (HDLU) and the
Muzej suvremene umjetnosti Zagreb |Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb,
21 See: 1 Am Still Alive, exhib. brochure. mi2, Zagreb, available online at
http://mama.mi2.hr/alive/. 04/07/2010.
22 Scientific advisors were Margit Rosen. Peter Weibel. and Marija Gattin.
23 Neue Galerie Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum. April 28 August 26. 2007:
ZKM | Karlsruhe. February 23. 2008 - January 18. 2009. For the ZKM. the
exhibition bit international was restructured and expanded by Margit Rosen
and Peter Weibel, chronologically reconstructing the New Tendencies
exhibitions with works and documents from 1961 to 1973.
24 This volume does not recount the entire history of the New Tendencies, w hu h
has already been undertaken in Jerko Denegri's constructive approach art rsat
51 and new tendencies (exhib. cat.. Centro Cultural de Cascais. Cascais. 2001.
Horetzky, Zagreb. 2004) and Die Neuen Tendenzen. Fine europdische KunctU,
bewegung 1961-197S (exhib. cat.. Museum fur Konkrete Kunst Ingolstadl. 2006).
25 See: Henk Peelers, "archive de la nouvelle tendance." letter to Ivan Purl,.
November 27. 1963. Archive Ivan Picelj.
26 See: Valerie L. Hillings. Experimental Artists'Groups in Europe. 1951-1968

Kunsthalle Bremen. 2006, Cybernetic Sensibility, Daelim Contemporary Art Abstraction, Interaction and Internationalism. Ph.D. thesis. New York University.

Museum / biforms gallery, Seoul. 2007, Mutualite. Kurd Alsleben und Antje Eske 7on ! NY> 2°°2, Univ"si'Y Microfilms International. Ann Arbor. Ml. 2002.
Von der Computerzeichnung zur Netzkunstaffaire 1961-2006, Staatliche r t , 1 P ' a , e 4 ''' D ° U 8 ' a S D a V i C , • A r '" n d ' h e F u , u r f A ""'ory/Prophecy of
Kunsthalle Bremen. ' . be'Wee" Science- Techn°logy. and Art. Praeger. New York. p. 56.

11 In place of an extensive list of all the relevant publications and research Donald D. Egbert, Social Radicalism and the Arts. Western Europe. A Cultural
projects in the areas of the history of ar, and science, here is a small selection H.story from,he French Revolution to 1968. Duckworth. London. 1970. p. 364.
of authors: Hans Beltmg, Gottfried Bohm, Horst Bredekamp, Wolfgang Coy
London,Z?PG!Z'"* °,A"' •« """ Wl.
Lorra.ne Daston, Peter Galison, Peter Geime, Caroline Jones, Martin Kemp
Friedrich Kmler. Bruno La,our. Claus Pias, Hans-,org Rhcinberger, Peter
" by sl,"'ock Holn"''
Weibel, and Siegfried Zielinski.
dar n!t"r « """ *> >° lu.lt which i. alw.y. mo„

R.d H,,d.d , " a' Co„.„ £.1.. "Th,

Red Headd Le.gua, n,C,mpl,„Sherhlk v„, '
'» '•* «-*- 0-e-n). 6.SeptemberK Noble Classics. New York. 2003. p. 206.
Mitchell, Computer Art," in: New Scientist no 357 icc* , °berl K'
Mezei and Arnold Rockmann, "The Electronic C • PP-6I4-615. Leslie
in: Canadian Art, vol. 2. no 6 Novemh n rPU,er " Ar,iSt"

Nees, "Statistische Grafik," in: Grundlaa r^ '964> pP" 365~367. Georg

wissenschaft, vol. 5, no. 3/4, December \9M pp 61E ""d Geistes'
13 "z:: g r a p h i - b y ——
Computer-Generated Pictures > P2^nuTonTc ^ 1965'

Noll and Bela Julesz. Howard Wise J ^ "TT * A" Michael

presentation of computer graph" by w. Ga^R '965: "nd 3

Harrison at the Forsythe Gallery. Ann Arbor. M^l 25 - <!^*£*Ul

bit international
[Nove] tendencije. Computer und visuelle Forschung
•' u
Zagreb 1961-1973
Installation views ZKM I Karlsruhe, 2008-2009
18 bit international • 2008-2009

bit international
[Nove] tendencije. Computer und visuelle Forschung
Zagreb 1961-1973
Opening of the exhibition at ZKM | Karlsruhe, February 22, 2008
Artists visiting the exhibition

•1
• 6
Kurd Alsleben, Antje Eske, Wolfgang • 10
Almir Mavignier, Ivan Picelj
Ludwig Susanne Paech, Gottfried Jager,
• 7
• 2 Herbert W. Franke
Francois Morellet, Danielle Morellet,
Diora Fraglica, Getulio Alviani • 11
Frederic Morellet
•3 Klaus Staudt, Walter Zehringer
• 8
Richard Beckmann, Oskar Beckmann, Uli Pohl
Julio Le Pare
Miro A. Cimerman • 12
•9
• 4 Karl Gerstner
Group portrait. Dieter Hacker
Ivan Picelj, Denise Rene • 13
•5 (6"- from left). Dunja Donassy-Bonacic
Sergej Pavlin, Matko MeStrovic,
<7'h 0°m left), Sylvia Roubaud
Matko MeStrovii Davide Boriani
(3rd from right)

Jerko Denegri
The Conditions and Circumstances That Preceded
the Mounting of the First Two New Tendencies
Exhibitions in Zagreb 1961-1963
The Continuity between Exat 51 and New Tendencies
There are two separate and independent, but also intercon­
nected phenomena in Croatian art in the period from ca. 1950
to 1970: the group of painters, architects, and designers known
as Exat 51 (which is the acronym of their full name "Experi­
mental Atelier 1951"), active in Zagreb from 1951 to 1956, and
the New Tendencies movement, which is the umbrella name
for a series of five exhibitions bringing together an interna­
tional group of exhibitors and held in Zagreb in the following
chronological order: nove tendencije [New Tendencies], 1961;
nove tendencije 2 [New Tendencies 2], 1963; nova tendencija 3
[New Tendency 3], 1965; tendencije 4 / tendencies 4, 1968/1969;
and tendencije 5 / tendencies 5,1973. These two phenomena are
connected through their fundamental orientation on the
perception of a "constructive approach to art," ranging from
early post-war geometric abstraction in the case of the Exat
51 group and the neo-constructivist optic, and Gestaltist, Ki­
netic, and programmed art (arte programmata) in the case of
the New Tendencies. However, it must be pointed out that
the tentatively mentioned stylistic models do not correspond
in their entirety to all forms of artistic expression represented
in these two phenomena. The other reason for the relation­
ship between Exat 51 and the New Tendencies in the Croatian
art scene is the fact that several protagonists feature in both
movements. Twelve years after their first association as mem­
bers of Exat 51, Ivan Picelj, Vjenceslav Richter, Vlado Kristl,
and Aleksandar Srnec found themselves together again at
the nove tendencije 2 exhibition;1 naturally, in a changed ar­
tistic and general cultural context. There, they not only es­
tablished the continuity of their artistic points of view, but
also the continuity of their individual roles and the parts they
played both in Exat 51 and the New Tendencies under the
conditions prevailing in Croatian art in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Exat 51 group (whose other members, along with
Picelj, Richter, Kristl, and Srnec mentioned above, were Ber­
nardo Bernardi, Zdravko Bregovac, Zvonimir Radic, Bozidar
Rasica, and Vladimir Zarahovic) emerged in the historical
situation and the social transformation of Yugoslav society
19
shortly after World War II. At the time, when there was a de­
parture from the ruling ideological doctrine of Socialist Re­
alism, paths to freer expression opened on the cultural and
artistic front. Within this context, the orientation of the
members of the Exat 51 group was the most radical because
of their open espousal of abstract painting and their ideas of
a synthesis of architecture and other visual arts. The group
formed with the publication of a manifesto in late 1951 and
its painter members held two exhibitions of abstract paint­
ing in Zagreb and Belgrade in early 1953. The conceptual po­
sitions put forward in the manifesto, the theoretical contri­
butions of Richter and Radic, and the practical realizations
of the painters Picelj, Kristl, Srnec, and Rasica - drawing on
the traditions of Bauhaus, Russian Constructivism, and the
achievements of European Abstract art - represented a sig­
nificant ideological step for the arts in Croatia and Yugosla­
via in general. They also had a certain programmatic affinity
with some artist groups emerging in the early 1950s in West­
ern Europe, such as the Espace [Space] group in France, and
the Forma Uno [Form One] and Movimento Arte Concreta
[Concrete Art Movement] in Italy. The painters among the
members of Exat 51 took part in the Salon des Realites Nou-
velles [Salon of New Realities], an exhibition of Abstract art
held at the Musee d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris [Mu­
seum of Modern Art of the City of Paris] in 1952; that is, even
prior to their first appearance on their own art scene. This
demonstrates that the group not only held an innovative po­
sition in their local context, but that the basic theoretical
postulates and practical works of its members were imme­
diately contextualized internationally. Therefore, when dis­
cussing the first exhibition of the New Tendencies at the Ga-
lerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art]
in Zagreb in 1961, we should keep in mind that a cultural ba­
sis existed already in the Zagreb art scene, which dated back
in the early 1950s with the emergence of the Exat 51 group.
How the First New Tendencies Exhibition Came About
In art historian Marina Viculins Ph.D. thesis on the New Ten­
dencies, several interesting documents in connection with
Denegri • Conditions and Circumstances
the first Zagreb exhibition of 1961 are cited. The first quota­
tion is from a letter by the Brazilian artist Almir Mavignier,
the curator of the first New Tendencies exhibition, to the
Croatian art critic Matko Mestrovic of July 5, 1961: "I think
there are three people responsible for this exhibition: (Bozo]
Bek, me, and yourself."1
Marina Viculin commented: "Does history unfold fol­
lowing chance lines of personal meetings, or was the gather­
ing of the NT a 'historical necessity' of young artists infected
with Marxism? Whatever the case, the movement was born
in several quite unplanned meetings." 3
The second quotation is from a letter by Matko Mestrovic
to the art historian Valerie Hillings of June 29, 2001: "I met
Mavignier accidentally in Zagreb in the early days of autumn
i960. He was visiting his friends in Croatia after a long trip to
Egypt and Venice. 4 We started to discuss about the XXX. Bi-
ennale, which I also had visited a few days before. Both of us
came down to Piero Dorazio as the unique interesting point
of the Mostra. Our talks continued into the night. I was im­
pressed by somebody who came from HfG of Ulm and he
also by my knowledge. He proposed two things: a) I should
make my personal selection of Yugoslav painters to be pre­
sented at studio f in Ulm, and b) he will propose a long list
of names/groups of artists 'like Dorazio' from different coun­
tries to be invited for a collective exhibition in Zagreb. My
duty was to persuade Bozo Bek to approve his proposals as
the projects of the Gradska galerija suvremene umjetnosti 5 ." 6
On the subject of how the first New Tendencies exhibi­
tion came about, there is the authentic testimony of its initia­
tor, Almir Mavignier, which is worth citing almost in full be­
cause of the very interesting events mentioned in it:
"In i960 I found myself in Zagreb. The open-mindedness
of an astonishingly well-informed group of artists and art
critics made this a stimulating first contact. [...]
The subject [at a podium discussion in the Zagreb art
academy] was a report about the Venice Biennale of i960.
I was asked what hitherto unknown artistic movement
had made its presence felt at this Biennale, and I replied
None, and that this was for the simple reason that the struc­
ture of the Biennale (as it then was) enabled only the kind
of art to be presented which had already become known
through the art trade or official national exhibitions
To get wind of still unknown movements, one has to go to
artists studios and get acquainted with artists who are exner
lmenting with new ideas and new materials - artists like in
my opinion, Francois Morellet,Gruppo N Enrim Tcc 11* •
Pohl Marc Adnan and Walter Zehringer, amongst others
ho are searching for new paths and new artistic ideas
To corroborate this opinion, I proposed
organizing an ex-
hibition of such artists
In fact, some time later the initial
preparations for the ex­
hibition began. Bozo Bek, the director of the Galerije grada
Zagreba [Galleries of the City of Zagreb), and the an critic
Matko Mestrovic were indefatigable in clarifying decisive
points of organization with me in a lively correspondence.
[...]
On average the works that were sent in were very good.
The selection of the works had been left to the artists them­
selves. Besides pictures, however, there was a new kind of
sculpture that possessed none of the traditional character­
istics of sculpture and had more the character of an object.
The order in which the exhibition should be arranged
was immediately clear to me - the objects after the pictures;
that is, from painting to objects.
As the exhibition's title, I suggested "neue tendenzen" [New
Tendencies]. This title came from the exhibition Stringenz.
Nuove tendenze tedesche [German New Tendencies), which had
taken place in 1959 at theGalleria Pagani [Pagani Gallery).
The biggest surprise of the first New Tendencies exhibi­
tion was the amazing kinship of the experiments by artists
from different countries, although these artists knew little
about each other or frequently didn't even know each other
at all.
This phenomenon made us in Zagreb conscious for the
first time of the existence of an international movement; a
movement in which a new conception of art is revealed,
which experiments with the visual investigation of surfaces,
structures, and objects.
Awareness of this new visual dimension forced the orga­
nizers in Zagreb, as well as the artists themselves, to pursue
the development of this movement and to document and ac­
quire new information about it through further New Ten­
dencies exhibitions, which subsequently also took place out­
side Yugoslavia." 7
The European Context of the First New Tendencies
Exhibitions
The book Prospect-Retrospect. Europa 1946-1976«. a chronicle
of the most significant developments on the European an
scene during the post-war period, lists several exhibitions
in 1961 that were considered important: the Bewogen Beweg
1ng [Moving Movement] exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum
in Amsterdam, which was later shown at the Moderna Mu-
seet in Stockholm and the Louisiana Museum of Modern
Art Hum'ebsk (Denmark); the exhibitions A 40° au-dessus
de Dada [40 Degrees above Dada] (1961) and Le Nouveau R£-
ahsme a Paris e, a Neu, York [Nouveau Realisme in Paris and
e» oik] (| 6,), both held in Paris,' and at the ZERO Fesl auf
9
1 Z E R ° F e s t i v a l a < t h e R h -<- Meadows] (.96.)
show"' H f u b °° k a U ° m e n , i o n s " <*ries of smaller
ManTni S ° ' ° e*h,bi,ions, including those of Arman, Piero
s o = d nrteo castellani, Robert Rauschenberg. |ack-
' Ch"Sto' Tinguely, and Mark Ro.hko, which

took place in various European cities.10 The first New Ten­
dencies exhibition in Zagreb is also named.
Members of the ZERO group, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene,
and Gunther Uecker, and Manzoni and Castellani, who at
the time were associated with the gallery and magazine Azi­
muth & Azimut in Milan, were on Mavignier's list of partic­
ipants of the Zagreb exhibition, alongside Piero Dorazio
and Gerhard von Graevenitz, with Francois Morellet, Julio
Le Pare, and Joel Stein from the Paris Groupe de Recherche
d'Art Visuel [Visual Art Research Group] (GRAV), the Italian
Gruppo N [Group N] from Padua and Gruppo T [Group T]
from Milan, as well as local artists Ivan Picelj and Julije Kni-
fer.11 This preliminary list of names already shows that the
first Zagreb exhibition of the New Tendencies brought to­
gether numerous protagonists from the early post-Informel,
which was one of the trends in Abstract art (the other was
"Objective art" - British and American Pop art and French
Nouveau Realisme).
The abstract- and object-oriented trends emerged in the
late 1950s after Informel had been exhausted as the domi­
nant form of artistic expression in the early post-war period.
Both revealed the spirit of resurging optimism spreading
through the ranks of the young generation of artists that de­
veloped in the consolidated social situation of renewed Eu­
rope. It is in this spirit that one of the participants in the first
Zagreb exhibition of the New Tendencies, Francois Morellet,
stated the following in the exhibition catalog, his personal
opinion, but clearly with reference to the overall intellectual
climate of that historic moment: "Imagine that we are at the
eve of a revolution in the arts that is as great as the revolution
that exists in science. Therefore, the reason and the spirit ot
systematic research has to replace intuition and individual­
ist expression."12
Events within the Context of the New Tendencies 1961-1963
At the first exhibition of the New Tendencies in Zagreb, the
idea of establishing an international movement was not men­
tioned, but there was agreement to stage a second exhibition
in two years' time; that is to say, a biennial was founded un­
der the sponsorship of the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti in
Zagreb. A member of the Padua Gruppo N and one of the
participants of the first Zagreb exhibition, Manfredo Massi-
roni, described its impact: "This exhibition, the response to
which was quite limited among the critics, was of exceptional
significance for the artists, above all because it provided an
opportunity for meetings between many artists from diverse
parts of Europe who, not being personally acquainted, could
witness for themselves the striking affinity of their works. Al­
though they were not aware of what, in fact, connected them,
it was for them a moment of great enthusiasm.'13
As a result of this stimulating experience, numerous con­
tacts, exchanges of experience, new acquaintances, as well as
Denegri • Conditions and Circumstances
meetings ensued quickly afterwards, but also a sort of com­
petition for the predominance on the conceptual and or­
ganizational level. In October 1961, the Paris-based Groupe
de Recherche d'Art Visuel took the initiative and published
a programmatic statement entitled "Propositions generales"
[General Proposals] in which they, in reference to the New
Tendencies or Nouvelle Tendance [New Tendency], among
other things, stated the following: "To free the public from
inhibitions and deformations in evaluating art, which is the
result of traditional aestheticism, by creating a new situation
between the artist and society. [...] To establish the existence
of indeterminate phenomena in the structure and visual re­
ality of the artwork and, proceeding from this point, to con­
ceive new possibilities which will open a new field of inves­
tigation."14
In an individual contribution of one of the members of
the Paris group, Julio Le Pare, entitled "A propos de art-spec­
tacle, spectateur actif, instability et programmation dans l'art
visuel" [On Art as Spectacle, the Active Viewer, Instability,
and Programming in Visual Art] Le Pare stated:
"Here we are faced with a situation whose complexity en­
courages reflection, whose evolution can be somewhat ob­
scure, this has nothing to do with replacing one practice with
another. [...]
The role of the work and that of the viewer has been
changed. Lively and active participation is more important
than passive contemplation, and could develop the public's
natural creative abilities. [...]
In the relationship between conception, realization, visu­
alization, and perception, a new step has been added that
governs them all: modification. This idea leads us to the con­
cept of instability. The concept of instability in visual art par­
allels the unstable conditions of reality. We endeavor to con­
cretize this concept in materializations that manifest the
following essential attributes: one notices [...] a transforma­
tion of the viewer's contemplative position in favor of his ac­
tive participation.'"5
In 1962, intensive meetings took place. These aimed to es­
tablish the list of participants for the second New Tenden­
cies exhibition in Zagreb, which was scheduled for 1963, as
well as to inaugurate firmer conceptual and ideological pos­
tulates as a basis on which to compose this list. The most
active roles in these meetings were played by members of
GRAV and Gruppo N from Padua, as well as by the critic
Matko Mestrovic, who represented the organizing institu­
tion, the Zagreb Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. When the
second New Tendencies exhibition finally opened in August
1963, there were significant changes between the first and
second Zagreb exhibitions, not only in personnel, but also in
the program. In the text "Appunti critici sugli apporti teorici
all'interno della Nuova tendenza dal 1959 al 1964" [Critical
Notes on the Theoretical Contributions in the New Tendency
Denegri • Conditions and Circumstances
Movement from 1959 to 1964], Manfredo Massironi, member
of Gruppo N, wrote: "The most important event of this year
was without any doubt the second New Tendencies exhibi­
tion. It was characterized, first and foremost, by a rigorous
selection of participants, and then by a difficult search for a
common ground of understanding in order to create a large
and unitary international movement." 1 6
The most active organizers of the second exhibition of the
New Tendencies held in Zagreb intended to create a "large
and unitary international movement.'" 7 The New Tenden­
cies received significant support through the participation
of local artists that included Vlado Kristl, Vjenceslav Rich-
ter, and Aleksandar Srnec (all of them former members of
the Exat 51 group), as well as Picelj and Knifer who had al­
ready participated in the first exhibition, and Vojin Bakic and
Miroslav Sutej.
However, parallel to the expansion through including
a larger number of artists and the greater diversity of their
national origins, the list of potential members of the newly
established movement was narrowing, because the propos­
als for the following exhibitions were now to conform to the
newly defined, precise criteria. The majority of these crite­
ria were set out in the document Nouvelle Tendance - recher­
che continuelle. Bulletin No. 1 [New Tendencies - continuous
research. Bulletin No. 1], a protocol of a meeting in Zagreb
which not all members attended and which was distributed
after nove tendencije 2, in August 1963, by the Groupe de Re­
cherche d'Art Visuel. 1 8 The Bulletin No. 1 also contained a
list of members to be excluded: Marc Adrian, Vojin Bakic,
Martha Boto, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Piero Dorazio, Hector Garcia
Miranda, Rudolf Kammer, Julije Knifer, Heinz Mack, Herbert
Oehm, Henk Peeters, Otto Piene, Aleksandar Srnec, Helge
Sommerrock, Miroslav Sutej, and Gunther Uecker. After the
second Zagreb exhibition, these thinkers and artists were ex­
cluded from the New Tendencies movement. This confirms
that the ambition of establishing a "large and unitary inter­
national movement" encountered difficulties from the very
beginning and resulted in crises, even in rifts between the
members - between those who were said to conform to the
criteria and those who were rejected from the circle of par­
ticipants.
The following quotation, which is taken from the intro­
ductory text written by Matko Mestrovic in the catalog of
nove tendencije 2 in ,963 reveals the tense atmosphere during
the establishment of the movement and its ideological and
organizational turmoil: -The danger of going astray and de­
flecting energies ,s always present; the prism of social con­
tradiction keeps refracting them and deflecting them from
he only effective way - penetration of social structures The
S™: »»"•
torical necessity of art and no means are superfluous to it in
performing this task. However, if it remains only in the imag-
inative and emotional domain, art breaks or rebounds from
that armor; no matter how zealously it attacks, it struggles in
vain and finally gives in. Art must perform a breakthrough
into the extra-poetical and extra-human sphere, because to­
day, without that action the human sphere cannot be en­
riched." 1 '
Two years later, in the text Razlozi i mogudnosti povijesnog
osvjeScivanja [The Reasons for and Possibilities ol Historical
Awareness], published in the catalog of nova tendencija J in
1965, Mestrovic made no effort to conceal the crisis the move­
ment found itself in; in an almost dramatic tone, he wrote
the following:
"The reasons that induced the initiative contained in the
conception and program of the event nova tendencija f came
out at the very moment when, in ideas that in their time had
adumbrated, in international dimensions, a resolute adop­
tion of a new viewpoint on the whole tradition ol artistic
practice, the first evident crisis broke out. (...)
The crisis broke out particularly at the level of the organi­
zation that at a given moment had set out to form a strong
international movement, but it was clear at once that the
causes of this crisis were not of an organizational nature. The
basic intellectual values, which seemed at first glance to have
an almost unlimited carrying capacity and which in their
historical projection far outweighed such practical problems,
started suddenly to be relativized. (...)
After Informel had faded out, the initial activities of the
New Tendencies seemed to be something oriented exclu­
sively on the new world and which emerged as its freshest
voice and herald, although it was not clear which forces were
giving birth to it. At that time, there could be no suggestion of
any kind of contamination with the ruling practices and the
criteria of those who implemented them, and not even the
basic questions of existence were admitted. This was the mo­
ment of the actual ideation, which, on the somewhat more
cheerful horizon of international politics in those years, saw-
no obstacles that would harshly deny it. (...]
The danger hid treacherously in the corrosive and corrup­
tive effect of the fundamental material forces that rule the
world and that determine its erroneous trajectory, and these
orces were not foreseen. According to the laws of capital, ev­
ery illusion is permanent until it is purchased, or until its
magnetic field introduces disturbances in the conceived in-
wh Z u - n a ppeared at the time and in a society in
which this influence could not be avoided " 2 0
In the year Mestrovic wrote these electrifying words, the
„un NCW
<PiUra,;
dency
N—dencije, changed their
Ovular; Nova tendencija)."
in Zagreb nd ' T ' T e X h i b i l i ° " «° ^
Zagreb tndtrecly acknowledged tha, the ar, displayed a.

the event was representative of only one of the many "ten­
dencies" that existed in contemporary art of the time, and
that it was no longer a "large and unitary international move­
ment," which the New Tendencies had aspired to become
only two short years before. It can, therefore, with good rea­
son be presumed that the upward trajectory of the phenom­
enon known under the name of the New Tendencies culmi­
nated with the second exhibition held in Zagreb in 1963, and
its gradual downward course began with the third exhibition
of 1965, regardless of the fact that even after 1965 there were
not only numerous valuable individual artistic contributions
appearing under the aegis of the New Tendencies, or just
Tendencies, but that many new artistic issues also emerged.
From 1963 to 1965: Complete Affirmation and the Beginning
of the End of the New Tendencies
The second exhibition held in Zagreb, in 1963, was the com­
plete affirmation and the final stage in the formation of the
New Tendencies on an organizational, linguistic, and ideo­
logical level, which revealed that at that point in time the
movement was exceedingly activist, expansionist, and in
some individual theoretical positions even extremely doc­
trinaire. This is reflected in the content of Francois Morel-
let's and Francois Molnar's "Pour un art abstrait progressil 22
[For a Progressive Abstract Art] published in a separate off­
print on the occasion of this exhibition, nove tendencije 2 is
the apogee of the movement, the climax of its fulfillment, the
culmination of its self-confidence. For the majority of peo­
ple active in the movement it seemed that their main aspira­
tion had been attained, and everything that followed would
only be the further elaboration and confirmation of the fun­
damental validity of the chosen and secured path.
Between June and October 1963. parallel to the second ex­
hibition of the New Tendencies in Zagreb, the IV. Biennale
Internazionale d'Arte [Fourth International Biennial of Art]
was held in San Marino. At this exhibition with the title 01-
tre I'informale [Beyond Informality], which was organized by
Giulio Carlo Argan, Pierre Restany, and Vicente Aguilera-
Cerni, the participants of the Zagreb exhibition - the ZERO
group and Gruppo N - carried off most of the top awards. As
was inevitable in post-war art, a (neo-)avant-garde phenom­
enon did not have to wait long before it found itself as the
center of attention of the organizers of large international
exhibitions, with critics, the mass media, and the market all
showing great interest. "Gestaltist research (ricerca gestal-
tica), the term that had just been introduced by Argan, be­
came the "theme of the day," along with the phenomenon of
artist groups and the ideal of collective work. All doors ap­
peared to be open to this art, even the doors of the museums:
The exhibition Nouvelle Tendance [New Tendency] was held
in April and May 1964 at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs [Mu­
seum of Decorative Arts], located at the time in a pavilion of
Denegri • Conditions and Circumstances 23
the Louvre in Paris. In June of the same year at the 32nd Bien­
nale in Venice, Alviani, Castellani, and Mari had their own
pavilions, and the Gruppo N and Gruppo T exhibited jointly.
However, the feeling of triumph and the mood of satis­
faction were destroyed by the powerful breakthrough ol neo-
Dadaism and Pop art (Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns,
Jim Dine, John Chamberlain, Claes Oldenburg) and New
Abstraction (Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Frank Stella).
Their media coverage and market promotion outstripped by
far all of the achievements to date of any member of the New
Tendencies. Nevertheless, as the New Tendencies had be­
come involved in international art affairs, the American mar­
ket did not ignore them: In 1965, William Seitz organized for
the New York Museum of Modern Art The Responsive Eye, an
exhibition that presented "Optical art" (Op art) as opposed to
already established Pop art. Caught up in this race of fashion
slogans, many of the European protagonists of the New Ten­
dencies rightly felt this exhibition to be a "Pyrrhic victory"
or a "first-class funeral,"23 as Massironi ironically described
it. Entirely devoid of its goals in the domain of research and
emptied of all ideological charges, which were characteris­
tics of the European heritage of historical Constructivism to
which the New Tendencies referred, Optical art in America
acquired a "retinal" and "physiological" interpretation. From
that moment on, this form of art could not be stopped by
anything on its path to further trivialization and commer­
cialization.
The nova tendencija 3 exhibition held in Zagreb in 1965 en­
deavored to terminate this erosion by selecting one theme
which was meant to give this exhibition a problem to work
upon rather than being a simple review of art. The author of
this concept was the Italian artist and designer Enzo Mari.
In his paper, which was sent to all potential participants, he
elaborated on the "dissemination of examples of research"; in
other words, on the issue of the socialization of experiences
and results of "artistic research" through multiple works, and
on communication between the artists, as well as with the
wider public. However, the achievements did not even satisfy
the organizers of this exhibition. Mari himself was ready to
acknowledge that a "a good part of this material [...] does not
represent research at all, but it is rather only the imitation of
research or even the commercialization of research."24
In the mid-1960s, the New Tendencies had undergone
complete stratification. On the one hand, the number of
newcomers increased sharply, and on the other hand, indi­
viduals broke away and pursued the path of significant in­
ternational careers. The award received at the 33rd Biennale
in Venice by Julio Le Pare (a solo exhibition in the pavilion
of his home country Argentina) was one of the immediate
causes for his split with Paris-based GRAV, of which he had
been a member. And after this official acknowledgment by
the international art establishment of one of the pioneers of
24 Denegri • Conditions and Circumstances

the New Tendencies, it was no longer possible to talk about |WU U1 NIC IIIU3I

the movement having an avant-garde character. From that
moment, the same observations Massironi had made about
the Informel a few years earlier began to be valid for the New
Tendencies: "The avant-garde is an avant-garde when it is an
unaccepted proposal, when it cannot be purchased or com­
mercialized; [...] from the moment that it is absorbed, it is no
longer an avant-garde, even if it refuses to relinquish any of
its principles [...].""
The Contributions of Croatian Authors to the New
Tendencies Movement
Launched at the initiative of a guest from abroad, Almir
Mavignier, with only two local participants, Picelj and Kni-
fer, and the two local authors of the introductory texts in the
catalog, Matko Mestrovic and Radoslav Putar, the first exhi­
bition of the New Tendencies, held in 1961, had the character
of an international event supported on the level of organiza­
tion and logistics by the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. The
second exhibition, held in 1963, saw a significant increase
in the proportion of artists from Croatia: along with Picelj
and Knifer, Bakic, Kristl, Richter, Srnec, and Sutej took part
in the exhibition, while the texts in the catalog were again
penned by Mestrovic and Putar. The continuity of the sub­
sequent three exhibitions, held between 1965 and 1973, con­
firms that the exhibitions were rooted in the Croatian art
scene. The mounting of all the exhibitions at the Galerija su­
vremene umjetnosti and its collaborating institutions - the
tic participants gradually widened, although to an insignifi­
cant extent. In spite of the fact that an appropriate response
on the part of the domestic art audience failed to material­
ize, there is no doubt that the New Tendencies exhibitions
emerged, and continued to be held, as the result of a deep
need felt by the majority of the firmly convinced and con­
stantly grow ing circle of participants who came from the mi­
lieu in which they were held.
The entire spectrum of events surrounding the launch
and subsequent staging of the New Tendencies series of ex­
hibitions (with the later modifications of their names) must,
therefore, be evaluated as an achievement of the advanced
art scene of Zagreb and Croatia. It owes its emergence and
continuity to the creative potential and organizational dex­
terity, to the cultural and human receptiveness, to the possi­
bility for artists and theorists including from abroad to par­
ticipate actively and often critically in these exhibitions. The
participants from abroad were aware - and they often em­
phasized this when in Zagreb - that the mounting of exhi­
bitions with that kind of conceptual profile and that kind
of participants was, in fact, only possible on the territory of
then non-aligned Yugoslavia, a country outside of the exist­
ing Cold War division of the world along the lines of two eco­
nomic, military, and ideological blocs. That is why there was
practically no chance that events, such as the first two exhi­
bitions of the New Tendencies, could be held in the Euro­

Muze, za umjetnost i obrt [Museum for Arts and Crafts] and
the Tehnicki muzej [Technical Museum], Zagreb - was by no
means the result of unexpected or chance circumstances, but
rather the outcome of various preconditions which existed
m the domestic art scene and reached back at least ten years
I w.sh to stress that one of these preconditions was the link
between Exat 5. and the New Tendencies mentioned above
Besides being obviously related to the persons involved in
both groups - Kristl, Picelj, Richter, and Srnec - the connec­
tion is also conceptual, and is united by the general nerr
«on of art fro™,he position of a constructivisfapproach""
pean East, w ht re an extreme aversion to hyper-modern artis­
tic phenomena dominated, or in the European West, where
the local "art system" was dominated by the interests of gal-
lery and market promotion, which the artists and theorists
that gathered in the New Tendencies were fighting against.
They were tdeologicaliy and politically opposed.
New Tendt™;';" The°re'iCian "d °f""
Without diminishing the exceptionally valuable contribu-
_ T" a"iStS a"d ,he°ris,s in ,he Tendencies

iter'sg°Tna between 1959 and

Further, Kmfer, Mestrovic, and Putar were members of
anZ ,he"'"C Ma,ko can be singled out as
meiZ, I ' the°retidan and ,he ideologue of this move.

E*a, ,he between ainhor"wh I"™3' ™S rel« is "cognized by the

tration of these groups can also be conclude! Pe"e~ Ich asD„„ u°n c u " 'he hiS'0ry °f ,his «« phenomenon,
toMenna Er 8 art'Frank PoPPer,
Lea Vergine, Filiber-

2:::;:z:hich Mei,rov*dab—h**~tZd
Gorgona activities. An issue of thp - • certain
, Ernesto L. Francalanci, and Valerie L Hillines "
was produced by Manzoni in 1961 h an''"mafaZlne Gorgona

(an issue that was, unfortunately neT °" T*

Gorgona group organized solo p h u- Zed)> and the
are "Not! ' oTnTT W"h '° 'he New ^-cies
Morellet and Dorazio in 1062 ,nH • ln Zagreb for
Visual Artl (1062I '"M ' I"™0' um'e,nosti" 'New Insights into
later included in the memh h*" 'f3' Dobrovic was
ogy offht NewTe 3 g"r N°Vih 'endendja" 'Tha ldeo'-
a t t h e t h i r d e x h i b i t ^ ° ' ^^
[Methodology and UtopTst",^^^^01081'3 ' U'°P''a"
joined the ranks at the'fourth exL^^t^ povijesnog osvjescivania" ITh p Raz,oz« > mogucnosti

of a Historical Awareness] (1965)." A°tn advocateof the Nctv


Tendencies, Mestrovic behaves like a true militant; however,
his interest in representing this movement was not primarily
promotional, which means that he did not aspire merely to
achieving - together with the artists - a breakthrough on the
local and international art scenes. Active in a milieu outside
of, and personally opposed to, the dominant role of the mar­
ket system of art, in the debates surrounding the New Ten­
dencies Mestrovic was above all attracted by the sociologi­
cal aspect and the ideological potential of this movement,
whereby he could contribute to subverting the ruling, insti­
tutionalized art values. Mestrovic was not an a priori cham­
pion of the New Tendencies, but rather a critical analyst of
this phenomenon. He, of course, fully supported its pro­
gressive intentions, but when he began to notice the symp­
toms of crisis within the movement, he pointed them out
without beating around the bush and without compromise.
Mestrovic significantly influenced the reshaping of the face
of the New Tendencies from the first to the second Zagreb
exhibition towards the ideal of the scientization of art and
the linkage of art with the issues of architecture and indus­
trial design. His texts are written in the trenchant language of
critical and theoretical prose, and it is precisely this quality
of Mestrovic's writing that stands out in the following char­
acteristic excerpt from his key text "Ideologija Novih tenden-
cija," initially published without a title in the catalog of nove
tendencije2 in 1963:
"The New Tendencies emerged spontaneously in this cli­
mate that was first felt by Old Europe. A positive relationship
towards scientific insights is a tradition of pioneers of mod­
ern architecture, of Neoplasticists, of Bauhaus followers. Al­
though this tradition had not lived to the full, it stayed alive.
Alive was also the reliance on the potentially transformative
power of technology and industrialization, while the deeply
rooted concepts of Karl Marx's doctrine made the approach
to social changes and problems constructive. That is why in
Europe the first criticism and the first opposition to elements
of corruption and alienation, as well as the resolute demand
for demystification of the notion of art and artistic creation
were possible. There was a demand to debunk the dominant
influence of the art market, which speculated with art, treat­
ing it contradictorily both as a myth and as a commodity. The
striving to overcome individualism along with the spirit of
collective work was also possible; a progressive political ori­
entation was clearly expressed. The problem complex of art
was not focused on the issue of a unique work of art, but on
plastic-visual research, with the aim of determining the ob­
jective psychophysical bases of the plastic phenomenon and
visual perception, in this way a priori excluding any possibil­
ity of including subjectivism, individualism, and romanticism,
which burdened all traditional aesthetic systems. It is under­
standable that also the principles of industrial production as
the most efficient instrument and the means of rapid social­
Denegri • Conditions and Circumstances
ization of material and spiritual values were resolutely ac­
cepted, so the attempt was made to conceive artworks in those
terms in order to make them reproducible and accessible."28
The New Tendencies as the "Last Avant-garde"
L'ultima avanguardia. Arte programmata e cinetica 1953-1963
[The Last Avant-garde. Arte Programmata and Kinetic Art
1953-1963] was the title of an exhibition organized by the Ital­
ian art critic Lea Vergine in Milan in 1983/1984 with over fifty
participants from several European countries. In our post­
modern era, this title is inadequate for true comprehension
of the aspirations and achievements of the art that is classed
under the idea New Tendencies. According to Vergine, it was
the last time in the history of modern art that a larger inter­
national group of artists, and theorists and critics closely
associated with them, came together because they shared
the same aspirations. They sought deep and far-reaching
changes within the social and within the art context, and did
not merely have the aim of promoting a new artistic move­
ment - as the title of the show and critical vocabulary of that
time suggests - Programmed and Kinetic art. The form of art
represented by the New Tendencies endeavored, namely, to
forecast, introduce, and achieve significant and fundamental
changes in the professional profile of artists, in their mental­
ity, and in the nature of artistic work. In the very beginning,
this bore the marks of a radical position, which was typical
for historical avant-gardes, especially those of constructiv-
ist origin. Further, this form of art sought to enter into the
actual living environment, and in its active role to open it­
self to other formative disciplines, especially towards archi­
tecture and industrial and graphic design, with the aim of
achieving influence over the design of the overall ambience
in which everyday human existence goes on. More than that,
in its final consequences, this form of art aspired to liberate
human labor from alienation and took as its role model the
freedom of action and behavior typical of socially and politi­
cally aware contemporary artists.
However, because it appeared in a social, political, and
cultural context in which the desired fundamental transfor­
mations could not be achieved, the art to which Lea Vergine
attached the epithet of "the last avant-garde" did not succeed
in realizing the optimal aspirations that its most militant
protagonists among the artists and critics formulated and
demanded. And whereas the historical avant-garde move­
ments secured for their unattained premises and ideal pro­
jections the consolatory and elevated status of a Utopia, the
section of the post-war neo-avant-garde, which is known un­
der the name New Tendencies, had to face a destiny charac­
teristic of all artistic phenomena in the contemporary world:
The fact that in the existing "art system" all innovative art,
even the most radical, sooner or later becomes a true actor in
that system, that it then functions as one of the elements in
26 Denegri • Conditions and Circumstances
the institutionalized museum, gallery, and market operation.
And where there is collusion between institutions and art,
and between the market and art, it is truly hard to speak of
the position, character, and effects of any, or of even the "last
avant-garde" - as in the case of the New Tendencies. The
New Tendencies movement as a real or simply potential "last
avant-garde" touched both extremes by which the concept,
practice, and final outcome of all historical avant-gardes and
post-war neo-avant-gardes are inevitably distinguished: ini­
tial enthusiasm of unrestrained beliefs, hopes placed in the
possibilities of unlimited change, and - in the end - adher­
ence to the status quo and, ultimately, integration into the
relationships that were once to be avoided and transcended.
1 Editorial note: Picelj had already participated in ihe nove tendencije
exhibition in 1961.
2 Almir Mavignier, letter to Matko Mestrovic, )une 5, 1961, Archive Matko
Mestrovic; translated from the German: this volume, p. 63.
3 Marina Viculin, Histoire de la Nouvelle Tendance, Ph.D. thesis, University
of Paris IV Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, 2010, p. 34; translated from the French.
4 Editorial note: Mavignier was on his way to Egypt, after having visited the
Biennale.
5 Editorial note: In May/June 1961, the name of the Gradska galerija
suvremene umjetnosti (Municipal Gallery of Contemporary Art] was changed
to Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art].
6 Matko MeStrovic, letter to Valerie L. Hillings, June 29, 2001, Archive Matko
MeStrovic.
7 Almir Mavignier,"neue tendenzen I - ein uberraschender zufall," in:
tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.;
translated from the German; this volume, pp. 334f.
8 Jiirgen Harten (ed.). Prospect-Retrospect. Europa 1946-1976, exhib. cat.,
Stadtische Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Walther Konig, Cologne, 1976.
The catalog was edited by Benjamin Buchloh, Rudi Fuchs, Konrad Fischer,
John Matheson, and Hans Strelow.
9 Editorial note: A 40° au-dessus de Dada was exhibited at Galerie J, Paris, 1961 •
Le Nouveau Realisme a Paris et a New York at Galerie Rive Droite, Paris, 1961.
10 See: Harten 1976, pp. 58-67.
11 Editorial note: Further artists who were on Mavigniers first list and who
actually exhibited in the exhibition of 1961 were: Andreas Christen
Karl Gerstner, Gotthart Muller, Uli Pohl, Paul Talman, Marcel Wyss, and
Marc Adrian. ' cinetica 1953/63, Mazzota. Milan. 1983. p. 22. Hillings 2004. pp. 62f.
12 Francois Morellet."Untitled," in: nove tendencije, exhib. cat., Galerija
,3 S"Vr7eine "m)etnoSti' Za8reb' '961. n. p, translated from the French.
13 Manfredo M„„ro„,,-Rlc.,ch= vi.u.U,- S„»a,iom
Z J'"< •<««> Calkrla national, ddtie tioderna Ji R'ma
IL.br.r,,, Home. 1976, p. 56, ,rans,ated ftom ,he
' oc.uelle situation de .'a,, plastique. Proposition, tint
rale, du gtoupe de recherche d'art visuel," P.ris, October 25 1961 a pp. 289-295. Matko MeStrovic."Razlozi i mogucnosti povijesnog
as "Transformer lactuelle situation de lSrt nU ,•
Current Situation of Plastic Ar "7nStir- ?T o " '
•• i ••-r- ' ' epnn,ed
Transformi"S
* Recherche dAr, Visuel. ,960-,968 "t M"""T
d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, Grenoble, IW.p.U e",re Nat'°nal
ac,if> ins,abmt*et
de art-spectacle, spectateur actif instabilite t" 2'reprlnted as
visuel" / "On An as Spectacle. tL AcUv c Pr°g?nUna,i°n dans
ming in Visual Art," in: Strateaies de Pi .PeCtat°r' nstability and Program-
d'Art Visuel. 1960-1968, 1998 p 96- ' GRAV~ Croupe de Recherche
16 Manfredo Massironi."Appun',i critici LIZ ,hU V°lume' P" '23.
Nuova tendenza dal 1959 aJ i964 •• • aPP°"i teortci all'interno della
international version. Ga^i Ilt^T ^ '
translated from the Italian 6 Um,etnostl1 Zagreb, 1965, p. 33;
17 Ibid.
18 See: Valerie L. Hillings."Concrete Territory: Geometric Art. Group Formation,
and Self-Definition," in: Beyond Geometry. Experiments in Form 1940s to 1970s,
exhib. cat., Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles. The MIT Press.
Cambridge. MA. 2004. p. 74. footnote 77.
19 Matko MeitrovitJ,"Untitled." in: nove tendencije 2. exhib. cat.. Galeriia
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb. 1963, n. p.; translated from the Croatian; this
volume, p. 117.
20 Matko MeStrovil.'Razlozi i mogulnosli povijesnog osvjeilivanja." in: BOM
tendencija 3. exhib. cat.. Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 196$. pp.
11-12; translated from the Croatian.
21 Editorial note: When the exhibition nove tendencye 2 was shown tn Venice
in 1963, the name was already in the singular: nuova tendenza |New Tendency],
From the beginning. French artists and theorists almost exclusively referred
to the movement in the singular as Nouvelle Tendance, New Tendency.
The different versions of the name meander through the various languages.
As early as January 1962, GRAV refers to the movement in the singular:
Nouvelle Tendance [New Tendency). In the texts written in France, the
singular form of the name is prevalent. The translations from Croatian into
French done in 1963 in Croatia, however, retain the plural of the Croatian
originals: Nouvelles Tendances. In 1963, the exhibition nove lendenctie 2 |New
Tendencies 2| was named nuova tendenza 2 (New Tendency 2 |by the Italian
organizers when it traveled to Venice. When the exhibition was shown
afterwards in Leverkusen in Germany, the title was simply neue tendenzen
[New Tendencies]. The logo of the New Tendencies, which appears on a letter
by Henk Peelers from November 1963, contains the group's name in seven
languages. The French, Italian. English. German, and Spanish versions are
singular, and the Croatian and Dutch versions are plural.
22 This volume, pp. 136-143.
23 Massironi 1976, p. 59; translated from the Italian.
24 Enzo Mari, quoted in: Matko MeitrovitJ and Radoslav Putar.'IS. 8. 196$
u Brezovici. Radni sastanak udesnika NT3," in: nova tendencya J. exhib. cat..
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 1965. p. 164: translated from the
Italian; this volume, p. 232.
25 Massironi 1965, p. 28.; translated from the Italian.
26 See: Donald D. Egbert, Social Radicalism and the Arts. Western Europe.
A Cultural History from the French Revolution to I96R. Alfred A. Knopf. New
York, 1970, p. 372. pp. 703L, p. 710. Frank Popper. Naissancede lor, cinHiyue,
Gauthier-Villars. 1967. pp. 95IT. Filiberto Menna."Arte cinetica e vi.u-le,"in:
Correnti contemporanee. Arte moderna, 13. 2. Fabbri. Milan. 1967. p. 202. Lea
Vergine."Arte programmata e cinetica 1953-1963. I/ultima avanguardia." in.
L e a V e r g i n e ( e d . ) , l.'ultima avanyuardia. Arte proyrammata e cinetica 1953/63,
Mazzota. Milan. 1983. pp. I |-13. Matko Mei,roviG"An.li.i sociologic.
di nuova tendenza. " as quoted in: Vergine 1983. pp. 206f Ernesto L
Francalanci."Note su alcuni matcriali teorici dalle -vanguardie storiche agli
ann, 60, ,n: Lea Vergine (ed.). Lultima avanyuardia. Arte proyrammata e
Matko MeS,rove."Nove spoznaje u likovnoj umjetnosti." Razloy. 8. Zagreb.
1962, pp. 673f. Matko Meitrovitf.-Untitled." reprinted as "Ideologija Novih
7a' TlLr "°l'e 'enJe"Ciie eXhib" C"'" G*,erii' umjetnosti.
' Radifz K r P Ma:k° Mei,rov".™««°d°logija i utopija." broadcasted on
' agre . first published in a journal, probably in: Pol,a. Novi Sad, 1963.
PpP28n9 295: J^cS,rov'^'P°irdinaCnoy op/em. Mladost. Zagreb. .967,
<he ;Pn:;;r i
:o ™r,r
etno"1^ ^ .«»
--
Apropos

Margit Rosen
The Art of Programming
The New Tendencies and the Arrival of the Computer
as a Means of Artistic Research
The artists "have all dreamed of the machines - and now the
machines have arrived. And they have arrived from a direc­
tion which was somewhat unexpected, and accompanied by
people who were neither painters nor sculptors."1 It was with
these words that the Croatian art critic Radoslav Putar de­
scribed the arrival of the computer on the Zagreb art scene
in the summer of 1968. The hosts, who warmly welcomed the
symbol-processing machines and their users, were art histo­
rians and artists belonging to the New Tendencies, an inter­
national exhibition series and artists' movement initiated in
the Croatian capital in 1961. They had issued invitations to
a colloquy and a small exhibition in Zagreb on the theme of
"computers and visual research."
However, artists and art theorists were not the only ones
to dream. In Zagreb, in the years between 1968 and 1978, the
dreams and practices of an artists' movement encountered
those of the laboratories and computer centers. Artists, art
theorists, natural scientists, and engineers from all over the
world entered into negotiations about computer technology
as a medium of aesthetic practice. The documents ot these
years testify to the struggle surrounding the course of the bor­
ders between art and science, of the "scientization of artistic
practices and the "aestheticization" of scientific methodology,
of the transformations of artifacts between laboratory and
gallery, of the changes in actors, as well as of the writing of the
future and the rewriting of the past.
The machines and their attendants were invited to resus­
citate an artists' movement which, in connection with its aim
of transforming art and society, had never entirely succeeded
in casting off the tone evocative of the pre-war avant-garde.
As if now seeking to carry forward this call as technical
avant-garde, the Croatian organizers of the New Tendencies
announced "a leap into a new, lively, and fertile stage of sym­
biosis with machines," an "organized incursion into the un­
known."2 They succeeded in making Zagreb a place for initi­
ating the discussion on aesthetic and social conditions and
possibilities of computer-aided creation. The events within
this short passage of time bear witness to an ambitious at­
tempt to programmatically link the theory and practice of
27
computing to the values and procedures of an existing artis­
tic movement, thereby contributing to the definition of a new
technology which would, as they assumed, define the future.
Deluxe Artisans: The Crisis of 1965
The call to explore the computer as a medium for artistic
research was in reaction to a fundamental crisis within the
New Tendencies. The external occasion for this, which made
visible the internal difficulties of the movement, was, from
the artists viewpoint, the ambivalent success of the partici­
pation of a large number of New Tendencies artists in the
exhibition The Responsive Eye, held at the Museum of Mod­
ern Art in New York.3 The exhibition, which opened at the
end of February 1965, amounted to the first contemporary
art blockbuster. In a preliminary article about the exhibition,
journalist Jon Borgzinner had coined the term "Op art" for
the works compiled by curator William C. Seitz. No one fore­
saw the audience's enthusiasm for these artifacts. Leaving
the confines of museum, the motifs were applied to dresses,
plates, and carpets, fashion magazines, album covers, and
concert stage sets. For the artists associated with the New
Tendencies this amounted to a Pyrrhic victory. The critics
and the public ignored the fact that these, now popularized
works, had once been created as a means to reconstruct the
value system of the art world: The artists who exhibited their
works within the context of the New Tendencies at the outset
of the 1960s had positioned themselves with their anti-paint­
erly4 pictures and objects against Abstract Expressionism
and Tachism. However, if at all, popular reception was hardly
interested that the works' surfaces, which displayed no traces
of the artist's hand, represented a provocative reaction to the
cult of the genius, and thus an attack on the art market, the
sales strategies of which were so intimately linked to the mys­
tification of both work and artist. By contrast, the fact that
the glimmering visual and kinetic effects would spellbind
the visitor, regardless of social origin and educational back­
ground, was entirely in conformity with the objectives of
numerous artists of the New Tendencies who advocated de­
mocratization in the reception of art.
 Rosen • Art of Programming
One possibility of distancing oneself from the image of
the solitary, elect artist-genius and the expectations of the
art market, was provided by the concept of "research," which,
in the context of the New Tendencies, above all the artists of
Paris-based Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV), the
Italian groups Gruppo T, Gruppo N, and Gruppo MID, as
well as the Spanish group Equipo 57 sought to implement. 5 In
the place of the unique work of art, "projects" and work se­
ries appeared that were in part designated as "research exam­
ples." 6 The research artist would establish connections with
society and its living conditions: by accounting in his work for
knowledge from the natural sciences, and, not least, by utiliz­
ing the means of production which were far more frequently
used in daily life than were oils, pigments, and canvas - plas­
tic, Plexiglas, metal, wood, mirrors, or simple motors. Rather
than seeking to establish himself as a brand in the art mar­
ket by means of repetition, the research artist aimed at ongo­
ing development, at the cumulative gathering of experience
and knowledge. The work in groups was meant to assist art­
ists to overcome the cult of personality and to encourage the
regular exchange of knowledge. Furthermore, the form of
the "group" was purposely chosen as a social unit of action
so as to more effectively resist conditioning through mass so­
ciety than would otherwise be possible for the
In the catalog of the exhibition The Responsive Eye, the sci­
entific, that is, mathematical and psychophysiological foun­
dations of Op art were pointed out; and yet the revolution­
ary demands of recasting artistic work as practice of research
were ignored. The "research results" were consumed as deco­
ration. Francois Morellet had already thematized such a po­
tential turn in 1963: Are the New Tendencies "a fashion? Are
we deluxe artisans? Are we going to inspire the facades of so­
cial housing, music hall shows, and tablemats?" 8
In 1965, after the successful participation of New Tenden­
cies artists at the Venice Biennale, the documenta III, and
the The Responsive Eye, the movement seemed to have been
absorbed into the art scene, and the artists wondered if re­
search had simply ended up in the production of works of
art. For the purposes of discussing this inner crisis, in 1965
the artists and theorists who had come to the opening of the'
exhibition nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3], met at the Ro­
coco castle Brezovica, eight miles from Zagreb city center
They debated whether the concept of "art as research," as a
mode for overcoming traditional modes of artistic creation
was in fact viable and whether the aspired modes of pro!
mandT 7th d l S t n b u t i o n W e r e caPab^ of resisting the de-
ab s a : t ; r b m a r k e t f o r
Tenll if ^ P e r c e i v e d W ^ e artists of the New
Tendencies, the majority of whom came from Western Z
5 ge was accepted as early as in the 1950s,
an art market supported by commercial galleries did not ex­
ist. Against this background the Italian artist Davide Boriani,
representing Gruppo T, afforded insights into the practical
dilemma of the artists in the West: "Until now, we have been
able to sustain our position by adapting, nevertheless, to the
public taste for certain aesthetic objects, while at the same
time, there are no opportunities for the development of pure
experimentation, since, as has been pointed out, the public
has no interest in that. As far as pure scientific experimenta­
tion is concerned, we don't measure up to the level attained
by specialists."*
The protocol of the meeting ends w ith a proposal put for­
ward by Abraham A. Moles, who had participated for the
first time in one of the New Tendencies events. The French
aesthetician and sociologist, trained as engineer and phi­
losopher, put forward the pragmatic proposal that the art­
ists should seek to work together with international labora­
tories. 1 0 The protocol makes no reference to any response to
this suggestion. The participants departed from Brezovica
Castle without having arrived at a concrete solution and
without a vision.
Research Regained
individual. 7 In this unsettled situation, the initiative was taken by a small
group of Croatian curators and artists who sought to fix a
topic for the next New Tendencies exhibition, which, since
1961, had taken place in Zagreb as a biennale. However, the
search for a theme, which was conducted without the in­
volvement of the international network of the New Tenden­
cies, proved difficult. I he Biennale schedule for summer 1967
elapsed without an exhibition having been organized.
Among the "friends and collaborators"" of the Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art) who
took upon themselves the task to continue the New Tenden­
cies, was the director of the Galerije grada Zagreba (Galler­
ies of the City of Zagreb], Bozo Bek; two of his curators, Dim-
itrije Basicevic and Boris Kelemen; and Radoslav Futar, who
worked as curator at the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt [Museum
or Arts and Crafts). There were also the artists Ivan Picelj
an Vjenceslav Richter." All those mentioned had, in one
way or another, been involved in the New Tendencies. Since
I96i Bek, in his capacity as director, for example, played host
o t e ew rendencies in Zagreb. Picelj and Richter had not
only contributed ,o .he New Tendencies through .heir par-
; T T n e * h , b l , , o n s a n d catalogs. Wi.h .heir group, Exa.
sua! it C c o n c e P t u a l b r e a >< i" .he ar. and vi-
sual culture of Croatia during ,he , 9 5 os and, no. leas. - by
- cleared Z .'h 8 e^ erimen'al
f character of ar.is.ic acivity"
sc ne n ,h N grOU:d
^ ^ £ « ™ ™ . of .he Croatian an
scene in the New Tendencies."
tookasudd'en'r ^ '—elusive search
sudden turn. After the discussions of the year had cir-

cled on "Multiples," "Kinetics," "Homage to NT," "Environ­
ments," "Machinism," the protocol of this meeting recorded a
new term: kompjutorska umjetnost [computer art].14
By the end of March 1968, at the latest, the artist Ivan
Picelj, who had participated in the decisive meeting, sought
out Abraham A. Moles in Paris.15 In a lengthy article in the
nova tendencija 3 catalog Moles had called for a confrontation
with the "secret revolution" already accomplished through
the computer. He was now asked to assist the Croatian or­
ganizers in this task. Meanwhile, since December, the latter
had slightly redrafted the plan for the movement's reorienta­
tion. They struck out the formulation "computer art" replac­
ing it by the new term which was to henceforth point the way:
"computers and visual research."16 Moles promised his help,
and in April 1968, the tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 program was
published: in August 1968, four exhibitions and a conference
were to take place linked by the overarching theme "General
and historical connections between the movement NT and
the possibilities given by computers in the field of visual re­
search."17
The term "computers and visual research" designated
more than the mere title of an exhibition and conference.
With this term the organizers called for the formation of an
international group of researchers for long-term cooperation
"on the ground of visual research connected with computers
and the new technology."18 The Program Informations, docu­
ments including data on organization and content, were sent
both to former participants of the New Tendencies, as well
as to those artists, scientists, and engineers Moles had men­
tioned to the organizers, or whom the latter discovered in their
perusal of international publications on computer graphics
and computer art. In their desire to "start a new movement
of individual and international cooperation,"19 the organiz­
ers established a link with the New Tendencies movement
and its ideal of art as research. What, in fact, the New Ten­
dencies were, was doubtless something only vaguely known
to the small group of artists and scientists who traveled to Za­
greb for the first time in August 1968 to take part in the collo­
quy. Program Information 720, including a short history of the
New Tendencies, was sent out in August, which meant that
the participants were first able to read it, if at all, only on lo­
cation. The burden of the task of reviving the movement was
perhaps perceived by the organizers, but not by the guests.
Ink on Paper, Photographs, and Celluloid
On Saturday, August 3, 1968, a small circle of artists, art his­
torians, and engineers convened for the colloquy tendencije 4.
"Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / tendencies 4. "Computers
and Visual Research" at the Centar za kulturu i informacije
[Center for Culture and Information] in Zagreb. The accom­
panying information exhibition was opened the day before.
Computer graphics and films produced in the USA, in Ger­
Rosen • Art of Programming
many, Canada, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Japan between i960
and 1968 were presented together with a selection of graph­
ics and films that were not computer-related, but were meant
to be representative of the practice and principles of the New
Tendencies.
In 1970 Putar would make metaphoric reference to the ar­
rival of the computers in Zagreb, but in reality this meant the
delivery of envelopes with drawings, photographs, and roles
of film. The machines remained in the computer centers.
The exhibition at the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti was
of moderate size and presented in a simple form. Accord­
ing to the gallery's own account, the exhibition and collo­
quy, which devoured most of the funds, had cost 41,410 novi
dinar, or, based on the exchange rate of the time, approxi­
mately US$3,300.21 With respect to its range and costs, it was
no match for the show Cgbernetic Serendipity, which opened
on the same day at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in
London and today counts as one of the most important ex­
hibitions of the pioneering years of computer art. By the end
of October, forty thousand visitors had seen the London ex­
hibition and refunded the US$45,000 production costs.22
But while Cybernetic Serendipity not only presented comput­
er-related works, but sought to provide a broad overview of
"creative forms engendered by technology,"23 the small pre­
sentation of graphics and films at the Centar za kulturu i in­
formacije positioned those of the works within the purview
of colloquy participants that were considered exemplary of
the status of aesthetic experiments in the computer centers,
and which were to constitute the starting point of the newly
founded research movement of the New Tendencies.
The Scientific Base: Information Aesthetics
His language is "technical and scientific: his words are terms,
not expressions, his thoughts are formulas, not locutions,"
ran the enthusiastic appraisal of theorist and co-founder of
the New Tendencies, Matko Mestrovic, in his introduction to
Abraham A. Moles in the first edition of the journal bit inter­
national. "This scholar has unveiled the artistic phenomenon
and the myth of art ad nauseam, like a surgeon who knows
how the human heart is made."24 The Croatian organiz­
ers dedicated the entire first edition of the journal, founded,
among others, to bridge the gap "between the scientific and
the artistic,"25 to Moles and the German philosopher Max
Bense. This was owing to the fact that the information aes­
thetics developed by each of the authors independently of
one another during the 1950s was to be proclaimed as the
foundation for visual research by computer.26
Bense's book series Aesthetica, Aesthetische Information
[Aesthetic Information], Asthetik und Zivilisation [Aesthetic
and Civilization], and Programmierung des Schonen [Program­
ming of the Beautiful] appeared between 1956 and i960. Moles
published his Theorie de I'information et perception esthetique
3°

Work no. I. Simulated Color Mosaic

1964

Computer-generated design
G o u a c h e o n paper
,9-5 * 20 cm
OK1TAC 5090A, line printer
Programmed in OKISIP
Produced at the Computer Center.
University of Tokyo
MSU Zagreb

[Information Theory and Aesthetic Perception] in 1958. The
two models of information theory Bense and Moles applied
to aesthetic questions and the technical terms deriving from
them that they introduced into the world of art,27 had been
elaborated during the 1940s for solving problems in com­
munications engineering, air defense, and neurology: the
mathematical theory of information by Claude E. Shannon,
and the cybernetics of Norbert Wiener.28 Bense and Moles
adapted these systems of description for the field of litera­
ture, music, and fine arts. The process of creation and recep­
tion of a work of art became a special case of communication.
The artist created messages, which the viewer then received.
"Thus, the work of art was then construed as message or, more
precisely, as carrier of particular, namely, aesthetic informa­
tion."29 The unit of this aesthetics, which did not seek to spec­
ulate but to measure, was the "bit." The organizers of the New
Tendencies adopted the term as title for the journal founded
in 1968, since it could be read as direct reference to both in­
formation aesthetics as well as to the mathematical founda­
tions of computer technology. Perhaps, the editors shared
the great pleasure Bense and Moles felt when succeeding to
provoke the art world with their technical jargon.
For Bense, the background for establishing "aesthetics as
information theory"30 towards the end of the 1950s was the
unconditional acceptance of the way of life of western in­
dustrial states after the Second World War as "technical ex­
istence"31 that was characterized by nuclear technology and
information technology. The only possible rational reac­
tion of the human being to this condition according to Bense
was to "intellectually hold [technology] in one's hand, 32 and
to acquire the means "precise"33 enough to construct this
world. According to Bense and Moles, the ideals of precision,
unambiguousness, objectivity, and intersubjectivity associ­
ated with the natural sciences should also be valid for artistic
production and analysis. At the outset of the 1960s, the artists
and theorists of the New Tendencies called for the demystifi-
cation and transparency of art - Bense and Moles were com­
mitted to the abrogation of philosophical speculation by re­
placing it with an aesthetics of technical measurement.
Decisive for the history of the New Tendencies was that
Moles and Bense did not construe the computer solely as the
tool of analytical aesthetics, but as the means of a genera­
tive aesthetics; in other words, aesthetics which introduced
the generation of works as scientific procedure. For Bense
and Moles, the most important application of the machine
remained the gedankenexperiment; however, by the end of
the 1950s, they were both in close contact with people who
generated compositions, texts, and graphics on the com­
puter.34 It is interesting to note that even before Bense real­
ized that the computer could be used for visual experiments,
the Japanese philosopher Hiroshi Kawano was so inspired
by Bense's writings that he left his desk and learned how to
Rosen • Art of Programming
program in order to implement the theories of "aesthetic in­
formation." His computer-generated designs were first pub­
lished in September 1964.35 In the context of the New Ten­
dencies, Abraham A. Moles had euphorically presented the
possibilities of the "thinking machine" for aesthetics already
in 1965. The computer, noted Moles in his contribution to the
nova tendencija 3 catalog, could become an artificial spectator
or auditor36 and composer of musical works. By way of com­
puter simulation one could explore whether or not Johan­
nes Brahms did in fact "write all the Brahms that he could
write."37 The style of musical compositions should be statis­
tically analyzed and the results operationally checked by the
generation of a new piece. The machine that deduced and
selected, and that could control plotting boards and sound
generators, dissolved the boundaries between thought and
production, aesthetics and artistic creation.
It ought to be mentioned that information aesthetics, as
defined by Bense and Moles,38 was not introduced to the New
Tendencies initially as a theoretical operating manual for the
computer. It had been spread among artists' circles without
direct reference to the computer since the end of the 1950s.39
In 1963 the ZERO artist Gunther Uecker noted in the nove ten-
dencije 2 catalog that the mechanical as a medium of design
provided "superb possibilities of realizing aesthetic informa­
tion."40 But visible traces like this were exceptions. Until 1965,
information aesthetics made only an incidental appearance
in New Tendencies publications.41 Now, in 1968, with the
launch of visual research related to computers, the Croatian
organizers not only made information aesthetics its main
theory, but allocated to it specific tasks. The art critic Matko
Mestrovic underscored its significance for the analysis and
shaping of modern consumer society.42 Boris Kelemen, by
contrast, pointed out the possibility of establishing an "ob­
jective art criticism."43 Bense's and Moles' texts, printed in
bit international 1 of 1968, put forward an additional approach
for visual research with the computer which embraced both
purely aesthetic as well as socioeconomic applications. In this
connection, Bense thought of high art, while Moles thought
of the gratification of consumer society: how could electronic
calculating machines be used to generate "improbable," "in­
novative," and "original" aesthetic structures?
A New Tool, a New Cast
When the computers arrived in the New Tendencies move­
ment, noted Putar, they were "accompanied by people who
were neither painters nor sculptors."44 Though he neglected
to mention that there were actually artists among the ma­
chines' companions, as a matter of fact, the cast of the New
Tendencies changed significantly with the orientation on
computer technology. Before 1968, aside from individual
cases of collaboration between artists and engineers and sci­
entists,45 the research artists remained among themselves.
 Rosen • Art of Programming
Now, mathematicians, engineers, and physicists stepped onto
the scene as autonomous actors.
With the new arrivals the language of the New Tenden­
cies changed. Whereas until 1965 international correspon­
dence was conducted almost exclusively in French, Italian,
and German, in 1968 English became the lingua franca. This
linguistic shift mirrored the quantitative predominance of
scientists and artists from the USA and Canada during the
pioneering years of aesthetic experiments with comput­
ers - a result of the considerable technological gap between
North America and Europe, where England occupied a mid­
dle position. 46 Already during the preparation for the pro­
gram "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and
Visual Research" the organizers looked to the West - some­
thing clearly evident in correspondence and the bibliogra­
phies published in the bit international journal issues. In the
end, of the former Eastern Bloc countries only Czechoslova­
kia was represented in the program.
The change of protagonists for the most part took place
without open conflict. The concept of "art as research"
seemed to allow for dispensing with abstract discussions as
to whether or not works from the laboratory were art, and
what distinguished artists from scientists - the kind of debate
that tends to reinforce identities and boundaries rather than
assists in transforming them. That this type of platform for
what, in principle, amounted to equal rights of speech was by
no means self-evident, is indicated by a scene from the first
colloquy in August 1968. When, Alberto Biasi, co-founder of
Gruppo N, pointed out the absence of New Tendencies art­
ists of the early years - a fact that may well be considered an
unarticulated rejection of the event - the German mathema­
tician Frieder Nake responded resolutely: "This seems to me
to be a problem of the Tendencies. On the one hand, artists
are at a loss as to how to proceed, and on the other, there are
scientists who are making efforts to penetrate art." 47
The Art of Programming
The reorientation of the New Tendencies, which implied the
inclusion of new protagonists, was aimed both at the con
quest of the future, as well as at the defense of the past The
successes of the movement are in danger, wrote the ar, histo-
nan Radoslav Putar in the catalog tendency, to be wrapped
in a fog of silence and prepared "for final negation "" One
way of protecting the achievements of the New Tendencies
was to construct a historical model showing tha, the move
ment had prototyp.cally anticipated ideas and procedures
re TtiL'^
mediu^
• urn.t pmc, ces and
/\s practices d obu ectives
aPPr°aCh '° ^
rhat
arrival of the computer, Putar cited he « ^
lted the anonymity and the
exclusion of subjectivity," "extinction of the meaning of the
singular and the irreproducible creative act of an individual
genius," "team work," giving "work the habits of a machine,'
the basing of "procedures on the use of mechanical or elec­
trical devices," and "programming." 4 *
The term "programming" first appeared in 1963 in the cat­
alog nove tendencije 2 in written contributions by Getulio Alvi-
ani, Gianni Colombo, Gruppo N, and Julio Le Pare. Although,
as early as the end of the 1950s, books had been published
that had introduced the word "programming" into the ti­
tle, and which indeed referred to the practice of formulating
and entering commands to electronic calculating machines,'*
the general treatment of the term was not specifically bound
to computer technology. What was "programmed" were
work processes, businesses, and entire sectors of industry, as
well as mechanical tools and, naturally, also the computer.
In the context of the New Tendencies, the term hovered in a
positively designated sphere of meaning along with "preci­
sion," the "planning" of works and "projects." Yet, there was
an obvious reason for the sudden appearance of the term in
texts by Italian artists and Julio Le Pare: one year before they
had all participated in a touring exhibition entitled arte pro-
grammata. arte cinetica, opere moltiplicate. opera aperta [Pro­
grammed Art. Kinetic Art, Multiplied Works, Open Work) or­
ganized by the designer and artist Bruno Munari and funded
by the Olivetti company.
Although all artists who had participated in arte program-
mata and counted among the most active members of the
New Tendencies until 1965 - with the exception of Bruno
Munari, who only took part in one exhibition - had repeat­
edly made reference to programming in their works, Pu­
tar refrained from naming them. He rather opted to refer to
the Sw iss artist and designer Karl Gerstner, who had been
part of the New Tendencies since the original exhibition of
1961. Gerstners oeuvre actually contained the two entangled
meanings that the concept of "programming" had for the
New Tendencies in the early years: first, as a description of
variable works the elements of which can be rearranged; sec­
ondly, as a methodical design process. For the 1961 exhibi­
tion, Gerstner submitted works from his Tangentiales Exzen-
trum [Tangential Excenter] series (this volume, pp. 67, 73).
the rotatable elements of which could be rearranged by the
viewers ,n a potentially unlimited number of constellations
of equal artistic value. These pictures, wrote Gerstner in .960.
were intentionally incomplete." To include the "viewer, as
W i r P a r T ' t h e d e s i g n ° f , h e P i c , u r e - " m «n, -opera,ins
wls i, a n -H " O W n f a C , ° r " T h e o n 'y constant of the picture
was tts idea . tts formula."" , n , 9 6 3 Gerstner published the
the proTm,"e e"'Werfe" 'DeSigning Pr0*ra™l •»«
KrUsuZ f, m°"a " L°sun9erl fir Aufgaben Programme
tludonsl H r ° f ' 5 ° , U t i 0 n S f ° r P r o b l ™ s Programs for
Solutions], Here he provided an extensive explanation of de-

nation of design methods which did not follow feelings, but
precise intellectual criteria.52 The artist defined a program,
that is to say, elements and the rules that are applied to them.
It was the specification of a set of possible images. The "pro­
gram" left open the option as to whether the designer him­
self or the viewer would alter the variables; whether it would
be a tool or a work of art.
Two further examples from the first New Tendencies ex­
hibition illustrate the significance of "programming" as a
method of artistic creation. They also document that the
term was in circulation among artists before the arte pro-
grammata exhibition: Francois Morellet presented a selec­
tion of his grid pictures, and Almir Mavignier examples from
the series Permutationen [Permutations] (this volume, pp. 66,
71). In the spring of 1962 - prior to the exhibition arte program-
mata - both artists published explanatory texts on these se­
ries of works in which they made use of the term "program."
In "Pour une peinture experimental programmee," Morellet
insisted that pictorial experiment should be "based on con­
trollable elements, whereby systematic progress would be
made by following a program. The development of an experi­
ment should run on its own, almost outside the control of the
programmer."53 Work titles such as 3 double trames o°, 30°, 6o°
[3 Double Grids o°, 30°, 6o°] (this volume, p. 70) revealed to
the viewer the "program." Traceability, according to Morellet,
should contribute to demystifying the artistic act. Mavignier,
by contrast, emphasized that the programmed permutation,
which he mechanically elaborated precisely after having
set the program, led to results about which he would have
otherwise remained ignorant. The procedure liberated him
from the artistic cliche of the intuition and facilitated control
"even from such chaotic influences such as taste, tradition,
fashion, the art trade, prestige, etc."54 Today, each of the texts
reads like a paraphrase of admonishments to nineteenth-
century scientists to exclude the Self from pictorial produc­
tion and measurement.55 However, Morellet's and Mavigni-
er's plea for method, which oscillated between the imitation
of science and the mimesis of the machine, was not a sim­
ple provocation of the idea of the unrepeatable creative act of
the artistic genius. After the supersession of the imitation of
nature by the classical avant-garde, after the rejection of the
steering of artistic action through the unconscious and the
absence of a patron, the methodical procedure itself seemed
to provide legitimation. It disencumbered the artist from
freedom perceived as a burden,56 by creating moments ol ne­
cessity, and diminishing the need to take decisions once the
program had been defined.57
Neither of the texts explicitly makes reference to Max
Bense and the book Aesthetica IV. Programmierung des Schonen,
in which he further developed his information aesthetics.
And yet mention must be made of him here, as Mavignier, a
student at the Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School
Rosen • Art of Programming 33
of Design] (HfG), was strongly influenced by Bense, who
taught there from the beginning. Morellet, a close friend of
Mavignier since the 1950s, knew Bense as well. The philos­
opher exhibited his work in 1961 in his gallery at the Tech-
nische Hochschule [Technical University] Stuttgart.58 The
term "programming" was published by Max Bense even be­
fore i960. He had explained as early as 1958 that the "pro­
gramming" of works, namely, the "theorization and intel-
lectualization of aesthetic production," demonstrates the
"integration of the aesthetic processes on the horizon of tech­
nical civilization."59
What Matter Who's Calculating
Against this technical horizon, what was conceptually advo­
cated by the artists of programmed painting corresponded
to the conditions of work with digital computers up to the
close of the 1960s. Replacing self-discipline, it was the exter­
nal disciplining by machine that was to determine the user's
behavior. The desired form had to be precisely formulated
in advance before being translated into the language of the
computer. On the punch card or punched tape-driven digital
machine, there was no possibility of intervening in the pro­
cess after entering the program. At the final stage of process
the plotter deleted the last trace of the artist's hand. The com­
puter seemed to bring to an end the artist's quest to separate
the creator and the physical work of art. Nobody could tell
whether the punch card was punched tenderly or in fury.60
However, the dreams of the artist seemed to have found
their technical Wiedergdnger not only in the disciplining, an-
onymizing processes between Teletype, card reader, comput­
ers, and plotters. "Chance," a phenomenon that had fasci­
nated artists throughout the centuries, now conquered the
gallery spaces in the form of "pseudorandom numbers." In
science, they were of the utmost importance for computer-
based simulations of physical systems, but could also serve
simply to test automatically the movements of a milling ma­
chine. The drawings and designs by A. Michael Noll, Frieder
Nake, Hiroshi Kawano, and Georg Nees - in fact, practically
all works exhibited in Zagreb between 1968 and 1973 - were
produced by using pseudorandomnumber generators that
allowed for the automatic variation of the defined form.
The procedure did not seem to differ greatly from ex­
periments carried out by New Tendencies artists without
the computer, such as those of herman de vries. For creat­
ing his "strictly programmed and strictly random"61 image
structures, he executed his "program" with pencil and pa­
per, using as variables figures from Statistical Tables for Biolog­
ical, Agricultural and Medical Research62, and arranged the im­
age elements according to the results. It was precisely these
operational similarities that posed the decisive question for
the revaluation of the New Tendencies: what were the dif­
ferences and continuities between visual research with and
 TENDEKCIJE 4
C-alerija suvreraeno lunjetnosti "rogra-jn*- i r.f omat i on
Zagreb/ Katarinin trg 2 PI-4
April 1968

NOTIFICATION OF THE 10RX

Name of author
11/1: Title
year origin
technological characteristics
size
price . •

II/2 a) Computer graphic

title
year of origin
technological characteristics
size
computer
print
where waa the work produced
PLEASE INCLUDE WITH EACH WORK OR SERIES OF WORKS THE
PROQHAIT-E QUOTING TI1L RAHD OM ELI" TfiNTS, THE PRINCIPLE
OF WORE, THE 'ODEL APPLIED, EXPLANATION OP ^HE "ODEL
THE PRESENCE OF INTUITION.
b) Other materials
11/5,7 Theme
year of origin
II/6 Title
year of origin .........
1. Photography of the exhibit
2. Photography of the author

I accept all the conditions named in the invitation and FI-2

Please return the exhibits to this address:

till Hay2S^igL^ Se"^ S0cre^a^'s'°«'ioe of'T-4-

Program Information 4. April 1968
Date 1968
Signature
I shcei
Thank you for the oorrect filling of Archive MSU Zagreb
this form. If the room this form
-s not enough, please add more pages.

Without the computer, and what benefits did the new tool ac­
tually represent?
Waldemar Cordeiro, one of the most important expo­
nents of mathematically oriented Concrete art in Brazil em-
phastzed continuity: both the classical and the contemporary
avant-garde would "translate the work into numbers ' and
were characterized by a digitization of artistic language"
Hence, dtfference was not methodical, but "technological ""
Numerous parttcpants of tendencies 4 and authors of bit
temat,onu/adduced the acceleration of calculations to be the
dec,sive characteristic of this difference on the level of tech
no ogy. The rapid computer promised - specifically by ap
p ylng pseudorandom numbers - to be capable of calculal
- ^ea ofet:
ty- his was to open new paths to system­
atic visual research. The fact that in contrast to this ultra-f
calculation the plotter would require an hour to produc
single drawing was not thematized." It may be noted h<
that the speed of computers by the mid-twentieth centi
evoked a similar fascination as did the instantandti of p
tography in mid-nineteenth century. And yet the often-cil
acceleration was not the sole point of difference mention
m the discussions. The Czech theorist and poet ji« Valo
w lie also praising the computer as a technical aid, went
to emphasize a conceptual difference in the role of the
hot which corresponded to Morellefs and to Mavignie
ferrinf,8 Th " *'SUbiCCtiVity 'he '
ha I t painter Zdenek Sykora, who, in 1964, began
Have the designs for his combinatorial pictures calcula,
by a computer, Valoch stressed the significance of this wi

drawal, in that "a professional creator consciously leaves the
creative process to the computer."66
If we were to paraphrase Samuel Beckett's rhetorical
question "What matter who's speaking?"67 then the ques­
tion "Does it matter who's calculating?" which resulted from
the substitution of the artist by the computer, must be an­
swered in the affirmative. It made a difference if the artist or
the computer calculated. Actors, operations, and orienta­
tions changed, and unanticipated effects eventuated.68 One
outcome was that the "visual" was put into question. Even
though there were examples in the New Tendencies for nota­
tions of programs, both as sketches and formulas, the value
of artifacts produced on this basis was never oppugned. Yet,
the status of the physical artwork was radically queried by
the new protagonists of the New Tendencies who were not
trained in art studios and history courses, but by hands-on
experience with calculating machines: "[Leslie] Mezei and
also Peter Milojevic could not understand," wrote Frieder
Nake in March 1969 to curator Boris Kelemen, "why the com­
petition of t-4 is for 'objects' and not for 'programs,' and
why nevertheless flow diagrams are requested. For this rea­
son they decline participation."69 The opinion that "the art­
work of computer art [is] the program"70 was also expressed
by Herbert W. Franke. And although the competition was
announced in November 1968 with the statement that it re­
ferred "to works, and not to programs," Kelemen tried to ap­
pease the participants with his answer to Nake that the jury
would take into account "the program to a higher degree
than the work."71 In the end Mezei and Milojevic took part in
the competition and exhibition.
The programming by artists of the early New Tenden­
cies and the programming with the computer showed oper­
ational similarities when considered in the abstract. And yet
the engineers and natural scientists did not approach ma­
chines to extinguish the idea of the individual genius or to
give their work the habits of a machine. They underlined the
programmer's position of control and authorship, even if pro­
gramming was not staged as a highly personal activity. Aside
from a general knowledge about abstract art, they remained
unburdened by contemporary discourse and struggles. They
evolved their considerations on picture production from the
practice of natural- or engineering-scientific visualization,
whether these be from the sphere of acoustics, communica­
tion engineering, or automation, as well as on the theoreti­
cal basis of information theory and computing science. Yet,
precisely because of their extraterritorial stance they seemed
to meet the expectations of the organizers of the New Ten­
dencies. The artists had rejected intuition for conceptual rea­
sons. The engineer A. Michael Noll, to mention one example,
now questioned it from the standpoint of computer science.
With his Mondrian variations from 1964 and his essay in bit
international 2, Noll showed that after the programmer has
Rosen • Art of Programming
defined the algorithm, artistic originality in the sense of im­
probability can be simulated perfectly. The image of artistic
freedom transformed itself into a mathematically stochastic
describable series of yes/no decisions within a set of possi­
bilities. That the limits of this set may not be defined by the
individual could be concluded from a remark by the trained
mathematician Frieder Nake: "Each painter is a restricted
picture generator."72
The simulation of creative processes seemed to contribute
to the definition of that which distinguishes man from ma­
chine, by limiting, piece by piece, his exclusive responsibility.
The demystification of art in the spirit of the New Tenden­
cies met the demystification of visual innovation in the spirit
of the computer centers.
Programmed Art
Even if Max Bense introduced the term "programming" into
artists' circles at an early stage, the strength of its presence
within the New Tendencies from 1963 onwards was clearly
an effect of the touring exhibition arte programmata the title
of which was authored by Bruno Munari and Umberto Eco.
Gruppo T, Gruppo N, Enzo Mari, and GRAV - all artists who
had exerted a decisive impact on the New Tendencies - had
participated in the show. The exhibition, initially held in the
sales rooms of Olivetti in Milan before being presented at Ol­
ivetti locations in Venice, Rome, and Dusseldorf and finally
touring the USA, also displayed works which generated vi­
sual effects when the viewer shifted his vantage point; and
yet the impression of the exhibition as a whole was defined
by objects that could be manipulated by viewers or which
were driven by simple motors. It ought to be stressed that al­
though Olivetti produced computers, the works shown con­
tained no information on technological components what­
soever. One year later those simple "little electric toys that
move colored ribbons, oils, reticulated surfaces, Perspex,
lights, plate glass, plugs, and cylinders"73 were also seen
buzzing and flashing in New Tendencies exhibitions in Za­
greb, Venice, Leverkusen, and Paris.
With these objects, "programming" did not designate a
process of methodical design. Emphasis was placed on the
creation of a more or less dramatic perceptual situation in
which the spectator finds himself and that destabilizes his ev­
eryday visual habits. Eco, who wrote the introductory text to
the arte programmata catalog, described the mobile objects as
epistemological metaphors with which the artists reacted to
the scientific taming of chance by way of probability theory
and statistics. He characterized them as "events fields." They
rendered perceptible the new "unique dialectic between
chance and program, between mathematics and hazard."74
Furthermore, many of the objects compelled the viewer
to end tranquil contemplation, which was considered pas­
sive and alienated, and to act: for example, to turn and shift
 Rosen • Art of Programming
the objects. In the years that followed, the concept of the
"activated" viewer was radicalized in the environments of
Gruppo T and GRAV. To undermine the conditions existing
between artist and public was part of a larger undertaking
of the New Tendencies to demystify art. 75 Paraphrasing Im-
manuel Kant, it might be said that programmed art was the
spectators emergence from his self-imposed immaturity.
In terms of visual research, however, not only had the
viewer been discovered as an acting subject, but also as an
object of examination - something that was not without con­
troversy within the New Tendencies. Whereas, in their Am-
biente sperimentale [Experimental Environment] (this volume,
pp. 214-215) programmed with light sequences, Giovanni An-
ceschi and Davide Boriani sought to detect systematically
the aesthetic preferences of the visitor on the basis of infor­
mation aesthetics, 76 GRAV would repudiate this by using the
onlooker "as a statistical factor by subjecting him to tests." 77
Programmed art, wrote Eco, was created for the people
of the twentieth century, who had adapted "to an entire dy­
namic of perception, fostered by new technological and so­
cial conditions." 78 In this respect, the computer-oriented ex­
hibitions constituted a surprise. While artists and scientists
now applied the machine of the twentieth century, they pro­
duced formats of the nineteenth century, namely, drawings,
photographs, and paintings. Computers, that could have oth­
erwise controlled kinetic objects, or else could have permit­
ted viewer participation by intervening in the program flow,
were not available. Only Vladimir Bonacic broke through
the sphere of standardized technology by presenting pro­
grammed light objects. To this end, he constructed simple
"screens," as well as the controlling special-purpose comput­
ing units. Already in the 1969 exhibition Bonacic presented
DIN. GF100 (this volume, p. 373), an object that was equipped
with a wired remote control that made it possible to influ­
ence the dynamic light patterns. Whether or not the public
was actually allowed to use it, is something that cannot be re­
constructed. But aside from Bonacics Dynamic Objects the
visitor of the computer-related exhibitions was returned'to a
state of tranquil contemplation.
With the introduction of the computer the mobile or ma-
ntpulable artwork and the active viewer were exiled from the
exhibition space, but not from theoretical discussion. Scien-
tsts and arusts turned away their gaze from the products of
the punch card-driven mainframe computer and instead be
communicate with them in 1 • Programming to
of enabling the operators to respond as part of a machine-
dependent accelerated war technology at adequate speed. 7 '
And yet, through what kind of artistic formats should the
user of military-industrial man-machine-systems the tar­
get-oriented "instrument reader and crank or knob-turner""
- now become a "viewer" who, in an attitude of disinterested
pleasure, gathers new visual experiences?
The artists of the first phase of the New Tendencies had
programmed objects and complete environments whereby
the onlooker, who was then mostly referred to by the term
"public," could explore the conditions of perception and ex­
perience himself as an acting subject. The proposal first
mentioned at the 1969 symposium tendencije 4 . "Kompjuteri
i vizuelna istrazivanja" / tendencies 4 . "Computers and Vi­
sual Research" by the physicist, author, and artist Herbert
W. Franke followed this tradition, albeit unconsciously. With
the use of "interactive applications" Franke suggested sus­
pending "the distinction between artists and audience."" 1 In
addition, he outlined the possibilities of interactive, cyber­
netic performances - in the constructive spirit of the New
Tendencies: "In contrast to the happening which mainly
involves destructive elements, highly complex structures
of order are also accessible through the logical capacity of
the computer.' 8 2 Reaction to Frankes proposal are not doc­
umented, neither to the suggestions by Branimir Makanec
and A. Michael Noll. Makanec and Noll revealed an aspect
of programming, that had accompanied programmed art
prior to 1968 as a shadow: the programming of the beholder.
Within the context of the 1968 colloquy, Makanec, a Croatian
pioneer in the use of electronics for teaching and pedagogy,
suggested to have the public draw pictures on the screen with
the light pen. The computer would continually make sugges­
tions to the user about what he should change or add so as
to "establish the aesthetic balance.""5 In his bit international
anicle the scientist Noll, who contributed to the production
of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as scientific
consultant, went one step further. He pointed to the possibil­
ity of cybernetic systems, which are not just systems that can
be observed, but that themselves observe: "The computer
could monitor the participant's emotional state and change
it according to the artists specifications." 84
Unfortunately, the groups of artists of the New Tenden­
cies most resolutely committed to changing the relationship
between art.st, work, and public, namely, GRAV and Gruppo
IQ 6R Present at the colloquy and the symposium in
e not
.968 and ,969. However, the artists belonging to the GRAV
group had commented on -cybernetic" installations several
bemet T '965- m O S t l i k e 'y i n reference to the ey­
re^^^ec^nrf P t U r e S .° f u N k 0 , a S S c h 6 f f e r '< h ^ .Heir
struction of 1" J * 8 ™ " - and electronics" for the con-
puWic wo„L ' C a n b e i n f l u e n c e d b V "he viewer. The
public would remain "somewhat excluded from highly tech-

nical works." 8 5 The functioning and programming of these
works no longer seemed comprehensible. They did not fore­
see that for users the enchantment of "interactive" programs
consisted in integrating intuitively with a machine, the inter­
face of which blanked out the mathematical-technical struc­
ture as completely as possible.
Owing to the absence of arte programmata artists at the 1969
symposium, it was the theorist of arte programmata, Umberto
Eco - invited to Zagreb as a member of the jury for the compe­
tition "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and
Visual Research" - who would have the last word. In 1961, Eco,
who had been engaged as editor of non-fiction for the pub­
lishing house Bompiani in Milan since 1959, had prepared the
Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 1962, which was thematically
dedicated to the "Application of Electronic Calculators to
the Human Sciences and Literature." 8 6 When appearing be­
fore the microphone eight years later, his enthusiasm, which
had already back then indicated a shade of melancholy re­
garding the experimental and provocative value of the com­
puter, had quite evidently yielded to skepticism. Yet, this was
part of a general doubt as to the success of experimental art
until then. Eco stressed that all previous attempts at elimi­
nating the authoritarian relationship between artwork and
viewer had been in vain. Thus, a computer-generated draw­
ing likewise distinguished itself neither from the Mona Lisa
nor from the Sistine Chapel. Consequently, in future exhibi­
tions of the New Tendencies he had no desire to see pictures
or sculptures, and neither would he like to "make small, timid
movements on aesthetically pleasing buttons" ol computers,
but be involved not in a playful, but true happening, "a crit­
ical happening in which each person says what they want." 8 7
In the political atmosphere of 1968/1969, to Eco the manipula­
tion of a programmed work of art, whether computer related
or not, seemed to contribute to social change no more than
did pressing the button of an elevator.
The Forgotten Eye: An Addendum
This genealogy of programming has hardly touched upon
the effects the arrival of the computer had on the New Ten­
dencies research field that was labelled in the USA in 1964
as "Op art": the exploration of visual perception. Although
Mavignier, Morellet, and Gerstner had great interest in the
conceptual aspect of "programming," what they aimed at was
the generation of structures which hypnotized the viewer.
The first generation artists among the New Tendencies ap­
plied moire effects, illusory movements, afterimages, so-
called Ehrenstein illusions, and other such phenomena that
had been described scientifically in the nineteenth century.
Hence, while the application of the results drawn from the
psychology of perception and Gestalt theory also supported
the scientific claim, what was decisive was the direct desta-
bilization and augmentation of the viewers perception. The
Rosen • Art of Programming
images were to be perceptible without a prior knowledge of
iconography or by way of the regular perusal of art journals.
With the arrival of the computer, scientific images once
again entered the gallery space. However, they did not of­
fer flickering surfaces. In fact, there had been attempts to ex­
plore optical illusions by means of computing technology
among New Tendencies artists, even before 1968. Sometime
between 1963 and 1965, Gerhard von Graevenitz had tried to
obtain access to a computer center for the purposes of sys­
tematically producing drawings with optical illusions. How­
ever, permission was not granted him. 8 8 With the arrival of
the computer the viewer's eye was no longer "attacked." 8 9
Instead, the programmers, whether as scientists or artists,
gazed in fascination at the machine and the possibilities of
mathematically modelling the act of creation.
Yet, a series of pictures submitted for the exhibition and to
the competition of 1969 clearly demonstrated what research
in perception under the conditions of information technol­
ogy also signified. Among other works, the scientists and en­
gineers of Bell Telephone Laboratories had sent to Zagreb a
selection of computer-processed photographs, sophisticated
experiments with symbols and Gestalt effects. The applied
techniques had been developed as part of research carried
out on electronic image analysis and transmission. 9 0 In this
context, in engineering, the objective was maximum reduc­
tion of the quantity of data with maximum retention of qual­
ity for the human eye. Here, bit - the unit with which images
were measured - was not a technical-aesthetic, but a tech­
nical-economic category. Once a picture was worth a thou­
sand words; now, one picture was worth n bits: this meant n
minutes on a telephone line or n minutes of computing time.
Time that had to be paid. 9 1 The jury of the 1969 competition
"Computers and Visual Research," comprising Umberto Eco,
Karl Gerstner, Martin Krampen, and Vera Horvat-Pintaric,
presented Bell Telephone Laboratories with an award "for
the best developed technology and programming of visual
phenomena." 9 2
Computers, Visual Research, and Society
By August 1968, when the colloquy entitled "Computers and
Visual Research" commenced, the student revolt had al­
ready reached Yugoslavia. In the first days of June the pro­
tests erupted initially in Belgrade, where the University was
occupied, before spreading to the three other large university
cities of Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Sarajevo. However, during
the colloquy only the student protests and the political situa­
tion in Western Europe were addressed. Italian artist Alberto
Biasi voiced solidarity with the students since he had aban­
doned hope that technological and economical development
would lead to the introduction of socialism without revolu­
tion. In his criticism of blind trust in technology as a me­
dium of emancipation Biasi warned of an uncritical embrace
 Rosen • Art of Programming
of computer technology. In the service of automation, it was
merely an additional means of capitalist exploitation of the
working classes.93 In the contribution he submitted to the
1969 symposium, the London-based artist Gustav Metzger
formulated a critique of the computer that went far beyond
its function in the class struggle: computer technology had
made a decisive contribution to the development of the hy­
drogen bomb, and it was the central instrument of develop­
ment and control in contemporary warfare.94 However, Biasi
and Metzger were by no means technophobes. Biasi stressed
that artists were under obligation to work with any kind of ad­
vanced technological means, albeit with a "critical" attitude.95
Metzger, who had envisaged computer-controlled works al­
ready in 1961,96 called for a "penetrative understanding of
science and technology,"97 so as to evade humankinds self-
destruction - he characterized as tragic the naivety of those
students who sought to drop out of technical civilization.
The critics of computer technology could not accuse the
New Tendencies of having until then inclined towards a cult
of the machine. The small motors of mobile objects were
in principle no more than means to generate visual effects.
However, the criticism struck at the foundations of the New
Tendencies. That this simple technology had actually been
allocated a place in the studios and galleries with demon­
strative self-evidence was substantiated in a comprehensive
and emphatically positive attitude towards science and to­
wards technology, which was seen as its objectivization. In
this sense, the New Tendencies saw itself as part of the intel­
lectual tradition of pre-war modernity, above all that of the
Bauhaus. This generation of artists was well aware that the
promises of modernity remained unredeemed, and that sci­
ence and technology were potential means for humankind's
annihilation. And yet, by emphasizing that there was no es­
cape from science and technology, they opted for a "con­
structive approach,"98 as Jerko Denegri would formulate it
in an attempt to shape technical civilization. To argue wrote'
the Italian art historian Giulio Carlo Argan, that a his'torical
process, the way of life as determined by technological and
industrial processes, "is irreversible is not the same as to ar­
gue that ,t cannot be modified."" Biasi and Merger's con­
tributions in 1968 and 1969 revealed the rising unease about
the fact that the desired influence on the ever faster develop-
~ language philosophy and experimental literature in the
* not mean
broadlsodal cUss by^eam"8/116 ******* ^P^ilityofl
ities as a means of "humanizing" technical civilization was
only given perfunctory attention, whether in exhibitions or
in catalogs.100 In 1968, the discussion on the possibilities of
visual research with the computer the aspect of the design
of consumer goods became a central theme through Abra­
ham A. Moles' interventions. He construed a provocative sce­
nario about how the computer might satisfy the insatiable
need for innovation and originality of the "citizen of happi­
ness."101 The artist transformed himself into a "programmer
of the beautiful,"101 who designed algorithms enabling the
rapid and continual generation of innovative forms. The de­
gree of "originality" the consumer might still be capable of
enduring would be optimized by means of the methods of
information aesthetics. Of decisive importance was the pos­
sibility of abrogating the alienation of the individual through
the mass product by way of computer-generated variations
of a uniquely created design: every department store cus­
tomer should be able to acquire a unique object.101 Moles' vi­
sion, whereby trained specialists defined visual culture, were
certainly closer to the essentially authorial folklore plant-
taire by Victor Vasarely104 - about whom Moles would write
several times - than to Pinot Gallizio's anarchistic, anti-eco­
nomic, and poetic industrial painting, that was supposed to
be Made in Popolo (People).105 How the "programming of the
beautiful might look in practice was demonstrated by the
contribution to the competition of 1969 by the Dutch group
Compos 68: Compos Hobby Box (this volume, p. 374) was a
multiple consisting of a computer-designed pattern, colored
cardboard, and a needle that served as a tool to transfer the
pattern to the pieces of cardboard which were then cut and
mounted on the plane as indicated. None of the collages gen­
erated in this way resembled the other and made each con­
sumer's home different, if not appealing.
Moles addressed the potential danger of computer-gen­
erated kitsch resulting from the procedure he had proposed.
However, Austrian artist Marc Adrian advanced an unambig­
uous criticism of the computer as a means of cultural inno­
vation with his computer-generated play SYSPOT,0*. which
ikewise gained an award in the competition. The story of a
ove triangle consisted of a computer-aided montage of text
e ements from popular journals. Adrian, who, on the periph-
y o t t Vienna group, had made a thorough examination
ut w o was also familiar with the writings of Max
Bense, sough, to show how the culture industry would deiib-
ranain th h • ,nf°nna,ion suPP'y <° a minimum by "rear-
pmer and h SCbema'iC ^P65""" "ilh <he aid of a com-
status quo
status Qu
of/society.
Pr°V 8 ,hU iUuSOry innova'ion, freeze the
pu,rtecahn„d„|h°WKmany Pe°P'e WOuld have ««» 1° com-
and 1969 beC3me °ne °f the ™ -sues in „68

Computer Art and Conceptual Art
An artists' movement, which sought to make art comprehen­
sible and accessible to all viewers, chose a medium that in­
itially led into a situation of exclusion: a technology which
required the highly specialized knowledge of experts and
which was in the hands of governments and industry. Indi­
vidual scientists and artists, such as Vladimir Bonacic, the
Austrians Otto and Oskar Beckmann, or Charles Csuri, re­
sponded constructively to this situation by building hard­
ware or developing software. And yet the main difficulty in
the continuation of the research program launched in 1968
revealed itself at another level: although by means of data
visualization and computer-aided design the computer had
already begun to impact science, engineering, and archi­
tecture, it had not yet become a visual technology that per­
ceptibly influenced the life of society beyond the walls of
computer centers. It remained an invisible means for mathe­
matical calculation, administration, and the control of auto­
mated industrial processes.
Initially, this supported the avant-garde status of the pro­
gram "Computers and Visual Research," and yet the slow
technical development taxed one's patience - both the ac­
tors', as well as of the public. The fate of visual research
within the New Tendencies suddenly seemed to be chained
to the course of technological progress. This was brought
about by the fact that within the context of available stan­
dard technology different authors would repeatedly arrive
at the same visual results. It was not the art market that led
to that formation of style so feared by the New Tendencies,
but the obdurate machine. Only a handful of artists and sci­
entists engaged in an enduring struggle that would lead to
innovative visual forms. Most would give up within two or
three years.
In 1971, the organizers briefly considered dedicating the
tendencies 5 / tendencije 5 symposium to the theme "computer
graphics in teaching programs" and arranging the exhibition
more didactically,108 but in the end they opted for confront­
ing visual research by computer with an artistic current as­
sociated with the non-visual - with Conceptual art. A bind­
ing curatorial model was not proposed. Radoslav Putar only
implicitly indicated that one might also describe processes
of Conceptual art as data processing.109 Whether the con­
cept linking the computer and Conceptual art, as developed
by American artist and curator Jack Burnham in 1970 for his
exhibition Software. Information Technology: Its New Meaning
for Art110, was known to him, remains uncertain."1 Software
sought to demonstrate the effects of information-processing
systems and communication techniques in the hands of art­
ists. It dealt with underlying structures of communication.
Therefore, most projects in Software were, as Burnham put
it, "aniconic.""2
Rosen • Art of Programming
In contrast to Software, the Zagreb curators of tendencies 5
insisted on the application of the computer as a visual means.
And yet the difficulties of this exhibition were not caused by
the contrast visual/non-visual, but rather in the opposition
between a seemingly unreserved constructive and an accen­
tuated critical stance: scientists, engineers, artists, and archi­
tects tested new design and visualization techniques for a
computer-based visual culture of the future. Conceptual art­
ists, on the other hand, criticized pictorial forms and media,
most of which had long since visibly permeated art and soci­
ety - printed material, photography, television, or video. Un­
like in Software, the artists did not take computing technol­
ogy into consideration.
That the program of visual research was carried out by
means of computers and originally launched to examine
comprehensively the consequences of an all-pervasive infor­
mation technology for human creativity and visual commu­
nication, was barely recognizable in the curatorial concep­
tion of tendencies 5. The emancipatory approach of attaching
art to the key technology of the time was no longer empha­
sized. In discussions at the tendencies 5 symposium, the dy­
namic term "visual research" lost ground to the static des­
ignation "computer art." Information aesthetics, especially
Bense's, was likewise dismissed as having failed. Although
examining communications processes, not unlike the social-
critical "systems aesthetics" of Jack Burnham"3, the scien­
tific claim of a Galilean aesthetics narrowed the perspective:
in his role as philosopher of information aesthetics, Bense,
who was also a very keen interpreter of the times and amus­
ing essayist, excluded all aspects of non-calculable condi­
tions of communication - psychological, social, political, and
economic. His provocation of bourgeois post-war culture by
mathematical aesthetics had lost its edge in the politicized
atmosphere of 1968/1969. The clash between Joseph Beuys
and Max Bense during a panel discussion in Diisseldorf in
1970 was the visibly spectacular finale to the project of a ra­
tional, mathematically oriented aesthetics that had sought to
demystify art and the artist."4
tendencies 5 was the last exhibition of the New Tendencies
and marked the end of its exploration of the computer as a
means of visual research.
Art as Research
Why, along with New York, Stuttgart, London, Madrid, and
Tokyo, did Zagreb become one of the most important cent­
ers during the pioneering days in artistic discourse on com­
puter technology? It was obviously not the place for the pio­
neering use of "electronic brains" for aesthetic purposes.
When it came to preparing for tendencies 4, the Croatian or­
ganizers had neither heard nor read of any Yugoslavian art­
ists or scholars pursuing experiments of this kind. Even the
call for projects for tendencies 4 was only answered by one
 Rosen • Art of Programming

submission from the Socialist Federal Republic where, ac­
cording to historical information from the Federal Bureau of
Statistics which can not be verified, a total of 9 5 computers
had been installed in I968. 1 1 5 The engineer Vladimir Bonacic,
who carried the results of visual research out into the city by
illuminating the night sky above Kvaternik Square with com­
puter-controlled light installations, and who became a key
figure of the program "Computers and Visual Research," ac­
tually only turned to art in response to this initiative in 1968.
The project was conceived, figuratively speaking, around
the conference table in the directors office at the Galerija su-
vremene umjetnosti, the municipal Gallery that had already
hosted the first New Tendencies exhibition. Four curators
from Zagreb, among them the director of the Gallery, Bozo
Bek, and two artists involved in the New Tendencies, each
occupying different roles and with varying influence, met
in December 1967 and reached out to a new tool of artistic
research in order to reanimate an international movement
that had almost ceased to exist. The initiative to continue the
New Tendencies could certainly be seen as a strategic deci­
sion that was taken so as not to lose this brand that had fur­
ther added to the international visibility of Zagreb in the art
world. However, the risk that the director, Bozo Bek, took
when launching "Computers and Visual Research" in 1968
transgressed political and institutional rationale. The pro­
gram contained too many unknown variables for the result to
be even cautiously anticipated. Bek, together with the small
circle of curators and artists, opened the gallery for an un­
known machine, for unknown works, and for unknown per­
sons. Through exhibitions, symposia, catalogs and the maga­
zine bit international they sought to engage with a technology
that had so "discretely invaded our world, or more precisely
the world of our thoughts"" 6 , that it was more myth than
tool. Having demystified art, the New Tendencies now set out
to demystify a technology, to make it visible, socially nego­
tiable and applicable to artistic ends. When the artists from
Western Europe had abandoned hope that their ideal of "art
as research" could be realized under the prevailing economic
conditions, this group of Croatian curators and artists imple­
In his article "La forma del disordine"1 u of 1961, Umberto
Eco complained that "la Bit Generation,' the "technicians of
the new statistical cosmology,""* that is, information and
probability theory, were reclusively punching binary signals
into punch cards and refused to engrave their genesis on the
tympanum of the large buildings that hosted them and the
machines. The history of the New Tendencies as told here, of
its program of visual research by means of computer and the
magazine bit international, is to be understood in the above
sense: as a proposal for a small engraving on the tympanum,
as one of the most interesting stories about the arrival of the
computer in the visual arts.
1 Radoslav Puiar, "Nove tendencije 4"/"New Tendencies 4." in: lenJrnii/t 4.
exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 1470, n. p.
2 Ibid.
3 February 23 - April 25. 1465. 33 artist* who had exhibited in the New
Tendencies context participated in the exhibition.
4 This description alludes to the exhibition Ann Prinlurr. organized by Walter
Leblanc, in which a large number of New Tendencies artists participated. See:
Anti-Peinture, exhib. brochure. G58 Hessenhuis. Antwerp. 1462.
5 See, for example: Centre de Recherche d'Aft Visuelle. "Acte de Fondation.'
I960, as well as "Arte e liberta. Impegno ideologic nolle correnti anistiche
contemporanee" (declaration of G r u p p o T. G r u p p o N. E n / o Man at the XII.
Convegno critici c artisti. Verucchio. September 1963). in: II Veen. 12. 1463. pp.
133-136.
6 "Divulgation des exemplaires de recherchet.- in: now — ftnrfl J. exhib. cat,
international version. Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 1465. pp. 5-4;
translated from the French.
7 See: Giulio Carlo Argan. "Le ragioni del gruppo.' in: II Mmaggrro. September
21, 1963.
8 Francois Morellet. "Untitled.- in: note tenJrncijr 2. exhib. cat., international
version. Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 1963. n. p.; translated from
the French.
9 Mat Ito MeStrovic and Radoslav Puiar. "La Reunion de travail de. participant.
e la NT3. le 18.8.1965 a Brezovica." in: noto Undrm„a J. exhib. cat., inter
national version. Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb, p. 170: translated
'rom the French; this volume, p. 233.
10 See: Ibid.
'I Bozo Bek letter to Abraham A. Moles. April 8. 1968. Archive MSU Zagreb:
translated from the French.
'2 Bailee,*, Bek, Kel,m.„, „„d P„,„ p.„ic,p.,.d „„ ^
, van tee j participated in the sc.,ion. of December 6 and 18, 1967;
Archive MSu"tgleb.'"" " S"! S""<"'

mented the concept in a public institution that had been part 13 dtt- "in"dc °r ou,,id< m-1—I..O v,,-.

of the movement from the beginning. The historical credit Th"w" Diane and Ml.k.

goes both to them and to the European and South American

Zt7,l , 7? """"" W"°"' "»«-»»*>. Vo avat parJcr.
MA MM Tf M'T Pre.., Cambridge.
New Tendencies artists and theorists who, in the earlv 1060, 14 Sec' Ses ' f' 51, "•"•fcWIm Djur* .nl tmM MM. p. »>t.
gave b,„h to the idea that continues to inspire g e n ^ p 238 De"mh" ^ MSU Zagreb,Zvia,,.
of artists: art as research. And although «r n e r a t ions
15 M,'; TZt "°m M"Ch "6S- Abr*h'"' A- '•«" » bote Bek.

•7 fn"hiTo*'™ """ A'rh'" MSU ''*"h

used. The program for tr„ I , T ,endenai» 4 |Tendency 4) was still
retained the enchantment of ,he r e C arIvv P a t l a l h 1968. The main event "" " * ged several ,imes until the summer of
he mam events were postponed to May 1969
O Information 2, April ,968. Archive MSU Zagreb.

20 Program Information 7. August 1968 Ark- s.e.,

i'ies and propensities!,;eZ0V;;r0:"f,fbOfpOt™tial- 21 See: Bozo Bek. letter to the Federal Comm'i f ^ VO'UmC- P" "°"
Belgrade. November 19 I96Q a u lsslon '<»r International Relations.

' A'Ch,V<! MSU 1 »ould like ,o .bank Ma,k»

 Rosen • Art of Programming

Mestrovic and Srboljub Stojanovic for providing the historical exchange rates. 41 See: Francois Molnar and Francois Morellet, Pour un art abstrait progressive,

22 "Exhibitions: Cybernetic Serendipity," in: Time Magazine, October 4, 1968. offprint within the framework of the exhibition nove tendencije 2, Galerija

Jasia Reichardt remembers a slightly higher sum, then US$48,000; personal suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1963, n. p.; translated from the French; this

correspondence with the author, March 16, 2010. volume, pp. 136-143.

23 Cybernetic Serendipity, information folder [1968], Gordon Pask Archive, Institut 42 See: Mestrovic 1968, p. 9.

fur Zeitgeschichte, University of Vienna. 43 Kelemen 1970, n. p.

24 Matko MeStrovic, "Promatrani promatrac," / "L'Observateur observe," in: 44 Putar 1970, n. p.; this volume, p. 337.

bit international I, Dimitrije Basi£evic and Ivan Picelj (eds.), Galerije grada 45 One exception was represented by the Gruppo ricerca cibernetica around Pino

Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, p. 9; translated from the French. Parini, which participated in a research project conducted by Silvio Ceccato at

25 "Zasto izlazi 'bit'" / "Why 'bit' Appears," in: bit international I, 1968, p. 5; this the Centro di Cibernetica e di Attivita Linguistiche [Center of Cybernetics and

volume, p. 295. Linguistic Activities) at the beginning of the 1960. See: "II Gruppo di ricerca

26 See: Boris Kelemen, "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and cibernetica riminese," in:53-85: Ricerche artistiche a Rimini nel secondo Novecento,

Visual Research," in: tendencije 4, 1970; this volume, p. 365-367. exhib. cat., Museo della Citta, Rimini 1998, pp. 59-63.

27 Bense, professor for philosophy and the theory of science at the Technische 46 See: W. K. de Bruijn, A. B. Frelink, and B. Scheepmaker, "Development of the

Hochschule [Technical University) Stuttgart from 1950 on, had initially made Computer Market in Europe, Part 2," in: Computers and Automation, October

a thoroughgoing study of the semiotics of Charles W. Morris as well as those 1963, pp. 19-26.
of Charles Sanders Peirce and the "aesthetic measure" of American 47 Frieder Nake, "Odgovor A. Biasiu" / "Replik an A. Biasi," in: bit international 3,

mathematician George David Birkhoff. Abraham A. Moles, professor of social Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968,

psychology of communication at the University of Strasburg from 1966, p. 37; translated from the German; this volume, p. 270.

worked in various laboratories for electroacoustic research until 1960. In 48 Putar, 1970, n. p.; this volume, p. 336.

contrast to Moles, Bense was not interested in the psychophysical and social 49 Ibid. Jerko Denegri and Enzo Mari also emphasized the continuity of

conditions of perception. See: Christoph Kliitsch, Computergrafik. Asthetische "programming."

Experimente zwischen zwei Kulturen. Die Anfdnge der Computerkunst in den 1960er 50 See: Daniel D. McCracken, Digital Computer Programming, Wiley, New York,

lahren. University of Bremen, 2006, Springer, Vienna, New York, 2007, pp. 49ff. 1957. Kathleen H. Booth, Programming for an Automatic Digital Calculator,

28 Claude E. Shannon, "A Mathematical Theory of Communication," in: Bell Butterworths Scientific Publications, London, 1958.

System Technical Journal, vol. 27, July and October 1948, pp. 379-423 and pp. 51 Karl Gerstner, "Bilder machen-heute?," in: Spirale 8, 1960, pp. 2, 4, 6, 10;

623-656. Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics. Or Control and Communication in the translated from the German.

Animal and the Machine, The Technology Press, John Wiley 8c Sons, New York, 52 See: Karl Gerstner, Programme entwerfen, Niggli, Teufen, 1964 (1963), p. 9;
Karl Gerstner, Designing Programmes, Niggli, Teufen, 1964, p. 9.
Hermann et Cie, Paris, 1948.
53 Francois Morellet, "Pour une peinture experimental programmee" (April
29 Max Bense, Aesthetica IV. Programmierung des Schonen, 1960, p. 22; translated
1962), in: Groupe de Recherche d'Arl Visuel. Paris 1962, GRAV and Galerie Denise
from the German.
Rene (eds.), exhib. brochure on the occasion of the exhibition L'lnstabilite,
30 Max Bense, Ungehorsam der Ideen. Abschlieflender Traktat iiber Intelligenz und
die technische Welt, Kiepenheuer St Witsch, Cologne, 1966, p. 47; translated from Musee des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1962, n. p.; translated from the French.
54 Almir Mavignier, "48 Serigraphien" (March 1962), in: ausstellung mavignier,
the German.
exhib. cat., studio f, Ulm, 1962, n. p.; translated from the German.
31 See: Max Bense,"Technische Existenz," in: Max Bense, Technische Existenz,
55 See: Lorraine Daston and Peter Galison, Objectivity, Zone Books, New York,
Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1949, pp. 122-146; translated from the
2007, pp. 196f.
German.
56 On this discussion, see also: Karl Gerstner, "Untitled" (afterword), in: Karl
32 Ibid., p. 124.
Gerstner, Kalte Kunst? Zum Standort der heutiyen Malerei, Niggli, Teufen, 1957,
33 Max Bense, Aesthetica IV. Programmierung des Schonen, Agis, Baden-Baden,
n. p. Francois Morellet, "Le Choix dans I'art actuel," in: Sigma, exhib. cat.,
1958, p. 10; translated from the German.
Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, 1965, p. 101.
34 Abraham A. Moles was in close contact with Lejaren A. Hiller who, together
57 See: Morellet 1965, p. 101. Boris Groys, "Mimesis des Denkens,"in: Staatliche
with Leonard Isaacson, composed the String Quartet No. 4 - the so-called llliac
Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Karlsruhe (ed.), Munitionsfabrik 15, Karlsruhe,
Suite- in 1957. Theo Lutz, who generated "stochastic texts" in 1959, and
Georg Nees, who generated "statistical graphics" in 1964, were both inspired 2005, pp. 62, 64.
58 Francois Morellet (Frankreich), Uli Pohl, Bernhard Sandfort, exhibition at the
by Max Bense, who then also published the results of their experiments.
Studiengalerie, Technische Hochschule Stuttgart, June 27 - July 11, 1961.
35 Hiroshi Kawano, [Computer and Design], in: IBM Review (Japan), September 6,
59 Max Bense, Aesthetica III. Asthetik und Zivilisation, Agis, Krefeld, Baden-Baden,
1964, pp. 53-57.
1958, p. 23; translated from the German.
36 Abraham A. Moles, "Cybernetique et oeuvre d'art," in: nova tendencija 3,
60 See: Kenneth C. Knowlton, "Computer Films" (based on a lecture at E.A.T. in
exhib. cat., international version, Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb,
1968), in: Robert Russett and Celice Starr (eds.), Experimental Animation. An
1965, 91-102, p. 93; translated from the French; this volume, p. 223.
Illustrated Anthology, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, London, 1976, p. 195.
37 Ibid, p. x; this volume, p. 221.
61 herman de vries, untitled manuscript, July 1968, Archive MSU Zagreb; this
38 Other authors also applied information theory to aesthetic questions. See, lor
volume, p. 243.
example: John R. Pierce, Symbols, Signals and Noise. The Nature and Process of
62 Ronald A. Fisher and Frank Yates, Statistical Tables for Biological, Agricultural
Communication. Harper, New York, 1961. Umberto Eco, Opera aperta. Forma e
and Medical Research, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1953.
indeterminazione nelle poetiche contemporanee, Bompiani, Milan, 1962.
63 Waldemar Cordeiro, letter to Bozo Bek, August 5, 1968, Archive MSU Zagreb;
39 A number of artists of the New Tendencies, among them, Almir Mavignier,
translated from the French; this volume, p. 241.
had studied at the Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of Design)
64 See: de vries 1968.
(HfG), at which Bense and Moles taught. Since the end of the 1950s, the
65 This limitation was not valid for the USA, where numerous scientists and
theories of Bense and Moles had been acknowledged not only in Germany and
artists had access to a microfilm recorder.
France, but also in Italy around the beginning of the 1960s at the latest. See:
66 (ifi Valoch, "Kompjuter. Stvaralac ili orude"/ "Computer.SchopferoderWerkzeug,"
Gillo Dorfles, "Max Bense e l'estetica dell'informazione," in: Rivista dt estetica,
in: bit international 3, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada
Istituto di estetica delTuniversitd di Torino, 3, May-August 1958, pp. 261-271.
Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, p. 94; translated from the German; this volume, p. 283.
Gillo Dorfles, Simbolo, communicazione, consume, Giulio Einaudi, Turin, 1962.
67 Samuel Beckett, Stories and Texts for Nothing, Grove Press, New York, 1967,
For information on Bense's involvement in the art world, see: Jens Lutz, Margit
p. 85; also quoted in: Michel Foucault, "Qu'est-ce qu'un auteur,"in: Bulletin de
Rosen, Miriam Sturner, and Peter Weibel, website for the exhibition Bense und
la Sociite francaise de philosophie, vol. 63, no. 3, 1969, p. 73.
die Kunste, available online at: http://www.bense-und-die-kuenste.de, 2010.
68 See: Bruno Latour (Jim Johnson), "Mixing Humans and Nonhumans Together.
40 Gunther Uecker, "Untitled,"in: nove tendencije 2,exhib. cat., international version,
The Sociology of a Door-Closer," in: Social Problems, vol. 35, no. 3, 1988,
Galerije suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1963; translated from the German.
pp. 298-310.
First published as "Text," in: ZERO 3, July 1961, emphasis mine.
 Rosen • Art of Programming

69 Frieder Nake, letter to Boris Kelemen, March 12, 1969, Archive MSU Zagreb; reprimeu in: ivrisunc jiiivs'• • »"•

translated from the German. Documents of Contemporary Art. A Sourcebook 0/ Artists' Writings, University of

70 Herbert W. Franke,"Drustveni aspekti kompjuterske umjetnosti"/"GeselIschaft- California Press, Berkeley. CA. 1996. p. got,

liche Aspekte der Computerkunstin: bit international 7, Bozo Bek (ed.),
Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, p. 24, translated from the German.
71 Boris Kelemen, letter to Frieder Nake, Zagreb, March 31, 1969, Archive MSU
Zagreb; translated from the German.
72 Frieder Nake, "O inverziji estetike informacija" / "On the Inversion of
Information Aesthetics," in: bit international 7, 1971, p. 61.
73 Umberto Eco, "Arte Programmata," in: arte programmata, exhib. cat., Olivetti,
Milan, 1962; n. p.; this volume, p. 101.
74 Ibid; this volume, p. 99.
75 See: GRAV, "Assez de mystifications", flyer distributed during the deuxieme
Biennale de Paris, September 1961, reprinted in: Croupe de Recherche d'Art
Visuel. Strategies de participation. 1960-1968, exhib. cat., Magasin - Centre
National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, Grenoble, p. 71 f.
"Arte e Liberia. Impegno ideologico delle correnti artistiche contemporanee,"
see: footnote 5.
76 Giovanni Anceschi studied at the Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm from 1962
to 1966. Supervisor of the theoretical part of his diploma ("Schematische
Darstellungen fur didaktische Ausstellungen" [Schematic Representations for
Didactic Exhibitions]) was Abraham A. Moles.
77 GRAV, "L'Instabilite - le Labyrinthe," reprinted in: Croupe de Recherche dArt
Visuel. Strategies de participation. 1960-1968, exhib. cat., Magasin - Centre
National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, Grenoble, 1998, p. 124.
78 Ibid.
79 See: J. C. R. Licklider, "Man-Computer Symbiosis," in: IRE Transactions on
Human Factors in Electronics, vol. HFE-1, March I960, p. 5. From 1950 on,
Licklider had himself contributed to the air defense project SAGE Semi
Automatic Ground Environment System.
80 Martin Krampen, "Psychological Aspects of Man-Computer Relations," in: bit
international 7, 1971, p. 37; this volume, p. 412.
81 Herbert W. I ranke, "DruStveni aspekti kompjuterske umjetnosti" / "Gesellschaft-
liche Aspekte der Computerkunst," in: bit international 7, 1971, p. 25; translated
from the German; this volume, p. 437.
82 Ibid.
83 Branimir Makanec, "Uloga interakcije u umjetniekom izrazavanju pomocu
kompjutera" / "The Role of Interaction in Artistic Expression by Means of
Computer," in: bit international 3, 1968, p. 77; this volume, p. 276.
84 A. Michael Noll, "The Digital Computer as a Creative Medium," in- IEEE
Spectrum, vol. 4, no. 10, October 1967, p. 62; this volume p 319
85 GRAV 1998, p. 124.
97 Metzger 1971, p. 30; this volume, p. 423.
98 (erltO Denegri. Constructive Approach Art: Exat 51 and New Trndrnt m. Horettkv,
Zagreb. 2004.
99 Giulio Carlo Argan. "Arte come ricerca," in: nova tendency J. exhib. cat.
international version. Galerija suvremene umirtnostt. Zagreb, 1965. p. 21:
translated from the Italian; this volume, p. 196.
100 See: Rudi Supek. "Humanisation du milieu et de la creation de I'homme.'in
nova lendencija 3, exhib. cat., international version. Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, p. I 7. The Croatian philosopher and sociology Rudi
Supek (born April 8. 1913 in Zagreb, died (anuary 2. 1993 in Zagreb) was
co-founder of the Praxis Group, a group of Yugoslavian philosophers and
social scientists arguing for humanist, undogmatic Marxism.
101 Abraham A. Moles, "Eksperimentalna esietika u novom potroiafkom druitvu"/
"L'Esthetique experimental dans la nouvelle societe de consummation.*in: kit
international I, 1968, p. 77; translated from the French; this volume, p. 302.
102 Ibid.
103 Moles 1965, p. 94; this volume, pp. 21 7-221.
104 Victor Vasarely had discussed the use of "electronic brains* for the production
of works of visual art already in 1959. See: Victor Vasarely. Notes brutes.
Editions Denoel, Paris. 1973. p. 86.
105 See: Pinot Gallizio, "Discours sur la peinture industrielle et sur un an unitairr
applicable," in: Internationale Situationniste, 3. December 1959, pp. 34f.
Originally published in a longer version as "Manifesto della piltura industrial
- per un'arte unitaria applicable.* in: Notizie Arti Figurative. 9. November 1959.
Gerard Berreby (ed.), Textes el documents situationniites. 1957-1960. Editions
Allia. Paris, 2004, p. I 32. In 1963 Moles was the subject of criticism by ridicule
by the Situationist International. See: "Correspondence avec un cybernFti-
cien," in: Internationale Situationniste. 9, 1964. pp. 1-6.
106 In collaboration with Gottfried Schlemmer and Horst Wegscheider.
107 Marc Adrian, "komputer und die demokratisierung des Isthetischen
bewuBtseins," in: Kunst und Computer, exhib. cat.. Datenrentrum der Zentral
sparkasse Wien. Vienna. 1969. n. p.; translated from the German.
108 See: "Vorschlaege von H. W. Franke." session protocol. June 29. 1971. Zagreb.
Archive MSU Zagreb.
109 See: Radoslav Putar. "Constructive Visual Research." in: tendency 5. exhib.
cat.. Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 1973. n. p.
110 See: Software. Information technology: Its New Meaning for Art. exhib. cat.. The
(ewish Museum. New York, 1970.

86 Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 1962. Le applicazioni dei calcolatori elettronici alle 111 Documented is only that the coordinator of Software in 1970 requested
saenze moral, e alia letteratura, Bompiani, Milan, 1961; translated from the pu licattons from Zagreb during the preparation of the show, and that
Italian. Jonathan Ben.hall had referred implicitly to the project in his paper given at

" U™b"'° of the audio recording of,he lec.ur. held the symposium "Umjetnost i kompjuteri" / "Art and Computers 71" in 1971.
See: Susan Hartnett. coordinator for Software a. The Jewish Museum, letter to
V 1 RmP°To TU,eri' ' "Computers and
endenctes 4 secretary's office. June 9. 1969. Archive MSU Zagreb. Audio
MSU Z^e'b" " " 5"6' "6,i 'ra,"""ed fr<"" *•'
Zagreb"8 " Um'e,nOS' ' komPi»"«ri" / "Art and Computers 71." Archive MSU
8" "" "hi"' • R'iksmlJseum Kr51,e,.MU„er. On.rlo,
'12 Jack Burnham. "Notes on Ar, and Information Processing." in: Software.
89 Borgzinner 1964, p. 78.
Information technology: Its New Meaning for Art. 1970. p. 11
90 See: Leon D. Harmon and Kenneth C Knr,wl>«„ «d-
30-3 ".a Bk7hT "S",,emS Es,be,'cs*" 'n: Artforum, 9. September .968. pp.
of Art V k UpFn "T ^ be Aesthetics of Intelligent Systems," in: On the Future
of Art. V.k.ng Press. New York, 1970. pp. 95-122
t ,ma8er> •",he
Thompson, W.shin^a^'^- **«.
-""''w dvd,
92 "• copi=d *•*<• mSU z,e„b;

93 See: Alberto Biasi, "Situaciia 1967"/ «c-

115 °f 1"" B°'"Kidr" in vin" •»°<
'968, p. 33; this volume, pp. 268-269. "C '967"in: bit international 3, «... 3,« ton in "T""' M W"e ln,,allcd in n™., 17 in
94 See: Gustav Metzger, "Untitled" tl Q6Q\ - i.- • 14 bV„,h"" r M-,'" " CPend"' """" f» processing, .nd
volume, p. 422-425. ' " m,ernatio"al 7, 1971, p. 30; this
95 See: Alberto Biasi, letter tn •- ...
"6 M o l e s 1965; t h i s v o l u m e , p. 217.
1968. Archive MSU Zagreb, p. 3 "n 1968Bi'^TH^'^Pnao' December
attempted to have access to comn , ' 3S^ 3 ""successfully, Art as KnowTedge Pr^d^ a"d- N°"HoW: S,°PSaP N°tes on 'Method' in Visual
a specific design. Michael Biasi and Albenofilasi"
author, November 2008 and March 2010
f°r

"" C°rrespondence with the

Elating avai,b,;:^:t^r:,n: Ar
2010/05/15.
^
VV'ar,andresearchorguk/v2n2/maharaj.html.
?
' 18 Eco 1961, pp. 175-188.
119 'bid, p. 175; translated from the Italian.

Peter Weibel
Digital Art: Intrusion or Inclusion?
For decades media art was an outsider in the art world. Pri­
vate collectors, galleries, museums, and art magazines found
it difficult to accord media art the same attention as painting
or sculpture. Particularly computer art, which was born on
analog and digital computers, but was finally implemented
as "digital art," met with widespread rejection. This can be
sensed vividly from a note sent in 1967 from the desk of an
editor of one of the most important art magazines: "I can't
imagine Artforum ever doing a special issue on electronics or
computers in art, but one never knows."1 Of all places, this
rejection occurred in New York, and moreover in 1967, the
year when Billy Kluver and Robert Rauschenberg officially
launched Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), an as­
sociation that "assumed the responsibility of developing an
effective collaborative relationship between artists and engi­
neers."2 The issue that lies at the core of the debate about me­
dia art and digital art may be summarized thus: Is media art
(or digital art, or any machine-assisted form of art) an alien,
which has violently invaded or has been forced upon the art
world from outside, and therefore something entirely foreign
to art? Or are the media arts a part of art evolution, which
have evolved from inside of art and the aesthetic intentions
of the artists? Is media art an integral part of art or not, is it a
continuum of art or a rupture, an expansion or an intrusion?
Does art itself seek to bond with technology or even imagine
new technologies to transform the world aesthetically?
This book with its many visual and textual resources now
offers a unique opportunity to answer these questions. A
meticulous documentation comprising letters, manifestos,
notes, essays, and images provides evidence of how computer
art has developed within, and from which currents in art.
Uniquely, as under a laboratory's microscope, the creation
of computer art can be documented through the example of
how the New Tendencies evolved in the 1960s. At the end of
this development, which lasted just a few years, in 1968 the
computer had arrived in the arts, as Radoslav Putar formu­
lated it in a text he wrote for the catalog tendencije 4.3 This is
especially what this book is about: to point out that the com­
puter appeared in the field of art as a necessity, at the express
43
wish of the artists themselves, to solve their aesthetic prob­
lems, and to fulfill their artistic programs. This book shows
how the arrival of the computer in the arts happened step
by step and followed a stringent logic. The New Tendencies
movement in effect provides a unique possibility of demon­
strating with a case study how this development proceeded
and how key concepts of media or computer aesthetics, for
example, programming and participation, were put forward.
Comprehensibly the book portrays how more or less four
different artistic movements influenced each other, devel­
oped further, and ultimately produced visual computer art;
namely, Concrete, Constructive, Kinetic, and Op(tical) art.
For the ZKM, a museum that intensively attends to the
history, present, and future of media arts, while obviously
not in the least neglecting the classic arts, this book, which
I very much hope will become a standard work of media art
history, is one of the most important publications: to make
clear once and for all that media arts and the digital arts
are legitimate offspring of the traditional arts. The exhibi­
tion bit international. [Nove] tendencije. Computer und visuelle
Forschung Zagreb 1961-1973, which was shown at the ZKM in
2008/2009, and this book exploit a hitherto largely unknown
resource to tell the story of the origin of computer art anew.
In the following I will sketch some steps of the art historical
evolution of computer art.
Concrete Art and Information Theory
The artistic currents Concrete art, Constructive, Kinetic, and
Op art clearly belong to the tradition of rational, exact aes­
thetics. After 1945, the neo-avant-garde invoked various pre­
war sources of art: the geometric abstraction of Suprematism,
Constructivism, De Stijl, Bauhaus, but also Expressionism,
Dada, and Surrealism. However, after World War II with Ab­
stract expressionism, Informel, and Tachism, the expressive
and subjective aspect of abstraction prevailed. The rational
branch of abstraction, as formulated in the "Realistic Mani­
festo"4 by Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner of 1920, or in the
contributions appearing in the illustrated yearbooks5 of the
international artist group Abstraction-Creation, which were
 Weibel • Intrusion or Inclusion
published from 1932 until 1936, did not produce its publicly
decisive manifestations until the end of the 1950s in Europe.
A crucial role in the revival of the rational lineage of ab­
stract art after 1945 was played by the Swiss artist and designer
Max Bill. It is through him that it can be clearly shown how
this specific rational line of abstraction continued in Zagreb
with the New Tendencies. Bill, since 1932 himself a mem­
ber of Abstraction-Creation, published the magazine ab-
strakt konkret 6 in 1944, and, in the same year, organized the
groundbreaking exhibition konkrete kunst [Concrete art] in
the Kunsthalle Basel. In 1952, he became founding director of
the Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of Design]
(HfG), which offered provisional classes from 1953 until its of­
ficial opening in 1955. The HfG continued the program of the
Dessau Bauhaus and expanded it, also with the goal of stabi­
lizing democracy in the young Federal Republic of Germany:
designing the "technological and industrial age" included all
areas - from everyday objects and architecture to newspaper
articles and advertising - for this would form the basis for
the "spiritual mentality of society." 7
The HfG Ulm and thus Max Bill and the heritage of Con­
crete art had a major influence on the New Tendencies: Almir
Mavignier, the curator of the first New Tendencies exhibition,
enrolled at the HfG Ulm in 1953 and studied with Bill. But he
was only one of several of New Tendencies artists and theo­
rists who had close ties with the internationally renowned in­
stitution: the theoreticians Max Bense and Abraham A. Moles
and the artist Kurd Alsleben taught there; Herbert Oehm and
Giovanni Anceschi, for example, studied at the HfG.
The term "Concrete art" to which Bill referred in his texts
and curatorial work, was introduced by Theo van Doesburg
in 1930. In his manifesto titled "Art Concret" van Doesburg
stated that the work of art "should receive nothing from na­
tures formal properties or from sensuality or sentimentality.
[...] A pictorial element has no other significance than 'itself'
^therefore the picture has no other significance than "it­
self. The construction of the picture, as well as its elements
should be simple and controllable visually. Technique should
be mechanical that is to say exact, anti-impressionistic ""
Bil " HT ' ZU " C S S a y " d n s t a n d P u n k '" 1A Point of View]
Bill defined the term Concrete art" as follows: "we call
is of , 7 1 " C O n " e t e t h a t ^ing on the ta­
ts of their inherent resources and rules - without external
communicate thtakTna in s
T y through
h ' 9 4 9 Bi" ^ "a«
rectly perceptible informal! ® thouSht is
cisive technical term appeared tll , ' eady m a de­
nary conceptualization necessary for C t 0 h S t l t U t e d
•n the arts, namely, "informati c o m puter to arrive
on.
The American mathematician Claude E. Shannon intro­
duced the concept of information already in 1948: in the con­
text of telecommunications in his famous essay "A Mathe­
matical Theory of Communication."" Shannons co-author
and editor of the 1949 hook publication The Mathematical
Theory of Communication, Warren Weaver, gave examples of
applications of the theory in the field of literature," for ex­
ample, that statistical and stochastic methods can also be
used to generate texts mechanically in which the level of log­
ical and semantic plausibility increases the more the laws of
probability distribution in semantics are taken into account.
Shannon mentioned the research conducted by the Rus­
sian mathematician Andrey Markov, whose chains and algo­
rithms - later named Markov chains and Markov algorithms
- had already in 1906 provided of stochastic methods for the
analysis of literary works. 1 3
Decisive for the development of the coupling of techni­
cal information theory and aesthetics was the work of the
German Stuttgart-based philosopher Max Bense, who also
taught at the HfG Ulm. In 1955, Max Bense edited Les ma­
chines a penser [Thinking Machines] (1952) by the French
mathematician and cyberneticist Louis Couffignal. which
he had translated into German together with his colleague
Elisabeth Walther. In 1956, his book with the groundbreak­
ing title Aesthetische Information [Aesthetic Information] was
published, and in i960 Proyratnmierung des Schdnen [Program­
ming the Beautiful] appeared.'4 In the preface to Aesthetische
Information, Bense explicitly acknowledged the considerable
influence of Max Bill on the development of the "modern
aesthetics" introduced within the publication and included
a reproduction of Bill's weisses quadrat [White Square] (1946)
as paradigmatic for the creation of "aesthetic order." Bense's
idea of applying information theory in order to explain aes-
etic phenomena in literature and the fine arts was received
with interest all over Europe in the course of the next ten
years including in Zagreb. It was also Bense who had prom­
inently introduced the term "programming" into aesthetics
and incited other authors to use this word as well as techni­
cal terms of information theory in their titles." Bense, who
was introduced to the Italian art scene through Gillo Dorfles
en o t e 1950s, was possibly also one inspiration for
arte programs,a, the title of the famous exhibition of.**
Bib' T X T ' " ' . , ^ B m n ° M u n a r i a n d U m b a « ° Eco." Max
°f
li
model
" f p 3 X C n S e P e r s o n i fy the link between the rational
influen
EUr°Puean abstrac,ion a n d
' h^t " education
influence on the New Tendencies.
information theory, two
i n u lm and had a clear
de­
loolTtht 6 ! 31 ' ne l3teSt' " W3S "° Ion«er P° s s i b l a ' °
™uni a ion!ed T * ' ^ inf°rma,i°n 'h«^ a"d »-
££
r r , I C A ) in , " n '968' a'thC 'nS,i,U,e of Contemporary
vVwhlh :me°rLd0nf' t"<~
h.ch emerged from an idea by Max Bense, opened

its doors, the same day the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna
istrazivanja'7 "Computers and Visual Research" in Zagreb
began which also comprised an exhibition with computer
graphics and films. In 1970 the New York Jewish Museum
would organize the exhibition Software. Information Technol­
ogy: Its New Meaning for Art18. But the Zagreb organizers of
the fourth New Tendencies event tendencije 4 / tendencies 4
had come up with a title even more "drastic" than Software al­
ready in 1968, when they launched a publication that focused
on presenting information theory, exact aesthetics, and com­
munication and mass media. They called the journal bit inter­
national. At a point in time when in Europe and the USA only
a minority in the field of culture actually knew what a "bit"
was - the abbreviation of binary digit (binary digit composed
of o and 1), the unit of computer information (1 bit is the in­
formation content equivalent to the result of a choice be­
tween two equally probable possibilities) - a multilingual art
magazine with this title was being published in Yugoslavia,
a country bordering on the Iron Curtain. The magazine was
a component in a larger, two-year program on the theme of
"Computers and Visual Research." Exhibitions, conferences,
and the magazine bit brought together art theoreticians, en­
gineers, scientists, and artists to discuss the possibilities for
an art, as Bense formulated it, of "technical existence."19
Max Bill
weisses quadrat [White Square)
1946
Oil, canvas
70 x 70 cm
Jakob + Chantal Bill
Weibel • Intrusion or Inclusion
Art and Visual Research
A conceptual requirement for the inclusion of the computer
as a tool for the production of art was the formation of a dif­
ferent art concept. An important step on the path to the use
of computers was to drop the word "art" altogether and re­
place it with the term "visual research." In the early 1960s,
when the Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV) was
founded in Paris, we see in the name of the group the term
"research" appearing at the same time as the term "visual art."
Therefore, it is obvious that with ongoing detailed definition
of the terminology of artistic work, the members of the New
Tendencies were inclined to delete the term "art" altogether
and replace it with "visual research." The methodological ap­
proach to art which could be considered as being from the
outset "scientific" had been prepared by the practices of Con-
structivist and Concrete art.
To replace "art" by "visual research" had consequences
for the organizational structure of artistic work. Therefore,
contrary to the romantic image of the artist, the groups rep­
resented within the New Tendencies - GRAV and the Italian
groups Gruppo N, Gruppo T, and Gruppo MID - stressed par­
ticularly the practice of collaboration, cooperative research,
and knowledge exchange. Results of their research became
visible through exhibitions such as arte programmata. arte ki-
netica, opere moltiplicate, opera aperta [Arte Programmata. Ki­
netic Art, Multiplied Works, Open Work] at the Galleria Vit-
torio Emanuele in Milan in 1962 but achieved international
popularity through The Responsive Eye at the Museum of
Modern Art in New York in 1965, which gave rise to the term
"Op art." A large number of works in the New York exhibition
was created by artists who had shown previously in Zagreb.
Successful Op art exhibitions like The Responsive Eye, how­
ever, also constrained the development of the artistic dis­
course and practice. For both visitors and critics ignored the
core interests of the New Tendencies artists in "research" and
understood the concrete works as design and decoration.
In contrast, the Croatian organizers of the fourth New
Tendencies manifestation that took place between 1968 and
1969 decided to drop the term "art." The program of tenden­
cies 4 was announced under the theme of "Computers and
Visual Research." This was not only an acknowledgment of
visionary artistic practice, but also the base of the inclusion
of the new protagonists that joined the movement with the
arrival of the computer. If an artist and engineer encounter
each other in the field of art, one feels safe, the other doesn't.
But the conceptual framework of doing research and experi­
mentation in the visual field welcomed both and allowed for
learning from each other. In 1968, the year of revolt, not only
society was to be restructured, it was also the year of trans­
gressing the social and cultural borders of art and science.
"Research" was made a means of inclusion, both in order to
 Weibel • Intrusion or Inclusion
establish a base of collaboration between science and art and
to open the field for new artistic media the such as the com­
puter. Now that scientists, technicians, and artists were en­
gaged in the field of research as colleagues, there were no
more obstacles to making joint use of the visual options of
the new machines. For the artists' wish list - combinatorics,
probability, stochastic methods, seriality, systems - which so
far they had more or less accomplished mechanically and
by mental arithmetic, could be realized with computers at a
higher level of complexity, at a higher systematic level. The
invention of "aesthetic states," 2 0 as information aesthetics
had been demanding since 1956, could be advanced by com­
puter-aided visual research far more effectively than through
manual or mechanical operations. The artists welcomed the
computer not as a substitute for the brush but as a "research
tool." Visual research became the (inter)mediator between
art and the machine of information technology.
The great methodological and conceptual effort from 1955
to 1965 on the part of the Constructivist, Concrete, Kinetic,
and Optical arts had provided the necessary requirements
to welcome the computer as a medium of art. The manifes­
tos and commentaries of these artistic currents conspicu­
ously often use terms from mathematics and physics. It is in
conformity with the logic of the rational aesthetics of this art
movement - supported by the new disciplines that appeared
in the 1950s, such as cybernetics, automata theory, informa­
tion theory, and communication technology, as well as re­
vived disciplines, such as Gestalt theory that was ruined and
driven out by the Nazis - that art was turned into a field of
visual research. It is necessary to emphasize that the trans­
formation of art into visual research was a transformation
brought about by the artists themselves; a compelling result
of their aesthetic goals, which led to the arrival of the com­
puter in the arts.
In addition I would like to point out parallel develop­
ments in the USA, which were also late outcomes of the Bau-
haus visions of the i 9 aos : at the same time as the New Tenden­
cies flourished, Gyorgy Kepes, a pupil of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
developed a similar program. Having published the Vision
Value series (,965„966) which comprised titles such as Educa-
n f If , Z Tr1"'"A"' mdSde"ce' The
OUecilndS , T°" Smmetry Rhythm' The Ma"-Made
Object and S.yn I m a g e Symbol, Kepes founded the Center for
Advanced Visual Studies (CAVSI =,t tU , t r tor
y/z. utto riene, the on y member of 7 Fro l
with the New Tendencies froL to ,11
cesser in t 9 7 4 , a n d d i r e c t e d C A y s for
programming and Participation
fror^math^n^th^^d^hreng^nerring^cimmes were presertt
from the very start. Many of the works of Concrete an and
Op art were "programmed," whether with a method to gen­
erate patterns or by the construction of a machine, which
offered the viewer possibilities to act within the context of
their programs. As mentioned above, in i960 Max Bense
had published Programmierung Jes Schdnen, which was fol­
lowed in 1962 by the the manifesto "Arte Programmata" by
Umberto Eco, which he had written for the exhibition bro­
chure of arte programmata. arte cinetica, opere moltiplicate, op
era aperta, an exhibition with New Tendencies anists from
Italy and France that was organized by Bruno Munari and
presented at the showroom of the Olivetti Company in Milan.
Munari had already created "useless machines" (macchine
inutili) as early as 1933. In 1962, Francois Morellet s manifesto
"Pour une peinture experimental programmee" [The Case
for Programmed Experimental Painting]" appeared. In 1963,
Karl Gerstner published the book Programme entwerfen [De­
signing Programs] about visual programming.
Here, in the context of Concrete, Constructivist, and Ki­
netic art, the term "program" was not understood in the sense
of programming a computer." Even when an artist used the
term intuitively, the notion "programming" was already there.
Artists spoke of systematic experiments in their search for a
structure or gestalt of controllable elements, which behave
according to a predictable program. This also included the
idea of the variable, which introduced surprise into the de­
terministic idea of the program. The elements of a picture or
a sculpture were seen as parts of a whole, of a system, whose
order is either subject to a predefined program or to chance.
Programmed art, that thereby realized both moments of con­
trol and freedom, namely randomness, made the participa­
tion of the viewer possible, who would at the same moment
fulfil the plan of the artist and serve as an element of chance.
This specific aspect of "programming," the establishment
of a system that allowed for the inclusion of the public
t rough interaction, finds its early and clearest expression
in Julio Le Pares commentary submitted for the catalog of
the exhibition nove tendencije 2 [New Tendencies 2]. With this
passage the Argentinean artist not only introduced the term
n t e concept of programming, but also the participation
and Art
t e viewer, a central concept that was so important for the
future of computer art: "From the conceptual point of view,
ne notion of programming (often used in the New Tenden-
•1 nc u cs a way to understand, produce, and present un-
rlnHV^ f l H a S *° d ° W " h P r e d ' c t ' n g in advance all the
ondmons of the work's process, clearly determining its mo-
hls de­
time T B° V™ "" <° pr°du« "~lf in *nd
nant'and Cy° f ° r e S e e n C i r ™ m s t a nces of both de.ermi-
ronmem ' reummate Whkh *nvi-
acdve narti " " " l f ' ^ f r o m t h e —ated or
Le Pare wrhl P " p" S P e C t a '° r ' " l ™ I n t h e '»<•
resent-day productions exceed these limi-

tations and try to modify the work -spectator relationship
by asking the spectator to participate in another order."24 In
all instances active participation of the audience occurs time
and again that either continues the plan of the artist, or be­
comes an element of chance.
The variable "programmed" object and the active partici­
pation of the viewers was of central concern for the New Ten­
dencies. This is clearly revealed by the "timeline" of "indi­
viduals, groups, and exhibitions that are indirect or direct
predecessors of the development of the New Tendencies"
that was published in nove tendencije 2.25 The group MAC
(Movimento Arte Concreta) created transformable works al­
ready in 1952. In 1953, Pol Bury invented his Movable pictures
and Yaacov Agam his Tableaux transformables. In 1956, Karl
Gerstner constructed the rotatable Tangentiale Exzentrum
[Tangential Excenter], and in 1959 Len Lye built Tangible Mo­
tion Sculptures. The same year Edition MAT (Multiplication
d'Art Transformable), an edition of "transformable" avant-
garde multiples was founded. 1961 Paul Talman invented his
images consisting of individually rotatable balls. Many of
the artworks quoted on this list could be recombined by the
"viewer" who interacted manually and/or mechanically with
the object. This physical interaction transgressed Marcel Du-
champ's idea of the contribution of the observer as noted in
1957 at the Session on the Creative Act: "All in all, the cre­
ative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator
brings the work in contact with the external world by deci­
phering and interpreting its inner qualification and thus
adds his contribution to the creative act. This becomes even
more obvious when posterity gives a final verdict and some­
times rehabilitates forgotten artists."26 The visitor of the
New Tendencies exhibitions by contrast was not only taken
into consideration on the level of interpretation, but was in­
cluded by the artist as a variable that was necessary to realize
the artwork. He had to move in front of the artwork, push it
and turn it, and help realize what Max Bense called the "aes­
thetic information."27
The arrival of the computer in the arts led to the reassess­
ment of "programming" in the arts and an update of the con­
cept of "participation." Even if the technical possibilities at
that time were too limited to implement these ideas practi­
cally, in theoretical contributions a new relationship between
observer and the artwork was sketched by envisioning the
possibilities of "interactive programs." The visions would be
realized in full measure only twenty years later around 1990.
The notion of "programming" which was less concerned
with the inclusion of the observer, but drew on other sources
of randomness, could be realized much easier in those days.
There is a wonderful document by herman de vries from
1968, which describes precisely the transition from artistic
programming to computer programming. In conjunction
with his artwork random objectivation V 68-67, presented in
Weibel • Intrusion or Inclusion
the 1968 in the context of the colloquy "Computers and Vi­
sual Research," de vries had submitted some additional in­
formation: "these works are not designed by a computer. [...]
they could be, because all in them is strictly programmated
and strictly random."28 It is important to make the point here
that de vries states verbatim that these artworks are mathe­
matically programmed and therefore could have been pro­
grammed by a computer. But because the problem is not
yet so complex that he is unable to calculate it himself (by
hand), he gives a few examples of this handmade program­
ming. He writes: "A computer I only use for very complicated
problems to solve. The others work are even so good done
'by hand' if the program is followed strictly to, as I do. [...]"29
The Concrete and neo-Constructivist artists in the 1960s
were aware of the writings of semioticians and informa­
tion theorists such as Bense, Eco, Markov, or Abraham A.
Moles and quoted them in their essays and manifestos. The
artists of this era were conscious of the existence of the then
new technology, and they also knew that the mechanical and
manual methods they had used so far to "program" their aes­
thetic systems could be programmed more complexly and
optimally by computers. However, to actually program ma­
chines required specific competences. In effect, only very few
New Tendencies artists were so dissatisfied with merely im­
itating programming "mimetically," that they actually de­
cided to use the computer as a tool by establishing collab­
orations with engineers. And there were still fewer who in
fact learned to program an electronic computing machine
themselves. The great exceptions were Marc Adrian, Walde-
mar Cordeiro, and Zdenek Sykora. They began to cooperate
with programmers in order to generate texts and imagery by
means of computers.
The majority of the participants of "Computers and Vi­
sual Research," were engineers and mathematicians, like
Vladimir Bonacic, A. Michael Noll, and Frieder Nake. Re­
searchers working in the laboratories and computing cent­
ers of universities and companies were transforming into art­
ists. 1968 was a year of social revolt, and it was also the year
that witnessed the transgression of borders between science
and art with the computer as the catalyst in this process. If
one compares a work by A. Michael Noll, vertical - horizon­
tal - no. 3 (1964), for example, with works by herman de vries
or Francois Morellet, it is striking how close art, science, and
technology had become on a conceptual and visual level.
Conclusion
The New Tendencies followed the rational line of abstrac­
tion in modern art and the inevitable result of their delib­
erations on aesthetic programming was the step from art to
visual research and, finally, the use of the computer. There­
fore, computer art has to be seen as the product of an art his­
torical program following the ideal of exact aesthetics. The
48 Weibel • Intrusion or Inclusion

advent of the information machine was not an event of in­

trusion, but inclusion. Since the 1950s some visual arts had
been programmed, echoing and reflecting the shifts both in
the natural and formal sciences, especially mathematics, and
in industrial production.
Exact aesthetics was always more or less programmed,
whether with or without computers. Programmed art with­
out computers turned to art programmed on computers. The
New Tendencies offered the unique occasion to confront
Philip Leider, edilor of Arlforum. letter 10 Matthew Baigrll. associate professor
of an hisiory. Ohio Slate University. October JO. 1967; see footnote 7 in Msrgit
Rosen's editorial, this volume, p. I J.
E.A.T. NEWS, vol. I. no. 2. |une I. 1967.
See: Radoslav Putar, "Nove lendenrije 4 ' I 'New Tendencies 4." in: frnWntt ifr 4.
exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosli. Zagreb. 197 J. n. p.; this volume.
pp. 336-337.
Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner. "The Realistic Manifesto," in: Mary Ann
Caws (ed.). Manifesto. A Century of Isms, University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln.

these concepts with the actual machine that incorporated NE. 2000. pp. 396-400.
Association Abstraction Creation (ed.). Abstraction, creation. An non tiywjtif.
the new paradigm of information and control. 1968 marked Paris. 1932-1936.
a turning point for the reevaluation of the concepts of pro­ Abstrakt. konkret, bulletin of the Galerie des Eaux Vises. Zurich. 1944/1945.

gramming" and "participation" in the arts. Both ideas and
practices are defined by a new model of the artwork: control
over the elements of an aesthetic system can be exercised by
an artist but also by the audience.
With their concept of the "program" in the sense of an
open structure that was dependent on the participation of
the active observer, the New Tendencies prepared the the­
oretical ground for computer-based interactive art, even if at
the end of the 1960s it was not possible to verify these ideas
by constructing interactive installations. The artist group
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV) made it clear that
this concept was not purely aesthetic but also had political
implications. In their 1965 manifesto "Stop Art!" they wrote:
"We have to find a way out of the cul-de-sac of modern art. If
there are any social aspects at all in modern art, then they
must involve the spectator. [...] We want to arouse the spec­
tator's interest, to liberate him, to relax him. We want him to
participate. [...] We want him to be aware that he is partici­
pating. [...] We want him to seek interaction with other spec­
'7
tators. We want to develop together with him enhanced per­
From the expose of the Geschw ister Scholl-Stiftung. 1951; here quoted after
HfG-Archiv Ulm. "Timeline", http://www.hfg archiv.ulm.de die hfg.ulm
timeline.html.
Theo van Doeshurg. "Commentaire sur la base de la peinture concrete." in:
Art Concret, no. I. April 1930. trans, in: Harold Osborne. Abstraction and Artifice
in Twentieth Century Art. Clarendon Press. Oxford. 1979, p. 128.
Max Bill, "ein standpunkt," in: konkrete kunst. exhih. cat.. Kunsthalle Basel,
1944; translated from the German.
10 Max Bill, "die mathematische denkweise in der kunst unserer reit.'in: HEM,
3. 1949. cited in: Margit Weinberg Staber (ed.l. Konkrete Kunst. Manifest* uni
Kiinstlertexte. Stiftung fur konstruktive und konkrete Kunst. Zurich, p 76. p. 82.
1 1
Claude E. Shannon. "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." in: Bell
System Technical Journal, vol. 27. July and October 1948. pp. 379-423.623-656.
12
See: Warren Weaver and Claude E.Shannon. The Mathematical Theory of
Communication, University of Illinois Press. Urhana. IL, 1949.
13 See: Andrey A. Markov. "Extension of the law of large numbers to dependent
quantities" (in Russian|. in. Bull. Soc. Phys. Math.. Kaxan. (2- Ser.) 15. 1906. pp
135-156.
14 See: Max Bcnse. Aeslhetica II. Aesthetische Information. Agis. Baden Baden. 1956.
Max Bense. Aeslhetica IV. Proyammieruny Jes Schdnen. Agis. Baden Baden. I960.
15 See. for example: Karl Gerstner. Proyramme entu-erfen. Arthur Niggli. Teufen.
1964 (1963). Kurd Alslehen. Aesthetische Redundant. Schnelle. Quickborn. 1962.
6 n? Um,K'r,° Eco' "Ar,c Pfogrammata." in: arte proyrammata. exhih. c«U
M,lan' l962' "• P : 'ranslated from the Italian: this volume, pp. 98-101.
aMa Rojthard'' <cd->- Cybernetic Serendipity. The Computer and Arts. Studio
International. London. 1968.

ception and action. A spectator who is aware of his power 18 Software. Information Technoloyy. Its Meaniny for Art. exhib. cat., lack W.
Burnham (ed.). The Jewish Museum. New York. 1970.
and tired of so many falsities and mystifications will be en­
19 See: Max Bense. Technische Existenz. Deutsche Vcrlags Anstalt. Stuttgart. 1949;
abled to make his revolution in art and to follow these signs- translated from the German.
act and cooperate."30 2° See for example: Max Bense. Aesthetica III. Asthetik und2MM| Agis.
Krefeld, Baden-Baden. 1958. p. 213.
From ,96, on, the New Tendencies movement with its dif-
a ngi l\ nowgh, even when the CAVS was situated in the center of computer
andCorentS "'T"6 ne°-C°™ructivis, art, Kinetic
22 namts M'T" 'hC comPu,er Played no major role for its research.
art and Op art - set the tune for the exploration of technolog­
ical resources for artistic purposes, for a concept of art that
f„ r 7 "P°Ur U"C I"1"""' programme..'
Maf Paris e*hib. brochure for Umtdfa'/it'.
d.d not seek the production of commodities but the „LH "turn", p" I""'"4"5- P""' f°™ "" ft"*Ihii

turn of knowledge. Its rational, exact aesthe'tics, that sought" 23 Mio L. P„c. •„„«,!*-,n: 2, „hlb.,ond

••On. Galen,a s„v«„,.ne Zag„b „ p;

Ibid.

Kalendar." in: none tendencije 2, exhib cm rai.,;i

Zagreb. ,965. n. p.. this volume p ,28 SUVrem°nC ^
not an alien or an extraterrestrial machine was 26
CrrlDAUcCthcmP' "THe Crea'iVe Ac'-0"«nbu,ion to the Session on the
planet, it originated from the ' ri meSSenger from another
April 195?^ouhhT H,0n °fAm°riCan Fed"a,ion °f Houston. TX,
from the light of the Enlightenment.° ^ ^ * °riSinated New York. 1959. p. 77.R°h,n Lebel' M"rCel DuchamP- Paragraphic Books.
27
28 ^rman^e
an de vries j ^'
nfontotion, Agis. Baden-Baden. ,956
m-non, Agis, Baden-Baden. 1956.
29 Ibid. ' "ed' manuscri
Pt.Archive MSU Zagreb, this volume, p. 247.
30
GRAV. "Stop Art!." (,965). published
Participation. A la recherche d •n German as "Stoppt die Kunst" in:
visuel, exhib. cat Museum " sPec'a'eur. Groupe de recherche dart
from the German ^ OS,VVal1- d. ,968. pp. 5-8; translated
 Darko Fritz
The Work of Vladimir Bonacic: A Temporary
Realization of the New Tendencies' Program
Vladimir Bonacic (1938-1999) worked at the Croatian national
research center Ruder Boskovic Institute in Zagreb from
1962 to 1973. There, he headed the Laboratory for Cybernet­
ics from 1969 to 1973. He earned his Ph.D. in 1968 in the field
of pattern recognition.1 Vladimir Bonacic's artistic path is in­
separable from the international New Tendencies movement
and its world view of the synergy between science and art.
Inclusion of Science in Art and Vice Versa
The Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contempo­
rary Art] organized five New Tendencies exhibitions in Za­
greb from 1961 to 1973; in addition, international exhibitions
were held in Paris, Venice, and Leverkusen, West Germany.
A group exhibition of European artists in 1961 developed
into an international movement that was referred to as "NT."
NT provided a gathering place for artists, gallery owners,
and theoreticians during the Cold War, initially from East­
ern and Western Europe and South America, and, from 1965
onwards, from the USA, the Soviet Union, and Japan. This
unique situation was enabled by the cultural and geopolit­
ical position of Zagreb, in the former non-aligned Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In the catalog of the first New Tendencies exhibition in
1961, the artist Francois Morellet, a member of the Paris-based
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel [Visual Art Research
Group], wrote: "Imagine that we are at the eve of a revolution
in the arts that is as great as the revolution that exists in sci­
ence. Therefore, the reason and the spirit of systematic re­
search has to replace intuition and individualist expression. 2 During the first half of the 1960s, the New Tendencies at­
Further New Tendencies ideas - that can be wholly ap­
plied to Bonacic's work - were presented in the 1963 cat­
alog of the second New Tendencies exhibition in a text by
the Croatian art critic, theoretician, and co-founder of the
New Tendencies movement, Matko Mestrovic. Tellingly, the
text was later republished under the title "Ideologija Novih
tendencija" [The Ideology of the New Tendencies], which
it surely is from its programmatic and theoretical structure.
The demythicization of art and demystification of the cre­
ative process were also proclaimed through a positive ap­
proach to the industrial production of works of art (the pos­
sibility of multiplication was essential), collective work, and
a rational approach. Mestrovic called for the speeding up
of the evolution and synthesis of science and art within the
framework of rendering humanities and art more scientific,
as part of the long-term Utopian process of rendering all hu­
man activity scientific. In Mestrovic's view, this process could
be actively begun within the framework of art immediately,
as well as the development of a global model, undertaking
efforts to act in the sphere of culture at a smaller scale, for ex­
ample, through appropriation of scientific methods, such as
the experiment. There is the issue of distributing all material
and spiritual assets in equal measure, as well as of returning
the achievements of science to the public domain. Mestrovic
did not consider artworks as unique commodities for the art
market, but as "plastic-visual research, with the aim of deter­
mining the objective psychophysical bases of the plastic phe­
nomenon and visual perception, in this way a priori exclud­
ing any possibility of including subjectivism, individualism,
and romanticism [...]."3
Further, the thesis was advanced that ultimately, art as we
know it will be transcended through developing the conscious­
ness of the world using a metamorphosis of the social into the
artistic act, which actively transforms the entire world.4
We can trace such developments in the practices of nu­
merous New Tendencies artists and researchers in the early
1960s, which formed the context for the inclusion of scien­
tist-artists later, such as Bonacic.
tained a noteworthy international reputation as a leading in­
ternational platform for avant-garde visual art that favored
rationality, social engagement, and interactivity with the user,
which was achieved through scientific methods of experi­
mentation and algorithmic programming of visual elements
in creating objects, as well as environments made of indus­
trial materials, movement, and light. Whereas, in Matko
Mestrovic's words, "at the beginning of the movement art­
ists intuitively oriented towards science, often lacking a no­
tion of what it implied,"5 this situation changed radically in
 Fritz • The Work of Vladimir Bonafic

1968 when the program "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja'7 v lauimir nonacic

1KB 2 9
"Computers and Visual Research" began, and a greater num­
IMS
ber of scientists began to participate actively in the New Ten­
Computer grnrxird inugr
dencies. At the conferences and exhibitions, which were a Photograph
part of the program, a number of scholars, who had left the S.5 • *J cm
PDP-ft. ouilloKopr
realm of pragmatic scholarly work by using computers crea­
Produced at Ruder Boikoric
tively, participated alongside the artists. Inttitute. Zagreb
In addition to his academic work at the Ruder Boskovic Archive MSU Zagreb

Institute in Zagreb, Vladimir Bonacic participated actively in

all parts of "Computers and Visual Research" within tenden­
cies 4, and during this short and obviously intense period he
started to realize a wide range of artworks and to develop his
own theory of computers and visual research. Bonacic par­
ticipated in both conferences related to computers and visual
research: the colloquy in 1968 and the symposium in
the papers of which were published in the journal bit interna­
tional which was launched by the Galerija suvremene umjet-
nosti in 1968.6 Within the two exhibitions of 1968
Bonacic exhibited one coproduced work, a collaboration
with the artist and designer Ivan Picelj (this volume, p.
as well as twenty-one own works. He also presented a large,
36-meter computer-controlled light installation, DIN. PR18
(this volume, p . 3 7 0 ) , in a public location.
Joining the New Tendencies
How did such intensive production and presentation come
about?
During the preparation of tendencies 4, organizers from
the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti sought collaborators at
the Ruder Boskovic Institute in Zagreb. Along with other sci­
entists who were to take part in the symposia, New Tenden­
cies organizers met the young scientist Bonacic at the insti­
tute, who used visual research in his scientific work. Also at
this time Ivan Picelj, New Tendencies' chief graphic designer
The first exhibition of computer graphics during the col­
1969, loquy at the Centar za kulturu i informacije [Center for Cul­
ture and Information] in 1968 in Zagreb contained eight of
Bonacics computer-generated pictures titled IRB, whereby
and 1969,
"IRB" denotes the place where the works were created, the
Ruder Boskovic Institute, and the numbers simply distin­
364),
guish the different exhibits. All the exhibited works were
photo reproductions of oscilloscope screenshots in different
formats. I he oscilloscope was an integral part of a self-con­
structed light-pen system hooked up to a PDP-8 computer.
I he programming language used was Assembler. One work
marked IRB 9-9 depicts an outline of a female figure, while
other works are abstract. This computer drawing of a human
figure, an experiment that in the end was not publicly exhib-
ited, calls into question the author's repeatedly avowed de­
sire to create something that has not yet been done" 7 by us­
ing the computer, and the conviction, in concordance with
that statement, that the "computer must not remain merely a
tool for the simulation of what exists in a new form. It should
not be used for painting in the way that Piet Mondrian did,

was asked to design the poster for the tendencies 4 events He or for composing like Ludwig van Beethoven. The computer

decided to use punched paper tape of the institute's computer gives us a new substance; it reveals a new world before our

for a coUage. Picelj then had the idea ,0 take his work a step eyes. In that new world, after many years, scientists and art-
further and to produce a light object following his Pours,na win meet again, driven by a common desire for cogni­
[Surface] series of reliefs in wood and bronze, which he had sance. Bonacics reference to Mondrian was a critique of A.
been developing since ,961. A, this point, Vladimir Bonacic c ael Nolls experiment with a computer-generated Mon-
drian-Iike drawing.
tesulted": 'Hat
The "Galois Field"

aluminum tubes each hnW

7s prese='
of a grid of round
e Galois field, named after the French mathematician
Evariste Galois (18.,-,832), whose work marked one of the
is cut at an 2 2 T h e u—"® 3 " " f ^ Each tubc
characters "t 4 " mo • r **** s p l a y s variations of the tinn °f.froup t h e o r y> was a source of general inspira-

p., xhT^f r^eui?;left to the right-for— as C*\ ' ° T \ T

with h° 1 S \ S
abstract a,8ebra.

and Bona^
finite fields are known
studied them in connection
terns, and four knobs on the ha "P asymmetnc light pat-
7 s sch , 7 °n , r°°tS ° f p o ' y o ^ l equations. Firs, in
manipulations. Bonacics experienc 1 & Certain

ics helped a m-Pat a^i . e p h y s i c s and electron-

f helped a great deal, as d i ^ h e ^ T " 7 ' * oped his W°rk' a"d 'ater in his ar,works. Bonacic devel-
throu7trn' °Tnal m e , h o d o f s '"dyi"S 'he Galois field
"°nS t h C W ° r k s h °P* of the Ruder B o s k o v ^ n s ^ e "
Ar A p p e W a y 7 ' h e V i s u a l i - d In hfs article "Kinetic
Art. App,,cat,on of Abstract Algebra to Objects with Com-

puter-controlled Flashing Lights and Sound Combinations"
(1974) he noted: "One of the most interesting aspects of this
work [on Galois fields] is the demonstration of the different
visual appearance of the patterns resulting from the poly­
nomials that had not been noted before by mathematicians
who have studied Galois fields.'"
In 1969, using the PDP-8 computer, Bonacic created ten
photographic works with oscilloscope screenshots the title
of which contains the letters "PLN." Five works from this se­
ries bear titles that consist of exact algebra, but for the other
group of five works, a different system of naming was em­
ployed. An example of a work with a title containing exact al­
gebra of the Galois field shown in the image is IR. PLNS. 0044.
7714. 7554. 7744 (this volume, p. 372), where "IR" means irre­
ducible, "PLN" polynomial, "S" symmetry, and the numbers
are linked to the polynomial properties. Bonacic described
this work in the exact language of mathematics, as a "succes­
sive depiction of generating a maximal period in four irre­
ducible polynomials of the tenth degree, x i o + X3 + 1 (0044),
7714,7554. 7744- 10
Vladimir Bonacic
RS. PLNS. 0374. 1024. 0064
1969
Computer-generated image
Collage of 3 x 4 photographs
PDP-8, oscilloscope
Produced at Ruder Boskovic
Institute, Zagreb
In the visualization of algebra of the Galois field, the cal­
culated algebraic result can be shown in both symmetri­
cal and asymmetrical visual compositions. In the descrip­
tion of the work RS. PLNS. 0374.1024. 0 0 6 4 , which depicts a
two-dimensional polynomial of tenth degree, depending on
the starting number, Bonacic wrote a note that the case de­
picted features "a rare symmetrical structure in a polynomial
of tenth degree (it cannot be expressed by means of the ex­
isting mathematical apparatus) 0374, 1024, 0064. Symmetry
cannot be disrupted by a change of starting number." 1 1 Pho­
tographic reproductions show a s h a r p image of points pro­
jected onto the screen of the oscilloscope. In the series of
works marked "PLN," visual representations of Galois fields
were used, where visualized numeric combinations, of which
there are thousands or millions, depending o n the degree of
polynomials, are shown within fields (rasters) of 16 x 16, 32 x
32, or 64 x 64 elements. Because of the limited size of the os­
cilloscope screen, some works were photographed and then
collaged by hand with other screenshots into a larger format
image. In this way, a higher "resolution" was achieved, which
means that the number of depicted elements was increased.
Fritz • The Work of Vladimir Bonaiic
In the above mentioned work, IR. PLNS. 0044. 7714. 7334.7744>
the collage was made out of 28 photographs of the oscillo­
scope screen, which enabled simultaneous insight into dif­
ferent stages of visualized algebra.
Bonacic's entire work is characterized by an innovative and
creative approach, as well as an examination of the possibili­
ties of standardized peripheral units (outputs) which show
the final result of the work on the one hand, and the utiliza­
tion of hardware created or adapted by Bonacic on the other.
T h e next five photographs from the series of works with
"PLN" markings have no numerical descriptions of the ap­
plied polynomials; they are presented only under the title
PLN with added numbers 5-9, derived from the sequence of
altogether fifteen exhibits displayed at tendencies 4 in 1969.
PLN3, PLN 6 (both this volume, p. 372), PLN 7, PLN 8, and PLN
9 differ from other PLN series works in that they do not show
s h a r p contours of points "frozen" in the screenshot. In this se­
ries, there is no collaging of photographs, there is only one
photograph of the whole screen, so that all the photographs
are developed according to one rectangular frame from a
6x6 cm square of the photographic negative. The works PLN
3 - 9 resemble experiments with focus and exposure time of
photographs, but they were obtained by creative usage of
hardware and software parameters, which led to a new di­
mension in depicting static elements and their spatial rela­
tions. T h e works PLN 3 , PLN 6 , PLN 7, and PLN 9 look like a
photograph with long exposure time, as the shown elements
no longer have a sharp outline. Because of the technical spe­
cificity of these works, Bonacic collaborated with Marija
Braut, at that time photographer at the Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti. T h e five works selected for display at the exhibi­
tion tendencies 4 , later titled PLN 3 , PLN 6 , PLN 7, and PLN 9,
were chosen from a large quantity of photographic material.
Dynamic Objects
Bonacic further elaborated the dimension of time, which in
the works described above was achieved through the com­
bination of technologies of computer-generated images and
the medium of photography, in a series of computer-gen­
erated light objects and installations, which he called "Dy­
namic Objects." All of Bonacic's Dynamic Objects have the
possibility of interacting with time dynamics, as viewers (us­
ers) are enabled to control the rhythm of images o r stop them.
From 1969 to 1971, Bonacic created a series of Dynamic
Objects consisting of different computer-programmed light
patterns displayed on an originally designed panel made
of metal tubes of different shapes and sizes. For all his Dy­
namic Objects Bonacic made use of the "pseudorandom"
algebra of Galois fields (see "GF" in the title of work). The
patterns were programmed on a SDS-930 computer in Real-
Time FORTRAN, allowing direct usage of Assembler, too,
thus providing an excellent tool for various bit manipulation
 Fritz • The Work of Vladimir Bonafic

techniques. 1 2 The software co-programmer was Miro A. Ci-
merman. 1 3 Bonacic used custom-made hardware for all his
Dynamic Objects that were produced or assembled from
electronic components by himself and experts at the Ruder
Boskovic Institute. The Dynamic Objects were embodied
statements of what he later elaborated on in his critique of
the influence of commercially available display equipment
on the computer-based arts. 1 4 In his 1974 article "Kinetic Art,"
Bonacic emphasized that this was "akin to an artist being
limited to the use of only two or three colours in a painting. It
is true that much can be done with such equipment, but one
can hope that ways will be found to take better advantage of
computers." 1 5
In 1977. almost ten years after his first artistic experiments,
Bonacic stated that a Dynamic Object was a "concept in which
impregnable unity is established between the computer sys­
tem and a work of art.'" 6 In 1987 he added: "To integrate com­
puter systems and art, without allowing one to dominate the
other, is seen as a step toward the common language. This
means that the artist and their work of art are able to commu­
nicate; artists and their art use a common language.'" 7
Vladimir Bonacic
"gjaaiiaoi a . '*• GF. E32 -S
1969/1970
av.;.y v Computer-controlled light
object
Aluminum, electronics,
14 4 I acifl!4 11 • •_ 11 ® electric lamps
1024 elements
With the binary notation, 32 light indicators and 32 push but­
tons enable any pattern from the sequence to be read or set." 1 *
From a contemporary perspective, Bonafic's Dynamic
Objects are a pioneering example of the use of interactiv­
ity in computer-based art. Like many other artworks created
within the New Tendencies context," Dynamic Objects by
Bonacic are designed both as artworks that can be experi­
enced aesthetically, and as instruments or tools for visual re­
search. Especially the latter aspect could lead us to the cog­
nitive process (visual learning of mathematics and its hidden
laws), a possibility mentioned by Bonafic when describ­
ing his art production. 2 0 All Dynamic Objects were made to
be manipulated either by the author (or someone from his
team) or by the observer. Such experimentation and visual
research (in the literal sense of the term) can be done within
the controlled environment of an artist s or scientists studio
or laboratory with the assistance of the artist or his collabo­
rators, or by gallery visitors.
The Dynamic Object DIN. GF100
The front panel of the Dynamic Object DIN. GF100 (1969; this
volume, p. 373) is made of a 16 x 16 matrix of luminous elements
in 16 different colors, each one appearing 16 times. By using the
Galois field generator, DIN. GF100 can produce 65,535 differ­
ent pictures or patterns. Depending on the action of the user or
observer, the image changes according to the clock either ev­
ery 200 milliseconds or every 2 seconds, introducing the ob­
server to a pseudorandom process. The object can be set in

mm
68 x 68 x 12 cm
both auto-run mode and interactive mode, as it was exhib­
a, v„ SDS-930, computer program
ited with remote control at the tendencies 4 exhibition in 1969.
implemented in special-
purpose hardware The observer can manipulate the light patterns by both the
Produced at Ruder Boskovic control panel that is on the right side of the object and the re­
* V v , ! !
Institute, Zagreb
Dunja Donassy-Bonacic,
mote control that is connected to the object by a four-meter-
bed cybernetic art team long wire, a distance that is great enough to experience imme-
late interaction while observing the object from a distance.
The Dynamic Object GF. £ 32 - S ( I 9 6 9 / I 9 7 o ) generates The controls enable manipulation ofthe sequences speed rate
consecutive Galois field elements at maximal distance from and to switch on manual operation of the sequences step by
each other, and displays them as symmetrical patterns by step, including the freezing ofthe chosen pattern. 2 '
synchronou 5 selective flashing on the front panel of the ob GF. E(I 6,4) -NS C M
sn * °. C t r e S C m b l e S 3 S C r e e n m a de of a 32 x 32 grid of
Bonacic introduced a higher level of interactivity in the Dy­
namic O ject GF 1.(16,4) -NS C M (this volume, p. 17), which
was conceived, developed, and built in Zagreb from 1969 to
I97I- t is 187 x 187 x 30 cm large and weighs half a ton. The
The clock that controls the rhvthm n f . u ront panel shows a relief structure made of 1 ,024 light fields
the visual patterns is variable The u 1 apPearan« °f
ZtTu°rSS™erai G a l o i s field generators operate in order to
between o .i seconds and s ser h u *[. m b<? a d i u s t e d

quency range of"seconds h " 0b,erVBr- At 3 fre" Dlaved fh' 'u r,fferem a"d ,0 ProduCe ,he SOUnd
played through four loudspeakers, which create a quadra-
pHon.c sound system within the installation space. The field

speed and for selecting user/obT 'S n°' CO"fined '° the obiect- The reseatcher/
Ztart k T 'nflUenCe b°'h sound and ™age by us-
Var,OUS k n o b s a n d Pitches on the (custom-made, spe-
 Fritz • The Work of Vladimir Bonacic

cial-purpose computer which is positioned next to the object. published in the cultural review Telegram an affirmative eval­
Sound can be manipulated by excluding some tones. The uation of the "message" of this public light system, used for
speed of the visual display can be adjusted by looping the se­ an aesthetic rather than a commercial purpose, as opposed to
lected sequences. A remote (radio) control can be used by the the illuminated signs of companies that had started to appear
viewer to manipulate some basic features. However, the ob­ in Zagreb's city center.27 Koscevic also found that this pub­
server cannot change the logic. The entire "composition" of lic installation demonstrated a refinement of the idea of de­
this audiovisual spectacle, which consists of 1,048,576 differ­ mocratization of art within the context of the New Tenden­
ent visual patterns and 64 independent sound oscillators, can cies movement. He observed that Bonacic,"with his ideas, is a
be played within 6 seconds or with a duration of 24 days.23 part of the front that, within the 'Tendencies' movement, at­
The bed cybernetic art team, which was founded in 1971, tempts to open a path for art that would simply be work, the
consisted of Bonacic, his colleague from Ruder Boskovic In­ results of which will be intended for everyone, without the
stitute Miro A. Cimerman, software designer, and Bonacic's obligation to take our hats off and buy an entrance ticket for
wife, the architect Dunja Donassy. They worked together the unavoidable museum or gallery before we can confront
until Bonacic's death in 1999. The bed cybernetic art team it. Tomorrow is, as it seems, meant for just that kind of art."28
continued to develop the Dynamic Object GF. E(I6,4) -NS
C M over a number of years and experimented with differ­
ent forms of external hardware. GF. E(I6,4) -NS C M was an
instrument that changed interface design, not only by tak­
ing advantage of the newest technical possibilities that were
rapidly changing between 1969 and 1974, but also by develop­
ing original new solutions. Between 1972 and 1974, several up­
grades were carried out that extended the interactivity level of
GF. E(I6,4) -NS CM by using an external computer and a light
pen: the computer offered a new interface - an interactive
monitor - and the light pen enabled more intuitive interac­
tion with its graphic interface. The object was also connected
to standard computer industry hardware, such as the GT40
graphic terminal with printer, but the use of human brain­
wave activity was also considered as a possible interface of in­
teraction. The objects tranquil audiovisual output and the
transcendental quality of the cognitive and physical experi­
ence of higher mathematics led to the object being set up in Vladimir Bonacic
D I N . PR 1 6
St. Kilian's church in Wiesbaden, Germany, from 1983 to 1985,
1971
"where it helps the Franciscans to prepare for meditation."24 Computer-controlled light installation
Metal construction, electronics, electric
lamps, glass
Art Installations in Public Spaces
Installed on Nama department store,
Bonacic also developed computer-based light installations Kvaternik Square, Zagreb
SDS-930, computer program implemented in
for public spaces which enabled another kind of interaction:
special-purpose hardware
interaction at the social level. As part of the tendencies 4 ex­ Produced at Ruder Boskovic Institute, Zagreb
hibition in 1969, he set up the large-scale Dynamic Object
DIN. PR18 on the facade of the Nama department store on
In 1971, the installation DIN. PR18 was replaced by a more
Eugen Kvaternik Square in Zagreb. The 36-meter-long in­
complex installation, DIN. PR16, in the same place, at the top
stallation consisted of 18 elements; each element h a d 8 3 x 5
grid light matrix. The installation performed a light show of the facade, but in the form of a triple frieze of light ele­

that flickered 262,143 patterns of the irreducible i8,h-degree ments. A spatial extension was added by new light elements

polynomial (x18 + x5 + x2 + x + i).25 The clock was set at 200 set in the continuation of the frieze on the other side of the
building, as well as into the indentation of the front.
milliseconds, but there was a possibility to set it to different
A year before, in 1970, another Dynamic Object was set up
rates at "the border of the perception of the observer and fre­
on the facade of the Muzej savremene umetnosti, Beograd
quency clock."26
[Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade] for the 4. trijenale
At that time, the square was rather dark, with little public
jugoslavenske likovne umetnosti [4th Triennial of Yugosla­
lighting, so the installation also acted as additional illumina­
tion. In July 1969, the art critic and curator Zelimir Koscevic vian Art].29 When Bonacic replaced the installation at Nama
 Fritz • The Work of Vladimir Bonacic

in 1971, he also set up another installation on the facade of imal originality,' no matter what the results of the program
the Nama department store on llica Street, the Dynamic Ob­ might be. The random generator creates the accidental and
ject DIN. PR10. unique presentation, which has neither value nor impor­
tance for human beings. Such information can evoke vari­
Vladimir Bonacic
ous associations in the observer. However, a computer used
DIN. PR 10
1969-1971
in such a way lags far behind the human being. Even if the
Computer-controlled light expressive potentialities of the computer were equal to those
installation of a human being, the essence of Pollocks world and crea­
Metal construction,
electronics, electric lamps,
tion would not be surpassed, regardless of the complexity of
glass future computers or peripheral units. That, of course, does
100 x (88 x 48 x 25 cm)
not mean that a man (or a monkey or other animal) aided by
Installed on Nama
department store on the
a computer could not create an aesthetically relevant object
street llica, Zagreb if they act consciously or unconsciously obeying the law of
SDS-930, computer program
accident."33
implemented in special-
purpose hardware
Produced at Ruder Boskovic
Institute, Zagreb

Finally, another Dynamic Object was exhibited only sev­

eral hundred meters away on the facade of the Kreditna ban-
ka Zagreb building on Ban Jelacic Square in Zagreb. None of
the "outdoor" works mentioned here that were set up in pub­
lic spaces are still in place, nor can their original elements be
traced at present. However, at least, all of Bonacic s "indoor"
Dynamic Objects still exist and are in good condition;30 they Vladimir Bonafic
belong to the small group of computer-generated interactive Random 63

objects from the 1960s that are still functioning today.
Critique of True Randomness in Computer Art
"I am especially sceptical of the attempts to produce computer
art through play with randomness and the deliberate intro­
duction of errors in programs prepared for non-artistic pur­
poses,"3' wrote Bonacic in 1974. He supported art practices
where, like in his Dynamic Objects that make use of pseudo-
randomness, the "feedback loop might be closed with an aes­
thetic output to an art object, which would then provide se-
mantically relevant information to a viewer. 1 believe that
such interactions will add to cognition, which will be re-
fleeted ,n language and perhaps provide improved means of
communication. 32
formal °f ^ B°naHi discussed the notions of in­
formation and entropy, and redundancy and originality in
the writings of George David Birkhoff, Max Bense andAb
tion of symbolJ) hrings'immen'se^esthefo^'vafoTs" Le^us sup"
pose we have tU. * sup-
is still rhp 4 program in some other way; but it
ing the randomTeneramr^we'sh Si °b'eCt' Us"
distribution of the existing inf " °" W"h random
tent use is made of the rind 'nf°rmatlon' Alth°"gh consis-
the random generator, we speak of'max-
1969
Electronic object
76 • 76 x 7 cm
PDP-8
Dunja Donasty-Bonafil
bed cybernetic art team
This critique inspired the creation of the object Ra\
dom 63, which used 63 independent true random gener
tors, each of which activated an electric lamp. The geome
nc pattern of the placement of the light bulbs on the object'
front was calculated with a PDP-8 computer using the psei
dorandomness of the Galois fields. This is the only object b
Vladimir Bonacic that makes use of true randomness forth)
dynamic control of the lights.
Bonacic expressed doubts about information aesthetics
t eory which was important to several participants of ter,
dencije 4/tendencies 4. In his book Science and Technology inAr
ay (1968), Jonathan Benthall, who participated in two Ten
encies con erences, observed: "Max Bense writes that math
emattcal aesthetics is a process which is 'devoid of subjective
interpretation' and deals objectively with specific elements ol
e aesthetic state' of as one might say the specific elements
Of he aesthetic reality/These elements include meanings as
well as sensuous or formal qualities. Bense proposes a ge
are ln .T* u H W°U'd eXplain how aastha<* states
gulsttVs n m Same W3y 35 S—r in Hn
gu.st.es attempts to explain the logical processes by which

sentences are performed and interpreted; but a prior stage of
analytical aesthetics is held to be necessary. The main math­
ematical techniques proposed by Bense are semiotic (the
study of signs, originated by Charles Sanders Peirce and oth­
ers), metrical (concerned with forms, figures, and structures),
statistical (concerned with the probability of appearance of
elements), and topological (concerned with the relations be­
tween sets of elements)."34 Benthall pointed out: "Vladimir
Bonacic is sceptical about the applicability of information
theory to aesthetics, since it takes so little account of seman­
tics. But he approaches visual phenomena in a mathematical
and systematic way."35
Bonacic's Development after 1972
Contrary to Bonacic's wishes of 1968 - that computer art
should not mimic human-made images - computer-gen­
erated art pursued a different path. Computer graphics ex­
plored the possibilities of computer-generated figurative vi­
suals and entered - through providing animation and special
efFects for the mainstream film industry - the commercial
world, as well as the military complex, advancing virtual re­
ality techniques that mimic "real life." Within the context of
the dominance of emerging practices of conceptual and non-
object art that utilized post-Duchamp ideas of art and repre­
sentation, this development led to computer-generated art's
almost total exclusion from the contemporary art scene by
the mid-1970s. This was propelled by a rising anti-computer
sentiment among the majority of the new generation of art­
ists in view of the negative impact of the use of science and
technology by the military-academic-industrial complex in
the Vietnam War and elsewhere.36
Bonacic was one of the rare artists who found and con­
stantly reinvented a way to use computers and cybernetic art
for humanistic purposes. After the period of the first series
of Dynamic Objects, Bonacic's work from 1971 emerged from
within the bed cybernetic art team.
In 1972, Bonacic, Cimerman, and Donassy moved to Is­
rael; in 1973, they founded the "Jerusalem Program in Art
and Science," an interdisciplinary program for study and re­
search at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusa­
lem, which Bonacic directed until 1977. For this program, he
established collaborations with the Hebrew University of Je­
rusalem and the Israel Museum. In 1974, he organized an in­
ternational seminar on "The Interaction of Art and Science,
in which several New Tendencies protagonists, including
Jonathan Benthall, Herbert W. Franke, Frank J. Malina, Ab­
raham A. Moles, A. Michael Noll, and John Whitney, partic­
ipated. In 1975, Willem Sandberg, a Dutch typographer and
former director of the Stedelijk Museum, received the Eras­
mus Prize in Amsterdam. On Sandberg's recommendation,
half of the prize was dedicated to "The Jerusalem Program in
Art and Science."
Fritz • The Work of Vladimir Bonacic
At the beginning of the preparations for tendencije 6/
tendencies 6, the "Art and Science team," which included
amongst others Willem Sandberg and the bed cybernetic art
team, was approached by Radoslav Putar.37 The team, rep­
resented by Bonacic, proposed the exhibition Meta Language
in Development of Computer Art.*8 Finally, tendencies 6 began
with the conference "Umjetnost i drustvo'7 "Art and Society"
in 1978 in Zagreb; however, the planned exhibition(s) never
took place. The conference was the very last manifestation of
the New Tendencies. As the focus had shifted to video, Con­
ceptual, and non-object art, next to the conference a different
exhibition was shown presenting Conceptual art only from
Yugoslavia, entitled Nova umjetnicka praksa [New Art Prac­
tice], a local synonym for Conceptual and body art and re­
lated practices. Bonacic participated at the conference with
the paper "Covjek-jezik-materija ili dematerijalizacija umjet-
nosti" [Man, Language, Matter - The Dematerialization of
Art]39, in which he discussed "an operational relationship
between matter and thought," as well as the relationship
of a Darwinian evolution model and artificial intelligence,
amongst other subjects. He concluded his paper with the fol­
lowing thought: "The establishment of a common denomi­
nator would lead to a greater probability of an ethical evolu­
tion and thus, the creation of a new paradigm for society."40
Conclusion: Temporarily Realized New Tendencies
Program
From the beginning of his activities as an artist, the work
of Vladimir Bonacic drew the attention not only of his col­
leagues who participated in part of the program "Comput­
ers and Visual Research," but also of the older generation of
New Tendencies participants.
At the tendencies 4 exhibition in 1969, Bonacic exhibited a
total of fifteen works in the gallery, as well as the outdoor in­
stallation DIN. PR18; for this body of work, he was awarded
one of the prizes of the competition that was associated with
the exhibition.41 The jury, consisting of Umberto Eco, Karl
Gerstner, Vera Horvat-Pintaric, Boris Kelemen, and Martin
Krampen, acknowledged "the harmony between the mathe­
matical consequences within the programming and the visu­
alizing of the processes resulting from the programming. We
especially applaud Bonacic's new approach, which entails
solving problems by introducing the image as a parameter
instead of the number, and thereby makes it possible to solve
far more complicated problems."42
The statement of Brazilian artist Waldemar Cordeiro at
the tendencije 5/tendencies 5 conference that "Constructive art
belongs to the past, its contents correspond to the Paleocy-
bernetic Period of computer art"43 - that computer art had
replaced Constructivist art - found its proof in Bonacic's art­
work. Moreover, with his dynamic objects, especially those
set up in public spaces, Bonacic probably managed to make
56 Fritz • The Work of Vladimir Bonacid

real the Utopia outlined by Matko Mestrovic and other New 17 Vladimir BonaClC, A transcenueniai < ontepi

tury," in: Visions for Cybernetic Art, exhib. cat.. Pari* An Center. Pan*. 1917. n. p.
Tendencies theoreticians at the beginning of the 1960s.
18 Bonaeie 1974, p. 255.
Bonacic's work is exact research that leads to cognitive in­ 19 For example. Reljefometar (Relief Meter] (1964-1967) by Vjencetlav Richter,
sights. Science has been humanized, and art has been scien- manipulable lumino kinetic work* by Gruppo MID, or Un inurnment visuel
|A Visual Instrument] (1965, by Michel Fadai. all exhibited at New
tized. Works have been realized through the use of machines,
Tendencies exhibitions.
and their basic materials were time and light. They involve 20 See. Bonaeie 1971, pp. 129-142.
the viewer as an active participant, sometimes in physical in­ 21 See: Explanatory plaque in: tendencije 4. exhib. cat.. Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970., n. p.
teraction with dynamic objects, and they are both socially
22 This computer sculpture was first exhibited in 1971 at the 7,k Biennale
engaged and democratic. It is possible to multiply the works
in Paris in the section "Interventions* at Pare Floral, Bois de Vincenne*. from
by programming purpose-built software and constructing September 24 to November I, 1971. followed by exhibition at the UNESCO

hardware. building in Paris, from November 1971 until November 1972. on the occasion
of the 25'h anniversary of the UNESCO.
It seems that Bonacic's work fulfilled and dynamized
23 In his Leonardo article. Bonaeie elaborates these different kinds of interaction
Mestrovic's visions of 1963, introduced at the beginning of from a practical and theoretical point of view, and also considers the use of

this text, which are summarized in the idea that "[a]rt must
perform a breakthrough into the extra-poetical and extra-
human sphere, because today, without that action the hu­
man sphere cannot be enriched."44 Bonacic's work has, at
least temporarily, realized the program of the New Tenden­
cies that at a certain point in time looked merely Utopian.
However, today it is being reactualized in a new geopolitical,
brainwaves in artistic practice; see: Bonaeie 1974. pp. I95f.
24 Raymond Daudel.The Cybernetic Art of the bed Team." in. Visions for Cyber
neticArt, exhib. cat., Paris Art Center. Paris. 1987. n. p.
25 See: Vladimir Bonaeic,"Eksponati u okviru lendenci)a 4 Zagreb maj 1969"/
"Exhibits within tendency 4. Zagreb May 1969." text of explanatory plaques for
the tendencies 4 exhibition. Archive MSU Zagreb, n. p.
26 Ibid.
27 See: Zelimir Koieevie."Svjetlost nove urbane kulture." in: Telegram. 479, July 4.
1969, p. 17; translated from the Croatian.

technological, and cultural climate. 28 Ibid; translated from the Croatian.

29 4. trijenale jugoslovenske likovne umetnosti. Murej savremene umetnosti.

Editorial note: Vladimir Bonaeic, Pseudo-sluiajna transformacija podalaka u
asocijativnoj analizi kompjuterom, Ph.D. thesis. Faculty of Electrical
Engineering. University of Zagreb, Zagreb. 1968.
Francois Morellet,"Untitled." in: nove tendencije, exhib. cat., Galerija suvre-
mene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1961; translated from the French.
Beograd. July 3 - September 15. 1970; curator Jerko Denegri.
30 In total, eight electronic Dynamic Objects were presented at the bit
international exhibition: seven objects at Neue Galerie (New Gallery] in Gnu.
2007, and three at the ZKM | Center Tor Art and Media Karlsruhe. 2008/2009.
Miro1 A. Cimerman. Dunja Donassy Bonaeie. and ZKM experts restored
Gh. E(!6.4) -NS C M for its first public exhibition since 1985.
31 Bonaeic 1974, p. 193.

Matko Mestrovie, "Untitled," in: nove tendencije 2. exhib. cat., Galerija 32 Ibid., p. 194.

suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb, 1963, n. p.; translated from the Croatian- this 33 Bonaeie 1971, p. 138.
volume, p. 116. See also: Matko MeStrovic,"Scientifikacija kao uvjet huma- 34 Jonathan Benthall. Science and Technology in Art Today. Thames and Hudson.
—Ma'k° MeStrov*. Od pojedinatnog opcem, Mladost, Zagreb. 1967, London, 1972, p. 59.
35 Ibid., p. 62.
See: MeStrovic 1963, n. p.; this volume, pp. 114-117
36 Misuse of technology has been recently described by Richard B.rbrook:
Statement a. the symposium "Kompjuteri i vizuelna is,razivanja"/"Compu-
rT'i! .,Cw n Barbr°0k'"lmag'nary Fu,ures- From Thinking Machines to the
ReSearCh'"May 6- ,969" Ku"-"o informativni centar
f o a 1 age. available online at: www.imaginaryfutures.net. 2005.
ee also: Anne Collins Goodyear."From Technophili. ,0 Technophobia. The
rsir ™ "ud'°
mpac, of the Vietnam War on the Reception of Art and Technology." in:
Leonardo, vol. 41. no. 2. April 2008. pp. |69- I 73

"Z, T" '

37 Ed'tori,. note: See: Radoslav Putar. letter ,0 Vladimir Bon** October 4.
m: b,t internationals. Boris Kelemen and Radoslav PutaTfeds ) c'l
Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 45-58; this volume pp 272 274 Wh T 6 38 S:L8;r!Tc2Un,a »*d cybernetic art team.
"
U m n
e
tj
ot
sk aou fnk
aj c
iu s bek
j
at,p s ozn ae
j ir
v
e
m
' e
n
a "/ A umiet r" ^"" Ieam' Priied'°B *a izloibu mrta jezik u razvoju suvremene
Subject, Cognition, and Time " in- hit i„, , , Arts as Function of Arch v°t'J^ "u '° 'he ,e"CrS '° Rad°S,aV Pu,ar- 'anu,ry 16. 1978.
Radoslav Putar (eds.). Galerije grada Zaereb 7 Ke'emen a"d
1978 A h Jfn ' Vlad,m,r Bona™. 'ccr to Radoslav Putar. January 22,
1978, Archive MSU Zagreb
Vladimir Boa.Jid, lar.ur. T,, J n ^ PP 12'-142-

vanja"/"Computers and Visual Research," a Tr *°mP,Uteri ' ViZUel"a istraii"

MSU Zagreb, transcript from an audio rer I ' '968' Zagreb' Arcb've
A "hiv ' druitvo'/'Art ,„d

zzzzzr*-'
Bonaeic 1968, p. 58; this volume, p. 274 ^ 'ransla,ed from 'he Croatian.
Vladimir Bonaeic,"Kinetic Art- »'„j- •
with Computer-controlled Flashine 'rT"° .Ab,,ract AISebra Objects •d- w" n""m'd •'
schaft Medien T k -l ' wirkungen zwischen Elektronik. Gesell-
Leonardo, vol. 7, no. 3, ,974 Pp ^ in:
between^Electr c "***" KunS' " Isolated Man. Interaction.

bits within tendency -f'"''V 1969"/"E"bi-

40 Bo„.a™,™ n'. P:
uck""h""*-Lta' s'p'""b« >«'•
itdTp " eXhibi,i°n' Archive Zagrefn peXPlanat°ry P'aqUeS f°r ,he

See: "Computewlnd vfsl'a^Rrse^D Adria" 'n

a=b^:^:^-HM iroA.Cimerman.

See: Bonaeie 1974, p. 193. 11 "e Ruder Boskov'c Institute from 1968.
Ibid. 42 Ibid; this volume, p. 368.
Vladimir Bonaeie,"On the RmmJ .
"The Ralional'aind'irraHonaHn"v'is "^'r' D'8i'al A"'"^,endncif S/tendencies5.
suvremene umjetnosti 7 k esearch Today- Match of Ideas," Galerija
44 Mestrovic conference proceedings, n. ,
nove tendencije
1961
nove tendencije [New Tendencies]

August 3-September i4) 1961

Preparation

Galerija suvremene umje,nosti [Gal.ery of Cent

emporary Art], Zagreb

ul«, 2* - 2 - 61
mon eher meatrovlc !
d'abord mes excuses par le rfctard de na lettre. une plriode passl-
onante de travail a'a eloign* de tous les conmpromlB. Je roue
promnets cependant, d'ltrs ponotuel avec notre correspondence.
le suls trla heureux de voir que les projeta pour 1'exposition des
artistes yougoalaves marCheront blen. l'sxpoaltlon chez fried senile
que sera umsuocie naia, Je vous prle de falre une selection impeca-
ble. enoore une nouvelle i J'al convancu a. fried de falre une
exception dans le cas de ne pas presenter des sculptures. 11 s'aglt
d'exposer l'soulpteur b a c 1 c (celul que J'al visit*) Je le
conaidlre un des nellleurs artistes chez vous. alore 11 raut
envoyer des sculptures 4 lul. ne pas oubller'pycel, simunovic et
le pelntre nonocrhecmlste (oelul que fait des flimes).
pour aol, un# de plus iaportants faitade cat exposition est qu'elle
permetra qu'un des Jeunea orltiquss cono tol pulsse venir en alema-
gne et avoir de contact avec des gents, des artistes et quelques
Idles que pourront oollaborer 4 pousser quelque nouvelle force chez
vous. ton rile comme critique eat dans oe cas trla Important.
Je pense de vous pr*senter 4 henae, plena, mack, alors on va voir
qu'on pourra falre.
S ur l'sxpoaltlon de groups 4 zagreb. lV-a eu un malentendue:
led n'a rlen 4 voir avec cat exposition. 1'affairs de changer
la rlalizatlon de catalogue et afflche pour cas lax expositions,
pour la votre chez vous et pour la notre chez nous, ne pout pas
aarcher. Je vous sets 4 disposition ma collaboration de falre ces
travaux 4 ulm, dans ce cae Je serais aussl d'acord d'avoir les
honnoralses que la galerie pays normaleaent pour oes travaux, en
argent yougoslave - si non, Je suls aussl d'accord de voir que ce
travail pourralt aussl se r*alizer ohez vous. dans ce cas la 11 n'y
a personne que le fera mleux que pjcel.
le groups d'artlstes que Je proposeral sera lnternaclonal. pour ceu:
qu'habltent au brisll, 1'Invitation devra se falre par moyen du
aus*e de l'art moderns de rlo de Janeiro, adress* 4 a. aloysio de
Eaula.(directeur) que payers les frals d'envoysr les tableaux,
a plup part a participe de l'sxpoaltlon de l'art concrete 4 zurlqu.
tlf 11 y a un point tr4s Important: J'al la responsablllt&e d'orga
nliatlon de l'sxpoaltlon et 4 ce moment 14, la llbertle de oholx
des artistes, aucun noa devra *tre cholsl sans que Je sache ou sole
£i_4' auco«h
dans 1'Invitation 11 sera peut-ltre mleux de declarer le vernlesage
15 Jours avant de la vrale date, oela pour se defendre des possible
ritards dea ouvres.
. auasi necessalre.Je orols.de declarer dane 1'Invitation que le
pelntre alnlr mavignler a *t* charger de cholsir des artistes que
aelon son avis,forme un groups lnternaolonal que travaille dans
une llgne experimental de l'art dont les oeuvrea se font toujours
reaarque* par ess charactdres d'orlglnalltie et de quallt*e.
le but de cet exposition eat de prisenter au publtque yougoslave
qu'll y a un groups d'artlstes que presentent des nouveaux probllme
dont quelques una pourront peut-ltre representer aujourd'hul ce
qu'on appellors deaaln d'avant-gards.
Justeaent par leoharactlre dangereux de prophecie l'sxpoaltlon aura
oes erreurs, peut-ltre male son grand lnterlt.
59
Almir Mavignier
Letter to Matko Mestrovic
• February 24,1961
In summer i960, the German-based Brazilian artist Almir Mavig­
nier stopped off in Zagreb on his way to Egypt after visiting the Ven­
ice Biennale.The then 35-year-old Mavignier, who had completed his
studies two years before at the Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm
School of Design] (HfG) stayed with the painter Frano Simunovic
who introduced him to the artist Ivan Picelj. Picelj in turn presented
Mavignier to the 28-year-old art historian Matko Mestrovic, who was
then working as an art critic for Radio Zagreb.
In the course of a podium discussion at the Zagreb art academy
about the latest Venice Biennale Mavignier was asked if he had dis­
covered there any hitherto unknown artistic movements. He said no
and proposed, in reaction to this question, an exhibition reflecting
his perspective on the current situation of contemporary art. After
Mavignier left, Mestrovic managed to enlist the support of the direc­
tor of the Gradska galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Municipal Gal­
lery of Contemporary Art], Bozo Bek, for the realization of this idea.
In February 1961, Mavignier sent Mestrovic a list of artists to be
exhibited. Mavignier, who had moved from Rio de Janeiro to Paris
in 1951 and who went to Ulm in 1953, was in contact with a compre­
hensive network of artists. A long-standing friendship connected
him with Francois Morellet whom he first met in 1950 in Rio de Ja­
neiro. Mavignier had already participated in joint exhibitions with
many of the artists cited in this list. Exemplary instances of this par­
ticipation is the eighth evening exhibition of the group ZERO Vi­
bration (ZERO 2) in Dusseldorf, in 1958; Stringenz - Nuove tenderize
tedesche [New German Tendencies] in the Milan gallery Pagani del
Grattacielo, in 1959, as well as La nuova concezione artistica [The New
Artistic Conceptions] in the Milan gallery Azimut; Monochrome
Malerei [Monochrome Painting] in the Stadtisches Museum [Mu­
nicipal Museum] Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich; and in Konkrete
Kunst [Concrete Art] at the Helmhaus Zurich, all in i960.
Ulm, February 24,1961
My dear Mestrovic!
First, please excuse the lateness of my letter. A thrilling period of work
has kept me from all other commitments. I promise, however, that I will
be punctual in our correspondence.
I'm very happy to see that the plans for the exhibition of Yugoslavian
artists are proceeding well. It looks as though the exhibition at [Kurt]
Fried's1 [studio f gallery] will be successful, but I would urge you to
make an impeccable selection. Still more news: I've convinced Mr. Fried
to make an exception to his principle of not showing sculpture. This
concerns showing works by the sculptor [Vojin] Bakic (the one that I vis­
ited), I regard him as one of the best artists among you. He should, then,
be sent the sculptures. Don't forget [Ivan] Picelj, [Frano] Simunovic, and
the monochrome painter (the one who makes films) [Vlado Kristl].
In my view, one of the most important facts about this exhibition is
that it will enable one of the young critics, like yourself, to come to Ger­
many and have contact with people, artists, and ideas that might help
give impulsion to some new force among you. In this regard, your role
as a critic is very important. I am thinking of introducing you to [Max]
Bense, [Otto] Piene, and [Heinz] Mack; then we will see what we can do.
nove tendencije • 1961

Regarding cne group C A H I U U I U H ... — . . . . . . ^* MI5UN .

lol, las nous dss artistes pour l'lnvltmtlon derstanding: Fried has nothing to do with the exhibition. The question
slemagno of changing how the catalog and poster for these exhibitions are put to­
^helnz maolc soulptures • tableaux kalser-frlsdrloh ring 16
dasseldorf gether - for yours [in Zagreb) and for ours (in Ulm| - won't work, lean
b'otto plene - tableaux ddsseldorf eranaohstrasse 32
ffeotthart mllller tableaux mUnchen -23 slegfrledstrasse 12 offer you my collaboration on this work in Ulrn. in which case I would
,11J * r"bl plastlque aanohen -19 flllggenstrasse 1
reerharA von graevenltz " mUnohen -13 georgenstrasse 15 also accept the honoraria that the gallery normally pays for this work
Valmir mavlgnlar tableaux ula wttrthetrassa 91
in Yugoslavian currency. Otherwise, I also agree that this work could be
•/plero dorazio tableaux rone piazza araelllni 16 done where you are [in Zagreb). In that case, there is no one who would
"yp; tabl.+scult. mllan via oernala 1
•'enrlco oastellanl tableaux mllan via cernala 4 (obex p.manje* do it better than Picelj.
v/antonlo calderara tableaux mllan via blanoa marla 35
The group of artists I will propose will be international. For those
v/franco!s morellet- oholet-L.M. rue porta baron 87 who live in Brazil, the invitation should be made through the Museu
l/yvea kleln parls 3t rue des beaux arts
alerle Iris olert
ean tinguely Sdanlel
4 rue mouffetard, obez
spoerrl
de Arte Moderna [Museum of Modern An) in Rio de Janeiro, and ad­
'Jesus rafael soto- galene ins clert dressed to Mr. Aloysio de Paula (director), who will pay the costs of
Jt, -/t !a-yny .
shipping the canvases. Most of them panicipated in the Concrete an
Suisse

t/karl gerstner tableaux bile exhibition in Zurich.' There is something very important: I am respon­
malzgasse 28
t/paul talman tabl.-eobjet. bile stadthausgasse 24
v maroel eyas " " berne stadlon wankdorf ost turm sible for organizing the exhibition, and as a consequence. I am free to
vraarla vlelra plastliiuee bile wasgenrlngstrasso 74
Is twiSsortn^ nhrl ntf n tableaux zurlque allfrledstrasse 19 choose the artists. No name should be chosen without my knowledge
brisil or agreement.
Ivan serpa - lygla olark - lygla paps - oarvao - waldemar oordelre
In the invitation it will perhaps be best to announce the opening fif­
oomme soulpteur - franz weiesmann
mus6e de l'art moderns - rlo de Janeiro , avenlda belra mar. teen days before the real date. This is to protect ourselves against possi­
m. aloyslo de paula, directeur. ble delays in the arrival of the works.
pour les artistes en europe 11 faudralt, i minimum payer les frals It is necessary, too, I think, to mention in the invitation that the
s de retour des oeuvres. aussl 1'assurance.
pour la seleotion cheque artiste se chargers d'envoyer trols oeuvres painter Almir Mavignier has been entrusted with choosing artists who,
XI W'tVJ-' fffrt8Xte> ;a"ter (au "Inlmu.) 9U1 dolvent Itre accompli!
fdlnl ?Is
(dans les oeuvres & exposer) V que
«Ppourra
11«uant 0. see
servir pour le experiment
catalogue. in his opinion, form an international group working in an experimen­
XI?.}! 8 artl8te hablt "W Is brfsll, see o.Svres d.IIIn tal line of art, whose works are noteworthy for their characteristic orig­
oholsls par_m..Bia,rlo Pgijrosa -critique d'art.
finl?!"* vlXfJ 1"P° rta"? 9US Je pulsse x.lszx fairs la selection
11 i?? p??sfbleitent Presenter la 1 • exposition, pour cela inality and quality. The aim of this exhibition is to show the Yugosla-
11 me faudralt 1'Invitation ofiolel aveo les frals de voyagb rlglls
dO.1 fairs danXoa'pII*!i1 na sera pas possibles par mes moyens i ian public that there is a group of artists presenting new problems and
uLl (^ ";is "dlspe!!aWe°I'InlratzaIl!b)nter 4

Ml ??:l!o0:&on?rl8 "01 et dlt88 9Uand 11 "ra »°881"8 is some of them might represent today what we will tomorrow call the
au revoir avant-garde.
Precisely due to its dangerous, prophetic character, the exhibition
w ill have flaws, but that is also perhaps its great appeal.

Here are the names of the artists to invite:

Germany

Heinz Mack/sculptures
paintings/Kaiser-Friedrich Ring 16/
Diisseldorf
Otto Piene/paintings/Cranachstrasse 32/Diisseldorf
Gotthart Miiller/paintings/Siegfriedstrasse 12/Munich -23
It Pohl/plastics/Fliiggenstrasse l/Munich -19
Gerhard von Graevenitz/p|as,iCs/Georgenstrasse 15/Munich -13
Mav,8n,er/paintings/Worthstrasse 91/Ulm
Italy

P-ero Dorazio/paintings/Piazza Arme„jnj l6/Rome

•ero Manzon,/paintings + sculptures/Via Cernaia 4/Milan

AnI ru,ani/pain,ingS/Via Cemaia </(c/o R Manzoni)/Milan

AntomoCalderara/paintings/Via Bianca Maria , 5 /Milan
France

Franfois Morellet/paintings/87 me P(me Baron,

Cholet - L[otreJ M(aritime)

!rDTa:st^r/24rueMou,fe,ard'^'-'
deS Beau* Ans/Galerie In,Clert,Pari,

JoaStetaT' SO,°/pain™8s/G»l-ie iris Clert/Pari,

Joel Stem/paintings/38, rue de Ug„y/Paris M.
Switzerland

Pa"! TaT,ne:'Paimin8s/Mal^asSe a8,Basel

Talman /paintings + objects,S,ad,hausgasse l4,Basel
 Preparation

Marcel Wyss/paintings and objects/Stadion Wankdorf Ost Turm/ Bern

Mary Vieira/plastics/Wasgenringstrasse 74/Basel
Andreas Christen/paintings/Wilfriedstrasse 19/Zurich

p.s. je vlena do recevolr ta dernllra lettre et 11 From Austria, the painter Adrian whose address 1 will send later.
n'a fallut fairs set excuse.
11 me vlent l'ldie, de, en profltant le'f/tlval de musliiue, Brazil
> et la priseace de bill 4 cagreba et, dans le cas qu'll
ne pulsse pas aller dans le mols de mal, de lul demander
d'organnlser una exposition du groups de pelntres concrete Ivan Serpa - Lygia Clark - Lygia Pape - [Aluisio] Carvao - Waldemar
de zurlque: max bill, paul lohae, graeser, lbwensberg
dans la gradska galerle. 11 a'aglt du premier groupe
concret - trda Important ooame exposition que pourrait Cordeiro
peut-ttre preparer la notre dont la plupart est de
as sculptor - Franz Weissmann
ieunea pelntres.
1 est una bonne Idle
Sorlvet 4 bill 11 pourrait l'organnlser cela, et peut-gtre Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Beira Mar.
a« la preaenter lul mime par l'ocoasion de ea yisite 4
sagreb.
Mr. Aloysio de Paula, director
For the artists in Europe, we need to pay at least the costs of returning
the works, and the insurance as well.

Regarding the selection, each artist will undertake to send three works
(minimum) that can represent him. These are to be accompanied by a
short text explaining the aim of his experimentation (in the works to be
shown) that might be useful for the catalog. In the case of the artists liv­
ing in Brazil, the works are to be chosen by Mr. Mario Pedrosa, art critic.
It would also be important that I am able to make the final selection
in Zagreb and possibly present the exhibition. For this, I would need an
official invitation, with the costs of the trip being covered by the gallery.
Otherwise, I won't be able to do it with my resources. In that case, a text
written in Ulm could be presented. (I think it's essential I go to Zagreb.)
My dear Mestrovic, write and tell me when it will be possible to put
on this exhibition.

Au revoir,

Mavignier

PS: Please excuse me, but I just received your last letter.
The idea just came to me - taking advantage of the music festival3 and
[Max] Bill's presence in Zagreb and, in case he cannot go in May - to ask
Bill to organize a group exhibition of Concrete painters from Zurich:
Max Bill, Paul Lohse, [Camille] Graeser, [Verena] Loewensberg at the
Gradska galerija [Municipal Gallery]. This is the first Concrete group -
very important as an exhibition that might perhaps prepare the ground
for ours, which will show mostly young painters.
It is a good idea.
Write to Bill. He could organize that, and perhaps present it himself
whpn he visits Zaereb.

1 Editorial note: In 1959, the journalist Kurt Fried (born March 30, 1906 in
Aschersleben, Germany, died March 22, 1981 in Ulm) founded the gallery
studio fin Ulm. In 1959 and 1960 he exhibited, among others, Max Bill,
Almir Mavignier, Otto Piene, Heinz Mack, Gerhard von Graevenitz, Gotthart
Miiller, Klaus Staudt, and Herbert Oehm. The exhibition Jugoslawische Maler
[Yugoslavian Painters], held from February 7 to March 6, 1961, comprised
works by Radomir Damnjanovic-Damnjan, ivo Gattin, Ljubo Ivancic, Julije
Knifer, Vlado Kristl, Ferdinand Kulmer, Ivan Rabuzin, Duro Seder, Matija
Skurjeni, Marko SuStarSic, Izidor Urbancic, and Josip Vanista.
2 Editorial note: Konkrete Kunsl [Concrete Artl, June 8-August 14, 1960,
Helmhaus Zurich, curated by Max Bill.
3 Editorial note: The Zagreb Music Biennial (MBZ) was founded in 1961.
62 nove tendencije • 1961

Bozo Bek
Letter to Mary Bauermeister
wrongta-. • June 8,1961
Uodgaaae 26

Monsieur, Zagreb 8. U.1961 Following Almir Mavignier s list, which the artist posted on Feb­
*ous arono l'ho ruary 24. 1961, Boio Bek. then director of the Gradska galerija su-
oeuvras a l'u
par notrs nusdt at so tlendra du lsr au 20 Juillet 1961. vremene umjetnosti {Municipal Gallery of Contemporar>' Art|\
Sons a TODS oonfH Is oholx dss sent invitations to the named anists Between April and June. He
also wrote to Antonio Calderara, Yves Klein. Jesus Rafael Soto, Jean
c idents. La but d. Lelposltfii HI 3a ftln ooaaaitre ai "
blio rougoalaTS las aoursaux problaaes prdoccupant 1st arti- Tinguely, and Mary Vieira, who in the end did not participate in the
" J»1 '«prf»«ntaot auJoard'hSi, 0. qus?psut^C?s di-l"
exhibition. He announced the exhibition under the title Art concrrf
{Concrete Art).
Sons Tons priona ds bisn soulolr nous donnsr rotrs assentl-
7^ f ^*1£-'*}°ipatipn a ostts azpositlon at ds oouu anrorar
juaqu au 15 Juln au plus tard quatrs do TOS osuvrat (tableau!/.
MARY BAUERMEISTER/COLOGNE/Germany / Lindgasse 26
Vauillss bain loindro un court teita sa rapportant sux osurree
qna Tons sxpoaarss an y sxpliquant la tana ae TOS reoborobaa
oa qui nous sarTira pour lS oitalogua da l'axpoaitfSS: Zagreb, June 8,1961
Kn roue raoeroiant d'aranoa, Teulllss aurdar Vonuieur
ranos da not aantlaents diailnguds. 8 ' *'•••»-
Dear Sir,
«S2?
M VVe are honored to invite you to contribute works to the Art concret {Con­
crete Art) exhibition that our museum is organizing from July 1 to July
20,1961.
We have entrusted the choice of participants to Mr. Almir Mavignier
of Ulm. At this exhibition, Mr. Mavignier will bring together the art­
ists who, in his opinion, form an international group and are outstand­
ing for the obvious authenticity and quality of their work. The aim of
the exhibition is to bring to the attention of the Yugoslav public the new
problems that are of concern to the artists who today represent what
will tomorrow perhaps be called the avant-garde. It is in the prophetic
significance that we thus wish to give to it - though we shall not be able
to avoid some errors - that the great interest of the exhibition lies.
We hope you will be able to agree to take part in this exhibition and
will send us four of your works (paintings) by June 15 at the latest.
... Wou'1' Wu please add a short text relating to the works you will ex-
nhit, explaining the direction of your research? This will be of use to us
in preparing the exhibition catalog.

I hanking you in advance,

Yours sincerely,

Director
(Bozo Bek)

in.«17It " v 'iT"""" in z""b ,h,

Contemn"1 '"VT Rale"H« suvremcnc umjetnosti (Municipal Gallery of
Col7 " T W" ••"«««« IC-llory of
founded77 ' r b"anU' "" on. of ihe newly
PPotodh T ft Z"" "b °"B"-»
appointed head of the Galerije grada Zagreha.

Almir Mavignier
Letter to Matko Mestrovic
• July 5,1961
In a letter to Bozo Bek from May 13, 1961, Almir Mavignier had sug­
gested to change the exhibition's title from Konkrete Kunst [Concrete
Art] to Avant-garde 1961. In this letter to Matko Mestrovic, Mavignier
proposed to drop the term "Avant-garde" in favor of "Nouvelles Direc­
tions" [New Directions] or "Nouvelles Tendances" [New Tendencies].
In his essay "nove tendencije 1 - A Surprising Coincidence," which
was published in the tendencije 4 catalog, Mavignier looked back on
the choice of title: "As the exhibitions title, I suggested 'neue tenden-
zen' [New Tendencies]. This title came from the exhibition Stringenz.
Nuove tendenze tedesche [New German Tendencies], which had taken
place in 1959 at the Galleria Pagani." Mavignier had participated in
this exhibition.
Ulm, July 5,1961
Dear Mestrovic!
Finally the paintings have gone off!!! Toward the 6,h or 7,h they should be
at Zagreb (Main Station).
I'm sending the large black canvas that you like, the one with the dis­
torted circle, and a new one that you don't know. This one is very beau­
tiful. The selection we did at my place couldn't be sent because of my
exhibition in Munich. I will bring two or three small canvases with me.
You will have to deal with the customs authorities in Zagreb, so as to be
able to pick up the crate immediately; and mind the color dots, take the
canvases out carefully.
On the catalog, I think there is a point for discussion. You agreed to
have an unknown like me organize the exhibition and now you don't
want an article by me included in the catalog, but one by someone re­
ally very important and very well-known! Don't you think there is a con­
tradiction here? The proposal of Max Bense or of anyone who has noth­
ing to do with this exhibition is highly questionable and if I may be
permitted to say so, even absurd.
I think there are three people responsible for this exhibition: [Bozo]
Bek, me, and yourself. I'm honestly not concerned to write anything. You
know very well that I'm happy not to get involved, as a painter, in writ­
ing articles about art! Instead of publishing the article by [Udo] Kul-
termann then,1 which is no longer topical - and still less so for our ex­
hibition -, I propose that you and Bek do the article lor the catalog
yourselves. It will be the best and - between ourselves - the only solu­
tion. Tell Bek, if he writes it, he has to do it presenting the exhibition as
providing information on some 'nouvelles directions' [new directions] (not
a 'nouvelle avant-garde' [new avant-garde]). This was my intention, to in­
form the Yugoslavian public and artists that there are nouvelles tendances
[new tendencies] that are as yet unknown - and still less so by the Ven­
ice Biennale - the official "source" of modern art.
In any case, I don't agree with having articles that are alien to the ex­
hibition. By contrast, I think that Bek himself could do it, or you your­
self, after your contact with the artists and their works during your trip
to Germany.
Preparation
*
mavignier ulm, 5/7/61
1
Cher mestrovic!
flnallemont les tableaux sont partis!!! vers le 6 ou 7 lis
devront so rencontrer 4 zagreb (gare de gl kob-?)
j'envnie le grand tableau noir que tu aimes, celul du cercle
deformt et un nouveau que tu ne connala pas. celul est trds
beau, la selection que nous uvons fait chez sol ne pouvait paa
partlr 4 cause da mon exposition 4 munlquc. Je porteral avec
nol deux ou trols dee petlts tableaux. 11 faut que tu t'occupes
nvoc la douane de. Zagreb afln de retlrer la oalsse tout-de-aulte
et, atentlon avec les points, retlrer les tableaux avec du soln.
pour la catalogue.Je trouve qu'll y a un point 4 dlscuter.
vous avez accepts do lalaaer faire une exposition 4 charge
de quelqu'un lnconnu oomme aol et maintenalent vque xa vqulez
pour la catalogue-pas—HIT'S fTlcle de Sol mals, de quolqu'un
vrainent trds Important et tr4s oonnu! tu ne crols pas qu'll y
a une contradltion V la proposition de max bense ou n'lmpportte
qui. que N»a rlen 4 voir avec cette exposition eat tr4s dlsou-
table et, si tu me permdts, mSrae absflrde.
Je crols qu'll y a trols personnas re3ponsables pour cette
oxpoeltlon: bek. aol ot tol a8me. Je no fait pas francheoent
aucune queatTbn nrecrl~re n'lmmportte quol. tu connala tree blen
comme Je sulB heureux de "pas lalsser melanger comoe pelnt
tre,4 Scrlre dee artloles l'artl alors, on lieu de publler
l'artlcle de kultoraan, qui n'est plus actuel et encore molns
pour r.otro exposition, Je vouo propose, 4 tol et 4 bek a falre
vous mSmes, l'artlcle pour le catalogue. 11 sera la meilleur et,
entre nous, la seule soluction. dis a bek. 11 le tcrls, 11
faut le falre en prbsentant l'expositl ••••Inf ormmet Ion
de quelques nouvelles directions (pas veil —
sa c'Stalt ' pa mon lntnmtion, Informmor que et artlstej
I Jougoslaves qu'll y a de nouvelles tend
encore connus, encore mo
oflclelle do l'art moderne.
que ne sont pas
e venlse -"source
i en tout cas, Je ne auls pas d'accord avec des articles 6trang4re»
c • 4 1'exposition, par contre, Je trouve que bek lul mSme pour-
1 rait be falre«»-4al,..4.'*pr4s ton contBct avec les artistes et
| fallte
pour l'affiche: toujours le dernier mot? Impossible de le falre
lcl 4 ulm et le payer avec 1'argent du tableau? si non Je
lalsserai fBire, au molns, le texte lcl dans une tlpographle
4 cause du type d'borlture que n'y a pas chez vous;
pycell Je prkfdre mol ml-
malgrfe la eonflance que Je depose s
me aurvelller l'affiche.
dan3 ce cas 14, si l'affiche sera fait Chez vous, Je partlral
quelques Jours avant du vernlssage
Do the article yourself!
On the poster, is this still your final word? Impossible to do it here in
Ulm and to pay for it with the money from the picture? If not, I'll at least
have the text done at a typographer here due to the type of writing that
you don't have there.
Despite my trust in [Ivan] Picelj, I prefer to oversee the poster myself.
In this case, if the poster is to be done with you [in Zagreb], I'll leave
here a few days before the opening.
Bye,
Almir
Greetings from Sigrid
Talk to Bek about the poster again - to do it here!
Editorial note: Almir Mavignier is referring to the article "Monochrome
Malerei. Eine Neue Konzeption" [Monochrome Painting. A New Conception]
by Udo Kultermann which was published in the catalog accompanying the
exhibition Monochrome Malerei [Monochrome Painting], Stadtisches Museum
[Municipal Museum] Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich, from March 18 to May
8, 1960. The exhibition presented works by Enrico Castellani, Piero Dorazio,
Klaus Jiirgen-Fischer, Ernst Geitlinger, Yves Klein, Walter Leblanc, Heinz
Mack, Piero Manzoni, Almir Mavignier, Herbert Oehm, Otto Piene, and
Giinther Uecker.
nove tendencije [New Tendencies]

August 3 - September 14,1961

Exhibition

Galeriia S uv r e m e ne umjet„osti [Gallery of Contemporary

Art], Zagreb
 65

galerija
suvremene umjetnosti
zagreb
katariniki trg 2

nove tendencije
3. VIII • tt. IX 1961.
otvormo: 10 - 13 • 18 - 20 sati

Participants in the Exhibition

Marc Adrian [A T | • Alberto Biasi [ I T ] • Enrico

Castellani [IT] • Ennio Chiggio [IT] • Andreas
Christen [CH] • Toni Costa [IT]• Piero
DorazioIiT) • Karl Gerstner [CH]• Gerhard
von Graevenitz [DE] • Rudolf Kammer [DE]
• Julije Knifer | Y U ( H R ) 1 • Edoardo Landi
[ I T ] • Julio Le Pare [A R / F R ! • Heinz Mack [D E |
• Piero Manzoni [I T I • Manfredo Massironi
[IT] • Almir Mavignier [BR/DE] • Francois
Morellet [FR| • Gotthart Miiller |DE| • Herbert
Oehm [DE] • Ivan Picelj [YU (HR)| • Otto
Piene [DE] • Uli Pohl [DE] • Dieter Roth [DE]
• Joel Stein [F R ] • Paul Talman |C H ] • Giinther

nove tendencije Uecker [DE] • Marcel Wyss [CH] • Walter

Zehringer [DE]

Poster nove tendencije [New Tendencies]

1961/2007 (above)
Exhibition catalog nove tendencije [New Tendencies]
1961 (left)
Design: Ivan Picelj
MSU Zagreb
66 nove tendencije • 1961

Ml

Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb

August3-September I4,196l g b

Installation views
nove tendencije [New Tendencies] Gdb [CrossTngon WlZTby |ReC,aB8l#l> a"d Krtu™9auf

by Uli Pohl Mavtgn.er, sculptures PX1/59/60 and P>

• 2

°
{Rech,eck ,Rec,angiei fr°m ,hese

right: PXX/61 by Uli Pohl reu-un9 "uf Gelb [Crossing on Yellow). Fron
• 3

Visitors and PX X/61 11061) by u„ Poh|

 Exhibition • Zagreb 67

6 7

•4 • 7
Members and friends of the Gorgona group salute the works that have arrived
I960 by Andreas Christen, [-), (-), [-], Meandar 2 [Meander 2] by Julije Knifer,
for the exhibition nove tendencije [New Tendencies), August 1961:
and Gelbes Exzentrum [Yellow ExcenterJ and Blaues Exzentrum [Blue Excenter] by
Boris Kelemen, Ivo Steiner, Duro Seder (back row, from left)
Karl Gerstner (from left)
Josip VaniSta, Radoslav Putar, Slobodan Vulifevic, Julije Knifer (middle row,
• 5
b 256, k 100 b, and k 36 by Paul Talman and Probability du noir egal au blanc n'4 from left)
Matko MeStrovic (center, front)
[Probability of Black Being Equal to White No. 4) by Julio Le Pare (from left); in
the next room, works by Gerhard von Graevenitz
• 6
Works by Andreas Christen, [-], Gruppo N, [-], Giinther Uecker (from left)
 nove tendencije • 1961
Matko Mestrovic
[Untitled]
Matko Mestrovic, who had graduated in art history and
culture at the University of Zagreb in 1958, was not in­
stitutionally affiliated to the Galerija suvremene umjet-
nosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb. From 1956
he worked as an art critic for Radio Zagreb. Mestrovic was
one of the art historians who belonged to the proto-con-
ceptual group Gorgona, which was mainly active between
1959 and 1966.*
[Originally published in nove tendencije, exhib. cat., Gale­
rija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1961, n. p.; translated
from the Croatian.!
What is left for man to do in the world? Since ancient times
he has measured his strength and there is no evidence that
he has ever completely given in, that he has confirmed death
with death, that with a curse he has destroyed every little
iber of hope, that he has envenomed every desire of his act
with gall. Man cannot stop, just as he cannot entirely and ev­
erlastingly harness himself. Every single no can also mean
yes and vice versa.
Whatever he does, he does to arrive at a blank field and
he is boldest when he dares to rise straight up into a clearing
seprwhenheissomuchman,hathed--^
when he has the h (o forget everythjng ^ ^ J
When he can start everything from the beginning
Throughout history he has already started numerous
:rzri,ins him
.hat, there can bel beginn^ With°"
Nor can there be a fresh start without total purging of all
other afterthoughts. One has to know as if nothing is known,
reject everything that is not known. Everything has to be ap­
prehended again, and one has to trust the hands that will
complete every act, do it, make it visible and harmless. Make
it real. One has to rely on one's own eyes which will gaze
again at the worlds existence, unweary, unfaltering, undis-
torted, and unlost. The eyes able to see what is in front of
them, and not what is in them or somewhere far off and no­
where outside them. And they will take joy in what hands
have made, will be able to know what they have done, and
they will not be afraid of their deed. They will not be sac­
rificed to mystery, hide behind it, vanish before it, but will
calmly, bravely, and intelligently touch, feel, and create.
So it becomes clear: if we are a mystery, let us not be afraid
to unriddle it; i( everything is a mystery, we are not helpless.
And the most important thing for this new beginning, and
w hat most ol all confirms that something new in art is about
to begin, is the renewed value of a single unit and the indi­
vidual. It is not lost and its place is properly valued. No one
can dare to overrate themself, nor can they be allowed to do
so. This is the condition for them if they do not want to re­
main worthless. This humility is the greatest guarantee of
correctness, the firmest and most reliable law of work.
One thing alone is nothing; only with all the others it is
everyt ing. Countless times has man been forced to forget
t at. He has paid dearly for this arrogance, and is still pay­
ing for it.
Knife 0^?^" °f G°rg°na We"
his or I n
pain.er, Marijan Jeviova, ,«li|e
" 3nd '°Sip Vanii,a' <h* "u.P,or Koiar* .hear,
Mmenko Hor^T ^ Rad°sU a"«< -hi.cc,
writing texts fa" "T ^ Bas'eevid «»ntributed lo the New Tendencies
level Horvat * a"d a'S° involved on an organization!
exhib":;:; pa,ed as an ar"s« * •*« ~*
70 nove tendencije • 1961

• 1
• 2
Piero Dorazio
Esmeralda III Almir Mavignier • 3

yTvisurunestruct™*<
• 4
I960
Francois Morellet Joel Stein
Oil. canvas
Progression chromatique en jaune Francois Morellet

~!ira,io"n—«
60.7 x 46 cm orange et rouge 3 double frames 0°. 30'. 60°
MSU Zagreb |3 Double Grids 0*. 30*. 60']
[Chromatic Progression in Yellow.
1961 Grange, and Red] 1960/1961
Ser'graphy
March 1961 Oil, wood
88 * 62 cm Oil, canvas 80 x 79.6 cm
Francois Morellet 100x81 cm MSU Zagreb
 Exhibition • Zagreb

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Almir Mavignier
Rechteck [Rectangle]
1961
Oil, canvas
32.2 x 24.2 cm
MSU Zagreb
72 nove tendencije • 1961

Julio Le Pare
Probability du noir (gal au blanc n°4
ffrobibilky of Black Being Equal to
White No. 4)
1961
Wood, plastic
45 x90 k 13 cm
MSU Zagreb
 Exhibition • Zagreb 73

Karl Gerstner
Das tangentiale Exzenlrum
[The Tangential Excenter]
1956
M a n i p u l a t e discs, stoved enamel lacquer
on aluminum
0 60 cm
Collection of the artist
74 n o v e t e n d e n c i j e • 1961

•1

Marcel Wyss • 3
Progression 4 x 2/1 Andreas Christen
ohne Titel [ U n t i t l e d ]
Dieter Roth
1954
1959
Bok 4a
Color, wood
1961
64 x 64 cm Acrylic resin, masonite
70 x 70 cm Print, rubber printing plates,
Museum fur Konkrete Kunst
spiral binding
Ingolstadt Collection Ricola
40 x 28 cm

Dieter Roth Foundation

 Exhibition • Zagreb 75

Paul Talman
k 25 (version 2)
1961
Plastic
55 x 55 x 3.5 cm
Collection Getulio Alviani
 nove tendencije • 1961
Radoslav Putar
[Untitled]
The art historian and critic Radoslav Putar, who gradu­
ated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of
Zagreb in 1949 and taught there as assistant lecturer un­
til 1961, became curator at the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt
[Museum for Arts and Crafts] in Zagreb in 1962. In 1964
he left the museum to head the information department
of the Centar za industrijsko oblikovanje [Center for In­
dustrial Design] (CIO), but returned there already one
year later. Like Matko Mestrovic, Putar was one of the art
historians who belonged to the proto-conceptual group
Gorgona, which was mainly active between 1959 and 1966.
[Originally published in nove tendencije, exhib. cat., Gale-
rija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1961, n. p.; translated
from the Croatian.]
Physical substrates: metal, glass, synthetic materials, gloss
varnishes, dense wood tissue, and multiple reflections of
light. Plastic dimensions of space occupied by a work- fol­
lowing the principle of an orthogonal order, but not of Eu­
clidean static. Lifetime of its own contents: continuous, unre­
stricted in the initial and final point. Spiritual sedimentation
ot the whole: a great
yes
to a true perspective life, to the most valuable facts t the Concretists are a great
of current reality and the foreseeable future tde d T
of sculptors of Concrete art are a bright and, along the'irTom
Th- -'::
mathematicians, sobriety of engineers, conscientiousness of
workers, innocence of children's games, and fearlessness be­
fore risk of the impossible radiate out of materialized visions
ot Alberto Biasi, Andreas Christen, Toni Costa, Heinz Mack,
Almir Mavignier, Manfredo Massironi, Francois Morellet,
Paul lalman, and others, who seem to have yoked their
strength to great efforts, long ago determined by Piet Mon-
drian - ' liberation from the feeling of the tragic in nature..."
Their origin can be sought in the past, in several places, and
at various depths of the most fertile soil in history: in Victor
Vasarelys black and white compositions, in the concretiza-
tions ol absolute values" in the works of Mondrian, in the
ideology of the Bauhaus and the concepts of Russian Con-
structivists, in early cubist works. Even in the works of neo-
Impressionists, or still earlier, the roots are deep. They now
break up through the surface; all are young. Their names, as
well as those of others present at this exhibition, do not all
belong to a particular, separate group. The name "Concrete
art suits their works in a general, partially established sense
of this term, first applied by Theo van Doesburg back in 1930
when he tried to replace the name "Abstract art" with the
tt rm Concrete art, related to the work of the "neoplasticist"
movement. Compared to the dark poetry of the Tachists,
along with their meditativeness and convulsive sensitivity,
plunging into the abysses of the unconscious, the works of
light
m which they steeped their eyes looking into the sky, into
spotlights, neons, water, glass, and sun. They foist no confes-
on us, they do not preach any visions, do not impose the

sovereignty of their personality, and do not yell out their pri­
vate lives.Thus, the works of Concretists do not appear on the
horizon of the present day only as new breakthroughs into
the unknown, new conquests, and previously unheard-of ex­
periments, but also as manifestations of the other pole of the
spirit prevailing in contemporary plastic art. It is certainly not
up to us to immediately opt for one of the fronts that stand in
the van of large trends, nor for the fronts that have emerged
between them, and mark their flanks. We might adopt the
practice to perceive works of art not just as weapons of ideol­
ogy. The increasingly profound awareness of contemporane­
ity could already have provided us with the insight that ar­
tistic creations are in the first place the incarnation of those
spiritual abilities of man which represent the very manifesta­
tions of elementary vital expansiveness of human existence:
fruits then, not spears. The surprise we feel at works of mod­
ern art, habits, and inertia of the lower layers of our spirit
will keep turning into the pain of resistance, but this is not
necessary. The force with which, for a number of years, the
waves of development of modern art have broken upon us
have opened wide the pupil of our spiritual eye and strength­
ened its retina. If we once again feel that the compositions
of Morellet are not true "paintings," that the works of Biasi
can never be "paintings," and that the works of Talman are
neither "paintings" nor "sculptures," then the inner question
should arise of what a "painting" or a "sculpture is - and re­
mind us that concepts, notions, and principles are not eter­
nal. The precision of execution, balance of ideas, and purity
of impression that characterize the works of Concretists are
usually signs of the positively constructive spirit of the au­
thor. However, very close to them, along the same trajecto­
ries, are those who put a drop of humor into their compo­
Putar • [Untitled]
sitions or soften the sharp edges of forms and lighten the
gravity of things - with a note of playfulness. On the edge of
blackness.
Failures, misses, and defeats cannot be excluded from the
program of those who are not satisfied with the inventory
of the past and present; everyone falls in some direction -
in that in which he walked. Therefore, on such occasion we
shall not primarily be judges, but rather inquisitive and fresh
observers. Then we can draw our conclusions. Not too rig­
idly. This group of works certainly represents a date, not only
in general history; within the circle of our immediate hori­
zon it is also information of the first order. We still do not
have enough means to register the entire dynamics of move­
ment within modern art in the collective consciousness of
society. Except when celebrating certain occasions, the de­
lay complex is still present, despite the growth of potential
forces' reserves and the leap forward they have made. Ro­
mantic propensities and sentimental ballast can be cast off
only by uncompromising realism in comprehending the
facts of our artistic life. Inertia, sluggishness, and immobility
are the greatest and most fatal burdens. Should the presence
of Concretists and adherents of similar movements only in
some respects induce new efforts, new experiments, or at
least doubts, the sense of this presence would be attained.
1 T h e o t h e r m e m b e r s o f G o r g o n a w e r e t h e p a i n t e r s M a r i j a n Jevsovar, Julije
K n i f e r , D u r o S e d e r , a n d J o s i p V a n i s t a , t h e s c u l p t o r I v a n Kozaric, t h e a r t
h i s t o r i a n M a t k o M e s t r o v i c , t h e a r t h i s t o r i a n a n d a r t i s t D i m i t r i j e Basicevic
(Mangelos), and the architect Miljenko Horvat.
 nove tendencije • 1961

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• 2
Giinther Uecker
deifies Bild [White Picture] Enrico Castellani
1959 Superficie blu scura [Dark Blue Piero Manzoni
Surface] Achrome
Metal, wood, white paint
55.5 x 60 cm I960 1959

Acrylic, canvas Kaolin on canvas

K a i s e r W i l h e l m Museum Krefeld
80* 100 cm 30 x 40 cm

Collezione Gillo Dorfles, Milan Collection Getulio Alviani

 Exhibition • Zagreb

•5
• 4

Heinz Mack Otto Piene

Rauchbild [ S m o k e P i c t u r e ]
Aluminium Relief [ A l u m i n u m R e l i e f ]
1961
1961
Oil, canvas
Aluminum, masonite
67 x 93 cm
33.4 x 48 cm
MSU Zagreb
MSU Zagreb
80 nove tendencije • 1961

•1
Uli Pohl • 2
PX1/155-59 •3
1959 Gotthart Muller
S 32 „rof"[s 32 "red")
Herbert Oehm
Plexiglas
1961 Serie 5 Nr. 4 [Series 5 No. 4|
15 x 15 x 5 cm
1961
Private collection Masonite, grounding, plaster,
Plexiglas, resin, wood
powder paint, fixative
50 x 50 cm 60 x 20 cm

Rudolf Rammer
 Exhibition • Zagreb 8l

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• 4 •5
Gerhard von Graevenitz Walter Zehringer
Rudolf Kammer Rudolf Kammer
Horizon tale Verteilung 6 Objekt Nr. I [Object No. 1]
Nr. 2, Progression II Nr. 3, Progression II
[Horizontal Distribution 6] 1961
1961 1961
1960 Wood, Plexiglas
Wood, metal balls, paint Wood, metal balls, paint
Mixed media, wood, chalk, barite, oil 60 x 60 x 10 cm
50 x 50 cm 50 x 50 cm
39.5 x 39.5 cm
Museum fur Konkrete Kunst Collection of the artist
Galerie von Bartha
Ingolstadt
82 nove tendencije • 1961
Artists' Commentaries
Bozo Bek, director of the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti
[Gallery of Contemporary Art] in Zagreb, requested of all
invited artists that when submitting their works, mostly
by normal post, they include a text explaining the direc­
tion of their research.
[Originally published in nove tendencije, exhib. cat., Gale­
rija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1961, n. p.; translated
from the Croatian (catalog) and the French, German, and
Italian (typescript, Archive MSU Zagreb).]
Marc Adrian
Since 1955 concerned exclusively with problems relating to
kinetic optic phenomena and their artistic evaluation At­
tempt to develop optical structures analogous to serial music.
Enrico Castellani
Since we are not interested in expressing subjective reac­
tions to facts or emotions, but wish our discourse to be total
and continuous, we exclude those means of communication
(composition and color) that are adequate only for restricted
discourse, for metaphor and parable...
The only possible compositional criterion in our works
will be one that does not involve a choice between heteroge-
neous, finite elements, which nlared in * • eteroge
defined finite space, would dete^e
L7ZZpl7vocab,y remove the possibiIi*°f ^
Andreas Christen
thesis of pictorial'eventatid its^ioundaries " abS°'Ute
Karl Gerstner
°Ca Wh°,e' 1, perfect
changeable qu?„^^ °fas • constellation of
Picture, which,~d nema"d aPP"eS "OI onIy 'he
nique of design in ge„er "he
a '° ' he tKh "
general. The constant of a picture is its
idea; the proportions can be changed, the colors can be inter­
changed within their system; the dimensions are random. (...)
What I would like is to have not only the most obvious,
but all the combinatory parts at my disposal; a catalog of all
parameters and their elements for picture-making. Here I am
not only thinking of any one solution, complex as it may be,
but of the complex of all conceivable solutions - a catalog of
latent, future pictures as it were. My work as a designer put
more precisely: to find among the myriads of possible pic­
tures a number of up-to-date ones. The criterion: the more
universal the formula, the more original the picture. The
more versatile its unity, or the more uniform its versatility,
the more it can convey to the viewer as an object of the most
personal perceptions. [...]
Manfredo Massironi on Gruppo N
Alberto Biasi - Through a process of repeatable stratification,
he creates surfaces that are optically dynamic and indeter­
minable.
Ennio Chiggio - He creates optical structures made visi­
ble by light, which are perceived differently by the observer
depending on the angle from which they are viewed.
Toni Costa - He creates dynamic views that change ac­
cording to the angle from which they are viewed.
Edoardo Landi - He creates optically repeatable surfaces
that change with the light.
Manfredo Massironi - He creates repeatable objects of
limitless depth.
Julio Le Pare (Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel)
ear that in visual arts a separation has occurred between
a itional philosophic and aesthetic concepts, between me­
thods of making work and the position of art in society.
person who makes art becomes aware of the flagrant
contradiction in his social position.
vniMo*3^ freedom ,s allowed. You can make anything
e, any way you like; contemporary art rejects nothing.
to ,h7 matCriaj1 SUbstance of'works has been simplified
greatest egree. Form has become neutralized; with no

inherent value, it has become an anonymous element, evenly
distributed according to simple rules whose relationships
follow a rigid system that results in total homogeneity.
In the case of my mobiles, the application of these prin­
ciples allows me to work on the element by a process of ap­
proximation - statistics, probability, etc. [...]
Determination and indetermination:
a) influence of circumstances external to the work as such:
movement, weather, light, etc.
b) methods of approximation: combinatory possibilities, sta­
tistics, probability, controlled chance, etc.
However, these three components are not separate; they
all make an equal contribution to the creation of the work.
Heinz Mack
The dynamic structure of color and light is a joy to my eyes,
irritates the static of my thought, exhilarates the rhythm of
my heart and the rapid breathing of my desires. The beau­
tiful is to be found in movement and shows the tranquility
of inquietude as form. Dynamic itself becomes form. Inquie­
tude destroys form and seeks the opposite.
The unmoved and the finite fatigues our eyes and ulti­
mately negates them.
Pure movement is ignorant of relativity, or limits and
moderation; directionless and devoid of timeliness, it re­
mains with itself: this is its vibration, its breath, its freedom,
its vitality, its metaphysics. [...]
Almir Mavignier
Neither construction nor composition. Fascination.
Francois Morellet
Imagine that we are at the eve of a revolution in the arts that
is as great as the revolution that exists in science. Therefore,
the reason and the spirit of systematic research has to re­
place intuition and individualist expression.
Herbert Oehm
monochrome
one color
experiments
attempts of structural situation
discoveries
monochrome pictures are attempts to dissect an artistic
world.
Ivan Picelj
To make art imperceptible.
Otto Piene
[•••] The common idea that the artist should give expression
to his own times is naive insofar as ultimately, it reduces the
Artists' Commentaries
artist to a reporter. The artist does respond to the time he
lives in, but the response is creative in that it refers more to
the future than to the present. Today, as always, all art has its
moral side. The Platonic ideal, that the beautiful is both good
and true, has not been forgotten. A painting that achieves its
potential at the same time recommends an attitude. The art
that is created most of all as art and that renounces any direct
report will be most meaningful for the whole person; that is,
art will find aesthetic sensibility to be the portal to the spir­
itual self. [...]
Purity of light, which creates pure color, which in turn is an
expression of the purity of light, takes hold of everyone with
its continuous flow, its rhythmic streaming back and forth
between painting and observer, which under certain formal
conditions becomes a forceful pulse beat, a total vibration. [...]
Joel Stein
A picture is no longer an artistic work, the fruit of a sensibil­
ity and the expression of a personality, but a purely visual
phenomenon, whose components have no aim other than to
create an optical and no longer a literary or psychological sit­
uation. [...]
Markus Kutter on Paul Talman
The order of a rule is expressed in works. This is the one pos­
sibility. [...] Each of Talman's works carries out an energetic
debate between order and free manipulation, between ne­
cessity and the possibility of evasion. There is no debate that
could be more worthy: to render it ostensive without detour
- almost conceptual, and yet entirely in conformity with the
logic of the picture - herein lies the intimate attraction for
whoever desires also to feel his thought.
Udo Kultermann on Gunther Uecker
In 1957 he created spatial projects based on ideas, with the
aim to create real situations in space. He attempted to intro­
duce visible movement to space, to create structure zones by
means of light and show the purest light integration in move­
ment.
Gerhard von Graevenitz
Purity and clarity of the idea and
Purity and clarity in the expression of the idea
Rationality - not emotionality
Not expressivity - reduction of means
Geometry of the grid
Organization of chance - order
Movement of chance and chance of movement
Order of movement
84 nove lendencije • 1961

Toni Costa •2
•3
Visione dinamica (Dynamic Vision]
Alberto Biasi
Ennio Chiggio
Oggetto ottico dinamico
Plastic tape Strullura oltico obliqua
lOptically Dynamic Surl
56.4 x 56.4 cm (Oblique Optical Structure)
November 1, i960
MSU Zagreb 1961
Glass, thread
Wooden box, optical glass
32 x 32 cm
13 x 13 x 15 cm
MSU Zagreb
Collection of the artist
 6

• 4 •5
Manfredo Massironi
Edoardo Landi Edoardo Landi Oggetto [Object)
Slruttura visuale |Visual Structure) Strutlura visuale |Visual Structure]
1961
1961 1961
Glass, thread, wood
Detail Rubber band, color, masonite
37 x 37 x 5 cm
Collection Getulio Alviani 66.5 x 66.5 x 3.5 cm
MSU Zagreb
Collection Getulio Alviani
86 nove tendencije • 1961

•1
Alberto Biasi • 2
Oculare [Ocular]
1960 Alberto Biasi
ocular to infinity
Oculare [Ocular]
Mixed media (outside wood approach the eye to the appropriate ocular
1960
1'."^" mirr°r' Perf<""«d P-Per, and View into the box recommended for travelling,
Details for delayed meetings
13 x 13 x60 cm
for boring lectures."
Collection of the artist Collection of the artist
[Alberto Biasi, text written on the invitation
card to the exhibition Sculture da viaggio,
Galleria Trastevere. Rome, 1960]
 Exhibition • Zagreb 87

•r 'f*rf

Marc Adrian
Serie Delta Nr. 4 (Delta Series No. 4)
1961
Glass, aluminum
65.3 x 87.4 x 5 cm
MSU Zagreb
 Julije Knifer
Kompoztcifa br. 5 |Compo»iuon Na J)
1959
Oil. canvas
65.7 » 90.4 cm
MSU Zagreb

Ivan Picelj
Povriina I (Surface l|
1961
Wood, paint
80 » 80 cm
L'Instabilite
arte programmata
Meeting of the
Nouvelle Tendance

Oltre la pittura.
Oltre la scultura.

1962-1963
L'Instabilite [Instability]

April 4-i8,1962

Exhibition

Maison des Beaux-Arts, Paris

 groupe de recherche d'art visuel paris 1962

Participants in the Exhibition

E x h i b i t i o n b r o c h u r e Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel,
Paris 1962 Horacio Garcia Rossi [A R / F R ! • Julio Le Pare [A R / F R ]
E d i t e d by G a l e r i e D e n i s e R e n e a n d G R A V f o r t h e
• Francois Morellet [FR] • Francisco Sobrino (ES/FR] •
exhibition L'lnstahiliti, Maison des Beaux-Arts, Paris,
J o e l S t e i n [ F R ] • Y v a r a l [ FR ]
April 4-18, 1962
 L'Instabilile • 1962
Francois Morellet
The Case for Programmed Experimental Painting
From the beginning of the 1950s, Francois Morellet fo­
cused on "systems" for his paintings, rules established
prior to the actual act of painting, which determine its ex­
ecution. In this way the artist can reduce the number of
subjective decisions, and the viewer can grasp the princi­
ple of the work. Since 1956, the titles of his works system­
atically describe the program to be executed.
From April 4 to 18,1962, the Paris-based Groupe de Re­
cherche d Art Visuel (GRAV), co-founded by Morellet in
summer i960, exhibited their works at the Maison des
Beaux-Arts in Paris under the title L'Instabilite [Instability!.
[Originally published in Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel.
Paris 1962, Galerie Denise Rene and GRAV (eds.), April
1962, n. p.; translated from the French.J
There are thousands of masterpieces in museums.
There are thousands of gifted painters who successfully
adapt to the taste of the day and gain a huge audience
School follows school, each one better at shocking pleas­
ing, and entertaining than the last.
such r d ^ C r a Z y h y P ° C r i t i c a l t o S* up in arms about
such a thriving situation in the plastic arts.
But one is nonetheless, astonished by the more or less to-
a absence of any truly experimental painting among these
Te::™f^^isnoway
sonality, or, following a more modern process, attach some
primordial value to the discovery of a new procedure, and re­
peat one or two arbitrarily chosen variants of it, once author­
ship has been clearly recognized.
A real experiment should, on the other hand, be carried
out, based on controllable elements, whereby systematic pro­
gress would be made by following a program.
I he development of an experiment should run on its own,
almost outside the control of the programmer.
Let us take an example: if you superpose very simple forms
(the right ones in terms of Gestalt theory) and if you vary the
angles of superposition, a whole series of structures appears.
I hese structures, which are thoroughly controlled and can
easily be re-created, represent a choice material for aesthetic
experiments - a material that is obviously much more appro­
priate than some intuitive, unique work, or even than tests
concocted by psychologists.
Experimental programs in the same vein can also be ap­
plied to color and movement, for example. To sum up, this
programmed experimental painting seems to meet two needs:
fust, the need of the audience, which is keen to take part in
the creation" of works, is keen to demystify art and wants to
understand things a little better and, second, the great need
for new materials for aestheticians, those scientists who are
at once mathematicians and psychologists and who, starting
out from the theories of modern psychology (in particular on
the transmission of messages), are laying the foundations for
a new science of art.
•m r i " : . . • • . - • « < « ' i r n « .... . • - n i ' i i n .

11
I I

• • • I , I I I '
• •11 I 111 11 I • ; -
• • I I I I I I I M '
"-'•••illliaiM' i i l H ! | l l l « : - : ;
Francois Morellet
"m • I I I •
Superposition de 4 trames 4°5, 85°5,
94°5, 175°5 [Superposition of 4 Grids
4°5, 85°5, 94°5, 175°5)
1960
Oil, wood
80 x 80 cm
Collection of the artist

Francois Morellet
Francois Morellet
5 trames 0°-90°, 15°-105°, 60°-150°,
75°-165°, 30°-120° (5 Grids 0°-90°,
15°-105°, 60°-150°, 75°-165°, 30°-120°]
1960
Oil, wood
80 x 80 cm
Collection Lenz Schonberg
94 L'Instabilite • 1962

Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel

Nouvelle Tendance

In July i960 Hector Garcia Miranda, Horacio Garcia Rossi, day in day out, thousands of works being described under
Hugo Demarco, Julio Le Pare, Vera and Francois Mol- the headings: Lyrical abstraction, Informal an, Tachism.and
nar, Francois Morellet, Sergio Moyano, Servanes (Simone so on. On the other hand, there is a reaction against the fruit
Revoil), Francisco Sobrino, Joel Stein, and Yvaral (Jean-
less extension of a form of Mannerism dwelling on geomet­
Pierre Vasarely) founded the Centre de Recherche d'Art
ric forms, which now, and in most cases, merely repeats the
Visuel [Visual Art Research Center]. The Center was of­
proposals put forward by artists like Kazimir Malevich and
ficially renamed Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel [Vi­
Piet Mondrian. Let us put to one side the present movement -
sual Art Research Group] (GRAV) in July 1961. From then
neo-Dada or Nouveau Realisme which is attracting a certain
on, until its dissolution in 1968, the group members were
following but calls for hard-nosed analysis. Once the positive
Garcia Rossi, Le Pare, Morellet, Sobrino, Stein, and Yvaral.
aspect of its irreverence towards traditional considerations
GRAV published the brochure Groupe de Recherche d'Art
of beauty has been brushed aside, the contradiction between
Visuel. Paris 1962 in collaboration with the Galerie Denise
anti-art and the endeavor to offer the object an artistic bap­
Rene on the occasion of the exhibition L'Instabilite [Insta­
tism comes to the fore.
bility] held at the Maison des Beaux-Arts from April 4 to 18
Although the New Tendency is reacting against these
1962. The brochure contained a text on the New Tenden­
trends, it still obviously encompasses certain nuances issuing
cies that had been written earlier, in March of the same
year. from them. On the one hand, we see a qualified production
of Concrete and Constructivist art. On the other hand, we see

[Originally published in Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel certain signs of lachism and more than a little kinship with

am 1962 Galerie Denise Rene and GRAV (eds.), April neo-Dadaism. But the New Tendency is above all a search
1962, n. p.] ^ for clarity. It is important to put any consideration about the
non-definitive work, visual enhancement, more precisely ex­
We are using this term which has already been used for the pressed as evaluation of the "creative act," and the transfor­
exhibition no tie tendencije [New Tendenciesl held in 7 h mation of plastic activity into constant research, without any
in 1961. It is a phenomenon that has been L concern other than to highlight the primary elements for a
taneously among young artists for some yearsCandnin
d ff"' quite different consideration of the artistic phenomenon un­
en, parts of the world. International events and " , der this aegis.
certain levels are starting 1. j • contacts at
On the conceptual level, it is important to give suprem­
Character. Evermore numerous comactsTre h°m°geneous
acy to the visual presence of the work because almost all the
greater awareness of what is in the p m s"f f""8 3
present-day movements have had to call on extra-visual, an­
ing in the visual arts. coming into be- ecdotal justifications.
(This masterpiece was painted by the artist clad in a me-
aeh^rl^tr[NeW T™dencyl is «* —thing
ceiving the *° °f teval knights costume in 16 28or alternatively a naked
man has rolled over this painting, or, again, this bolt stuck
What emerges from this is p.IacmS !t in society,
on to this relief used to belong to the valet of a well-known
of the whole sweep of presentTP "'tlCaI consideration
P CtU.rf.dea'er' wit'1 whom the artist no longer has any deal-
concerned, a natural rZlZtl ^ Pr°dUCti°n is
ngs. is extra-visual summons recurs in another way: by
one hand, against the sterilp > °mm§ t0 tHe f°re' on the
a ing on the onlookers imagination, so that he/she will ex-
various justifiable revolts This"3110" ^ ^ §iVen "Se t0
reactlon * now producing, ican6"06 I"tellectuaIpleasure, knowing that this hermet-
y ox contains an endless line or a dollop of the

authors shit (whatever else, don't open it). We always find
the same extra-visual summons, this time among the Con­
crete artists, for example: for such and such a picture, in
which six lines are placed in an irregular way, the extremely
rational game consists in knowing that, despite the apparent
dissimilarity between these six lines, all six are of the same
length. Without mentioning all those who, with geometric or
irregular lines, attempt to create some kind of anecdotal con­
nection, expressed in the form of titles, such as: "the whole
soul summed up...," or "torn self-portrait," etc.
All this is easy prey for disparate forms of mystification
and would have people believe in a collective blindness. This
is why the need for clarity and the desire to stress the visual
presence of the work may be the most significant feature of
the New Tendency.
From Gruppo N:
Alberto Biasi / Italian / works in Padua
Toni Costa / Italian / works in Padua
Edoardo Landi / Italian / works in Padua
Manfredo Massironi / Italian / works in Padua
Ennio Chiggio / Italian / works in Padua
From Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel:
Horacio Garcia Rossi / Argentinean / works in Brussels
Julio Le Pare / Argentinean / works in Paris
Francois Morellet / French / works in Cholet
Francisco Sobrino / Spanish / works in Paris
Joel Stein / French / works in Paris
Yvaral / French / works in Paris
H Durante (intern) / Argentinean / works in Paris
From Gruppo T:
Giovanni Anceschi / Italian / works in Milan
Davide Boriani / Italian / works in Milan
Gianni Colombo / Italian / works in Milan
Gabriele Devecchi / Italian / works in Milan
Grazia Varisco / Italian / works in Milan
Enrico Castellani / Italian / works in Milan
GRAY • Nouvelle Tendance
Hugo Rudolfo Demarco / Argentinean / works in Paris
Hector Garcia Miranda / Argentinean / works in Paris
Gerhard von Graevenitz / German / works in Munich
Rudolf Kammer / German / works in Munich
Richard Lippold / German1 / works in Munich
Gotthart Miiller/German / works in Munich
Uli Pohl / German / works in Munich
Klaus Staudt / German / works in Munich
Luis Tomasello / Argentinean / works in Paris
Walter Zehringer / American2 / works in New York
Concrete Constructivist Nuance:
Carlos Cairoli / Argentinean / works in Paris
Equipo 57 / Spanish / work in Spain
Karl Gerstner / Swiss / works in Basel
Julije Knifer/Yugoslavian / works in Zagreb
Enzo Mari / Italian / works in Milan
Almir Mavignier / Brazilian / works in Ulm
Ivan Picelj / Yugoslavian / works in Zagreb
Dieter Roth / German / works in Iceland
Paul Talman / Swiss / works in Basel
Neo-Dada Nuance:
Heinz Mack / German / works in Diisseldorf
Henk Peeters / Netherlands / works in Arnhem
Armando / Netherlands / works in Amsterdam
Jan Schoonhoven / Netherlands / works in Delft
Giinther Uecker / German / works in Diisseldorf
Otto Piene / German / works in Diisseldorf
Tachist Nuance:
Piero Dorazio / Italian / works in Rome
Yayoi Kusama / Japanese / works in New York
1 Editorial note: Richard Lippold was American.
2 Editorial note: Walter Zehringer was German.
~ «»«'». opere mo„¥icaK, open apena
1Programmed Are Ki„, tic A „, Mu „ ip|ied ^
1962-1963

Exhibition

May 1962: Showroom Olivetti G-illor; \r

July/August 1962: Showroom Olivetti Pi " " T EmanueIe> Milan

October 1962: Showroom Olivetti Pi ! " T Venice

June 15 - July | 4 I q 6 , . ci ' a B a r b erini, Rome

V '4. '963. Showroom Olivetti, Dusseldorf

 ARTE
PROGRAMMATA

90 da Qmppi dt gk»*u anion in ognt pvt.

da! monoo. la D«a»ona Pubbl«it4 dafla So
clott Oban • twia 3 paaaniara quaata mo-
dra organtaata da Bnmo Munan a O^rgio

Participants in the Exhibition

Giovanni Anceschi [IT] • Alberto Biasi [IT ] • Davide Boriani [IT ] • Ennio

•1*2 Chiggio [IT] • Gianni Colombo [IT] • Toni Costa [IT] • Gabriele Devecchi
Exhibition brochure arte programmata [IT] • Edoardo Landi [ IT ] • Enzo Mari [ IT ] • Manfredo Massironi [ IT]
Showroom Olivetti, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan • Bruno Munari [IT ] • Grazia Varisco [IT]
May 1962

Archive Gianni Colombo

Additional Participants Venice and Rome
•3
Exhibition catalog arte programmata Getulio Alviani [IT]* • Julio Le Pare [AR/FR ] • Francois Morellet |FR]
Showroom Olivetti, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan • Francisco Sobrino [ES/FR ] • Joel Stein [FR ] • Yvaral[FR]
May 1962

Archive Gianni Colombo

Alviani also participated in the venue in Dusseldorf.
98 arte programmata • 1962-1963

Umberto Eco
Arte Programmata

In April 1962, the artist Bruno Munari took Riccardo Mu-

otherwise. On the other hand, there are those who have re­
satti, advertising director for Olivetti, and Giorgio Soavi,
alized the richness there is in chance and disorder, certainly
art consultant for Olivetti's advertising department, to the
not unaware of the re-evaluation of random processes made
studio of Gruppo T in Milan. Olivetti then invited the mem­
bv scientific disciplines. I hey have accepted every suggestion
bers of Gruppo T and Munari, as well as the Gruppo N
that comes freely from the material, squirting tubes ofcolor
operating out of Padua and the designer Enzo Mari to
onto clean canvases, cutting, beating, piercing, and burning
the company's showroom in the Milan gallery Vittorio
cloth, wood, and metal, mounting and hanging fragments of
Emanuele to put on an exhibition of their works in May
attual objects that have been broken up and juxtaposed.
1962 with the title arte programmata. arte cinetica, opere molti-
I he two positions seemed to have no points in common,
plicate, opera aperta [Programmed Art. Kinetic Art, Multi­
except for this, historically very plausible one: in both cases
plied Works, Open Work].* The Italian philosopher and
an attempt was made to reject the obvious and accepted
literary scholar Umberto Eco contributed the introduc­
concepts that society had developed concerning "beautiful
tory essay to the brochure accompanying the exhibition.
forms, in order to propose other ways of handling form,
At that time Eco worked as senior editor of non-fiction
other ways of configuring reality; on the one hand, discover­
at Bompiani publishers in Milan and regularly wrote for
ing the poetic possibilities of geometric forms, on the other,
the journal II Verri. founded in , 9 5 6 by Luciano Anceschi,
the father of the artist Giovanni Anceschi, a member of discovering the formal possibilities of what is formless, thus

Gruppo T. In the same year, ,962, he also published the try ing to give a form, a new form, to what was generally con­

book Opera aperta. Forma e indeterminate nelle poetiche
contemporanee [The Open Work. Form and Indetermina-
tion in Contemporary Poetics].
[Originally published in arte programmata exhib ca, n r
v e t t t a t G a l l e r i a V i t t o r i o Emanuele, Mi,an;S^T;0p,11"
Contemporary art has accustomed us to r p m • •
sidered to be "disorder" in its pure state.
I bus, while following such different paths, the fans of
the mathematizing tendency and those who made a lot of
noise about tearing sculptural forms apart were pursuing the
same basic aim: to give contemporary human beings wider
scope for perception and enjoyment. And this was beyond
any other differences of school or current, beyond that diver­
gence from intentions in which (as has already been noted)

-rcr.;r~,Lr.r£'-= «
egories of artists: on the one hand rhn
°gn'Zm8 tWo cat"
the mystics upholding completed, contained, and mea­
sured form began to integrate the forms they invented within
an industrial society that was accepted without reserva­
tion, while the anarchistic proponents of fractured, violated
orm wtre really protesting against an established order they
could not accept. But does such a dichotomy hold? Or did

not the former - exchanging abstract painting for the very
concrete form of a kitchen fork or a whisk - succeed in re­
integrating the art of their time within a social context, dem­
ocratically introducing people at large to the appreciation of
new relationships between form and function? And did not
the latter, withdrawing into the fortress of their disdain and
celebrating a highly individualistic type of protest, become
in the final analysis the very type of artists so passionately
desired by the society against which they were apparently
protesting: tormented, revolutionary artists, but in their own
homes and with no relationship with their fellow men?
These are problems which, private bets apart, should
be left until they can be seen in historical perspective. But
it is indeed true that both sides were seeking the liberation
of man from acquired formal habits. And demanding the
breaking-up of perceptual schemata. If habits of perception
encouraged us to appreciate a form as something complete
and finished whenever it presented itself, well then, it was
necessary to invent forms which would never allow one's at­
tention to rest, but which would always appear different from
themselves. Thus, while the Informals were working out a
way of obtaining "motion" on the two-dimensional surface of
a canvas, configuring a space and a dialectic of signs capable
of leading the eye to engage in constant re-examination, the
inventors of mathematical forms were exploring the routes
of three-dimensional "motion," constructing immobile struc­
tures which, seen from a certain perspective, looked as if they
were moving or changing, or which even resembled moving,
"kinetic" structures.
So, while the former constructed works that were "open"
in the sense that they displaced constellations of elements
Eco • Arte Programmata 99
in multiple relationships, the latter were creating works that
were not only "open" but even "in motion."
But an object that moves, or moves according to certain
fixed patterns determined by a motor (and then is reduced
to a mechanical pretext that quickly exhausts its possibili­
ties for improvisation), or moves under the pressure of nat­
ural forces, unpredictable in themselves or vaguely presum­
able in relation to the dynamic possibilities of the object,
as a structure determined by physical laws. And here once
again there is the old dichotomy: either mathematical rule,
or chance.
But is it really true that mathematical rule and chance are
mutually exclusive? In fact, there are in nature phenomena
that come about by chance, whose behavior is predictable on
the basis of statistical rules, and which, as a matter of fact,
measure with a sufficient degree of mathematical certainty
the way random events occur. Therefore, among chance oc­
currences one may a posteriori distinguish a kind of pro­
gram, such as those which exist for winning at roulette.
Would it not be possible, to describe, with the linear purity
of a mathematical program, "fields of events" in which ran­
dom processes could occur? Thus we would have a unique
dialectic between chance and program, between mathemat­
ics and hazard, between planned concepts and free accep­
tance of what will happen, but will happen according to pre­
cise, prearranged formative patterns, which do not negate
spontaneity, but give it boundaries and potential directions.
Thus we can speak of Arte Programmata [Programmed
art], and admire the kinetic sculptures that a man in the near
future will install in his house, instead of old prints or repro­
ductions on canvas of modern masterpieces. And if someone
IOO arte programmata • 1962-1963
should observe that this is not painting, not even sculpture, it
should be of no concern to us. We could start a contest here
and now to find a new name, but lets not be over-impressed
by the question of names.
Then there is one final problem: it is not painting, it is not
sculpture, but is it at least art? Mind you, we are not asking
that it be "fine art," but only if an operation of that kind be­
longs in some way to the world of "high art." It is always very
dangerous to establish a definition of art and then see af­
terwards what belongs to it and what does not. The sensi­
ble person makes an historical and sociological analysis of
what a certain civilization or epoch considers art, and then
proceeds to make a definition that also includes the phe­
nomenon that is discovered. Nevertheless, for the moment
one could say, "within the bounds of the twentieth century
a formative practice has been in the process of being estab­
lished which gave priority to mobile objects, according to a
dialectic of planning and randomness, which the public, or
a part of the public regularly "consumed" as art, using these
objects as a concrete stimulus for considerations of a formal
nature, for imaginative satisfaction, and - often - for episte-
mological reflections." It was a sign, however, that within the
context of this civilization aesthetic pleasure was no longer
and ^7^ ~ f r ° m I O ° k i n § a t c o r n lete
P
and fully achieved organisms, but rather from seeing organ­
isms ln an indefinite process of completion. And the quality
of a work did not consist in its being an expression of a law
whose basis was immutable and intangible, but in a kind of
prepositional function" on the basis of which it constantly
directions. ac^venture of mutability, following detemrined
The future critic w ho will draw up such a definition (and
on the basis of which will proceed to give new dimensions
to the notions of form and art current in his day) will not be
at all surprised at this. He will find it good that the people
of the twentieth century derived pleasure from the sight, not
of one form but of so many, all co-present and simultaneous,
since this fact did not in any way signify the degradation of
taste, but its adaptation to an entire dynamic of perception,
fostered by new technological and social conditions.
This critic will remember with a smile how common in
those days were domestic arguments between a mother and
her son, the former insisting that she did not understand
how it was possible to read and listen to the radio at the same
time, and the latter finding this completely natural, because
he was now trained in a kind of perceptual gymnastics which
allowed him to understand and appreciate twogestalts at the
same time, flexibly balancing his attention between them.
(But the mother, who knew nothing about this training, al­
ways suspected he was being dishonest.)
Our future critic will remember how in the distant past,
when they were walking along, people were always con­
cerned about "looking where they put their feet," afraid o!
stumbling, concentrating on what was in front of them, ex­
cept when clinging to the mechanisms of habit - otherwise
they would fall into puddles, like Thales, intent on study­
ing the stars. He will remember how the twentieth-century
driver, on the other hand, had learned to pay attention to two
orders of form in motion: the strip of road in front of him,
and the one in back of him, reflected in the rear-view mirror;
and that, when there was mirror on the left-hand side of the
car at the front, the driver could see the road in back of him
 Eco • Arte Programmata IOI

from another angle. In this way he coordinated three per­ Does this perhaps mean that these are didactic construc­
ceptual processes, at the same time enjoying the view, and tions for astronauts or the sons of astronauts? Columbus dis­
the response of the motor he "felt" through the sole of his embarked in America with a few dozen convicts and already
foot, even making a mathematical calculation with one eye western man's whole way of thinking was changing. For ev­
constantly on the speedometer, but never completely losing eryone, even those who would never leave their native vil­
sight of the other orders of form in motion. lage. But even before the world really did get larger, artists
Will this descendent of ours lament the loss of the ability had already long been exploring the ways of dolce prospettiva
of earlier generations to concentrate on a single object and - sweet perspective.
to enjoy it down to its most minute fibers, with an eye that We don't know how it did it, but it has always been art
was both affectionate and possessive? This is a possibility that has first altered our ways of thinking, seeing, and feel­
that cannot be taken from us. What the critic should realize is ing, even before (sometimes a hundred years before) we un­
that in the twentieth century art had to attempt to offer man­ derstood what a necessity it was.
kind the vision of more forms, simultaneously and constantly
evolving, because this was the condition to which his sensi­
• The exhibition was then shown from July to August at the Olivetti show­
bility was being subjected, and to which it would become in­
rooms in Venice, and in October in Rome, then also including works
creasingly subjected. How many sunsets and dawns did Ger­ by Getulio Alviani and the Paris-based Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel
man Titov and John Glenn see in a voyage lasting a few hours? (GRAV); from )une to July 1963 - from this point on without the works by
GRAV - it was shown at Olivetti in Dusseldorf. Finally, and organized by the
It is not true that forms approved by tradition are the best be­
Smithsonian, the exhibition went on tour through the USA from July 1964
cause they reflect the stability of natural cycles. The stabil­ to July 1966.
ity of the solar cycle is valid as a point of reference for a man
who is standing firmly on the planet while the planet moves.
But what of a man who moves like the planet in the oppo­
site direction, at greater speed? All his modes of thinking, of
perceiving, of reflexive functioning, would change. And so
much the better if the geometers of form, the planners who
work in iron dust, the architects of juxtaposed spheres, the
lyrical inventors of those little electric toys that move colored
ribbons, oils, reticulated surfaces, Perspex, lights, plate glass,
plugs, and cylinders, will have accustomed him to consider
that forms are not something immobile that is waiting to be
seen, but also something that makes itself while we watch it.
Meeting of the Nouvelle Tendance [New Tendency]

November 3,1962

Studio of the Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel

(GRAV)
 At the studio of the Groupe de Recherche
d'Art Visuel (GRAV)
November 3, 1962
1. Boris Kleint
2. [-]
3. Carlos Cruz-Diez
4. Ivan Picelj
5. Luis Tomasello
6. Henk Peeters
7. Angel Duarte
8. Francois Morellet
9. Bernard Aubertin
10. Horacio Garcia Rossi
11. Julio Le Pare
12. Gregorio Vardanega
13. Jesus Rafael Soto
14. Michele Vasarely
15. Jean-Pierre Vasarely (Yvaral)
16. Eduarda Maino (Dadamaino)
17. Truus Peeters-Nieuhuis
18. Martha Boto
19. Martha Le Pare
20. Danielle Morellet
21. Francisco Sobrino
22. Joel Stein

Participants at the Meeting

Bernard Aubertin [F R 1 • Martha Boto [A R / F R ] • Carlos Cruz-Diez [V E / F R |

• Angel Duarte [ESI • Horacio Garcia Rossi [AR/FR| • Boris Kleint [DE| • Julio
Le Pare [AR/FR] • Martha Le Pare [AR/FR| • Eduarda Maino (ITJ • Danielle
Morellet [FR| • Francois Morellet [FR] • Henk Peeters [NL] • Truus Peeters-
Nieuhuis [NL]• Ivan Picelj [YUIHRI] • Uli Pohl [DE] • Francisco Sobrino
[ES/ FR] • Jesus Rafael Soto [VE/ FR] • Joel Stein [FR] • Luis Tomasello [AR/FR] •
Gregorio Vardanega [AR/FR] • Michele Vasarely [FR] • Yvaral [FR] • and others
104 Meeting Nouvelle Tendance • 1962

sssitsr- de Recherche d,A" (grav)

Meeting of the Nouvelle Tenda Greeor.V V ^ N<"W 'endcncy 'he studio of GRAV, November 3. 1962
nee [New TendencyJ
Joel Stein tf F "Tr'3' ' Bernard Aubertin, Francisco Sobrino, Angel Duarte
Joel Stein (from left, facing fhe photographer,

Julio Le Parc^from S°b"n0' Angel Duar,e> S,ein'

• 3

Francois Morellet, [-J. [_,. Horacio

Garcia Rossi (from left)
 Meeting • Paris 105

• 4

Meeting of the New Tendency in the studio of GRAV, November 3, 1962

From back to the front: Horacio Garcia Rossi, [-J, Jesus Rafael Soto; in the front,
from left to right: Michele Vasarely, Henk Peeters, Yvaral, Julio Le Pare
• 5

In a Parisian restaurant, November 3, 1962

Ivan Picelj, Jesus Rafael Soto, |-J, Boris Kleint, [-], Francisco Sobrino (from left)
•6
Boris Kleint, |—], Francisco Sobrino, [-], Henk Peeters, |-] (from left)
Oltre la pittura. Oltre la scultura. Mostra di ricerche di arte visiva
[Beyond Painting. Beyond ^ rf^ ^

April 26 - May i7) I963; June 6> I963 _ [unknown]

Exhibition

Galleria Cadario, Milan

Galleria La Bussola, Turin
 litre la pittura

Oltre la scultura

Ricerche d'arte visiva

Participants in the Exhibition

Marc Adrian [A T ] • Getulio Alviani [ I T ] • Giovanni Anceschi [ I T ] • Davide

Boriani [IT] • Martha Boto[AR/FR] • Gianni Colombo [IT] • Toni Costa [IT]
• Carlos Cruz-Diez [V E / F R | • Dadamaino [I T ] • Narciso Debourg [V E / F R ] •
Gabriele Devecchi [IT] • Equipo 57 (Juan Cuenca, Angel Duarte, Jose Duarte,
Augustin Ibarrola, Juan Serrano) [ALL ES] • Horacio Garcia Rossi [AR/FR]
• Karl Gerstner |C H ] • Gerhard von Graevenitz [D E ] • Gruppo N (Alberto
Biasi, Ennio Chiggio, Edoardo Landi, Manfredo Massironi) |ALL IT]* Rudolf
Kammer |DE] • Vlado Kristl |YU (HR)| • Julio Le Pare |AR/FR| • Heinz Mack
[DE] • E n z o Mari [IT] • A l m i r Mavignier [BR/FR] • Francois Morellet [FR]
• Bruno Munari [ I T ] • Henk Peeters [ N L ] • Ivan Picelj [ Y U ( H R ) 1 • Otto
Piene [DE] • Uli Pohl [DE] • Karl Reinhartz[DE] • Francisco Sobrino [ES/FR]
• Klaus Staudt [D E ] • Joel Stein [F R ] • Paul Talman [C H ] • Luis Tomasello
[AR/FR] • Gregorio Vardanega [AR/FR] • Grazia Varisco [IT] • Yvaral [FR] •
Walter Zehringer [DE]

Oltre la pittura. Oltre la scultura. Mostra di ricerche di

arte visiva [ B e y o n d P a i n t i n g . B e y o n d S c u l p t u r e .
Exhibition of Visual Art Research]
Exhibition brochure
Cover (right) and inner pages (left)
Galleria La Bussola, Turin
June 1963
108 O l t r e la p i t t u r a . O l t r e l a s c u l t u r a • 1963

Umbro Apollonio
[Untitled]

Umbro Apollonio, born in 1911 in Trieste, was secretary cepts; look at the preparation of canvases and pigments and
general of the Venice Biennale and director of the Archi- the study of building systems. Anyone who thinks that te
vio Storico delle Arti Contemporanee [Historical Archive nology can separate us from transcendental art, or that the
of Contemporary Art] of the Venice Biennale at that time. machine will eventually come to dominate and ovet
Apollonio also taught at the Faculty of Letters at the Uni­
us merely shows that they have not understood theintrir
versity of Padua.
meaning of the historical changes we are going through. It
Excerpt of a lecture given at Fondazione Giorgio Cini,
is precisely by thinking like this that we passively agree to
Venice, spring 1962.
be alienated; to lose our own reality in a world that can then
only present itself to us as disintegrated. As long ago as 1903,
[Originally published in Oltre la pittura. Oltre la scultura.
in C.hicago, Frank Lloyd Wright acknowledged in a lecti
Ricerched'arte visiva, exhib. cat., Galleria La Bussola, Turin,
that the tools with which civilizations true records will be
1963, n. p.; translated from the Italian.]
written are scientific ideas," and that if the power of scie"
tific automata is used creatively, then their terrible forces will
[•••] I would say we should not allow ourselves to be plagued
no longer be in conflict with any human qualities. In essen"
by the fear of "technization." Quite apart from the fact that
Wright had understood and declared that the machine is an
it is nothing but a product of the systematic, scientific spirit
artist s tool. I herefore, if contemporary attitudes are not hos­
(which is the basis of all civilization), and is therefore not a
tile to the reality one confronts over the course of time, but
superficial, external, or additional element, but something
one engages with it of ones own volition, and above all, if
rgs;r°m the COre 0f human intellectual speculation
motivated by the desire to familiarize oneself with reality
t has been demonstrated that technology has facilitated aes-
(otherwise one abdicates one's place in history, with all that
solutions of a high order: look at the case of architec-
implies), then self-fulfillment in new ways is possible, which
re or even of music. Besides, as we know, even in antiquhy,
might even suggest action that is beneficial for other human
equired a whole gamut of technical and scientific con­
beings.
nove tendencije 2
nuova tendenza 2
neue tendenzen

1963-1964
 I

nove tendencije 2 [New Tendencies 2]

August 1 - September 15,1963

Exhibition

Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb

 i&see
ware
c*y| "Galerija suvremene umjetnosti
[Gallery of Contemporary Art],
Zagreb, Katarinin trg 2, is organ­
nove tendencije 2
izing an international exhibition,
nove tendencije 2 [New Tenden­

jwrciwja
cies 2], from August I to Sep­
tember 15,1963. This event stems

iatciw^3^a
from the initiative and ideas of
the New Tendencies exhibition
held at this museum in 1961.

atHB| ~ JM The exhibition takes the form of

a biennial event, and aims to

rcfi
show current research devel­
opments in the fields of visual,
spatial and kinetic art, now
increasingly establishing them­
selves in the world."

[Excerpt from the press release,

Archive MSU Zagreb.]

Participants in the Exhibition

nove tendencije 2
Marc Adrian | A T ) • Getulio Alviani ( I T ) • Vojin Bakic [ Y U ( H R ) ] •
Martha Boto |AR/FR] • Enrico Castellani |IT] • Andreas Christen |CHl
• Carlos Cruz-Diez [ V E / F R ] * Hugo Rodolfo Demarco | A R ) • Piero
Dorazio (IT) • Equipo 57 (Juan Cuenca, Angel Duarte, Jose Duarte,
Agustin Ibarrola, Juan Serrano) [ALL ES] • Hector Garcia Miranda [AR]
• Karl Gerstner IC H ) • Gerhard von Graevenitz [ D E ] • Groupe de
Re c h e r c h e d ' A r t V i s u e l ( J u l i o L e P a r e [ A R / F R ] , F r a n c o i s M o r e l l e t [ F R ] ,
Horacio Garcia Rossi [AR)1, Francisco Sobrino [ES/ FR], Joel Stein [FR], •1
Poster nove tendencije 2
Yvaral [FR]) • Gruppo N (Alberto Biasi, Ennio Chiggio, Toni Costa,
[New Tendencies 2]
Edoardo Landi, Manfredo Massironi) [ALL IT] • Gruppo T (Giovanni
1963
Anceschi, Davide Boriani, Gianni Colombo, Grazia Varisco, Gabriele Version 1, silk screen, paper
Devecchi) [ALL IT] • Dieter Hacker |DE] • Rudolf K a m m e r IDE] • 71 x 51 cm

Julije Knifer | Y U ( H R » • Vlado Kristl [ Y U < H R ) 1 • Heinz Mack [ D E ] Design: Ivan Picelj
MSU Zagreb
• Enzo Mari [ I T ] • Almir Mavignier | B R / D E ] • Gotthart Miiller I D E ] •
Herbert Oehm [DE] • Henk Peeters [NL] • Ivan Picelj [YU (HR)] • Otto • 2 * 3 * 4
PienelDE] • Uli Pohl [DE] • Karl Reinhartz [DE] • Vjenceslav Richter Exhibition catalog nove tendencije 2
[New Tendencies 2]
IYU (HR)] • Helge Sommerrock |DE] • Aleksandar Srnec [YU (HR)]
1963
• Klaus Staudt [ D E ] • Miroslav Sutej [ Y U ( H R ) ] • Paul Talman [ C H ] •
Design: Ivan Picelj
Luis Tomasello [AR/FR] • Giinther Uecker [DE] • Gregorio Vardanega
MSU Zagreb
[IT/ AR/ FR] • Ludwig W i l d i n g [DE] • W a l t e r Z e h r i n g e r [DE] • 3
International version, texts only
• 4
International version
1 In the catalog, Horacio Garcia Rossi and Otto Piene are mentioned, however
no information on the exhibited works is given.
112 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb

August 1- September 15,1963

Installation views not* tendencije 2 [New Tendencies 2]

• I
Instability |Instability] by Yvaral, Transformation
instable (Instable Transformation! by Francisco
Sobrino, Struttura |Structurc| by Enzo Mari.
and Prismenbild (Prism Picture) by Karl Gerstner
(from left)
• 2
Giovanni Anceschi and Davide Boriani enquiring
Tourne-disque avec reflecteur courbe (Turntable with
Curved Reflector| by Joel Stein
•J
Getulio Alviani and Eugenio Carmi in front of
Strutturazione fluida (Fluid Structure) by Gianni
Colombo
 Exhibition • Zagreb 113

• 4
Works by Giinther Uecker, [-], and Walter Zehringer (from left)

• 5
Prismenbild | P r i s m P i c t u r e ] b y K a r l G e r s t n e r a n d a w o r k b y G r u p p o N ( f r o m l e f t )

• 6

V i s i t o r s l o o k i n g a t Dynamische Struktur ( D y n a m i c S t r u c t u r e ] b y H e i n z M a c k
114 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

Matko Mestrovic
[Untitled]

No other text was distributed as widely within the frame­

that we often tend either to give up any attempt at actionanc
work of the New Tendencies as this essay. In the years
change or we follow its fatal current, forgetting what man i<
between 1953 and 1964, the essay was published in four
However, none of these positions is the one that we need to
languages, in Croatian, French, Italian, and German. In
day, that we need as a further historical step as a demand
Croatian and French without heading, the organizers of
for continuous and persistent anti-illusion. But it is not eas>
the exhibition nuova tendenza 2 [New Tendency 2J in Ven­
to achieve this anti-illusional position; today it is morediffi
ice entitled the text "Analisi sociologica di 'nuova ten­
cult to maintain than ever before. Nevertheless, it is possible
denza'" [Sociological Analysis of the 'New Tendency']. In
I his possibility lies in cognition that is as complex aspossi
the accompanying catalog to the exhibition held at the
ble, in comprehensive depiction of historical reality, and the
Stadtisches Museum [Municipal Museum] Leverkusen
purposiveness of our every action within it.
Schloss Morsbroich, it appeared under the exhibition ti­
In the graded complexity and multilayers of current prob­
tle "neue tendenzen," When Mestrovic prepared his vol­
lematics the first things we encounter are the incompetence
ume of essays Od pojedinacnog opcem [From Particular to
of the human mind and the limitations of imaginative power,
General] in ,964, which finally appeared in ,967, he re­
which go completely astray and do not succeed in creating
named the essay "Ideologija Novih tendencija" [The Ide­
ology of the New Tendencies]. an adequate and corresponding picture of the actual world
in its entirety and a sense of its multifold movements. These

[Originally published in nove tendencije 2, exhib. cat Ga- 1 haracteristics fragment and fall to pieces due to the increas­
ing loss of human freedom, thereby permitting an inadmis­
fZrcZ:„urietnosti'Zagreb',963'n sible difference of enormous proportions to arise between
what a human perforce is and what a human might become.
In spite of the beginnings of overcoming them that are al­
ready visible in a great part of the world, it is precisely such
conditions that determine that the measure of free human
participation in the fate of the world is still minimal; that his­
torical, ideological, and social problem complexes are in hu­
man heads divided by thick partition walls, and that science,
the different kinds of experience - Z T ' W"h a" society, and art are realities or fictions as such. How should
osophical, artistic and that o r | eal, scholarly, phil-
we then comprehend and understand that social problems
inglife-;urabi,Z o i ^ b ' aCCUmU'ated dai^ throZliv-
cannot be solved without ideological clarification, that is.
connected phenomena and reconciled d°Ubtless,y
without acceleration of inevitable historical processes, and
perception is usually deficient. Indeed ^ °f a t . S C ' e n t '^ c
1 discoveries are, in a historical sense, not truly
motivations of entirely private r P f Pursuing the
cient or valid until they become the common property °f
our eyes completely to historical T ^ freqUently close
society, that in all this art is a necessary and accessory feet
ferently to what they really are T h * ° r *** t H e m d i f "
of human moral awareness, as long as people do not truly
contemporary world we are ofte 'S ^ S° ^ tHat in the
e ong to themselves. Furthermore, is it not understandable
t the lack of insight into all these consequences, which
ou be enabled by shifting particular areas towards each
em, must result equally in a lack of joint action, and that
Precisely the imperfection of their realization is the cause of

moral and ideological duality and all inhuman qualities of
the human world?
How, by schematically defining our historical situation as
a phase in which the classical formations of capitalist soci­
ety are being dismembered and dissolved by an inner revo­
lution of the productive forces, which are increasingly and
against their will coming closer to understanding the inev­
itable process of socialization as the world's historical per­
spective and to understanding the ideological implications
of this process within the problem of alienation as impairing
comprehension of the real expression of this period, no mat­
ter whether the alienation originated in the prevailing laws
of commodity value or from a privileged position within the
state apparatus, how should we then comprehend, resolve,
and implement the fundamental social problem: equal dis­
tribution of all material and spiritual goods?
First of all we should understand that this is a necessity,
not just theoretical; namely, production systems should be
transformed according to this necessity and relevant changes
should be introduced into human thinking. This necessity
should finally be recognized also in all insights of science
into nature and the world, which sooner or later will become
the transformation and organization model for human soci­
ety and its inner structures.
However, it is science with all its successes that demon­
strates how estranged it is from man, as a representative of
its kind, and how alienated one human can become from an­
other; to what extent does science, having lost the totality of
its purpose, neglect the modest measure of human needs
and reduce the dimension of human spiritual existence to a
level incomparably ignoble, when we measure its true capa­
bilities with what it currently delivers. Humans have permit­
ted science to free itself of their control, and also to free itself
of self-control; they have thus relinquished the possibility to
acquire power over themselves and science. For this reason
we must not neglect science, but make the vast experience
contained in it our own.
Currently, most is achieved by objectifying this experi­
ence by turning it into technical and industrial systems and
production practice, which develop in an unambiguous di­
rection of constant progress, but neglect any concomitants
of this same progress in the area of socialization of achieved
and achievable values. At the same time this hinders the re­
alization of possible human values and the general historical
process of humanization of the world. Therefore, the enor­
mous progress of science has a very relative impact if we take
into account the level of effective application of its achieve­
Mestrovic • [Untitled]
ments compared to the needs of humanity that requires
its intervention, and especially if we take into account the
great distance between the manner of discourse established
within science and the reasoning and notions of an average
human being.
This general state of not being adjusted is shared by art as
well; in its causes, its appearance, its meaning, and its sense,
which it cannot lose regardless of what form it assumes. Art
has a sense even when it is pure expressiveness in the form of
the ethical sense of extreme human confrontation with the
insoluble; it has a sense and it is appellative when it takes the
form of a provocative appearance or nihilistic excesses; it has
a markedly constructive sense especially when it is expressed
as a positive attempt at understanding historical realities and
the laws of transformation and existence of the world and so­
ciety: when, in the quest for its sense, art seeks ways to ex­
tend its energies into immediate social action. However, even
without such pronounced intent, art is capable of meaning
and of marking even the most imperceptible movements and
shifts in tectonic disturbances of social structures and the
fissures in petrified mental schemes. Art is the first to sense
a new time within time; it is also capable of self-provoca­
tion and self-irony when its permitted social boundaries are
narrow, and capable of meaning its meaninglessness when
sense is not enabled. And, finally, who can deny that art is
the first to point to what is decaying and to participate in the
process, even if it is self-related, and it is the first to herald
what should be expected and built, even if this will be hostile
to art. Art is the first to sacrifice its illusions.
At the beginning of the century there were thinkers, "ideol­
ogists of formal rationalism," whom we could call prophets
of the modern era. Namely, they saw what others were un­
able to see at that time, things that many still do not see today.
They saw, for example, that the machine is not something
we can ignore; that its logic is not only valid for bankers
and captains of industry, and that it would be fatal if it were
only adopted by them. They did not regard the machine
as a source of profit, but as a powerful means to transform
the world, and they began to imagine this transformation in
terms of the industrial era, forgetting that the machine can
also be misused. Misuse turned their ideas into Utopias; they
had to capitulate before political reality. They yielded, help­
less, not only to Nazism, but even before that. In the early
years of building the first socialist country, their enthusi­
asm encountered unsurmountable obstacles. The new kind
of thinking in spatial and temporal relations that they had
 nove tendencije 2 • 1963
adopted was unable to encompass the complexity of the his­
torical situation; values that they absolutized were static, al­
though not exclusively related to moral order, while the pro­
cesses of dissolution of all formations of the Old World were
far from finished. These processes still exist today in trans­
formations that pursue the possibilities of adjusting to his­
torical demands, but transfer these exclusively into the do­
main of boundless technical prosperity to which they attach
their entire fate. The fatalistic race of forced and one-sided
technological development has drawn all the forces at our
disposal into its vortex, alienating them to the maximum in
the aimlessness of the moment from which it is impossible
to survey either yesterday or tomorrow. At that point, innate
human nature screamed in a primal and most painful way,
frantically seeking an echo in the wastes and hollow lap of
matter. On this threshold of utmost opposition, at least a par­
tial turnabout was bound to happen. Actually, it had hap­
pened long ago in most progressive spiritual insights, but in
the social sphere its repercussions are slower and more pain­
ful. However, they have brought about the almost complete
destruction of all sacralized values of civil society, although
they have not destroyed the principal and last idol - the no­
tion of commodity. The commodity has turned even the fear
of world destruction and a bottomless abyss into money,
completely blunting the confused edge of undesigned rebels.'
Nevertheless, impulses of definitive dissolution of form as
the last remnant of the classical way of thinking through
fixed shapes became clearly visible in their expression. No­
tions about the functioning of sensory and emotional mech­
anisms were interwoven with notions of indeterminism and
not only with the notion of relativity as well as the law of
probability. The manifestation of a higher variety of think­
ing through complex structures was enabled. This entirely
surpasses the narrow problematics of the human emotional
sphere and the interests of the individual psyche. The ques­
tion of the other individual naturally arises; not only from
he romantic nostalgia for human properties, but also from
he necessity o f the insight that a single individual is nothing
and that only everyone is everything. A possibility of histor­
ical projection, a possibility of an ideology of understanding
occurrences in the world, emerges.
"g this tradition had not lived to the full, it stayed alive.
Alive was also the reliance on the potentially transformative
power of technology and industrialization, while the deeply
rooted concepts of Karl Marx's doctrine made the approach
to social changes and problems constructive. That is why in
Europe the first criticism and the first opposition to elements
of corruption and alienation, as well as the resolute demand
for demystification of the notion of art and artistic creation
were possible. There was a demand to debunk the domi­
nant influence of the art market, which speculated with art,
treating it contradictorily both as a myth and as a commodity.
The striving to overcome individualism along with the spirit
of collective work was also possible; a progressive political
orientation was clearly expressed. The problem complex of
art was not focused on the issue of a unique work of art, but
on plastic-visual research, with the aim of determining the
objective psychophysical bases of the plastic phenomenon
and visual perception, in this way a priori excluding any pos­
sibility of including subjectivism, individualism, and roman­
ticism, which burdened all traditional aesthetic systems. It is
understandable that also the principles of industrial produc­
tion as the most efficient instrument and the means of rapid
socialization of material and spiritual values were resolutely
accepted, so the attempt was made to conceive artworks in
those terms in order to make them reproducible and acces­
sible.
Along with these basic concepts, proclaimed also in a writ­
ten form, adherents of the New Tendencies attempted, and
are still attempting, to carry them out in practice, because they
understand how closely connected all ideological categories
and the necessity that conditions the notional and the practical
aspects, that is, productional aspects and their consequences,
the social and cultural aspects, are. For this reason the most
progressive among them wanted to include in the problematic
of their work and research not only scholarly notions about
changes of the world picture, but also the practical demands
that emerge from laws of production and insights into new so­
cial structures and new notions of social life.
All these changes taking place in the world, which we
gradually experience faster or not so fast and which consti­
tute all the complexity of actual life on all levels and in all
spheres, happen and in a way sum up in the visual domain,
changing both our ability and manner of perceiving visual
phenomena, which by being perceived, or mentally adopted,
enhance our entire perception apparatus. In this way our
perception becomes prepared and armed for acceptance -
aware or unaware - of all those factors of the complex phe­
nomenology of the world and society before which we are
 MeStrovic • [Untitled]

in other circumstances often helpless, both as spectators and
participants. Precisely in this sense an effective role for art
as an active cognition instrument and integrative element
of all our insights is possible; also possible is the visualiza­
tion of scientific reality, not in an objectivistic, but in a proces-
sual sense, which is the only open and vivid way of reflecting
the world and to which, in order to be effective, any kind of
thinking about the world should be adjusted. This is where
the last kind of transcendentality as a human explanation of
the non-human, that is, the unknown and the unassimilated,
disappears, so that the attained patterns of the world are psy­
chophysical^ assimilated through visual and aesthetic ex­
emplification of the world's perceptible phenomena.
On this level, logically, the very notion of art must un­
dergo a decisive change and be erased as such, while art
should be subjected to necessary scientization. Namely, art
must develop along lines that will increasingly diminish the
components of expression, while its psychological and so­
cial origins will emerge less and less from the necessary emo­
tional juxtaposition to social conditions, that is, it will break
out in a compensatory way as an incarnation of fundamen­
tal differences within which an individual is helpless and un­
protected. A new step, large enough to overstep or surpass
this condition, would be one that includes these elementary
social contradictions in the cognition of general laws beyond
the level of subjectivity. As such they can and must become
the principal object of artistic and scholarly interest and be
integrated into action that surpasses the static notion of a
work of art with all determinants of its nature as unique and
unrepeatable. They must also become major constituents of
this action, this is to say the action itself. Here the difference
between art and science is in a way abolished in its present
sharp division, but perhaps not entirely. A problem arises re­
garding the issue of purpose; not only of art, but also of sci­
ence. It is clear that the particular purpose of art diminishes
simultaneously with the dissolution, that is, vanishing of the
notion of art, but that can happen only in proportion to the
realization of the social purposefulness of science. Namely,
on that principal demand of actual history, on that process
as the only one that enables the way to total awareness of the
world, depends the possibility of transformation of the artis­
tic act into a social act and vice versa, which means the abo­
lition of the necessity of art as a separate social phenomenon.
and the boundaries of artistic undertaking. By confronting
the complex reality of time in an investigative and explor­
ative way, by taking all its aspects into consideration, the New
Tendencies nurture the seed of a general and encompassing
revolutionary idea, which does not desire to express itself in
a rebellious or destructive way, or in any short-term action.
The explorative approach is a standpoint that means accep­
tance combined with a wish for change, that wants to turn
the known and determined into changeable and essential
practice. Accordingly, the basic problem is to realize a prac­
tice that includes a critical attitude towards everything that
impairs it as such, and constantly retains the possibility of
reasoning and judgment - and thus the ability of self-correc­
tion. The danger of going astray and deflecting energies is al­
ways present; the prism of social contradiction keeps refract­
ing them and deflecting them from the only effective way
- penetration of social structures. The breaking down of so­
cial barriers, mental rigidity, routine schemes, and all resist­
ances of non-reorganized production conditions and their
superstructures still comprise the historical necessity of art
and no means are superfluous to it in performing this task.
However, if it remains only in the imaginative and emotional
domain, art breaks or rebounds from that armor; no matter
how zealously it attacks, it struggles in vain and finally gives
in. Art must perform a breakthrough into the extra-poetical
and extra-human sphere, because today, without that action
the human sphere cannot be enriched.

The positive essence of the New Tendencies lies in such a

comprehension of historical reality and in such a directing
of action that transcends the framework of individual action
 Exhibition • Zagreb 119

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• 2
Dieter Hacker Almir Mavignier Julije Knifer
untitled Prekinuti meander
Konvex-Konkav II
1963 [Interrupted Meander]
[Convex-Concave II]
Silk screen 1962
1962
'J * 63 cm Oil, canvas
Oil, canvas
Museum fur Konkrete Kunst 47 x 67 cm
141 x 100 cm
'ngolstadt
Collection of the artist
• 1
Yvaral
Instability [Instability)
1963
Wood, plastic wires, paint
60 x 60 x 25 cm
MSU Zagreb

•2
Carlos Cruz-Di'ez
Physichromie 98
1963
Mixed technique, cardboard, wood,

casein paint
85 x 93 cm
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen
 Exhibition • Zagreb

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Klaus Staudt
lO'-Si'
Wo°d. paint
'® * 90 cm

S'adtische Galerie Karlsruhe

122 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

Artists' Commentaries

As in the catalog of the first New Tendencies exhibition,

system ol laws that excludes all caprices in their usage.
the artists were requested to provide a short text on their
works in the exhibition for the second catalog.
Karl Gerstner
Production and distribution of paintings on an industrial b;
[Originally published in nove tendencije 2, exhib. cat., Ga-
sis, therefore a
lerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1963, n. p.]
social art
For everyone
Marc Adrian
Especially for the spectator, who wants to be a partner in £
What seems to me to be of the greatest importance today are
work of art.
no longer the links between elements but the links of the
links between them, their variability, their constant and vari­
Gruppo N
able data. Nothing is complete.
The dichotomy between reason and feeling that underliese
Getulio Alviani try romantic movement, the thought that the one must e
elude the other in human life and the way its problems ar
There could be one, or a hundred, objects; if there were a
thousandlit would mean they could be simultaneously avail­ posed, has led to the current situation, involving a technics
able to a thousand spectators all at once, each of whom would and scientific schema that determines all its positions in a n
have one to explore; and they could all be identical, bu, each tional way, and a feeling (perhaps more than a feeling, a dt
person would, of course, see different light images. [ 1 sire to feel, and to value things emotionally) which, througl
What we contemplate is neither an external, natural real Dada and informal art, has presented everything as exprei
»y, nor an mternal feeling. There is, above all, the extension sively valid - objects, signs, actions, or the assumption ofan;
of man as an intelligence, bent on eliciting a similar but fre standpoint whatever, even the most banal.
extension in the snertaror , u ' but tree> The moment has come to offer a dialectical synthesis ol
scope of human perception 3 ^ " '° br °ade" th* these two positions. On the one hand we find reason and
its constant preoccupation with building a new world that
makes people afraid to lose their interior lives in favor of a
No value is given to the concept of tte7ton7Tmmed' mechanism that would turn them into complete automata.
Our present energy has as its Ll , gUre'
And on the other we find an emotional reaction response
•atger than that given by the conft^^of his^ 3^
w ich, in order not to allow itself to be caught up in the gears
of a mechanical system, reacts by rejecting all forms of rigor,
andCZrbTaLaLhe7S had ^ Tmportance,
a structure, and by valuing anything and everything that is
ree, natural, and immediate, or even rejected, denied, and
Andreas Christen abandoned.
Light is used as a sort of aesthetir m
From one point of view, nothing is poetry, from the other,
the beauty of this formation. Conveys to "s
everything is, and the synthesis may perhaps come from
P King something in parentheses: that "something" that is to
Equipo 57
enied is the word poetry"; the search for poetry is the
y point that divides the two worlds that exist within our
which ma^n^nWone'cTn org1'0" * the°rieS'
can organize space according to a g e world. Everyone invokes poetry and lyricism in order
rm or deny, but nobody can say what it might actually

[ie [ .] We choose an experimental position as our basis, and
it could not be otherwise, since only an experimental posi­
tion potentially has the freedom needed to create a new lan-
guage.
(...] Many of those who work in or around the New Ten­
dencies are aware of a real contrast between the society that
comes into contact with research in visual or programmed
art, and on the other hand, the social structure that the re­
searchers would wish to address. It has been said: The re­
lationship of artist and work has been turned upside down
(with the elimination of the cult of personality and the myth
of creation, and therefore of the unique, stable subjective
work) even before there has been a corresponding revolution
in the relationship between artist and society. Our group is
currently asking itself the following questions: Is it or is it not
increasingly clear that the way the relationship between art­
ist and society is dependent on the art market is imposing on
the groups within New Tendencies limits that are almost in­
superable when trying to achieve real freedom for research?
Perhaps all the necessary conditions for a real transforma­
tion of the "art market" system are not present, and, as if by a
conjuring trick, research carried out by the New Tendencies
groups will be absorbed into the system? Is or is not the limi­
tation that flows from that possibility so great that it prevents
a genuine revolution in the artist-society relationship, and al­
lows it only to be modified?
Rudolf Kammer
This is why the "objective" pictures of tomorrow may also be
a kind of collective product.
Julio Le Pare
It is useless to turn back the clock now and explain why tra­
ditional classifications of visual art (painting, sculpture, etc.)
are outdated; they limited each aspect of production, putting
the object to be contemplated on one side and the specta­
tor on the other. Present-day productions exceed these limi­
tations and try to modify the work-spectator relationship by
asking the spectator to participate in another order. Here we
are laced with a situation whose complexity encourages re­
action, whose evolution can be somewhat obscure: this has
nothing to do with replacing one practice with another. We
must gather the results and afterwards predict with clarity
whether it is positive or negative. The rupture of traditional
norms justifies neither confusion nor gratuitousness.
From the conceptual point of view, the notion of program­
ming (often used in the New Tendencies) includes a way to
understand, produce, and present unstable works. It has to
10 w''h predicting in advance all the conditions of the work's
process, clearly determining its modalities so that it can be
fte 10 Pr°duce itself in space and time, subject to the fore-
ien mrcumstances of both determinant and indeterminate
Artists' Commentaries
quality, which come from the environment in which it pro­
duces itself and from the activated or active participation
of the spectator. A multitude of similar aspects will follow;
the spectator will see one view, which will always include
enough visualization to perceive the unstable totality.
Francois Morellet
Is the Nouvelle Tendance [New Tendency] a fashion? Are we
de luxe artisans? Are we going to inspire the facades of social
housing, music hall shows, and table mats?
Yes.
A little.
But for me the New Tendency is also: faith in progress, the
demystification of art, systematic experimentation, a step to­
wards a science of art, the ultimate hope.
Gotthart Miiller
It appears to me that there is a considerable difference be­
tween contemporary visual design and current transforma­
tions in the fields of physics, cybernetics, Gestalt psychology,
and sociology.
Ivan Picelj
A large number and multiple meanings of today's socie­
ty's and individual's needs require from us to accept active
art, able to be the avant-garde of most positive efforts of sci­
ence and humankind in general... It is imposed on us as a
necessity that will establish the relations of true human as­
sets within the framework of higher structural order. Ac­
tive art will be realized when elements it consists of become
identical. Identical does not mean the same, but subjected to
higher structural order; the characteristics of elements will
match when they are encompassed by the notion of higher
structural order. Subjected to higher structural order, active
art should contain all the elements that will make it part of
this entire order, on the scale man-planet-space...
It should be a particle able to become the landscape of our
life - our reality
It is our need, our goal
It is not sensory
It is concrete
It is constructive
It is active
It should direct creative forces to positive social action
It should be present everywhere
It is imperceptible
It is international and universal
It will transform our visual habits in the direction of
Pprrpiving structure, order, and wholeness in relations
124 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

Otto Piene
Simple natural forces are articulated in all of my works. My
to the standpoint of the viewer, but this has never been'"'
sensibility and my consciousness form filters through which
clearly documented in painting as it has in the kinetic pk
the elements take effect. Anthropomorphic everydayness is
ture. Our standpoint in space plays an essential role; we are
also transformed into positive ideas. It is not the reflexes of
in a position to diversify the picture; we must ourselves con-
the banal, but the desires and visions of a universal sense of tribute something.
life that the present gives to me, that project my pictures and
objects.
Yvaral

The comparison between our research and scientific work

Uli Pohl
has made us aware of a deficiency that we wish to end: it con
The anonymity of the material Plexiglas and its processing
cerns terminology. While scientific terminology is well-de­
technology facilitates structures and orders from which my
fined and leaves no room for interpreting errors, ours was
subjectivity is then purged. It seems to me that binding the
only accessible to a minority until now. Because we desire to
objects to my subjectivity is like a kind of paternalism on be­
be understood, we wish to fill this gap. This is why we have
half of the viewer; also a paternalism towards myself in that
already made some contacts that will multiply in the fu­
my objects are neither paintings nor sculptures, namely,
ture with representatives from all disciplines of scientific re­
they do not conform to the established schemata, I hope;'
search. As such, the ideas will become clearer; the goals will
the viewer may encounter them freely and, moreover, be re­
be attained in a more efficient manner. And it is not Utopian
leased for a while from the paternalism of his or her own,
traditional, fixed habits. to think that in future decades a vast synthesis will operate
among the confrontation of our ideas and discoveries and
My objects conceal nothing; they are open to all viewers.
those of the savants.
They neither instruct nor advocate.

Vjenceslav Richter Walter Zehringer

[-.] ' he point of departure of my works were observations ofspa­

It seems that today perceiving the entire complex movement tially separated objects, their reciprocal shifts and overlaps

of Visual art and movement within it is more important than in response to the observers movement, and their percep­
seeking the new at any cost. tion through the eye which is subjected to the intensified de­
mands of spatial seeing.
I rather support a wide-scope and long-term construction
of homogeneity tn visual art, in its structure and orientation
able to consistently follow and build up a new visual world'
his requires equally long-lasting memory and sensitivity for
everything that is born and recognized as useful.

Giinther Uecker

man. The condition of experience is an7 •" be'"S °f

has been transferred to the sphere of magmatlon which

reach immediate experience ^ °rder <°

order to achieve the highest possible^"0" •" 'mp°rtan,; in
duction of art must not, as previously P C,patlon' the Pr°"
dividual: the mechanical A- restncted to the in-

With superb possibilities of reafein'f °PeS'gn Provides us

I use mechanical means so as J. lnform;»ion.

gesture, to objectivize, and to create a shuation'of freedom!^

Ludwig Wilding

^rSJ^
center of ft, weTa^becom^a f C'°rial eVent but at the
^onh-'edtothedevelopme
• I
• 2 •3
Getulio Alviani Vojin Bakic Francisco Sobrino
Linee Luce LLD 7
Forme koje zrafe [Radiating Form] Transformation instable
1962
1963 juxtaposition
Aluminum
Stainless steel 1962
49 "49.5 cm
1,000 x 1,147 x 1,284 cm Colored Plexiglas
MSU Zagreb
MSU Zagreb 180 x 60 x 60 cm
126 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

mm CM* -\
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" fs': l'A '">•<' • rfa

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SET' —•
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Walter Zehringer • 2
untitled •3
1963 Vjenceslav Richter Ivan Picelj
Wood. Plexiglas Asimetrifna centra
Povriina XII |Surface Xll|
60 x 60 * 10 cm (Asymmetrical Center!
1962
1963
Collection of the artist Relief, wood
Wood
59 x 59 cm
O 35 cm
MSU Zagreb
Vjenceslav Richter and Nada KareS
Richter Collection, donation
to the city of Zagreb
 Exhibition • Zagreb 127

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• 4
• 5
Luis Tomasello Martha Boto Hugo Rodolfo Demarco
Hector Garcia Miranda Struttura in rilievo [Relief Structure]
^flexion Nr. 101 (Reflection No. 101]
Image No. 8 leu de reflet [Game of Reflection]
1963 1
1961
1962 1963
Wood Plastic
Oil Plexiglas
80x80cm 80 x 80 cm
116 x 80 cm 60 x 60 cm
Timeline
Individuals, groups, and exhibitions that
are indirect or direct predecessors of
the development of the New Tendencies

This chronological list was compiled by the art historian

Boris Kelemen from two lists published in May 1962 in the
brochure of the arte programmata exhibition at the Show­
room Olivetti in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan:
"Artisti che si sono occupati di arte cinetica, nel senso di
arte programmata, opera aperta, opere moltiplicate" ("Art­
ists who make Kinetic art, in the sense of Programmed art,
open works, multiplied works"] and "Mostre nelle quali
sono state presentate opere di arte cinetica" ("Exhibitions
in which works of Kinetic art are presented"].
Kelemen, then curator of the Benko Horvat Gallery in
Zagreb, added to the list artists such as Vladimir Tatlin,
Wladyslaw Strzeminski, and Piet Mondrian, as well as the
founding years of Exat 51 and Equipo 57. He omitted Franz
Ehrlich, Mary Vieira, and the founding of Gruppo T.

[Oiiginally published in nove tendencije 2, exhib. cat., Ga-

lenja suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1963, n. p.]
 Timeline 129

19,4 — Giacomo Balla - plastic mobile

1915 — Vladimir Tatlin -Counter Relief
1920 — Marcel Duchamp - Rotative plaques verre [Rotary Glass Plates]
, 92! — Karl loganson - Gleichgewichtskonstruktion [Balance Construction!
j 926 — Josef Albers - Exercise in Transformation on One Plane
,930 _ Laszlo Moholy-Nagy - Lichtrequisit [Light Requisite]
,93I _ Wladystaw Strzeminski - Kompozycja unistgczna [Unist Composition]
1932 — Alexander Calder - Dancing Torpedo Shape
1933 _ Bruno Munari - Macchina inutile Nr. 2 [Useless Machine No. 2]
,935 _ Laszlo Moholy-Nagy - Licht-Raum-Modulator [Light Space Modulator]
1938 — Victor Vasarely - Studies of movement
1941 — O. Harriet Heiner - Kinetic sculpture
1943 — Piet Mondrian - Victory Boogie-Woogie
,948 — Jean Tinguely - First geometrical works with motors
1951 — Zagreb, foundation of group Exat 51
1952 — Milan, Salone Annunciata, exhibition of MAC [Movimento Arte Concreta], moving
works, transformable works, space modulators
,953 _ Yaacov Agam - Movable pictures and Tableaux transformables [Transformable Pictures]
1953 — Pol Bury - Movable picture
,953 _ Bruno Munari - Proiezioni dirette [Direct Projections] and Proiezioni a luce polarizzata
[Projections with Polarized Light]
1955 — Charles Eames - Solar Do-Nothing Machine
1955 — Paris, Galerie Denise Rene - Le Mouvement [The Mouvement] exhibition
1956 — Enzo Mari - Work with multiple effects
1956 — Karl Gerstner - Das tangentiale Exzentrum [The Tangential Excenter]
1957 — Paris, foundation of group Equipo 57
1959 — Len Lye - Tangible Motion Sculpture
1959 — Antwerp, Gallery G58 Hessenhuis - Vision in Motion — Motion in Vision exhibition
1959 — Paris, Galerie Edouard Loeb, first exhibition of Multiplication d'Art Transformable (MAT)
[Multiplication of Transformable Art]
1960 — Bruno Munari - Strutture continue [Continuous Structures]
i960 — Dieter Roth - Transformable work
i960 — Jesus Rafael Soto - Work with kinetic effects
i960 — Milan, Galleria Danese - Multiplication dArt Transformable (MAT) [Multiplication of
Transformable Art] exhibition
i960 — Padova, foundation of Gruppo N
i960 — Paris, foundation of Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel [GRAV]
i960 — Milan, Galleria Pater - Miriorama 1 exhibition
i960 — Zurich, Kunstgewerbemuseum - Kinetische Kunst [Kinetic Art] exhibition
1960 — Tokyo, The National Museum of Modern Art - Projection of polarized light (Bruno
Munari) with electronic music (Toru Takemitsu)
1961 — Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum - Bewogen Beweging [Moving Movement] exhibition
1961 — Zagreb, Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb -
nove tendencije [New Tendencies] exhibition
1961 — Stockholm, Moderna Museet - Rorelse i konsten [Movement in Art] exhibition
1961 — Copenhagen, Louisiana Museum - Bevcegelse i kunsten [Movement in Art] exhibition
1961 — Tokyo, Gallery Minami - Exhibition of Gruppo T
1962 — Milan, Venice, Rome, Trieste, Diisseldorf (Showrooms Olivetti) - arte programmata
[Programmed Art] exhibition
1963 — Milan, Turin - Oltre la pittura. Oltre la scultura. Mostra di ricerche di arte visiva [Beyond
Painting. Beyond Sculpture. Exhibition of Visual Art Research] exhibition
130 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

• I

Julio Le Pare
Continuel-lumiere-cylindre
[Continuous Light Cylinder)
1962

Painted wood, stainless steel, motor,

metal discs, light
1 70 x 1 2 2 x 3 5 c m

• 2

Francois Morellet
•6-lampes-allumage avec 4 rhythmes
superposes [ 1 6 - L a m p - L i g h t i n g w i t h
•» S u p e r i m p o s e d R h y t h m s ]
1963

Metal construction, light bulbs,

electronics
80 x 80 cm

Collection Lelia Mordoch/

Collection Morellet
 Exhibition • Zagreb

•4 •5
• 3
Manfredo Massironi Angel Duarte
Ennio Chiggio
V 32
Slrullura ottica retino romboidale Fotoriflessione dinamica 4
[Dynamic Photoreflection 41 1963
[Optical Structure Rhomboid
Engraved glassware, neon
Halftone Screen) 1962
50 x 50 x 7 cm
1962 Semi-transparent mirrors,
Collection Getulio Alviani
Wood, cardboard, glass wood, bulb, electronic parts
22 x 22 x 16 cm 50 x 5 0 x 30 cm
132 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

• I

Grazia Varisco
Schema luminoso variabile Q• '30

[Variable Light Raster Q. I30|

1962/1963
Wood, white Perspex. black adhesive

tape, industrial glass Q 130. neon

tubes, motor

36 x 36 x I Ocm
VAF-Stiftung. Frankfurt ant Main'

MART, Rovereto

• 2
Gerhard von Graevenitz
Proposition pour une architecture
[Proposal for a Light Architecture!
1963
Wood, aluminum

0 87 cm
Stadtisches Museum Bonn
 Exhibition • Zagreb 133

v'!v •

• 4
• 3
Gabriele Devecchi Davide Boriani
Superficie Magnetica
U.R.M.N.T
[Magnetic Surface]
1961
1961/1962
Perforated metal, electric motor
Iron powder, magnets, glass,
60 x 60 x 10 cm
aluminum, wood, electric motor
VAF-Stiftung, Frankfurt am Main /
0 60 cm (60 x 66 x 13 cm)
MART, Rovereto
134 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

mm

• 1 •2
Gianni Colombo
Strutlurazione fluida (Fluid Structure)
J0*15*'" rffc
Tourne-disque avec riflt
Toume-disqueav*^" .
1960 [Turntable with Curved fcW

Metal, glass, electrical devices 1963

44.5 x 34.5 x 14.5 cm Metal, wood, motor,

Museum Bochum, on a permanent set of exchangeable disks

loan from VAF-Stiftung, Frankfurt am 35 x 40 x 30 cm

Main / MART, Rovereto Collection of the artist

-
 IJ5

Paul Talman
K625
1963/1965
Plastic
110x 110cm
Private collection
136 nove tendencije 2 • 1963

Francis Molnar and Francois Morellet

For a Progressive Abstract Art

At the suggestion of Jesus Rafael Soto, Francois Morellet art. Clearly, this transformation has not taken place with­
met the Hungarian artists Vera and Francois Molnar in out great effort and trial and error. What make it even more
1957 in Paris. Along with Francois Morellet, Hugo Rodolfo difficult to understand our problem are the great individ­
Demarco, Hector Garcia Miranda, Horacio Garcia Rossi, ual differences that exist within this transformation. But,as
Sergio Moyano, Servanes (Simone Revoil), Francisco So- Friedrich Engels said, in order to see history clearly, it is im­
brino, Joel Stein, and Yvaral, Vera and Francois Molnar portant not to focus on individual facts, but to trace the sta­
were co-founders of the Centre de Recherche d'Art Visuel tistical average among individual events.
[Visual Art Research Center] - later renamed Groupe de Along the way, the visual arts have always eliminated
Recherche d'Art Visuel [Visual Art Research Group] - al­
what seemed alien to them, in order to present themselves in
though the couple left the group already in November i960, an ever "purer" form.
a few months after the founding manifesto was published.
Before she turned into a beautiful woman, the Virgin
Francois Molnar had studied painting in Budapest
Mary was the iconic sign ofan ideal, and after she was a beau­
and experimental psychology in Paris. In 1962, he began
tiful woman, she became simply a woman, and later, a pretext
to work at the Institut d'esthetique et des sciences de Part
for a few splashes of color. Finally, these splashes of colorac­
[Institute of Aesthetics and Art] at the Sorbonne. Molnar
quired complete autonomy in abstract art.
wanted to develop a new science of art, which would be
It must be said here and now that the word "abstract"is
oriented on the experimental methods and standards of
badly chosen. It is not a question of abstraction, and hence an
the natural sciences. He introduced Morellet to a variety
impoverishment of the real, against which the Marxist clas­
of models and theories, including information theory.
sics rightly battled. Some theorists even claim that it is pre­
The text by Molnar and Morellet was published in the
cisely the opposite. We will, however, use the term "abstract,
context of the nove tendencije 2 [New Tendencies 2] exhi­
since it is employed universally to designate visual art that
bition^ an independent publication in addition ,0 the
does not refer directly to the visible world.

1. 7 he Principal Critiques of Abstract Art

[Originally published as "Pour un art abstrait progress*"
offprint within the framework of th* i u- p r ° g r e s s , t ' It is entirely natural that abstract art should not be accepted
denciip -> roi - dint-vvork of the exhibition nove ten-

ZZXZZZZ
without further discussion.
It is accused, among other things, of being the last bas
tion of spiritualism, idealism, irrationality, or-paradoxical)

'rge^aLTrLIrOnTcouM Z'V 'IT

- of rationalism, and in all these cases, of being closely link

auL with the ideology of a decadent class.

been logical and natural, and that at ea h P3th ^ We have no wish to go into the details of this essentia
extricable from general history, w h i c h ^ " 1 " ' " philosophical discussion. We will limit ourselves to drawing
nomic and social imperatives One a? ,eC'to eco" attention to the logical and methodological difficulties into
along this path from n • • • C t h e m a i o r s f eps
which we are led by similar statements (abstract art is 1
through Renaissance ideal ism t I V H ^-icism, or that). ^
Courbet, to Impresstont m. ^ natUra'iSm °f G — After all, what criteria are we using when we say an
Throughout history, the artist - l ' l stract painting is idealist, spiritualist, etc.? Is this a r r '* e ^
(
been transformed by work and ,h t e V e T *°™ else - has from contemplation of it, and nothing else? Definite
X work, and thus has also transformed
since it is often said that abstract art is i n c o m p r e h e n s i f

But if we admit that abstract art "expresses ideas" that are
idealist, spiritualist, etc., then as a corollary we will be forced
,o admit that abstract art is a language, and that it can there­
fore also express progressive ideas. We are not here condem­
ning abstract art as such, but only one kind of abstract art.
If, on the other hand, we judge abstract art not by con­
templating its works, but only on the basis of the theoreti­
cal writing of painters and sculptors, we will be making a se­
rious mistake. You cannot, by definition, judge a work of art
solely on the basis of the conceptual ideas expressed by the
artist. Karl admired the work of Honore de Balzac, a royalist.
It is, further, possible to condemn abstract art as ideal­
ist, spiritualist, etc., on the grounds that it is the product of a
bourgeois ideology (which may be the case), but, if we do so,
we should not forget that all art movements and ideologies
have their roots in a previous period: nothing is created ex ni-
hilo.
As far as accusations of irrationality or rationality go, if
we are to respond to them we have to be clear on what level
we are speaking. It is certain that where the spectator is con­
cerned, art has nothing to do with the cognitive system; it's
not a type of knowledge, like physics. It's not necessary to
understand art to enjoy it to the full. There is absolutely no
justification for the words of the famous painter, who, when
Lenin visited his studio, said: "Comrade Lenin, you under­
stand nothing about art!"
But this is not the case where the producer of art is con­
cerned. We may rightly admit that an artist does not wish
to content himself with some intuition or other, but that he
tries as far as he can to understand and control what he does.
As we shall see later, it is precisely this desire to understand
that will be the most important criterion by which to identify
progressive abstract art.
The spectator does not, then, have to "understand" the
work of art. Not because there is some "mystery" that the art­
ist has to hide from him (quite the contrary; the Nouvelle
Tendance [New Tendency] believes that nothing should be
hidden from the public, and that art must act through its in­
trinsic qualities, not through some kind of mystification), but
because in a visual work, there is nothing to understand in
he strict sense of the word. It is precisely here that ill-in-
formed art lovers find certain difficulties. Looking at an ab-
stract work, they try to "understand," They wonder what it
IT|eans, but abstract art doesn't mean anything; it's a system
°f signs that refers to nothing but itself.
2- Form and Content
\'id so we come to the notion of the "content" of a visual
rk. We are not in a position here to examine in detail the
pro ilem of content. We only note that this problem is one of
e most difficult in aesthetics, and that traditional aesthetic
P ''osophy has never succeeded in clarifying it.
Molnar/Morellet • Progressive Abstract Art
Great works seem undeniably to "contain" something in­
exhaustible, but this "content" can be defined only by a kind
of subjective analysis; it is tempting (though absurd) to say,
by psychoanalysis.
Even in literature, the content - if there is any - is hard to
make out. It is even riskier to try to identify it in painting, if
we are not prepared to accept the much too simplistic idea of
saying that the content of the painting is the thing it repre­
sents. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel admired the way the
Dutch masters captured "the luster of metal, the shimmer of
a bunch of grapes,"1 Therefore, as Hegel himself said, it is
clearly not the "real content" of paintings that we admire.
But what is it? Is this way of capturing the gleam, of ren­
dering something, not close to formalism?
The two questions for distinguishing between form and
content are "How?" and "What?" The luster of metal is more
an answer to the question "How?", if we do not want to say the
content of the painting is precisely the gleam (which would
bring us back - by another route - to formalism). In fact, this
luster is the mode of appearance of something.
But what is the content of a Titian nude? Someone who
sees in it only a naked woman is hardly appreciating Titian's
work. Obviously there is, among other things, a naked woman
in the painting, with her fleshly beauty, which reflects the
ideal of a society determined by historical and social condi­
tions, etc. But is that the content of the work?
Have we really gained anything by introducing the notion
of content into a visual work of art?
Friedrich Nietzsche said: "He who explains a passage in
an author 'more deeply' than the passage was meant, has not
explained the author, but obscured him,"2 The question arises
whether we could not abandon this notion, at least in the
field of the visual arts.
But if we abandon the notion of content, do we inevitably
fall into formalism? Yes and no.
No, if we regard formalism as purely negative, and lacking
meaning. No, because the work of art will always be subor­
dinate to social existence, which determines individual con­
sciousness in every detail, including the most basic percep­
tion. We cannot remove ourselves from our times, or from
social and economic reality, etc. In that sense, abstract works
will also have content.
Yes, we fall into formalism, if formalism is the inexplica­
ble "content" found in Titian's nude, apart from the naked
body and the social context, that "x" that traditional philos­
ophy has not been able to define, and which expresses itself,
in the final analysis, in a familiar "frisson," in other words, in
a physiological reaction.
But this reaction is not directly connected with the repre­
sentation, as we said above in respect of Hegel; it must also be
present in the case of an abstract work. So in this sense, clearly,
all visual works, abstract or otherwise, are formalist works.
138 nove tendencije 2 • 1963
We have thus situated the visual work outside the concep­
tual universe. Does this necessarily mean we have cast it out
into the dark world of the individual subconscious, where
communication is illusory, control impossible, and therefore
everything permitted? Definitely not.
The model to which, for clarity's sake, we may compare
aesthetic pleasure is perception. Perception is influenced by
knowledge, which is itself determined by society; yet, this
does not mean it involves thought. Perception is immediate,
like aesthetic pleasure.
In fact, psychologists divide perception into two tempo­
ral stages.
Schematically speaking:
1) Global perception (a mark, for example)
2) Integration of this mark into a system structured by
knowledge.
Perception thus is temporally multidimensional. We can
admit the same multidimensionality in aesthetic pleasure.
But this integration takes place within a very short space
of time, which we may call the "subjective immediate," and
above all - this is very important for us - it does not take
place at the conscious level.
3. Abstract Art and Marxism
If this conception, which is affectionistic, but integrated into
a cognitive system of the visual arts, is valid, abstract art does
not appear to us to contradict the principles of dialectical
materialism. Quite the contrary; by its historicity, at least, it is
an excellent illustration of that philosophy.
In fact, abstract art does not necessarily involve abandon­
ing the theory of "reflection" in Marxist aesthetics. It would
be naive to imagine that this theory demands that the real
world must be reflected in art in an absolutely faithful way;
that would indeed be impossible. I, is a well-known fact that
one cannot represent anything "faithfully," The word "reflec-
t.on means only that there is a correspondence between the
worid and the image, perhaps a "one-to-one" correspondence
usual sense of the word. ° ,n the
ing^buTthemselies ^tn that d "°«h-
with, or in some cases conformingmThtthe
Some people say that "abstract"'visual ar7c 1"°"'
tzzzszi
a similar existence to music (which • cannot have
that —«
^^^^^^ofntodernpsy-
'S n° 6SSentiaI between the
and that of vision. Both contain objects that cam m
The fact that the world of sound carries meaning hasnem
prevented music from existing without a precise meaning!
is as if the thingly attributes of a sound disappeared in the'
presence of the affective and aesthetic qualities of the world
of sound.
Lastly, the principal argument - mentioned above - in fa.
vor of abstract art is its historicity.
An historical journey has brought us to abstract art, and
history is incapable of error: Weltgeschichte = Weltgericht, as
Hegel said - World history is a court of judgment.
Of course, it is difficult to determine in the present the art
movement that is borne by history. But a closer analysis, in
the light of dialectical materialist philosophy, could provide
us with arguments in favor of abstract art.
We could perhaps even go so far as to suggest that repre­
sentative art is a form of alienation, like religion.
Socialist realism is one logical avenue in a didactic aes­
thetic. It is important first to note that realism draws on an ex­
tensive body of research carried out since the Renaissance-
on perspective, composition, the relationship between colors,
etc. - and that it can exist effectively only on the basis of these
past discoveries. Socialist realism, emerging from prior ex­
perimentation, is itself only one example of the possible ap­
plications of art for a given moment. Though we do not in­
tend to discuss the effectiveness of Socialist realism at specific
moments for particular societies, it seems to us that in the fu­
ture we may hope for much more from a new form of visual
art. The real history of humanity is only now beginning, as
Marx said. Man free from alienation, liberated from the class
struggle, would be able to turn to an art free of all constraints.
We would then be able freely to delight in a free art. In that
way, art would genuinely become "the highest pleasure man
may offer himself," as Marx wished.3
4. Progressive and Non-progressive Abstract Art
We believe we have demonstrated that abstract art, insofaras
it is abstract, is not in contradiction with the main theses el
dialectical materialism. Are we then to conclude that all ab
stract art is progressive? Certainly not.
But how are we to choose "good abstraction,' when on t e
one hand, we cannot rely on artists' theoretical writing,an
on the other, a work of visual art does not itself explain con
ceptual ideas?
A work of art is pleasing or is not pleasing; there |S
other criterion. But pleasing to whom? It is obvious thata.
body is capable of covering canvases with paint and o ^
ing
ing somehoHv
somebody whn
who will
will U* nUacprl by
be pleased hv this
this so
so-called
— wor
a fool findssomething beautiful, another fool will'0
, cannot re-
same,' as the saying goes. At the same time, we
strict the definition "work of art" to the few that are u
sally pleasing.
 Molnar/Morellet • Progressive Abstract Art

Classical aesthetics is unwilling and unable to help us This Manichaean division of abstract art is clearly sche­

here It rejects all value judgments, regarding them as unsci­
entific, and remains trapped in the labyrinth of metaphysics.
The great merit of Marxist aesthetics is precisely to have rid
us of this metaphysics.
If we wish to apply the method of dialectical materialism,
we have first to turn to history. We do not propose here to
write a history of abstract art, but we would like to empha­
size some well-known facts.
Abstract art springs from two different sources. One is the
expressionist current, going back to Romanticism, via Vincent
van Gogh and Paul Gauguin; the other is more constructivist,
like Paul Cezanne, for example, and was a natural reaction,
against both a Romanticism that wished to destroy Reason
by means of paintings, and Impressionism, which destroyed
the painting by means of Reason. These two tendencies are
rooted in two different philosophies.
Here again, we would have to examine closely the vari­
ous philosophical tendencies of the 1900s. Georg Lukacs has
shown how bourgeois philosophy met its own destruction:
the destruction of Reason. At the same time, Marxist thought
matic. In reality, we repeat, we have here a complex dialecti­
cal process among different groups and subgroups. One may
also find a certain degree of antagonism within a single art­
ist. An example to clarify these ideas: Robert Delaunay and
Paul Klee influenced each other. According to our schema,
these two painters belonged to the two opposing groups. We
do not, for all that, have the right to condemn Klee. His work
contains a host of progressive elements. This is entirely natu­
ral. The first fifty years of the history of abstract art consist of
trial and error. Nowhere do we find one progressive tendency
in its pure state and one tendency that can categorically be
condemned as reactionary. It seems we have had to wait un­
til now to find groups in an almost pure state. All of which, by
the way, seems logical from the point of view of a dialectical
materialist philosophy.
Let us now try to make a list of a few cursory criteria that
would enable us to draw the demarcation line between a pro­
gressive and a reactionary tendency:
Progressive tendency Reactionary tendency

gained ground. Artists, living in a heterogeneous intellectual

Confidence in rationality and Trust in the irrational.
milieu, came under the most diverse influences; not being
philosophers, but being very open to speculation of all kinds, logic as fundamentals.
they had developed individual approaches that were hybrid,
Confidence in progress. Denial of progress, or
but which faithfully reflected the reality of the day.
regarding it as relative.
"If in all ideology men and their circumstances appear up­
side-down as in a camera obscura, this phenomenon arises
Mistrust of the cult of Pursuit of individualism.
just as much from their historical life-process as the inversion
of objects on the retina does from their physical life-process," individualism.
(Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The German Ideology).4
Effort directed toward scien­ Works of art designed to
I n order to analyze the history of abstract art using the
tific research, adaptation be the private property of a
methods of dialectical materialism, we would have to start
to architecture, town plan­ wealthy class.
neither from the content of the theoretical writings of indi­
vidual artists, nor even from their individual visual works, ning, etc.
but by considering all these phenomena together, with their
Belief in contemporary art Belief in slow evolution,
dialectical richness (whose precise mechanism should it­
and sudden qualitative without real qualitative
self form the subject of a study), in their social and historical
change.
context. Such an analysis would enable us to retrace the out­ change.
lines of two opposing tendencies, which would reflect fairly
accurately the class struggle in society. Use of modern industrial Use of precious or tradi­
tional materials.
One of these tendencies would be subjectivist, agnostic, materials.
mystificatory; in short, it would be a continuation of the old
Romantic school, in only slightly new garb, but barely con- Frequent, active, physical par­ Contempt for and some­
ticipation by the spectator. times hostility toward the
vealing the most glaring aspects of reactionary thought. This
spectator.
tendency is obviously addressed to a tiny "elite," sometimes
including only the artist alone.
Belief in the usefulness of Mistrust of all criticism.
ffie opposite tendency would be progressive. It would re-
l^cull forms of Romanticism. It would try to demystify art collective criticism.
111 the help of science, and create a new, more universal
Belief in experimental art. Belief in the unique,
rm °' art' which it would try to integrate, by all available
^eans, into the life of society. unchangeable, and non-con­
trollable work of art.
140 nove lendencije 2 • 1963

All these criteria would need to be analyzed in turn. This
analysis should begin, as Henri Lefebvre demands, by using
a descriptive method, in other words, by observation, but
with an eye informed by experience and by a general theory,
We cannot do this work here, not only for lack of space,
but above all because scientific aesthetics is still in its infancy.
But let us try to develop one point that seems very impor­
tant: progressive abstract art, in present circumstances, is nec­
essarily experimental.
2) as an object perceived and aesthetically appreciated K
an individual.
These two points cannot be categorically separated We
can, admittedly, describe a light source in a sightless world,
in the same way as we describe a source of X-rays, for exam
pie. But the light source is only of interest to us here inso-
far as it is perceived visually and appreciated affectively | t
is possible to represent this situation in a schema used bv
Charles William Morris in his work on the theory of signs

Experimental Art

What do we understand by experimental art?

1) Experiment means trial and error, methodical tenta­
tive efforts, repetitions of the same problem while changing
a single variable. The systematic use of chance plays an ex­
plicit role. As a result, in this kind of art, failure is not shame­
ful; in fact it is often very useful.
2) Break with tradition. Experimental visual art, like ex­
perimental poetry, as Abraham A. Moles puts it, "assigns it­
self goals connected with communication; it therefore admits
the necessity of reaching the general public's consciousness
and pleasure,"
3) The artist "distances" himself from his work, which be­
comes increasingly collective. Artists often design their work
in teams, and it may be executed by a technician.
in which a is the visible physical object, b the perception
4) In experimental art, one conceives the idea of a set of of that object, and c the aesthetic appreciation. It must be
rules or a grammar, based on statistics.
stressed that this separation is artificial; in reality, <2 has no
Nevertheless, experimental art poses a serious problem.
meaning without b, etc. It cannot even be said that ft is a
1 he notion of experiment in art could lead to empiricism or
function of a. That position would mean accepting a simple
philosophical pragmatism. In fact, what is our basis for say­
psychological stimulus-response model, which is inadmissi­
ing that an experiment in art has succeeded? The problem
ble. A stimulus does not elicit a definitive, identical response
•s - and we can see it - of a critical order, and we are con­
in every situation. But nor can we say that a is a functionol
sequently in the domain of the theory of knowledge. Now
b without falling into an idealist subjective philosophy.The
Lenm h.mself said chat the materialist theory of knowledge
same is true of the relationship between b and c. Many psy­
must in the first instance, be built on the physiology and

XtESr.7 **
chological experiments demonstrate that our perception d

- is influenced by an emotive context (c). (We often perceive

ugly things that we dislike; a child perceives a coin as being
Every theory of knowledge necessiHK, u
ception. While no, wishing fo larger if it is poor, etc.)

ZESSZZZ?'-
h uTis° oord""6^' ^ mUS' neWrthel- acknowledge Studying the Visual Work as a Physical Entity

Nevertheless, for purposes of analysis, we can to a certain ex

7—
is therefore entirely natural that in S P a t , 0 t e m P 0 r a l W o r l d - '• tent study these artificially separated areas.
should turn to our lenses reSearch Let us start with area a, taking as our example a b.n
and-white reproduction of Leonardo da V i n c i 's Last Supp?'
A Critical Examination of the E*penmental Visual Work consists of a multitude of black dots of various sizes. It is'
a secondary and selective, spatially extended light s°^ ^
of provoking an aL'hThe^ponse^n th" 8 "' ^ "P 3 *" 6 That is to say, it has magnitude, does not emit light, an ^

. J - ^ H i s definition, w e U ^ r , on two restricted to returning the flows of light it receives. Ust^

1) as a physical object ( a
ventional units;
does not return the same amount of light at each P° in ,
its surface. One could pass a receiver of some kin 1^
source) measurable in con-
tometer or thermometer, for example) over this surfac
measure the amount of light or heat reflected.

Indubitably, this source of radiant energy forms the phys­
ical basis of all visual perception. It must therefore be the
point of departure for any concrete aesthetics of the visual
work of art.
Studying the Perception of the Visual Work
Let us now consider area b. If the "receiver" placed in front
of the reproduction of the Last Supper is the human eye, the
dots in the reproduction disappear and we see the Last Sup­
per. But objectively, there are only these dots. Seen from a
certain distance, these dots fall below the threshold of spa­
tial discrimination, but objectively, they still exist on the ret­
ina. Even if the reproduction were practically continuous, its
image would break up on the retina, according to the number
of nerve endings involved.
We might then see anything at all. For example: instead of
this hand, a whitish blob, or worse, a white hole in the midst
of strange dark forms. But despite all our reasoning, the im­
age persists and we see the Last Supper.
A difficult question arises here. Why do we see things?
This question may seem childish, but it is fundamental.
Why do we see things and not non-things? Why do we see
a table emerge from the back of this room, and why do we
not see the rest of this room as a thing? The answer will
be: it's a table, and we've experienced this table. We know
we have to stop when we reach it. Perhaps as children we
tried to pass through it, and painfully experienced our in­
ability to do so. It's true, of course, that experience helps
us see things as forms; there's a kind of perceptual learn­
ing process.
But it has also been demonstrated that there are forms
that we see as forms, even if we have never seen them before,
in abstract paintings there are precisely forms that are not
things previously seen and known, in which our experience
ot things cannot act as an organizing force. We have, how­
ever, to admit the existence of an organizing force. "We have
to find a very powerful motive for the eye if it is to attempt,
without looking for a resemblance (the figure), to unify that
scattering of colors that in the final analysis is an abstract
painting," (jean-Paul Sartre)
We could also say that in a particular abstract paint-
lng, described as geometrical (Auguste Herbin's, for exam­
ple], there is a residuum of "resemblance": the geometrical
mo,if serv'n8as a unifying force. Some experiments by the
^ew Tendency seem to prove that this "unification" may be
achieved without a "motive force", without a "figure," Where,
6n' "unification" come from?
^ Let us for a moment replace our eye by a receiver of some
"u 'hat examines" or "mines" the detail of the painting's
r ace. This surface, or its image on the retina, is com-
' S>t'' as we sa'd above, of small dots that are qualitatively
unequal
Molnar/Morellet • Progressive Abstract Art
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Looking at the above figure, we may imagine a receiver
that would only see a square composed of indifferent signs. A
more sensitive receiver would see a cross emerging from the
square background. Theoretically, we could imagine all sorts
of receivers, which would group the points as they resem­
bled or differed from one another, or as they were distant or
near; in short, using any arbitrary criterion. The perception
of form thus depends both on the stimulus and the "setting"
of the receiver, in this case, the spectator's eye. The difficulty
arises from the fact that our eye is not just some nondescript
optical receiver with a constant sensitivity, set once and for
all, but is strongly influenced by every facet of our individu­
ality: memory, interests, emotions, and motivations. Conse­
quently, our perception of forms also depends to a great ex­
tent on social factors.
This situation may be represented by the following diagram:
tableau oeil |
I
differ, centres corticaux et subcortical
t
societe
Painting -* Eye
Different cortical and subcortical centers
Society
The relationship between the eye and the different cor­
tical and subcortical centers, like the relationship between
the individual and society, are complex and difficult to study.
When approaching a complex phenomenon, it is legitimate
to select some elements and study them separately, provided
we do not forget that they are part of a much larger whole.
Even if we study only the painting-eye relationship, we
find certain laws that are of great interest in constructing a
cr-i<>nfifir aesthetics of painting.
142 nove tendencije 2 • 1963
In the shape (a) in the above figure, we see either a white
cross on a black background, or a black cross on a white
background. With shape (b), in Heinrich Georg Friedrich
Schroder's reversible perspective, we see either an ascending
staircase or the underside of a descending stair. And all this
is entirely independent of our will, emotions, or knowledge,
and independent of any social influence, etc. In the same or­
der of ideas, but on a much higher level, we could mention
a New Tendency painting (Trames, Francois Morellet, i960)
that is made up of perfectly straight lines, in grids, which
seem to form a rosette traced with compasses. Although we
know it consists of straight lines, the impression of curves
persists.
Io generalize, at the physiological level our eyes are sub­
ject to constraints, if only the eye's ability to separate, which
determines our visual thresholds, or the inability of our eyes
to make just any movement at just any moment. It is obvious
that we do not see all points at all distances in the same way.
Similarly, we cannot accommodate every point in our
field of vision at every moment.
Now, constraints can sometimes be useful; anti-aircraft
defense systems, for example, function only thanks to the
constants to which the aircraft is subject. (It cannot be just
anywhere, at any time. It cannot increase its speed at will,
etc.) If an aircraft could move without constraints, its behav-
•or seen from outside, would be chaotic and the best ami-air-
cratt delense would be ineffective.
The same goes for our eyes: the fovea in the retina of an
unconstrained eye could theoretically adjust itself to any
point at the moment „, independently of the place which
the casaet:^rlf"^ PreVi°US m°mem',0' ™S * ™
v i o : y
y : ; ; : p a ^ *. M r P r
- in which the behavior of one item 7 7 Mark°V Chai"
preceding one, has demonstrated its h^" § °" ^ °f ^
sciences, notably linguistics and info™a7n
seems, therefore, that the New T«>nri
begin its systematic research at the periphe^ riSht
case, with the eye and the field of vision. ^ > ^ tH'S
Affective Elements in Perception
°ffnly PerceP'i.n. How-
perception are indisputably predominant in our percepti
of a work of art. It is undeniable, as we have said already th"
the basis of all aesthetic pleasure is to be found in the work
or more precisely, in the reciprocal relationship between the
receiver/eye and the stimulus/work.
In "Quelques elements mathematiques de I'arf [Some
Mathematical Elements of Art] (1929), George David Birkhoff
defined the feeling of pleasure or aesthetic measure M as:M
= O/C, where C signifies the complexity proportionate to'a
preliminary effort, necessary to perceive the object,"and0
the order "more or less concealed, which seems to be a nec­
essary condition, if not sufficient, for the aesthetic experi­
ence,"5 This proposition was not accepted by the aesthetic
establishment. But it appears that Birkhoff was rejected pre­
maturely. Today, we recognize the importance of "order" in
information theory. And "effort" can be compared with W
in that theory. It is by modifying BirkhofFs formula that Max
Bense now calculates aesthetic information. In fact, by using
information theory we can take the calculations farther than
Birkhoff did. By basing ourselves on the physiology of the
field of vision described in the previous paragraph, it seems
possible to calculate the - more or less concealed-orderof
the work of art, on the one hand, and the preliminary effort
required to grasp it, on the other.
Relationships between Society and the Visual Work
Important as they are at the level of the eye and the individ­
ual, these calculations cannot entirely satisfy us. As we have
seen, the eye belongs to man, who is himself rooted in soci­
ety. The aesthetic fact must also be pursued at this level.
Consider the following diagram:
e .
Work Creator
Society
Spectator
*
This represents a "cycle of actions," We see immedi3'^
that some of the possible "circuits" in this diagram are ^
ing. The work has an immediate effect on the sPecta'^a(e
not on society. By contrast, the spectator has an 'mn,e ^
effect on society, even if the degree of interaction is
Thus, the work of art has an effect on society, but on
an additional stage. Similarly, society has an immed.ate ef­
fect on the spectator, but on the work its effect comes only
after an additional stage; this cycle of actions involves many
constraints, and is thus not chaotic.
Nor is the individual-society relationship chaotic. And
since the artist, after all, is only an individual (even if he is ex­
ceptionally "gifted"), he cannot escape social constraints and
should not shut himself up in the ivory tower of genius. That,
too, is one of the concerns of the New Tendency.
Information theory, which we have mentioned briefly, is
only one example; other equally concrete lines of research
exist The essential thing is that, in making visual work and
critically examining it, it should not be necessary to descend
into the murky depths of metaphysics.
We have seen that at every level of our investigation we
found concrete relationships, governed by rules (though
these may not all be fully understood).
It is precisely by basing ourselves on such laws that the
New Tendency intends to find the criteria for success in its
experiments.
We have probably spent a little too long on the study of
the visual and social fields, and we may have been a little too
technical; however, only a few of the problems have been
touched upon, and the entire mathematical dimension has
been ignored. We wanted to show that there is no place for
mystification in the approach followed by the New Tendency.
Quite the contrary, by its determination to present clearly
and monitor the relationships between works, eye, and soci­
ety, this approach conforms to the latest theories of contem­
porary science.

1 Copy editor's note: G. W. F. Hegel. Aesthetics. Lectures on Fine Art, vol. 1,

Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1975, p. 599.

2 Copy editor's note: Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1986, p. 309.

3 Copy editors and editor's note: The "quotation" from Marx which Francois
Molnar and Francois Morellet cite here was actually confected by Henri
Lefebvre and used as an epigraph to his Contribution a I'esthetigue (fiditions
sociales, Paris, 1953). See: Stuart Elden, Understanding Henri Lefebvre. Theory
and the Possible, Continuum, London, 2004, p. 86.
Copy editors note: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The German Ideology.
Part One, International Publishers, New York, 1970, p. 47.
Editors note: George David Birkhoff,"Quelques elements mathematiques
e I art, in: Atti del Congresso Internazionale dei Matematici, Bologna, 3-10
Settembre 1928, vol. 1, Nicola Zanichelli, Bologna, 1929, pp. 315-333; quoted
j |m. George David Birkhoff,"A Mathematical Theory of Aesthetics and
15 Application to Poetry and Music," in: The Rice Institute Pamphlet, vol. 19,
no-3, July 1932, p. 189.
Nouvelle Tendance - recherche continuelle
[New Tendency - continuous research]
1963

Bulletin No. i
• August 1963
After the second Zagreb exhibition nove tendencije 2 (New Tenden­
cies 2] in summer 1963 a group of the participating artists met.
Shortly afterwards three documents were distributed: Bulletin No. r;
Nouvelle Tendance - recherche continuelle. Evolution de sa composition
[New Tendency - continuous research. Evolution of Its Composi­
tion]; and Proposition pour un reglement de la N. T. [Proposal of Rules
for N.T.], drawn up by Gerhard von Graevenitz. In these documents,
a section of artists and theorists sought to define the informal union
of the New Tendencies in terms of content and to lay down rules for
communication and decision-making processes. The circulation of
the publications under the new name "Nouvelle Tendance - recher­
che continuelle" [New Tendency - continuous research] which had
been coined in - at the latest - January 1963, emphasized the experi­
mental character of artistic work.
[Archive MSU Zagreb]
On the occasion of the international exhibition nove tendencije 2 [New
Tendencies 2], held in Zagreb in August 1963, a series of workshops
was organized whose aim was to analyze the different aspects of Nouv­
elle Tendance - recherche continuelle [New Tendency - continuous re­
search] as an international movement.
These workshops were attended by:
Enrico Castellani (Milan) / Toni Costa (Padua) / Getulio [Alviani]
(Udine)/ Gerhard von Graevenitz (Munich) / Dieter Hacker (Munich)
I Enzo Mari (Milan) / Henk Peeters (Arnhem) / Ivan Picelj (Zagreb) /
Klaus Staudt (Munich) II and by representatives of the following groups:
Julio Le Pare / Francois Morellet - Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel,
Paris II Alberto Biasi / Edoardo Landi / Manfredo Massironi - Gruppo
N, Padua II Giovanni Anceschi / Davide Boriani / Gianni Colombo -
Gruppo T, Milan II and by: Matko Mestrovic / Radoslav Putar - art crit­
ics, Zagreb.
In the course of these meetings we noted once again that the main rea­
son for the existence of New Tendency - continuous research was a
common need to communicate amongst ourselves and work together.
As a result, efforts were directed towards a collective attempt at team­
work (awareness-raising, analysis of the situation, formulation of fun­
damental points, collaborative projects).
•n order to avoid being categorized according to some particular exter­
nal criterion, we tried to arrive at a definition of New Tendency - con­
tinuous research.
As a result, New Tendency - continuous research is not anyone's indi-
'dual property. It seeks to be self-determining in terms of its character-
'stics, members, objectives, and activities.
he current members of New Tendency - continuous research belong
10 " in a conditional, non-definitive way.
each international meeting, decisions on the continuing status, expul-
r 'ncorporation of members can be made by collective analysis.
meet,eSU't'V'CW °^e wor'cs sent to Zagreb, those taking part in the
tna c"S ^ 30 ur8ent need to adopt an explicit criterion of selection
,0^fine the movement.
'45
This decision was obviously made on the sole responsibility of the ex­
hibitors present in Zagreb who took part in the discussions.
List of the members of New Tendency - continuous research in August
1963:
Enrico Castellani (Milan) / Andreas Christen (Zurich) / Toni Costa
(Padua) / Hugo Rodolfo Demarco (Buenos Aires) / Karl Gerstner (Basel)
I Getulio [Alviani] (Udine) / Gerhard von Graevenitz (Munich) / Dieter
Hacker (Munich) / Vlado Kristl (Zagreb) / Enzo Mari (Milan) / Almir
Mavignier (Ulm) / Gotthart Miiller (Munich) / Ivan Picelj (Zagreb) / Uli
Pohl (Munich) / Karl Reinhartz (Munich) / Vjenceslav Richter (Zagreb)
I Klaus Staudt (Munich) / Paul Talman (Basel) / Luis Tomasello (Paris)
I Gregorio Vardanega (Paris) / Ludwig Wilding (Westheim-Augsburg) /
Walter Zehringer (Munich) / Equipo 57 (Spain): Juan Cuenca, Angel Du-
arte, Jose Duarte, Agustin Ibarrola, Juan Serrano II Groupe de Recher­
che d'Art Visuel (Paris): [Horacio] Garcia Rossi, Julio Le Pare, Francois
Morellet, Francisco Sobrino, Joel Stein, Yvaral II Gruppo N (Padua): Al­
b e r t o B i a s i , E n r i c o C h i g g i o , E d o a r d o L a n d i , M a n f r e d o M a s s i r o n i II
Gruppo T (Milan): Giovanni Anceschi, Davide Boriani, Gianni Co­
lombo, Gabriele Devecchi, Grazia Varisco.
Here, greatly abbreviated, are the reasons for exclusion in each specific
- Marc Adrian: Transformation by movement of the observer, based on
free composition. Formal problem of Constructive art.
- Vojin Bakic: Problem of traditional sculpture. Possibility of develop­
ment in the work exhibited.
- Martha Boto: Lack of clarity regarding the problem treated.
- [Carlos] Cruz-Diez: Transformation by movement of the observer,
based on free composition. Formal problem of Constructivist art.
- Piero Dorazio: Homogeneous arrangement, yet attached to sensitive
execution.
- [Hector] Garcia Miranda: Lack of clarity in the problem treated.
- Rudolf Kammer: Lack of clarity in the problem treated.
- Julije Knifer: Formal problem of Constructivist art.
- Heinz Mack: Lack of clarity in the problem treated.
- Herbert Oehm: Formal arrangement - Concrete art.
- Henk Peeters: Regular arrangement, but combined with sensitive
variations.
- Otto Piene: Traditional painting.
- Aleksandar Srnec: Lack of clarity, superimposition of problems.
- Helge Sommerrock: Lack of clarity in the problem.
- Miroslav Sutej: Lack of clarity in the problem.
- Gunther Uecker: Lack of clarity in the position.
In analyzing the current situation of N.T. continuous research in its
social context, we were aware of some existing risks:
- the risk that N.T. continuous research may be absorbed into the
art scene;
- the risk of a facile repetition of formulas (new forms of academicism);
- the risk of turning research into works of art;
- the risk of members becoming stars (behaving like "artists");
- the risk of underestimating the role of the spectator in favor of the
146 Nouvelle Tendance - recherche continuelle • 1963

WOUVELLB TEBDASCE - Recherche continuelle

•ouveMnt International BULLETIB *° 1
art visual Aoti t 1963 b sffi.'dss s— 5s»2,Skarii«iA!«0,
SechereLa continuelle.
-e.ua—
En conadquonce, la **JTZlLt T1»A*CI
e'eet 1•affair* particular# «* ...
A Zagreb• au nela d'aoflt 1963, 2 l'ocoaalon da l'expoeitlon a'autoddteminer #n ce aul concern* **a car
international* "MOVE TaTMIClJE 2", 11 a 4t4 or*«.nlsd um coaposante, aea objectlfa *t eon octlvitd. §Sk
stria da rdunione da travail: pour
pour analyatr
analyeer lee
laa different*
• I 1|
" NUTVli,
" Tendance
M>uu*nce -" recherche continuelle, •« u. actuala coepoaanta «* la SOU TELLE TESSAEC! - bee here be
louveaent international. continuelle lo eont d'une fa^on conditioaneH*, noa ddflaitive.
Cee riuniona ont ltd faitea s la participation de: Dane cbaque rencontre internetionale, un* aaelye* collective ®**«P* t {Kllaae}i Cievaaa; u-tw . „„
pourra ddcider la continuation, esclualon ee incorporation asKSffiasargi.X
Enrico CASTELUin 'Mllano) dee coapoeenta.
Tonl COSTA { Padova)
GCTULIO 'Udlne
Gerhard von GRAETOITZ (Mflnchen) En conerfquence, an face da* oeuvrea anvoedea A Zagreb, lea par­
ticipant e ana rdunione ont aentl 1* beeoln urgent de aettre au
SJtuslisssl: a
KUlo. ««n Ut.rul^«!•u
Sfczsete****
clair un orltdre eeldctlf pour prdclaer 1* eouveneat. S-S-SSSa#
Hank PEETEBS {Arnhoa)
lean TICELJ (Zagreb', Cette solution dvedlr»#nt a dtd falbe avee la oeul* reepeaae-
Klauo JTA'JDT (Uflnchen) billtd dee expoeanta prdeente A Eegreb at qui oat pertleip# au
llacuaaioaa.
•t lea reprdeentante dee group#e:
Li ate dea eoapoaante da la mAJVILLM - ~u» a
GiJOUPE DE RECHERCHE d'AfiT VIDULL, Parle auelle, au sola d'aoftt 1963.
Enrico CASTLLLW ? Hilane*.
GROUPS If, Padoea Andreas CHBX8TEV (Edrlch.
Toni C03TA 'Padova; ——• KWrAiyaXTRsrar-
Hugo DBUJtCO 'Buenoa Aire*}
Olovanni AKCE3CHI Earl GER8THER {Basel1 Itorl. «DtO. P.. 1. ettrtl tt mutt. BUM.
David*
David# BORXAHI GRCUPE T, Mllano. GETULIO {I'd in# ,
Gianni COLOMBO Gerhard von GBAETVVITZ 'Macben)
Dieter IACEQ {.finehen)
Tlado ESISTL {Zagreb} """"
ainal que la participation de: Enso MARX 'Mllano)
Alair MAVIGSIES 'Ola'.
Gottbard HELLER {Mnchen) b~,fc" "" I I'Uusa
JKEufSSS6 —• 4 Ivan Pic:xj 'Zagreb',
Oil FOUL 'Udncbeni
Earl RLTWUSTZ 'Mnchen)
On a oonatatd de nouveau, au coura de cee rdunione, qua la
snuastos:
ralaon principal# d•existence d# la HO'JVLLLE TEBDAVCt - Recher­
che continuelle, eat un beeoln gdndralied d'intercoaaunication
at da travail en
a enceelnv RXDMTO {Zagreb}
aue 3TAUCT 'Mr-chen)
Paul TAX.IAN {Basel}
/Uleu laua w i. ami i, mutt. BUM.
uuu umi. h. tt eiertd TT m.MTT BUM.
Lola TOMA.Gr; 10 {Parla)
GregorioVn&dBOA {Parle*. ittij. o-.ia mtita. rartti tt l-vt canncnu.
In conedquonce, lea effort* ont dtd dirirda • Ludeig WILDING ' death# .n-Augsburg',
collective de travail en coaaun {prlao de coi ;*, ana. •alter ZEHSI3GE8 {Mac hen)
de la situation, foreulation dee point* d* baa*. ojeta ttltt HOi h. tt slwtt tt n»Um BUM.

/ - »-

fl.rb.rt ODH, OrttMtlo. for~ll. Bt ooocr.t. 4 • J. ""-T- r^ttrck. e.Btln..ll." nfa. d'ltr. rl.M. ..
I «U ddcidd Bt m'oi tea U teciaiaai i ^
mT®»' Ml. .ttttU. 1d.. nrun- WLs^TKriSi'SSL susdrsa-ss:--. .'L^IDtLri'^ ttttreel, y .j-.-fgLgJ* |Su»"f
Otto PlEHEi Tableau tradltionnel. i' - I £S^€Ssrs;«5S'"
HttE.J^rEloratt I.. .ottBtt...
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8.1,. SOUMBIBXa, P.. d. rdTtd du problj...
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Ill », lur.b -

Archive MSU Zagreb

 Bulletin No. 1

A, a result, it was agreed to assert the characteristics counteracting
those risks:
- primacy of research,
-depersonalization,
-open communication,
-collective work,
-development of a shared set of visual and theoretical ideas that
might be conducive to creating the anonymous work.
Vis-a-vis some art critics who classify or categorize N.T. continuous re­
search and define it or assign it a character by attributing to it roots in
one movement or another, or by defining it as a new form of geome-
trism, or a new Gestalt, etc., it must be pointed out that:
a) N.T. continuous research does not recognize the paternity of any art
movement in particular.
b) Its existence has a variety of origins.
c) Its most basic characteristic is not to imprison itself in definitive for­
mulas, but to assert itself as a movement that is constantly evolving.
d) N.T. continuous research refuses to be classified as an art movement.
Although some aspects of its activity still have an artistic character, a
path is opened up here to escape everything that the word "art" cur­
rently implies.
e) Acceptance of the situations covered by the word "art" presupposes:
the unique and isolated artist, the cult of personality, the myth of cre­
ation, overestimated aesthetic or anti-aesthetic concepts, creating work
for an elite, and dependence on the art market.
As far as the members of N.T. continuous research are concerned, on ev­
ery favorable occasion for promoting the movement (solo or group ex­
hibitions, catalogs, publications, etc.), they shall introduce themselves
by making known their participation in it.
If some, but not all, members of N.T. continuous research are invited in­
dividually to take part in international events, the compromise proposal
has been agreed that we should make efforts to ensure participation of
the whole movement. And N.T. continuous research will as of now be
presented in a homogeneous way as an international movement.
Difficult situations may arise: for example, the arbitrary expulsion of
members of N.T. continuous research, collective events or exhibitions
that lend themselves to a false interpretation of the movement, incoher­
ent exhibitions, etc. If it is established that it is prejudicial to take part in
an exhibition, then in principle no member of N.T. continuous research
will give it his/her support
Furthermore, agreement has been made on the point that, for the third
Zagreb exhibition (two years hence), the members of N.T. continuous
research will have to make different submissions than those works cur­
rently being presented, which will indicate a process of development or
a position of research.
Observations on, or criticism of, these resolutions and suggestions of
any kind, may be addressed to the four coordinators.
This bulletin is intended to appear periodically and to be open in char­
acter, reflecting the different aspects and positions within N.T. continu­
ous research. It could also cover events of general interest as a medium
of information. It could also publish theoretical writings, even in other
disciplines, that are of relevance to the problematic of N.T. continuous
research.

f) N.T. continuous research, motivated by a need for clarity, develops

a different attitude in its members: the communication established
among them works against the isolation of the unique artist produc­
ing unique works.

g) From this point of view, N.T continuous research envisages the non-
definitive work, the multipliable work, a distancing at the level of execu­
tion, the clarification of the problem treated, the active engagement of
'he spectator, the more accurate understanding of the "creative act,"and
'he transformation of plastic activity into continuous research, with no
"her concern than to bring out the initial elements of a different way of
thinking about the phenomenon of art.

In order to facilitate communication, exchange, and the activity of N.T.

continuous research as an international movement, a coordinating com-
rn'"ee 'las been set up, with responsibility, until the next general meet-
,ng. for representing the movement.

Coordinating committee: Gerhard von Graevenitz / address: Ainmiller-

r 33, Munich, Germany. // Julio Le Pare / address: Groupe de Recher-
^ e ^ '^n ^ 'sue'- 9 rue Beautreillis, Paris 4®, France. II Enzo Mari / ad-
ess. 10 Piazza Baracca, Milan, Italy. II Matko MeStrovic / address:
^ogradska 12. A, Zagreb, Yugoslavia.

nators a'S° t*eC't*e<* l^at decisions have to be made, the coordi-

resear h^' ^ ^ ^ P°SS'k'e' contact the members of N.T continuous
« °rder t0 arr'Ve 3t 3 c°dective position. If this proves impos-
bilitv ^ W'" ^ emPowered to take a decision on their own responsi-
ill be obliged to inform the other members of this.
nuova tendenza 2 [New Tendency 2]

December 14,1963 - January 15,1964

Exhibition

Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice

 Participants in the Exhibition
FONDAZIONE QUERINI STAMPALIA VENEZIA
Marc Adrian [ A T ] • Getulio Alviani [ I T ] • Giovanni Anceschi [ I T ) •
Davide Boriani [IT] • Enrico Castellani [IT) • Andreas Christen [CHI
• Gianni Colombo [ I T ) • Hugo Rodolfo Demarco [ A R L • Gabriele
Devecchi [IT) • Equipo 57 (Juan Cuenca, Angel Duarte, Jose Duarte,
Augustin Ibarrola, Juan Serrano) [ALL ES) • Karl Gerstner [CH] •
G e r h a r d von Graevenitz [DE) • G r u p p o N [IT) • Dieter Hacker [DEI
• Vlado Kristl [ Y U I H R ) ) • Walter Leblanc [ B E ] • Julio Le Pare [ A R / F R ] •
Enzo Mari [IT) • Almir Mavignier [BR/DE) • Francois Morellet [FR]
• Gotthart Muller [ D E ) • Ivan Picelj [ Y U ( H R ) 1 • Uli Pohl [ D E ) •
Karl Reinhartz [ D E ) • Vjenceslav Richter [ Y U ( H R ) ] • Francisco Sobrino
[ES/FR) • K l a u s S t a u d t [DE| • Joel S t e i n [FR] • Miroslav Sutej [YU (HR)]
• Paul Talman [ C H ] • Luis Tomasello [ A R / F R ] • Grazia Varisco [ I T ] •
Ludwig Wilding [DE] • Yvaral [FR] • Walter Zehringer [DE]

•1

nuova tendenza 2
Exhibition catalog nuova tendenza 2 [New Tendency 2]
Fondazione Q u e r i n i Stampalia, Venice, December 14,
1963 - January 15, 1964
MSU Zagreb

Meeting in Venice on the occasion of nuova tendenza 2 • 2

Toni Costa, Gianni Colombo, Davide Boriani, Gerhard von Graeven.tz,
[New Tendency 2]
Alberto Biasi [not visible], Enzo Mari (from left)
•3
Ravelled "T ^ exhibi,ion "ove ,endencile 2 iNew Tendencies 21 Toni Costa, Gianni Colombo, Davide Boriani, Gerhard von Graeven.tz,
to \ inice v\here it was shown, in slight variation, under the title
nuovatendenza 2. Alberto Biasi (left s i d e o f t he table, from left); Enzo Mari (top of the
table); [-], Francois Morellet, Matko Mestrovic, Ennio Chiggio, [-] (right
side of t he table, from left)
r Exhibition • Venice 151

U -

An

%7$. wm
• / ' • v-
/ i v r . i i V - "

•1
Andreas Christen
Monoform
1961
Polyester, spray-painted white
143 x 149 x 13 cm
Annemarie Verna Galerie, Zurich

•2
Edoardo Landi
Riflessione cilindrica
[Cylindrical Reflection)
1963
Polystyrene, metal grid
50 x 50 x 80 cm

•3*4

Edoardo Landi, Alberto Biasi

Slrultura ottico-dinamica
'Optical-dynamic Structure)
1963
wood, PVC, polystyrene, metal grid,
light bulbs
50 x 50 x 60 cm

•5
Enzo Mari
Strutiura 729 [Structure 729]
1963
Anodized aluminum
90" 90 « 10 cm
neue tendenzen [New Tendencies]
March 13-May 3) 1964

Exhibition

Stadtisches Museum [Municipal Museuml I .

\ Museum] Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich
 153

neue tendenzen

Exhibition catalog neue lendenzen [New Tendencies]

Stadtisches Museum [Municipal Museum] Leverkusen
Schloss Morsbroich, March 13 - May 3, 1964

Participants in the Exhibition

Marc Adrian [A T ] • Getulio Alviani [I T ] • Vojin Bakic | Y U ( H R . I • Hans-Joachim Bleckert

|DE] • Martha Boto [AR/FR] • Enrico Castellani [IT] • Andreas Christen |CH] • Carlos
C r u z - D i e z [VE/FR| • H u g o R o d o l f o D e m a r c o |AR] • Piero D o r a z i o [IT] • E q u i p o 57 IES] •
Hector Garcia Miranda [AR] • Horacio Garcia Rossi [AR] • Karl Gerstner [CH] • Gerhard
von Graevenitz [DE] • Dieter Hacker [DE| • Rudolf Kammer [DE] • Julije Knifer [YU (HR)]
• Walter Leblanc [B E ] • Julio Le Pare [A R / F R ] • Heinz Mack [D E ] • Enzo Mari [I T ] •
Almir Mavignier [B R / D E ] • Francois Morellet [F R [ • Gotthart Muller [D E ] • Herbert
O e h m [DEI • I v a n P i c e l j [YU <HR>1 • O t t o P i e n e [DE] • U l i P o h l [DE] • A d R e i n h a r d t [USA]
• Karl Reinhartz [D E ] • Vjenceslav Richter [ Y U ( H R > 1 • Francisco Sobr.no [E S / F R ] •
Helge Sommerrock [D E [ • Klaus Staudt |D E [ • Joel Stein [ F R L • Miroslav Sutej [Y U ( H R . [ •
Luis Tomasello [AR/FR] • Gunther Uecker [DEI• Gregorio Vardanega [IT/AR/FR] • Ludw.g
Wilding [DE] • Yvaral [FR] • Walter Zehringer |DE|

E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h e e x h i b i t i o n nove tendencije 2 [ N e w T e n d e n c i e s 2] first

t r a v e l l e d t o V e n i c e a n d t h e n t o L e v e r k u s e n w h e r e it w a s s h o w n , i n s l . g h t
variation, under the title neue lendenzen [New Tendencies],
 Julije Knifer
6 pravokutnika [6 Rectangles]
1963
Oil, canvas

140.5 x 98 cm

Aleksandar Srnec
PSYXI
1963
Plexiglas
50 x 60 cm
 Exhibition • Leverkusen 155

• 1

Herbert Oehm
2/3/63
1963
Gold leaf, gilt bronze
50 x 50 cm
Collection Franck

•2
Herbert Oehm
2/4/63
Gold leaf, gilt bronze
50 x 50 cm
Collection Franck

Gunther Uecker
Symmetrische Struktur
[Symmetric Structure]
1959
Nails on canvas, wood,
white paint
65 x 40 cm
156 neue tendenzen • 1964

Enrico Castellani
Super/icie nera [Black Surface]
1959
Acrylic, canvas
62 x 80 cm

Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen

Walter Leblanc
Torsions Mobilo-Slolic
1962
Transparent and white poly*''"!' •

white background

65x81 cm
Collection Kunstmuseumaan «•
Oostende (Belgium)
Courtesy Fondation Walter &

Nicole Leblanc
r Propositions visuelles
Arte Programmata

1964-1965
Propositions visuelles du mouvement international Nouvelle Tendance

al Proposals of the International Movement New Tendency]

April 17-June i, 1964

Exhibition

Musee des Arts Decoratifc p^i • . ,

a'S du Louvre. ^villon de Marsan, Paris
 >59

Exhibition catalog Propositions visuelles du

mouvement international Nouvelle Tendance
[Visual Proposals of the International
Movement New Tendency]
Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre,
Pavilion de Marsan
April 17 - June I, 1964

Participants in the Exhibition

Marc Adrian [ATI • Getulio Alviani IIT1 • Giovanni Anceschi (Gruppo T) [IT] • Hartmut Bohm IDE]
• Davide Boriani (Gruppo T) [IT] • Martha Boto [AR/FR] • Andreas Christen [CH] • Gianni Colombo
(Gruppo T) [IT] • Carlos Cruz-Diez [VE/AT] • Dadamaino [IT] • Narciso Debourg [VE/FR1 • Hugo
Rodolfo Demarco [AR/FRI • Gabriele Devecchi (Gruppo T) [IT] • Equipo 57 (Juan Cuenca, Angel Duarte,
lose Duarte, Agustin Ibarrola, Juan Serrano) [ALE ES] • Hector Garcia Miranda [AR] • Horaco Garcia
Rossi ( GRAV)[AR,FR [ • Karl Gerstner [CHI • G e r h a r d von Graevenitz [DE] • Lily Greenham [AT/DK] •
Gruppo N (Alberto Biasi, Ennio Chiggio, Toni Costa, Edoardo Landi, Manfredo Massiront)
[ALL IT ] . Dieter Hacker [DEI • Vlado Kristl IYU <HR1] • Walter Leblanc [BE] • Jul.o Le Pare (GRAV)
[AR/FRI . Enzo Mari ItT] • Francis Morelle. [FR1 • Gotthar, Miiller IDE] • Ivan Picelj [YD <HR)1 •
Uli Pohl [DEI • Karl Reinhartz [DEI • Vjenceslav Richter IYU.HR1] • Bridget Rtley IGB] . Franctsco
Sobrino (GRAV) [ES,FR|. Helge Sommerrock IDE] • Klaus Staud. [DE] • Joel Stein (GRAV) [FR] .
Paul Talman [CHI • Luis Tomasello [AR/FRI • Giinther Uecker [DE, • Gregorio Vardanega [IT/AR/ER,
. Grazia Varisco (Gruppo T) [IT, • Ludwig Wilding [DEI • Yvaral (GRAV) [FR, • Walter Zehrtnger [DE]
 160 Propositions visuelles • 1964

(;
jr
(
<3J
0
1 c:
(.
C
c

Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Palais

du Louvre, Pavilion de Marsan, Paris
April 17- June 1,1964

Installation views Propositions visutHtsduto

international Nouvtlle Tendance [V isual Pr0P°s
International Movement New Tendenct]

lulio Le Pare. Continue! - Mobil'

Mobile), and Gerhard von Graevenitt
Punkte auf Schwarz (1.485 White Doison
(in the background)

Gianni Colombo, Strutturazioni puis* _ ,

Structuraliiations) (left), and Franco'*.fr(
Sphire trames en tubes d'aluminwm
in Aluminum Tubes)
 Exhibition • Paris 161

•3
•4
Y v a r a l , Disque a manipuler [ D i s k f o r M a n i p u l a t i o n ] ,
Tomasello, Atmosphere mobile chromoplastique J u l i o Le P a r e , Continuel - Mobile [ C o n t i n u o u s -
Chromoplastic Mobile Atmosphere], H.Narciso
and Joel Stein, Triedre [Trihedral] (from left)
Mobile), and Joel Stein, Labyrinthe II. Kaleidoscope
ou'g. Surfaces animees par une serie de reliefs [Labyrinth II. Kaleidoscope) (from left)
ihroulk T pr0p0s"m "Quelle [Surfaces Animated •5
(from I f"» eneS °f ReHefS " 3 V'SUal ProP°sal] F r a n c i s c o S o b r i n o , Transformation instable
juxtaposition (left), and Gerhard von Graevenitz,
I (in the background, right)
1485 weisse Punkte auf Schwarz [1,485 White
Dots on Black]
 Propositions visuelles • 1964

Karl Gerstner
What Is the Nouvelle Tendance?

The Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel received an invita­ The answer is simply our sense of kinship, our elective
tion to exhibit as a group at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs affinities.
in Paris, in 1963. Instead, GRAV suggested to the head of
the Museum, Michel Fare, to organize an exhibition with Is the term New Tendency sufficiently self-explanatory?
all artists belonging to Nouvelle Tendance - recherche No. For which among all the new movements in the arts
continuelle [New Tendency - continuous research). The could not lay claim to it?
proposal was accepted, and the exhibition Propositions vi­
suelles du mouvement international Nouvelle Tendance [Vi­ That being the case, do as most of us do. See it as ironic,
sual Proposals of the International Movement New Ten­ as not in any way binding. Take it lightly, in the spirit
dency) opened at the Pavilion de Marsan at the Louvre in which it was coined.
in April 1964. The Swiss artist and designer Karl Gerstner
wrote a short text for the catalog accompanying the exhi­ Our story does not take long to tell. The New Tendency
bition, in which he presented the Nouvelle Tendance. At came out of an exhibition proposed by Almir Mavignierand
the time, Gerstner, who by 1964 had already published sev­
mounted in 1961 by Matko MestrovicandtheGalerijasuvrt-
eral books - among them Kalte Kunst? - Zum Standort der
mene umjetnosti [Museum of Contemporary Art] in Zagreb.
heutigen Malerei [Cold Art? - On the Position of Contem­
The exhibition was entitled Nouvelle Tendance.'This indi­
porary Painting) (1957), Die neue Graphik. The New Graphic
cated that what was involved was a developing art whose
Art. Le nouvel art graphique (1959), with Markus Kutter and
works had not yet found a market and thus had n o audience,
Programme entwerfen [Designing Programs) (1963) - direct-

LZ
and for which critics had no ready basis of comparison and
; ? „ e r a d n g a d v e r [ i s i n s t o w i . h thus no formula for evaluating it.
ma,NUS ivuuer ana Paul Gredinger.

Coming from all over Europe, where they worked alone or

[Originally published as "Quest que la Nouvelle Tenda

kZT :ZUel'eS "U m°UVeme"< Atonal

in groups and independent of each other, the participants
NoL
Nouvelle Tendance, exhtb. cat., Musee des Arts Decoratifs
vaguely felt a certain similarity or even identity in theP r0
lems they faced, but they did not know the extent of thai
Palats du Louvre, Pavilion de Marsan, Paris, Itnpr Maza
identity. The Zagreb exhibition came a s a revelation to'
I 9 6 4 > n -P-5 translated from the French.)

What Is the Nouvelle Tendance [New Tendency]? I he upshot of the Zagreb exhibition: the (casual) a' i r '^
of a name gave rise to a (fixed) label, an (improvised) e
A society that has never been formally established
An organization without statutes. bition to an (organized) movement.
An unwritten program to which more than fif> • ,
committed themselves. Y art,sts have
Today, the New Tendency boasts more than fifty menl ^
The Zagreb exhibition turned into a biennale, thesec°
edition of which took place in 1963. Other
members of th^New^ndency me'eL s T m T ^ ' were organized in Germany and Italy, but n o n e t ° ^
what it truly represents. ' m e o n e a | ways asks
been as important as that at the Musee des Arts
[Museum of Decorative Arts] in Paris.

What Is the New Tendency After?
Our goal is to make you a partner.
Our art is based on reciprocity.
It does not strive after perfection.
It is not definitive; it leaves the space between the work
and you permanently open.
More precisely, our art relies on your active participation.
What we seek is that the joy you feel at a work of art
should not be that of an admirer but of a partner.
Besides, art does not interest us as such. For us it is
a means of procuring visual sensations, a material that
displays your talents.
Since everyone is talented, everyone can become a partner.
And it will be perfect if the work makes you forget the
painting, "the work of art."
What is the Aim of the New Tendency?
We will have achieved a great deal, if, through our
creations, we find the path that leads to you.
Ue 'lave ^ enough of making paintings to gather dust
eternally in museums. Our art is an everyday art, so much
so that some of us would wish to qualify it as socialist.
"is, at any rate, social.
e ha\en t yet achieved this aim - or have done so only
^perfectly - but it is our conviction that our art can be
Gerstner • Nouvelle Tendance 163
realized given certain social conditions, that it can be
mass-produced and - why not? - produced industrially.
Every new material, every new technique, every new
device can be considered, insofar as it may prove necessary
for our work.
We abide by no convention; we have no need of knowing
how and what a painting must be.
We wish to be free of all conventions - even those of our
own, unwitting making.
But our movement is not revolutionary.
We do not constitute a front against anyone or anything.
We open doors and our program grows with every new
experience.
What Has the New Tendency Achieved?
Do not gauge our efforts by our declarations, but by our
achievements and research.
We want ideas to be subjective or, in other words, new;
and our creations to be objective or, in other words,
anonymous.
In the following section, we have reproduced a certain
number of our creations. It is not so much an exhaustive
catalog as a brief survey of our work.
1 Editorial note: The title of the first exhibition was actually in the plural:
nove tendencije [New Tendencies].
 3 e/ziotfc e/n-enTriovt 8 bcvtfi lU 5fihenM
& lustre jor rtifcrU
/fcr*a«tX nJU?a*\r a wmt\i pcltr
1 rel««f AtSA * »unfvio
*rcs <«
I 4 fltskc* i/r U j 7
k k+ilxtavf*- 2 rt\it(lom/nevK*. tnet-*.Ovb€ . ., j." ' JCCcnrfC . a.
^ AtOi,Aifinite ^ _ ^ 5 passjft j fViA*<pjl<s' '

T T T ^ A A n1

f
j* *ncto a»cc
is rei«/ iU+ilrt
ture. fccTKci'r
I 11 Xafi.itciurpH
*exaA.C*<U-
„ ti.al.u- '« t"""* *"""
pnjwe « fcfcf / r ^ ^ 6,41
. rt/6a+x a +xit*r { I <: 13 vcycu/ /*> fafcnc$ A
pr*duL*a.i\,f Jv. brvir
^ <?/<•f€tu*ct- ntfj

Covpe

' Relief in programmed neon,

reflected in the kaleidoscope
2 Manipulable luminous relief
3 Rotating eccentric disk
reflected in the kaleidoscope
4 The word "ROUGE," flashing
5 Uneven area
6 M a n i PulabIe suspended lights
on springs
7 Manipulable projection of the
Mona Lisa
8 J^an,ipulable spherical bottle
with water on a grid
9 Passage to go through or area
to cross
io Sound-producing ribbon that
can be set in motion
>i Hexagonal kaleidoscope
• 2 Soft area with aperture
through which to see the feet
from the outside
• 3 Middling-giant kaleidoscope
14 Staircase leading toa pris"1
through which one can see W
Tuileries
15 Manipulable relief with
oblique light
16 Neon grids reflected ina ^
with water that can be set"
motion
r Exhibition • Paris 165

•I

Julio Le Pare
Drawing for Labyrinlhe II
[Labyrinth II]
1964

Plan for a labyrinth with works by

lulio Le Pare, Francois Morellet, and
loel Stein

•2

Gabriele Devecchi
Strutiura roto-lineare
[Roto-linear Structure]
Design
1962

Motor, methacrylate, aluminum

VM-Stiftung, Frankfurt am Main /
MART, Rovereto

• J

Davide Boriani
Spam + Unee luce + spettatore
i"" ' Light Beams + Spectator]
Project draft, paper, ink, collage
«'42 cm

3
166 Propositions visuelles • 1964

•I
Helge Sommerrock
111/4

1964
Mirrors, steel, motor
90 * 90 x 40 cm

Editorial n o t e : Mirrors are mourned

at both ends of the black-and-white
rods. Driven by two motors, the
mirrors rotate irregularly, which gi>«
rise to flashes that are also irregu sr.

• 2
Giovanni Anceschi
Strutturazione cilindrica virlui'
diruiiuruiivn*
(Cylindric Virtual Qmifturel
Structure]

1963 m(S

Metallic structures, elect"1 m°

50 * 50 x 50 cm

• 3

Gunther Uecker
Horizontale Expansion
(Horizontal Expansion!

1961
M e t a l , wood, white pam'

80 * 80 cm

J
• 4

Gianni Colombo
SlWlurazioneacentrica
dicentric Siructure)
D«ign 1962

Plastic, multiple

Height: 15.4; 0 10 cm
MSU Zagreb

•5

UliPohl
T11/155-63

1959

Ple*iglas, steel pedestal

15* l5*5cm

Private collection

5
168 Propositions visuelles • 1964

varaai •3 • 4
Couleurs alternees da,
[Alternating Colors i Light Prisms Alberto Biasi Joel Stein
1964-1966 1962-1965 Light Prisms Triedres (Trihedral)
L'ght box Wo°d, 1962/1968 1963
light bulbs, prisr
65 x 65 x 35 cm electric motor Wood, Plexiglas, metal, Mixed media
Galerie Denise Rene VAF-Stiftung, Frankfurt electric motor 220 x 116 cm
MART, Rovereto 68 x 49.7 x 38 cm Joel Stein
MSU Zagreb
170 Propositions visuelles • 1964

• 2
Dadamaino • 3
Walter Leblanc
Opera Nr. 3. Oggetto ottico-dinamico
Ludwig Wilding Hugo Rodolfo Demarc0
"°" de'erminato [Work No 3 Torsions Mobilo-Static
1962 Structure d trois dimensions 8/63 Sirie Dynamisat'0" 5Pa"1'1
'"determined Optic-dynamic Object]
[Three-dimensional Structure 8/63] [Series SpalWD)"""1
Maxtmum height of the circles: 30 cm Black polyvinyl bands on white
0 100 cm Background 1963 1963

Plexiglas, wood, gouache 90 x 60 cm

(SM^ MUSCUm Voor Act«"Ie Kunst 86 x 66 * 8 cm
(S.M.A.K.), Ghent
Sammlung Ingeborg Wilding-Konig
Bridget Riley
Maze I
1962

Emulsion, hardboard
'°9x 109 cm

Collection J. Mio-Dorwnik
 Propositions visuelles • 1964

3fStggg3
SHsi
f +#;
®A #•

+#*+•••••

* b<$>« #

•••••••••••<#>••
•• • ••B ^ B• ••

titztjtntr.n
••••••• B<§Hffl • B+B

5|2|«ks«;S5 1 <#<#•( " 'WtKM

19 stands for the diameter of the selected disks
56 is the number of disks arranged horizontally
8 is the number of anomalies in a horizontal arrangement"

[Gotthart Miiller in: Proposition visuelles du mouvement internationalNouvelle

IcnJance, exhib. cat., Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, 1964,
p. 60; translated from the French]

Lily Greenham
Gotthart Miiller
1965/1968 Pr°grammed structure
64/6
1964
"-!Pe„ion,wood, W h i t e silk screen o n black formica
120 x 120 cm
Galerie Edith Wahlandt-Mettler, Stuttgart
Equipo 57
C17
1961

Oil on agglomerate

80 * 80 cm

Private collection, Basel

Hector Garcia Miranda

Structure
1963

Oil
Arte Programmata. Kinetic Art
July 1964 - July 1966
•
Exhibition

Organized and sponsored by the Olivetti r

Circulated in the USA hv t h e 7 C o m Pany of Italy
tne USA by the Smithsonian Institution
 175

Divide Boriani ®annl Colombo

geaami anceKh Born Milan. 1936 bom M",n' 1935
Bon Mdan. IB"

Participants in the Exhibition

Giovanni Anceschi [IT] • Davide Boriani [IT]

• Gianni Colombo [IT] • Gabriele Devecchi
[IT] • Gruppo N [IT] • Enzo Mari [IT]
• Bruno Munari [IT] • Grazia Varisco [IT]

MM! mi«wai wuciurellubon IW Masn.l,c aurtaca 1959 Pulllllng atructuralizatlon 1959

The exhibition locations were the Loeb

Student Center, New York University, New
York; the Art Department, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, Florida; the Columbia
Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina;
the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; the

m
=^ Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsyl­
vania; the Art Gallery, State University of New
York, New Paltz, New York; the Allen Memo­
rial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin,
Rhythmical diagonal atructuralizatlon 1981 Ohio; The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago,
TNbroaatt alnjcluraliiabon 1962
Illinois; the George Thomas Hunter Gallery
of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee; the Carpenter
Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard Univer­
sity, Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Hopkins
Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New
Hampshire; the Tampa Art Institute, Tampa,
Florida.

Acentric ltructuralization 1982

Oram N • Padua

Exhibition brochure Arte Programmata. Kinetic Art

Organized a n d sponsored by t he Olivetti Company of
Italy, circulated in t he USA by t he Smithsonian
Institution
Graphic design: Enzo Mari
••Kbit 1964
Variable round Image 1982 Cuba of apheret 1962
Archive Gianni Colombo
 Arte Programmata • 1964-1966

Bruno Munari
Arte Programmata

The exhibition Arte Programmata, first presented in the Oli­
vetti company's showrooms in Italy and Germany, was cir­
culated in the USA as a traveling exhibition by the Smith­
sonian from July 1964 to July 1966. In the brochure for this
exhibition the artist and designer Bruno Munari published
a statement on programmed art. Munari had initiated the
first exhibition by taking Riccardo Musatti, advertising di­
rector for Olivetti, and Giorgio Soavi, art consultant for
Olivetti's advertising department, to the Gruppo T studio
in Milan in spring 1962.
[Originally published in Arte Programmata. Kinetic Art, ex-
hib. brochure, organized and sponsored by the Olivetti
Company, Italy, and circulated by the Smithsonian Institu­
tion, printed in 1964.]
We are all familiar with the traditional methods and tech­
niques by which artists have given substance to their fancies
in all epochs. We know that images in two or three dimen­
sions (pictures and sculptures) are obtained by these means,
ulr Z f° ,Kat 'heSe imageS are s«bjective, "atic,
unique, and definitive. This is true whether they are repro­
ductions of visible nature, personal interpretations, impres-
s,ons sty ^anon deformations of visible nature, or even in-
ted relationships and chromatic, formal, and volumetric
harmonies, as in the case of abstract art ™lumetnc
As times change, man's sensibilities change with them, A
static image, unique and final, does not contain thatquantin
of information sufficient to interest the contemporary viewer,
who is accustomed to live in an environment subject to si
multaneous and multifarious stimuli from the most varied
sources.
This situation gives birth to programmed an, which has
as its ultimate aim the production not of a single definitive
and subjective image, but of a multitude of images in con
tinual variation. The "programming" of these works, which
necessarily because of technical reasons and limitations are
neither paintings nor sculptures, is to be understood in the
sense that each artist chooses a particular material and the
structural, kinetic, and optical combinations that he consid­
ers most suitable for the embodiment of his artistic intuition.
Consequently, in keeping with the rules of "good design" (in
the same way as a fish has the form of a fish and a rose the
form and substance of a rose) the object he makes will have
its most natural form.
In these works of programmed art the fundamentalele
ments, which along with the kinetic and optical combina­
tions will give life to a continuous series of images, are m
a free state or are arranged objectively in geometrically or
dered systems so as to create the greatest number of com 1
nations, often unpredictable in their mutations but all pro­

SSssa
grammed in accordance with the system planned by 1
artist.
A work of programmed art is thus to be observed and a®'
sidered not as an object representing something else,
"the thing" in itself to be observed. It is a field °^enIS'fli(
area of a previously unknown world of creativity, a tag1
of a new reality to be observed in its continual variations
nova tendencija 3
1965
nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3]
August 13 - October 3,1965

Exhibition

MSts:~ ;xEST
Coorganized by Cent ir 7a in A •• ^
sz?>"<;?r-y **
Crafts], Zagreb
Design], Zagreb ' ' ' u s t n ' s k o oblikovanje [Center for Industrial
 Participants at the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti 179

Marc Adrian | A T | • Getulio Alviani [ I T ] • Anonima Group (Ernst

fnnri encija
JO VC3 Id 3 Benkert, Francis Hewitt, Edwin Mieczkowski) |ALL US] • Marina
Apollonio [IT] • Marianne Aue [NL] • Hartmut Bohm [DE] • Bonies
>sti, zagreb, katarinm trg 2 (Bob Nieuwenhuis) [NLL • Martha Boto |AR/FR] • Inge Claus-Jansen
agreb, trg marSala tita 10 IDE] • Ivan Cizmek [YU (HR)] • Waldemar Cordeiro |IT/BR] • Lucia
Di Luciano |IT] • Juraj Dobrovic [YU <HR)] • Dvizenije (Vladimir
Petrovic Galkin, Francisco Infante-Arana, Georgij Ivanovic Lopakov,
Lev V. Nusberg, Viktor Vladimirovic Stepanov) |ALL SU (RU)] • Effekt
IDE] • Equipo 57 (Juan Cuenca, Angel Duarte, Jose Duarte, Agustin

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 Ibarrola, Juan Serrano) [ALL ES] • Eronda [IT] • Cam Estenfelder [DE]

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3

• Karl Gerstner [ C H / D E ] • Jiirgen Graaff [ D E ] • Gerhard von Graevenitz
[DE] • Gruppo MID [IT] • Gruppo N (Alberto Biasi, Manfredo

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3

Massironi) [IT] • Tom Hudson [GB] • Raimer Jochims [DE] • Rudolf
Kammer[DE] • Ed Kiender [DE] • Hans Konig-Klingenberg [DE] •

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 Edward Krasiriski [PL] • Bernard Lassus [FR] • Wolfgang Ludwig [DE]
• Frank Joseph Malina [us] • Kenneth Martin [ G B ] • Francois Morellet

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 [FR] • Bruno Munari [IT] • Koloman Novak [YU (HR/ RS>] • Fedora
Orebic [YU (HR)] • Henk Peeters [NL] • Helga Philipp [AT] • Ivan Picelj

rt3 rt3 rt3rt3rt3rt3 [YU(HR)| • Otto Piene [DE] • Giovanni Pizzo [IT] • Lothar Quinte
[ D E ] • Vjenceslav Richter [ Y U ( H R ) ] • Bridget Riley [ G B ] • Christian

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 Roeckenschuss [DE] • Dieter Roth [DE] • Paolo Scheggi [IT]
• Turi Simeti [ I T ] • Klaus Staudt [ D E ] • Zdenek Sykora |cs (cz)] •

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 Sandor Szandai [HU] • Erwin T h o r n [AT] • Ivanhoe Trivulzio [IT]
• Gregorio Vardanega [ I T / F R ] • Emilio Vedova [ I T ] • Nanda Vigo [ I T ] •
rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 h e r m a n d e vries [NL] • Ante Vulin [YU (HR>] • Ludwig Wilding [DE]

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 Participants at the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 Dadamaino [ I T ] • Gruppo MID [ I T ] • Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica [ I T ]
• Gruppo T (Giovanni Anceschi, Davide Boriani, Gianni Colombo,

rt3 rt3 rt3 rt3 Gabriele Devecchi) [ALL IT]

Participants in the Competition "Divulgation des exemplaires de

recherches" [Dissemination of Examples of Research]:

Ueli Berger [ C H ] • Hartmut Bohm [ D E ] • Davide Boriani [ I T ] • Inge

C l a u s - J a n s e n [DE] • M i l a n C a n k o v i c [YU <HR>] • G i a n n i C o l o m b o [IT] •
Gabriele Devecchi [IT] • Juraj Dobrovic [YU (HR)] • Effekt [DE] • Michel
Fadat [FR] • May Fasnacht [CH] • Rene Feurer [CH] • Gerhard von
Graevenitz [DE] • Davor Griinwald |YU (HR)] • Gruppo MID |IT]
• Kenneth Martin [ G B ] • Ivan Picelj [ Y U ( H R ) ] • Otto Piene [ D E ] •
Ed Sommer [DE]' • Klaus Staudt [DE] • Grazia Varisco [IT] • Nanda
nova tendencija 3 Vigo [IT]

Editorial note: The information regarding which artists exhibited at the

Galerija suvremene umjetnosti and which artists exhibited in the Muzej za
umjetnost i obrt, or at both venues, is taken from the catalog. An exception is
Ed Sommer, who, according to the catalog, exhibited works in both locations.
However, the photos documenting the exhibition show that the two works by

•1
Poster nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3)
• 2
n°va tendencija 3 Exhibition catalog nova tendencija 3
[New Tendency 3]
•3
Exhibition catalog nova tendencija 3
[New Tendency 3], international version
1965
3
Design by Ivan Picelj
MSU Zagreb
180 n o v a l e n d e n c i j a 3 • 1965

Galenja suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb

August ,3-September ,9,I965 g b

Mouvemenl III [ M o v e m e n i III] by I n g e Claus-Jansen, Homogenes

Install,tion view, „„„ 3 [N(> ^ I H o m o g e n e o u s F i e l d 1 / 6 5 ] b y H a r t m u t B o h m , Cronotopo (Chro ^ ^ ^
V i g o , S I b y M a r c A d r i a n , Reljefometar | R e l i e f - M e t e r | by V i t n c t S j e S (from^

mobilbox MB 14 b y C a m E s l e n f e l d e r . Pfahl [Pole] by herman ev

• 2
I v a n C i i m e k i n t h e Kugelkabinett ( S p h e r e Cabinet] by Effek'

V i s i t o r s m a n i p u l a t i n g Drehgraphik | R o t a r y Graphics) b\ gtaud'

b a c k g r o u n d , Regelmassig grau-weiss ( R e g u l a r Grey- w h i t e ] )
 Exhibition • Zagreb 181

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• 6-10
nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3]
Documentary by Kruno Heidler, 1965
26:08 min
Film stills
MSU Zagreb

• 6
Vjenceslav Richter
Reljefometar [Relief-Meter]
1964
Plastic, metal, wood
109 x 109 x 17 cm
•7*8
Francois Morellet
Neon n°3 [Neon No. 3[
1965
•4 Neon, lamps, switches
80 x 80 cm
b\ ZdenL'Wlme Dasfles' and Cerveno-lerna struklura [Red-black Structure]
• 9 • 10
Dviienj * ^ront: P^'os documenting the activities of the
•5 leSr°UP Koloman Novak
Kinematilki varijabile [Cinematic Variables]

1964
Graphic^ 'SurfaCe L"" hy lvan Picel»- Drehgraphik [Rotary
Wood, paper, motor
Waus Stay 1 cfd°lf Kammer' Re9e'^afiig grau-weijj [Regular Grey-white] by
85 x 85 x 8 cm
and Prostor I "° 3 |Negat>v Sphere No. 3] by Manfredo Massironi,
ln 'be front• "l . °nS'rU*c,'fl l^pa'ial Construction] by Juraj Dobrovic (from left);
om-1-], Manfredo Massironi, and Alberto Biasi (from left)
 Editorial Board
Remarks

The introduction by the editorial board - Bozo Bek, Boris

Kelemen, Zdenka Munk, Matko Mestrovic, Radoslav Pu-
tar, and Vjenceslav Richter - to the nova tendencija 3 [New
Tendency 3] catalog stated the key intentions for nova ten­
dencija 3 and reviewed the responses to the call for "dis­
semination of research examples" in respect of the three
advertised sections: section I, historical overview of the
subject and examples of research on visual perception;
section II, current projects and statements concerning the
problem of disseminating research examples; section III,
presentation of the results of the competition "Project for
the Mass Production of One Example of Research on Vi­
sual Perception."

[Originally published in nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., Ga-

lerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, p. 9; translated
from the German.]

The basic intention of the nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3]

manifestation is: instead of representation - action.
Therefore: instead of the representation of illusory last­
ing values - encourage and initiate actions that research the
plastic communication of experience and insights into visual
perception;
instead of myths - instigate an awareness and understand­
ing of conceptual and operational problems, respectively;
instead of evaluating individual approaches and achieve­
ments - search for common denominators of the intrinsic
problems of immediate plastic reality;
instead of improvisation and uncritical methods - sys­
tematic and focused analysis;
instead of individual production - direct confrontation
with the conditions of industrial technology.
 Competition • Zagreb 183

Mobile M3 by Ed Sommer, IA by
Effekt, Strutturazione fluida [Fluid
Structure] by Gianni Colombo, [-],
065 by Milan Cankovic, Kleiner
Leuchtturm [Little Lighthouse] by Otto
Piene, Spielobjekt [Object for Play]
by Gerhard von Graevenitz,
Generatore di immagini variabili
[Generator of Variable Images] by
G r u p p o MID, Mobile Z III by Ed
Sommer, Sferisterio HG by Grazia
Varisco, LPANO by Gabriele Devecchi,
Cromosfera [Chromosphere] by
Davide Boriani (from left)

• 1-4 •5 * 6
nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3] nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3]
Documentary by Kruno Heidler, 1965 TV report broadcasted d u r i n g t he

26:08 min evening news of RTV Zagreb

Film stills 1965

Archive MSU Zagreb 1:10 min

• 1 Film stills
Dimitrije BaSi£evic Archive MSU Zagreb

•2 * 3 •5 * 6
Adamo Vergine manipulating Un IA by Effekt
instrument visuel [A Visual
6 I n s t r u m e n t ] by Michel Fadat
• 4
G e r m a n o Celant, Kleiner Leuchtturm

if01081'obn'Zagreb
[Little Lighthouse] by O t t o Piene

n nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3]

184 n o v a t e n d e n c i j a 3 • "965

Ed Sommer Milan Cankovic Gabriele Devecchi

mobile M3 ( a l s o objekl m3) 065 LPANO
1965
1965 1963
Plexiglas, silver brass
Model, glassware, metal Model, Plexiglas, metal
0 40 cm height: 84 cm
10 x 10 x 10 cm, 25x11 cm 14 x 7 * 7 cm
Collection of the artist
Destroyed

Grazia Varisco *
Sferisterio HG KlaUS Staudt Gerhard von Graevenitz
1965 Schwarz-weisses Relief mit 49 Spielobjekt |Object for Playl
Model, industrial glass, manipulierbaren schwarzen L 1965
Perspex, steel spheres, wood [Black-white Relief with Model, wood
18-5 x 18 5 x 3 cm 49 Manipulate Black Strips] 0 41 x 4 cm
1965

Model, painted wood, plastic

51 x 51 x 2 cm
Destroyed
 Competition • Zagreb 185

tan Picelj
Otto Piene Gruppo MID
"'Wyraphitron
Kleiner Leuchtturm (Little Lighthouse] Generalore di immagini variabili
its
1965 (Generator of Variable Images)
Vl- serigraphy, paper
Aluminum, light bulb 1965
15 cm
0 11.5 cm, height: 55 cm Plexiglas, metal, electric motor
'°"ection locundus
0 20 c m , height: 16 cm
186 nova tendencija 3 • 1 9 6 5

• •
Gianni Colombo Gianni Colombo
Roto-optic (project sketch) Stutturazione fluida [Fluid Structure!
1964 1963
Paper Model, Plexiglas, painted metal
43.5 x 71.5 cm 21 x 25 x 26 cm

fcv ty
'{S w
^ an
w
-u
. #.

Davide Boriani
Cromosfera [Chromosphere]
Davide Boriani
Sketch Cromosfera [Chromosphere)

1964/1965 Model

Paper, ink, colored pencils 1965

110 x 50 cm Metal, methacrylate, 2 slides, 2 bulbs,

Collection of the artist battery 4.5 volt

0 12 cm
Collection of the artist

May Fasnacht
untitled
1965

Painted sheet metal, glassware

0 21.5 cm, height 10 cm
 Competition • Zagreb 187

Michel Fadat
Un instrument visuel
(A Visual Instrument)
1965
Plastic, steel, paper, lamps
60.60.60 cm
MSU Zagreb

Statement of the Competition Jury

"[...] Justification: The nominated project is the result of gen­
uine research in the field of visual perception and it meets
the requirement of being reproducible in a specified number
of copies [...]. Another advantage of the chosen project con­
sists in the fact that it can serve as a valuable instrument in
everybody's hands for accumulating individual experiences
in visual perception. It is obvious that these experiences may
vary, from a piece of rigorous research to a game. [...]"

[Originally published as "concours," in: nova tendencija 3, ex-

hib. cat., international version, Galerija suvremene umjet-
nosti, Zagreb, 1965, p. 119; translated from the French.]

Editorial note: For the competition entitled "Project for the Mass Production of
One Example of Research in Visual Perception," the jury presented the project Un
instrument visuel | A V i s u a l I n s t r u m e n t ) b y M i c h e l F a d a t w i t h a n a w a r d . H i s o b j e c t ,
composed of three lamps and sixteen paper objects on a flat surface, could be
manipulated by the viewer in two ways: the position of the light sources could be
altered, and there was also the possibility of choosing between black or white
paper objects and of arranging them at will within the 4 x 4 grid.
188 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

• 1
• 2
Cam Estenfelder •3 • 4
mobilbox MB 14 Koloman Novak Hartmut Bohm
Francisco Infante-Arana
1963 Kinematidki varijabile HomogenesFeli1/65
Mode.th npocmpaHcmea-deuMeHus-
Copperplate, wood [Cinematic Variables) (Homogeneous Fiei
6ecKOHtHHocmu [Model
65 x 65 x 15 cm Model
Space-Movement-Infinity) 1965
1964 , Plexiglas. magne'-
1963 Wood, carton
Paper
Metal, string, motors motor
20 x 20 cm
90 x 90 x 90 cm 71 x7l *9cm
Peter Stuyvesant
Collection of the artist
 Exhibition • Zagreb 189

Francois Morellet
Nton N ° 3 [ N e o n N o . 3 ]
1965
Neon, lamps, switches
80 x 80 cm
Neues Museum, Nuremberg/
Collection of the artist
190 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

• » 1 , i l i a

V •- - JiMI 1 p

^
3* 1 numilll , I I I I I I I I H ! V , , Mff
» » 1 1 t i i r n i i i i i i r i r n i i i i i i a • *
} J?
_
• v r f • • 1 1 1 1 1 1 u i i i n i u i i i i i i i i f *' * _
™ '« -

' V / l v l v X v M1 ' I • ! • ' • ' •''.v'.v/'

11,. I t 1 1 1 . ' , ' , ' , * '

V',V:A\VVVV".-,-.-'~.-'V/,-
::)}!} * > > .• 1 i .

... !!!}:'* > > . j .11

... 7j.1; • v v • •.
v v.v.,,
' j j . l l " ^ ^ " M l ,

V,VR
.'A'A I / l' "

,7,7,", •»

I I I I I I IIII I IIIMII
I I I I I III! IIIMII

•• P MU.l,..
• ' • p » M I III! M t I '

• I
• 2
Marina Apollonio • 3 • 4
Marina Apollonio
Dinamica circolare 5 CP Helga Philipp Helga Philipp
(C ircular Dynamics 5 CP| Dinamica circolare 5 C N
B i B2
1965 (Circular Dynamics 5 CN]
1962 1962
1965
4 2 * 42 cm
Photograph, glass Photograph, glass
4 2 x 42 cm
Collection of the artist 40 x 40 x 6 cm 40 x 40 x 6 cm
Collection of the artist
Collection Olga Okunev Collection Olga Okunev
 Exhibition • Zagreb 191

•5

Karl
• 6
Gerstner
Getulio Alviani
/s, Cromostruttura speculare a elementi
quadri [Mirror Chromostructure with
sf"latt,ligh,box. fluorescent Square Elements]

"'"•40cm 1964
Aluminum, fluorescent paint
20 x 40 x 56 cm and 25 x 454 x 22.5 cm
Marc Adrian
si
1964 . ,m
I n d u s t r i a l glass, mirrors, alum'"

70 x 70 cm
rittergallery
 Exhibition • Zagreb 193

, ; I C ttJ H *

a n « * . , - ^ 1« ' R ?t
i • «fi . • r i r • » •

• :7 „ "..'b„J ^*•
sSsfel
>jv «.,•
a a oa o j j j ., J . „ - « W 13 - a i t ! u
5. a • v 'D0'a> fr ' opY*

2 a a q P A o o V - . ° •
' • - 4 5 i' V - f l M * . ' i s " ; - » : s V ' , s " '
, « ' r T J 5 5
I -1 " S * •' c n B 5 .
_y5j4 S3-

•1
Inge Claus-Jansen
Mouvement 111 [ M o v e m e n t I I I ]
1965
Industrial glass (Edelit), electrical

motor
72 x 72 x 7 cm

•3
• 2
Nanda Vigo
Martha Boto
Cronotopo ( C h r o n o t o p e )
Polyvision
1965
1964
Aluminum, glass
Plastic material, distemper
120 x 5 0 x 1 9 c m
30 x 3 0 x 3 0 c m ( 1 4 s h e l v e s )
MSU Zagreb
 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

Giulio Carlo Argan

Art as Research

The Italian art critic and art historian Giulio Carlo Argan,
born 1909 in Turin, studied art history at the University
of Turin. To begin with, Argan's main interest was archi­
tecture. In the years following World War II he became
a strong supporter of abstract art and modern architec­
ture in Italy. Argan wrote books on Henry Moore, Walter
Gropius, the Bauhaus, as well as on Pablo Picasso. In the
same period, Argan engaged in debates on urban devel­
opment, design, the relationship between art and tech-
nology, and the educational function of art. Furthermore
he published a series of monographs on Renaissance art­
ists such as Filippo Brunelleschi, Fra Angelico, and San-
dro Botticelli.
Argan's text for the nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency]
catalog is reprinted here; Argan was then president of
the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and
taught as professor of history of modern art in Rome.
[Originally published as "Arte come ricerca," in: nova ten­
dencija 3, exhib. cat., international version, Galerija suvre-
mene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, pp. 19-22; translated from
the Italian.1
The words artistic research, which occur repeatedly in con­
temporary art reviews, refer to the acknowledged capacity of
art to pose and solve certain problems, or to present itself as
a problem tor the artist to solve. The fact that the concept of
research as a special mode of artistic activity applies only to
some peHod5 of history, and not to others, or in a given pe-
od of history to some artists alone, and not to all, proves that
siderinp th "u * ^ alwayS> °r necessarily, research. Con-
inrful for , th\C°nCeP' of "resaa«*" begins to be mean-
fufforld r
T
(,t-
r Same time 35
sociated with the fear of the possible failure of research it­
self: for if research is a result of unpredictable drives, such as
genius, the frenzy of creativity, or inspiration, then the result
must also be uncertain. To Honore de Balzac, who wrote his
novella Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu [1831; The Unknown Master­
piece] with a cast of mind typical of Ingres, the outcome of re­
search prompted by uncontrolled inspiration will always be
negative. There is no doubt that artistic research involves un­
certainty with respect to the nature, function, and purposed
art, and a position of total skepticism, not only towards past
beliefs about these three things, but also about the perma-
nent and current value of these beliefs. It is believed thatev
ery artist must from the start pose and solve the questionsof
what is a work of art, how it is created, and how it functions
in the world. The whole cycle of art appears to open, e\ohe
and close within the life cycle of an individual; it was impos
sible to think differently at a time when it was firmly belies
that art was an expression of individuality. This indbidua,
ist concept also coincides historically with the affirmation 0
the total autonomy of art. But just when the absolute auto
omy of some activity or discipline asserts itself, there in
tably appears the question of its limits and its relation
with other activities and disciplines that are equa
tonomous. The idea of art as research emerges ulun
no longer firmly based in a system of knowledge,
knowledge itself is no longer considered a closed an ^^
system, but rather a set of instances of research carr^_ ^
using different methodological criteria in differe"^
is well known that the closed and unitary systemx
tially still a scholastic one in which the task of aI"tN raCtiCeor
nect the domains of reason or logic with those 0 p ^ ^
mechanics. When the unity of this system was es

the time
"
°f
beginS to be

for both scientific' "
that the art of a ' n f
da
"eaning-
vi„ci, who
was left standing like the stump of a tree, and wa
from the time of Giambattista Vico to that of e 8 ofknowi-
'Stmf"Shmg between them, the need Friedrich Hegel, as an initial and provisional ^j^jphere
KSearch)' We can co"elude edge from which the road leads upward to the g

can be described aTresearcTxh m°re PredS ely' m°dern art

f " of pure or abstract thought. "research art

emerged with the advent of R " C°nCePt ar"S"C research Therefore, the essential difference between ^ |atter
advent of Romantic cnticism and was as­ and "non-research art" seems to lie in the fact

j5 based on established values, whereas the former aspires
,o establish values, or rather, to establish itself as a value. In­
deed, the first aesthetic studies to discuss the problem of art
and its place in mental activity emerged concurrently with
the proposition ofart as research and self-research.
However, dependence on established values is not deci­
sive. Not even at the time of the clearest, most blinding tradi­
tional certainties could one deny the indispensability of ar­
tistic practice. Art is given the aim of pursuing beauty, and
the concept of beauty is defined by precise rules of propor­
tion, but it is not denied that in order to achieve beauty it is
not enough to pronounce a formula; specific technical op­
erations have to be carried out, specific materials used, and
images given a shape. An image is "beautiful" if we find in it,
»hen we have experienced it, the inherent idea of beauty: an
idea that surely determines, indeed preordains and governs
our experience, but which cannot in any case be dispensed
with.Thus, it is that beauty, although sanctioned by a canon,
never takes shape in the same way, because its form is always
dependent on different experiences. It is known that the Pol-
yclitean canon is not the same as the canon of Greek sculp­
ture in general: it is just the Polyclitean canon.
Research art" is not based on established values. Its pro­
cedures which are oriented toward the establishment of
' due do not assume a predetermined or predictable result.
The artist acts, his action is deliberate, but not predetermined,
initially, as a type of experience, it does not differ from an ex­
igence of pure existence. The classical artist, whose start­
ing point was the idea of beauty, knew that nature was the
'here in which it was to be achieved: a reality about whose
nurture he had firm ideas. All that an artist whom we may
Romantic knows is that he must find a value, a form
wty not determined by canons, at the end of a period
^experience in which all the possibilities and all the un-
1°' ex'stence are brought together. He knows that this
1 of experience must be spent in work, in practicing a
bilities ^UC' 'n 3 rea"ty also abounds in possi-
aprior"' Vl"5 't-'S ^at C^3SS'ca'art' 'n sP'te starting from an
*hicU 'Sdeeply natUralistic> unlike Romantic art, for
°freality6 eXPer'CnCe °^rea"ty's t'ie same as the existence
tlietjc aSSUC^' 's sought in the latter case is the aes-
n'n^°^ex'stence and a proof that this meaning is
^be cris necessary as a rational and moral meaning.
®usually kl|C aSS'Ca' art' which is much closer to us than
are consid C°'nc'^es w'tb1 fhe
crisis of values which
35 We know ' S°''d 3" ^e'^s knowledge: a crisis which,
a"branch. 'S ')resentec* as a
reduction to mere research in
Galilei ori? n°W'ec^e' ^or science itself, from Gali-
not 'brough r '' aC*Vances trough inductive reasoning,
Calf
anv rv»„^ 81 dedUCti0n from established principles'
"b'cal deduction from estahlichpH nrinrinlps
>ri these conditions, art has two alternatives:
Argan • Art as Research
either, like science, to turn into the search for values, or, if it
abdicates from such a search, to opt for frivolity and the non­
existence of established values - and to prove its case. It is
well known that Dadaism denied aesthetic value, that Surre­
alism tried to reveal the unconscious as a world of non-val­
ues, that the new American Pop art obliterated the difference
between the conscious and the unconscious in the assump­
tion that the ordinary conception of things applies equally
to both realms, which are no longer separate. What is es­
sential here, is that art equals non-art: the process, in fact, is
confined to surveying or withdrawing data and feeds it back
without having processed it, or even in a distorted and cor­
rupted form, with the intention of demonstrating that expe­
rience-existence can only undermine and destroy, never con­
struct or create.
The opposite position, spanning Neoplasticism to Op art,
assumes the concept of research that is becoming more
clearly defined in modern science: unprejudiced search, the
starting point of which is the identification of experience
and existence and which increasingly aims to define how ex­
perience is becoming specialized, to the point at which it be­
comes aesthetic, or scientific, or moral. These trends are find­
ing their guiding principles in scientific research, where they
create the necessary link between art and knowledge in gen­
eral, though their goal is different, and it should be added, in
no sense can artistic research be considered dependent on
scientific research.
Yet, there is a common premise: that value, which can be
found neither in information nor in the results of research, is
manifested in the methodological process of research. The
result itself may not be obtained, or may not be detectable,
or may be overtaken at the very moment it is believed to have
been obtained. But the process of research as such qualifies
as a model for thought, operation, or, in a word, behavior. A
scientist proves that his methodology is correct by verifying
it or by demonstrating its operativeness. An artist is doing
the same when he phenomenalizes or visualizes the mental
process of research. It is clear that any experimental process
designed to verify a scientific hypothesis phenomenalizes re­
search, and it is easy to understand that a piece of research
conducted in the field of perception will use visual material.
But it is likewise clear that experimental verifications, or to
use a more immediate example, graphic demonstrations of
the psychology of form are not identical to the works of in­
dividual artists or working groups who also develop their re­
search on the scientific basis of Gestalt psychology. There
is an even lesser degree of dependence when formal works
phenomenalize or visualize research in pure mathemat­
ics- moreover, in this case, and from a strictly mathematical
point of view, visualization is largely voluntary and superflu-
ous and adds nothing to the veracity or obviousness of the
ous
dcr«^ncrratinn.
demonstration.
196 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
Since no value can be added to the visualization of a men­
tal process, perceptual or non-perceptual, unless it is obvi­
ously necessary, it is clear that the necessity can never be of
a scientific order, it can only be aesthetic in nature. In other
words, there will never be a rational argument for this neces­
sity; it will exist only in the sphere of the imagination. It is
likewise obvious that it will not be a question of new sources
of images derived from scientific truths, because in that case
the process would amount to nothing more than transcrip­
tion, always arbitrary and in a different register.
The works we are talking about have two almost constant
characteristics: a geometrical configuration of images and
their organization in mathematical progressions. The third
element that is encountered is this: the materials and pro­
cesses are in most cases similar to those used in industrial
mass production. It is easy to understand that a geometri­
cal scheme, serial progression, materials, even the choice of
technology, are simple data and that, as a whole, they make
up a kind of "feeding"; in other words, they offer a template
for the working phase, a structure that defines the space-
time situations in which images will be placed and visual­
ized. In short, they form the initial concept for a structure.
But as the intended goal is also a structure, and more pre­
cisely a visualized structure, it is obvious that the route from
the initial concept for a structure to the visualized structure
is similar to the one leading from an architectural draft or
concept to architecture. The characteristic of this type of
project making (conveniently called a program) is that, unlike
a traditional project (or design), it excludes any further emo­
tional intervention; the process is strictly a process of moving
from the imagined to the visible.
As for the historical phase of Informel which is still a prece­
dent of the greatest importance, there is a major difference:
Informel, through its dynamics of "vital" gesture, strove to­
ward the realization of existence, or rather, of "authentic" ex­
istence, meaning by this a rebellion of the instincts or deeply
ingrained drives against the "inauthentic" existence im­
posed on us, as workers and consumers, by industrial civili­
zation with all its implications, including those of a moral or­
der. Io this position, which nevertheless implies an extreme
and almost desperate faith in the metaphysical principle of
extstence, they offer the counter-argument that one cannot
nami'T f T 3 ^KCISe " k i n e 'ics" represents the restless dy-
of exi 1° 1 e; 'j"' °ne Cannot see as "inauthentic" a mode
mode r v I efOTe ° f '° p e r a t i n «' w h i c h i s 'he
.O escane H Z T ' ' S°mething fr°m Whkh We d o n°'
and lament Wh''e comPlaining about the present
ZV ~ d
S t
h e Pas' We ha-
t nevertheless chosen or at
°f eTxise,eP„rceblisTdiS f"' n "!' '° dete™ine whet
h er '
h i
s ™y
duce either the Meal _*? i m P 0 5 s i b 'e to re-
existence or the deplorable existence to
the concreteness of moral existence and to the possibility of
choice as a prerequisite of moral life. The problem is to de­
termine whether or not such a type of existence is reducible
to morality, i.e., is really a mode of existence, concrete exis­
tence, the domain of experience, the visible world, the time
and space in which we exist.
To accept as an existential situation the way of life deter­
mined by technological and industrial processes does not in
itself mean to recognize it as a model for behavior that would
also be valid on the aesthetic, moral, or political level. To ar­
gue that a historical process is irreversible is not the same
as to argue that it cannot be modified. The activity of imag­
ination in that type of existence is not automatically inter­
rupted or paralyzed; in order to prove the contrary, it would
suffice to recall the fact that industrial production, even in its
present capitalist phase, increasingly appeals to our imagi­
nation through the way products are configured, presented,
advertised, etc. Although the mechanical operations of in­
dustrial activity follow the rhythms and sequences of ratio­
nalism on which modern technology is based, the operatives
imaginative process is not therefore halted, just as the pri­
ority or greater urgency of a physiological process (the el-
fort of running, for example) will not halt others. As studies
stand at present, it is no longer possible to see imagination
(of which sensory perception is only one aspect) as some sor
of preliminary activity, providing material for the mind to se­
lect, organize, and refine; imagination is a level ot conscious­
ness, and its products have a real, autonomous value. Since
all the levels of consciousness interconnect and overlap, the
simultaneous progress of an abstract thought or an opera
tion resulting from it is projected into the imagination an
influences its activity. Even a sequence of dream images a.
a certain coherence, which, no matter how distorted by c
parison with the straight line of logic, is still a pointer t
continuous presence, its "vigilance.'
Therefore, the art which we call optical or Gestalt a r t ,^
not visualize abstract thought, or even its techno .
determined nature; it visualizes the content or I ir0 | l
imagination that accompanies the development °'
thought and the operations dependent upon it. In 1 -^
we may even say, if we have a taste for paradox, t a
although it presents itself as so different from a n ^^
( even
precedent, is not really so very ' n n o v a t ' v e ' ^ jjyine.of
say that Giotto di Bondone's frescoes that
prayer or meditation, but we can argue wit ce
they visualize the content and processes of the ini ^. ( a ( i o n
a time when thoughts about divinity, prayer, an ^ a r c |,
dominated man's mental life. The object of Gesta ,
is none other than the definition of the content a ^ ^ ^ a C .
of the imagination at a time when life is domm ^ a pp)jca
tivity of mathematical thought and its techno
tions.
 Argan • Art as Research

Nevertheless, we cannot avoid the question of the goal crisis of industrial design that emerged from the Bauhaus.
that clearly arises from the above-mentioned interrelations But we could not answer this question without going beyond
and interactions of the levels of imagination and rationality. the boundaries of our problem, and trying to predict what
|ust as the symbolism of geometrical figures and the rhythm course industrial technology may one day take when indus­
of arithmetical progressions are introduced into the rational try is no longer subordinated to capitalist monopolies but
process by rational intervention, so the intervention of imag­ becomes a truly collective activity for the whole community.
ination phenomenalizes rational thought and the operations All one can say is that, given the present state of affairs, the
arising from it, in the form of signs and colors, which un­ kind of in vitro research conducted by some working groups,
doubtedly form a part of imaginative space and even, in both those which by their very structure try to achieve a team di­
a real and a figurative sense, inhabitable space. alectics, is the first step towards a much broader type of re­
Another problem arises: existence, marked by the rhythm search, ultimate goal of which is to attain the value of quality,
of abstract thought and its operations, tends to become abso­ no longer at the top of a pyramid of quantity, but at the level
lute, uniform, the same for everyone. But what is happening of unlimited seriality.
meanwhile to individual existence? What will happen to the
past or to memory, which, of course, are not the same for ev­
eryone? But it may be that the conditioning of existence to a
rational-mechanical rhythm has as its goal the elimination of
individual histories, individual personalities. But can we ac­
cept the reduction of moral life to orderly technological be­
havior? To take the argument to its furthest point: Will prag­
matism and mass technology utterly destroy the sense and
value of theselfl What would experience be if it could not de­
velop, construct its own history, or strive toward a goal? And
can one imagine experience without freedom? There is a
simpleanswer to all these questions: as the historical process
s lrrevers'ble, the only possibility open to us is to liberate
Jurselves not from, but within personal experience; to return
"homoludens (in the sense proposed by Friedrich Schiller in
h|s Cher die dsthetische Erziehung des Menschen in einer Reihe
* on Br/e/en 1794; [On the Aesthetic Education of Man in a Series
0 fetters]), not outside, but inside the activities of homofaber.
'•nal point: researchers and research groups studying
u<! structures are criticized for making contraptions that
P^te to no purpose, produce nothing or merely produce
•V of such non-production. We seek an object, know-
m ,0° U6" ^al '^We t3^e route' research into the
Ure °^visua' perception will be easily steered towards
an C^SC'P"ne industrial design." However,
one JStria' wor'cer is in most cases responsible only for
confined proc*uction process and his experience is
js°ne 0f 'l 3 m'n'ma'sector of production. As we know, this
ati°n Qf 6 Pr'nciPal causes of the non-integration or alien-
,lle crafts 6 m°^ern '"Atrial worker in comparison with
who|e ^ 0^'ormer times, who was responsible for the
the finished^h011 Pr°CeSS'in ot^er words, for the result, or
design and 0)'eCt" ^as'c difference between industrial
tornierasn' Perat'ona' search at the visual level is that the
^toward6h'^3^ ^ aest^et'cs °f the product, and the
tightly ask wh 'nte8rati°n of the process. We may
industrial de ^ ^ ^'S ^uest w'd result in some new form of
inlands of ^ WJ1'C^1 w'" no 'onger be subservient to the
P'talism or the market, which have led to the
198 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

Kenneth Martin
Screw Mobile
1964
Brass
96.5 x 25 * 25 cm
 Exhibition • Zagreb 199

Gruppo MID
Disco [Disk]
1965
Metal construction, painted wood,
quicksilver o r stroboscopic lamp
0 200 cm
Galleria nazionale d'arte moderna,
Rome
200 nova tendencija } • 1965

• 1
• 2
Frank Joseph Malina
Voyage II Bernard Lassus

,LtZT ''"'
1957 Boite a lumiere n"2 fnrn,0 a •
Lumidyne system, wood, Plexiglas, I L i g h . B c N o.2 3

'959/1963 8 ° r m No. 3]
gauze, light bulbs, electric motor
65 x 85 x 14 cm Paint on wood, b u l b , motor
Roger and Alan Malina 75 x 80 x 80 c m
Private collection
 Exhibition • Zagreb 201

Bruno Munari,
Marcello Piccardo
I colori delta luce
| T h e Colors of Light]
1964
16 m m film, color
5 min
202 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
Waldemar Cordeiro
Semantic Concrete Art
Waldemar Cordeiro, born 1925 in Rome to a Brazilian fa­
ther and Italian mother, studied fine arts in Rome and
moved to Brazil in 1946. In 1952, he founded together
with Geraldo de Barros, Lothar Charoux, Kazmer Fejer,
Leopoldo Haar, Luiz Sacilotto, and Anatol Wladyslaw the
Grupo Ruptura, which propagated a form of rational Con­
crete art. With the emergence of the international Pop art
movement in the mid-1960s, Cordeiro moved away from
stringent Concretismo and began merging geometric ab­
straction with the new iconography of consumer culture.
He created a series of assemblages in which he manipu­
lated clearly identifiable everyday objects into rigorously
composed visual structures. The works of his semantic
concrete art were first exhibited in December 1964 at the
Galeria Atrium in Sao Paulo. It was to this end that Au-
gusto de Campos coined the term "popcretos."
According to Codeiro, he had already drafted the
printed version of his programmatic text on semantic
Concrete art, later published in the nova tendencija 3 [New
Tendency] catalog, in September 1964.
[Originally published as "Art concret semantique," in: no­
va tendencija 3, exhib. cat., international version, Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, p. 63; translated from
the French.]
Concrete art = objective-behavioral language. Historical
Concrete art = syntax (rational methods of presentation)
Nouvelles Tendances [New Tendencies] = pragmatics (rep­
resentation of the possible behavior of materials and of the
processes of industrial techniques).
Historical Concrete art and the New Tendencies act on the
level of infrastructure:
a) the economic infrastructure that is historically related
to the conditions of the development of industrial technology;
b) the infrastructure of the visual icon.
At the level of the infrastructure, everything is hygienic, im­
personal, and economic. The consumer is reduced to a vir­
ginal and disinterested retina.
At the origin of Infrastructural art, there was an ethi­
cal stance, the fruit of a Utopian vision that was later belied
by history: the technological development was supposed to
bring, as its natural outcome, happiness and an organization
of society that would be acceptable from a moral point ol
view. Since Utopia has been outmoded, all that r e m a i n s is he­
donism, the amusement park, and the kaleidoscope.
The New Tendencies are inaugurating a new naturalism.
Participation of the viewer is considered from a biological

point of view. And this is why the New Tendencies are to Con­
crete art what Verism was to the art of the Renaissance. Be­
havioral Verism: C'est le trompe-l'ceil pour le trompe-l'ceil, sans
fail pour fail. Historically, the New Tendencies are a coun­
terpart to the Informel, which also explored the direct pres­
entation of material, and also adopted the poetics of ambigu­
ity and the equivocal.
The boundaries of the New Tendencies are the bounda­
ries of Gestalt. Edmund Husserl has already observed that
Gestalt psychology is confined to psychological naturalism: it
describes internal experiences and facts of a non-intentional
consciousness without touching on what he calls "transcen­
dental subjectivity."
To continue research at a syntactic and pragmatic level is
to bury one's head in the sand.
'n my opinion, the problem consists in shifting objec-
11 behavioral art from infrastructure to superstructure. A
nation from the sphere of production to the sphere of
consumption ensues. The problem also consists in shifting
search from the rational study of behavior in relation to
' Ca' Phenomena to research of the same behavior in rela-
to visible facts full of intention and meaning within the
'0r'Ca'anc* soc'al context; in moving from perception (Ge-
' apprehension (Jean-Paul Sartre), from icon to com-
cation, from pure" stimulus to "associated" stimulus.
Cordeiro • Semantic Concrete Art 203
This attitude can coincide with others, but it has never­
theless a distinct character: the aspiration to objectivity. This
viewpoint attempts to remain far from intimate fancies and
inconsequent naturalisms. It is not a matter of turning your
back to infrastructural research, but only of developing it
with the assistance of a qualitative link up to the infrastruc­
ture of semantics.
To construct semantically (changes in meaning), using
space, light, and movement.
Over centuries, artists have used space as a condition of
semantic representation. Figures located in the axonometric
perspective of the Middle Ages or in the Euclidean space of
the Renaissance turned into signs. The human being and the
objects acquired meaning in space and time (meaningful sit­
uation). The macro-naturalism of Pop [artl is a defloration of
space.
In my work, the object (ready-made) is constructed and at
the same time a space that is no longer a physical space. The
disintegration of the physical object's space is already a se­
mantic disintegration (a destruction of conventional strata),
and, considered from a different parameter, it is also a se­
mantic construction - the construction of a new meaning.
204 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

Waldemar Cordeiro
Deformations optico-intentionnelles

(Optical-intentional Deformations]

Bottle*, water, newspaper clipping' divers

from industrial production
80 x 80 x 20 cm
Destroyed
uldbe
* The bottles which were filled with water couit

manipulated by the viewers.

 Exhibition • Zagreb 205

tftite IM

Dieter Roth
Crash
1965
Pencil, indian ink, felt-tip pen, paper
37.5 x 23.5 cm
MSU Zagreb

• •* •

Edward Krasiriski
Dzida [Spear] (also: Przedmiot w
przeslrzeni [Object in Space])
1964
Spear: wood, metal wire
300 cm
Hanna Ptaszkowska a n d Museum
of Modern Art in Warsaw
206 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
Dimitrije Basicevic
Actuality of Functional Art
Dimitrije Basicevic studied art history and philosophy in
Vienna and Zagreb. As an assistant at the Yugoslav Acad­
emy of Arts and Sciences he worked for ten years at two
institutions belonging to the academy - the Moderna ga-
lerija [Modern Gallery] and the Likovni arhiv [Archive of
fine Arts] in Zagreb. In addition to his sideline activity as
an art critic, Basicevic also helped to organize Salon 54 in
Rijeka, the first institutional exhibition of abstract art in
Yugoslavia. In i960, Basicevic became the first curator of
the Galerija primitivne umjetnosti [Gallery of Primitive
Art], which was founded as the Seljacka um jetnicka galerija
[Peasant Art Gallery] in 1952 and renamed in 1956. In 1964
he resigned, and in 1965 he became curator of the Benko
Horvat Collection at the Galerije grada Zagreba [Galleries
of the City of Zagreb]. Since the mid-i940s, Basicevic also
wrote poetry and short prose texts and also created works
of visual art which were mostly exhibited and published
only after his death. In 1959 he published several poems
under the name "Mangelos/Mandelos," what would be­
come his pseudonym for his artistic oeuvre. Like Matko
Mestrovic and Radoslav Putar, Basicevic was a member of
the proto-conceptual group Gorgona*
[Originally published as "Aktuelnost funkcionalne umjet­
nosti," in: nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., Galerija suvreme-
ne umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, pp. 63f.; translated from the
Croatian.]
An object has no attributes. But a function.
There are no eternal values. Not even in art. The thesis
about the eternal value of a work of art is a prejudice. Of
the past. The concept of the existence of an isolated, single
work of art is also a prejudice. A single and isolated work of
art does not exist. And it never has. It has never been made.
Therefore, we do not need the supposition that it has. Been.
Or. That it could have been. Made. Art can only be under­
stood within the closest social relations.
Only as activity. A connected activity. By no means as an
independent act. A "Picasso" does not exist. Alone. A "Picasso
exists only in relation to other. "Picassos." Artistic value is not
represented by an isolated work, but by the activity itself. In
its relations.
Being of value for a museum does not mean being of
value for art.
Mans essential relation is his relationship to matter. Hu
man. History was built up on this relationship. History hap
pens along the way between matter and material. The history
of art emerged within the framework of these relationships.
In regard to this, two phases in the history of art can be c
served. Instinctive art. And then. Functional art.
Instinctive art is not inferior because of its relation tot e
historical
dominant
uviniiiaiii oil-on-canvas technique. This is ,just its
uu un taiivao ivciunvjuv.
characteristic. Its relation to matter preconditioned thequ
ities of instinctive art.
In the first place. Matter. Means. Material. Fort e ^
reasons functional art implements the technical re\o ut^
The technical revolution is historically the mos
mined revolution in art. , . 0f
The task of historians is to explain the limite c ^
materials used by classic art. But the task °[
artists is to widen their research to a range of live

that is as broad as possible. Functional art, emerging from
new relations (material, economic, and social), faces the en­
deavor of exploring the possibilities of artistic forming. Its at­
titude to society is positive. This kind of relation abolishes
the historical conflict between society and art. Because of
this, the quality of art changes.
The relation of functional art to matter caused a new way
of understanding space to emerge. This space is not imagi­
nary, but real, three-dimensional space. The relationship to
the qualities of matter gave rise to the next dimension. The
fourth. Time. It is about movement in space. In comparison
1 instinctive art, instead of apparent spatial properties, we
rouni on actual spatial properties. This aspect brings about
'he abolishment of metaphysical categories, but on the other
nand, it causes the introduction of research methods, rational
antral over the procedures that are repeatable, and finally,
• group work system. At that moment in the past when the
ea *as uttered that technology would ruin art, the way for
"on3'art was opened. If technology contributed to eras-
ng one art (instinctive), it also helped to create a new one.
functional.
he discovery of new materials put an end to the aesthet-
lcso' instinctive art.
he assertion that the third dimension in classical paint-
existe nt3'nS 3 "e' kecause lt suggests that something non-
Upon 1 eX'.StS' 'S entire,y ^a'se- Space. An entire art is based
'helim'IS 'ma^'nary dimension. We should not condemn
c°nscio 6 C°^n't'Ve caPat>ility of historically less developed
PastandSI1|SS'n namC t0day- Past remains th,e
Therpo 6 aI'ons toward the past can only be sentimental.
are no others.
Tlte
are to be overenCCS °^tradition are on^ useful in that they
Basicevic • Functional Art 207
Functional art is not a picture of the world any more. It
does not represent its object. It creates it. Functional art is
not cognizant of the transcendental meaning of forms.
The artist is not a medium but a creator. Explorer.
Art is primarily concerned with the examination of forms.
Of a system of forms. Where? In the materials that are con­
crete qualities of matter for art.
Artistic activity is based on objective information. Instead
of subjective information (the relationship between the two
arts).
The artist does not advance ahead of his time. He creates
his time. Or more precisely. He takes part in his era. He is not
a prophet. And not a predecessor.
The relation to serial products and the system of multi­
plied originals indicates the democratic character of func­
tional art.
The aesthetics of instinctive art is useless for functional
art. False art can be recognized by not being based on its own
relations. The language of functional art is universal. There
is no more local or regional art. The vast quantity and the
objective quality of information are factors that enable us,
for the first time in the history of art, to participate in build­
ing something in an entirely experimental way that is by no
means an experiment.
• T h e o t h e r members of Gorgona were t he painters Marijan Jevsovar, Julije
Knifer, D u r o Seder, a n d Josip Vanista, t he sculptor Ivan Kozanc, and the
architect Miljenko Horvat.
208 n o v a t e n d e n c i j a 3 • 1965

•3
• 2
Christian Roeckenschuss Ivan Cizmek
ohne Tile! ( u n t i t l e d ] Ante Vulin
Slruklura II (Structure
1965 TE-64
1965
Relief, resin, paint, wood 1964
China ink, p*Per
80 x 80 cm Wood
49 x 49 cm
Christian Roeckenschuss 80 x 80 x 3 cm
MSU Zagreb
2IO nova tendencija 3 • 1965

Ik a

the formative concept of this aesthetic object is that of perceptive pregnanze

[meaningfulness]. the word pregnanza means: among all forms there is
one that is perceptually dominant - the best one, of course. This concept
is expressed in the work through its operational processuality. it blocks the
combinatorial structure of the subordinate images with immagini pregnanti
[meaningful images],
the structural process imposes itself on the double logical-mathemat­
ical comb.nations of the subordinate images with the logical-mathematical
combination of the principal ot meaningful images.

is .fill Th5,2' the Charac,eristi<:s °f th= individual sign units, the work
Intmott, '"a5 e ClaSS6S °ftaaeeS: tW° ^ordinate classes
pnnZ 2717 'he °'her a class (the
on anotheHe l j"™ °f imag6S are tha sa™ a* "-ose which, Zdenek Sykora
Giovanni Pizzo
of human ta»i£££^ ^ tyP°'°gy' ""h"1 mKhaniS™ BIKldrky (White DashesI
Sign-gestalt n°l6
1965 1963

Morgan's paint, masonite Oil, canvas

r:r„T'e ^^
Sdhbrnchure Galfe^N"
n- ,1 ttanslam^from
"!PregnanZe P«cettive),- in: combinatorie, 61 x 123.5 cm
200 x 135 cm
d..;.,it*- collection Ostrava,
212 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

Anonima Group
[Untitled]

The Anonima Group was an American artist don't confuse:

collaborative founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in art and life
i960 by Ernst Benkert, Francis Hewitt, and Ed geometry and art
Mieczkowski. Propelled by their rejection of the perception and optics
cult of the ego and automatic style of Abstract don't equate:
Expressionism, the artists worked collabora­ hands with brains
tively on grid-based, spatially fluctuating draw­ tools with machines
ings and paintings that were investigations of anonymity with conformity
the scientific phenomena and psychology of op­ additional confusions (equations):
tical perception. The term "Anonima" referred illusion and unreality
amongst other things to the fact that the group reality and nature
evaluated the results of collaboration higher construction and abstraction
than the individual distinction of the collabora­ repetition and decoration
tors. I he group disbanded in 1971. complexity and disorder (profundity)
I he statement reprinted here was formulated simplicity and originality
in November 1964 and published for the first artists and movie stars
time in January 1965 on the occasion of the exhi­ formalism and repression
bition ViBrAtloNs eleven at Martha Jackson Gal­ informalism and freedom
lery, New York.
responsive and responsible
publicity and fame
[Originally published in nova tendencija3, exhib. exposure and acceptance
cat., international version, Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, p. 106.] remember: "anonima" is not "unknown
214 nova tendencija J • 1965

programme n° 2 -
iuo prolettorl amettono una luoa roaaa a una luoa Tarda oha dora a l
DOrrappongono, deparmlnano una zona di luoa gialla, pib lumlnoaa.

"The project we propose is to carry out an operation in experimental

aesthetics; that is, as a tool for a possible research exercise, not a defined,
completed work of art. Our intention is to highlight and measure sta­
tistically, using tests, the aesthetic information content of a programmed
visual message.
More precisely, we are trying to establish at what level of a particular
type of visual communication aesthetic perception comes into play,
and consequently, if and between what limits a certain complexity of the
visual message, relative to the number of elements involved and to
the complexity of their modulation (frequencies, repetitions, rhythmic
patterns), is a function of the aesthetic content of the message."

[Giovanni Anceschi and Davide Boriani in: nova tendencija3,exhib.cat.,

international version, Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb,1965, p.n6.|

O ' - v - ' •

^ v<-
 Exhibition • Zagreb

Anceschi-Boriani
Test di estetica sperimentale

Programma n.

(Analisi semantica degli aspetti, Ddlf Zillmann, 1963)

Editorial note: One viewer at a time entered the

Valutate perfavore il valore estetico dell'opera della quale lei ha appeno
environment and was confronted with one of twelve
concluso la visita
different programmed color sequences. The length
Per ciascun aggettivo metta, per favore, una crocetta sul valore che considera of time spent in the environment was registered.
adeguato On leaving the environment the viewer had to fill
out a questionnaire: "Please judge the aesthetic
0. = per nulla 1. = poco 2, = a met& 3. = abbastanza 4. = molto value of the work of art that you have just expe­
rienced. For each adjective please tick a value
which you consider appropriate." The categories
moderno 0 2 3 4
given were: modern, banal, heavy, active, dreadful
fascinating, poor. They could be rated on a Five-
banale 0 2 3 4
point scale: not at all, a little, moderately, quite a
pesante 0 2 3 4 bit, very. Viewers could also write down other
observations or comments.
attivo 0 2 3 4 The questionnaire was based on the concept
of semantic aspects analysis by Dolf Zillmann,
brutto 0 2 3 4 a lecturer at the Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm
[Ulm School of Design) (HfG) where Giovanni
affascinate 0 2 3 4
Anceschi studied from 1962 to 1966.

povero 0 2 3 4

osservazioni

^»tt"cefhi'DavideBoriani
"45 e"",'e lExPer>mental
'Wing
250"250cm l'r°mechamcal programmer
• 3
• 2
Giovanni Anceschi, Davide Boriani
Giovanni Anceschi, Davide Boriani
Questionnaire for Ambiente sperimentale
Environment] Ambiente sperimentale [Experimental Environment)
1965/2006
2005 (1965)
Archive Giovanni Anceschi
Projectors, computer
300 x 300 x 300 cm
Installation view Musee d'art moderne et
contemporain de la ville de Strasbourg
Private collection
 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

/ -
C '

23
anlysaJ

•lUMliarc

The aim is to provide those who develop models of mental activity

with findings that will enable them to segment the viewing of objects,
specifically into a succession of movements and stops, in a variety oi
directions, etc. As demonstrated in the execution of the study, this col­
laboration allows scientists, researchers, and artists to come together
in search of entirely new ways of understanding and discoveries. This
coming together, which at first sight might appear to be limiting, in
fact reveals the potential of giving artists in particular a more pro­
found awareness of their working methods, providing them with an
Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica
Anahs, del processo percettivo di un triangolo,
incomparable tool with which to develop their intellectual and expres
» -«W-we»to es,etico e neutro [Analysis of sive capacities."
the Perceptive Process in Relation ,0 a
[Gruppo ricerca cibernetica in: "Analysis of the Perceptive Process in
'"angle, from an Aesthetic and Neutral
viewpoint] Relation to a Triangle, from an Aesthetic and Neutral Viewpoint,
1965
nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., international version, Galerija suvrenitnt
Distemper, wood
umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, p. 107.]
'"•plates, 60 x 80 cm each

Abraham A. Moles
Cybernetics and the Work of Art
The French engineer, sociologist, and philosopher Abra­
ham A. Moles, born in 1920, specialized in electroacous-
tics after gaining his diploma as an electrical engineer. In
1945 he joined the Laboratoire d'acoustique et de vibra­
tions [Laboratory of Acoustics and Vibrations] of the Cen­
tre national de la recherche scientifique [National Center
for Scientific Research] (CNRS) in Marseille. In 1952, he
defended two scientific doctoral dissertations in electroa-
coustics at the Sorbonne, and in 1956 two further Ph.D.
theses followed - this time in the humanities: La Crea­
tion scientifique [The Scientific Creation] and Theorie de
linformation et perception esthetique [Information Theory
and Aesthetic Perception]. With these works, which were
published as books, Moles laid the foundations of his "in-
tormation aesthetics." In the 1950s, Moles worked as a
scientist at the studio for electroacoustics in Gravesano,
founded by Hermann Scherchen in 1952, and at the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Columbia
University in New York. In 1965 he was professor at the
hole d organisation du travail in Paris, and at the Hoch-
schule fur Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of Design] (HfG).
[Onginally published as "Cybernetique et oeuvre d'art,"
Rei'ue Esthetique, vol. 18, no. 2, April-June 1965, pp.
3 182, reprinted in: nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., inter-
nul \ersion, Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb,
9 PP- 91-102; translated from the French.]
U" Eiif iinjen wirdochab
"Km^n,die w i r m a c h t e n
l0hinn ^Ifgang vo„ Goe,he
•n his book Th u
0Us'y tran ? ^se °f ^uman Beings (1950), errone-
err
krnetics S 'm° ^renc^ as tybernetique et Societe [Cy-
^amental s" .^°C'et^ ^952)> Norbert Wiener posed the fun-
t?
machines C'3' Pr°k'em °f cybernetics: symbiosis with the
precisely th ^ ^ ^'Screte'y 'nvaded our world, or, more
machines of °^°Ur Noughts. Certainly, energy-based
ich the automobile is the most onerous exam­
Moles • Cybernetics
ple, have a very limited discretion: we are constantly aware of
their presence, take them into account in our plans, and refer
to the industrial revolution and the power of man. But hence­
forth, information machines will increasingly come to deter­
mine our actions and in such an insidious way that we may
legitimately speak of a secret revolution as accomplished with­
out the knowledge of its participants. How will man, credited
by philosophers as a thinking being, come to terms with mes­
sages originating from artificial organisms? If man's dignity con­
sists in the ability to think, how will human beings perceive a
possible competitor they have hitherto managed to deny on a
metaphysical plane, but which now visibly imposes itself at a
functional level?
Today, one question predominates: that of information
machines in their twin aspect as "thinking machines" (ma­
chines a penser) and "machines that make us think (machines
a faire penser). The interpretation "machines that make us
think" is valuable for philosophy. It entails the concept of
philosophical machines, the development about which Ra­
mon Llull and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz dreamt, though
our modern philosophy professors have remained a little re­
sistant to the idea that a laboratory must be linked to their
position. The banal interpretation "thinking machines, as
evoked by the cautious enthusiasm of the general public, was
still rejected several years ago by the majority of the scien­
tists who would not be compromised by these kinds of things.
Now a good number of them accept it at least as a conven­
ient abuse of language designating certain categories of men­
tal operations, as entered in the relevant article in the Petit
Larousse dictionary. This leads us to a new attitude with re­
spect to this word and to an inventory of the faculties of the
intelligence. In short, to respond to this question, there is
nothing else to do other than to make the machines take psy-
chotechnological aptitude tests. The figure above' offers a
psychological profile of the automatized "thought
What we are concerned with here are the lowest apti­
tudes, about which it has been said that machines are "in­
genious idiots." This is the origin of the problem of creation,
wMrh in the judgment of some, raises a certain number of
 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
philosophical questions - whereby the question as to the
automatic reproduction of machines remains a concern of
the future.
To create means to introduce something new to the world,
to produce original messages under rational constraints, to
give intelligible form to something, a form, that is, compre­
hensible to the "average" human mind. The present discus­
sion concerns the nature of these constraints - constraints
which correspond to the concept of the coherence of the mes­
sage. These constraints are simply measured statistically by
the position of the messages produced on a scale ranging from
the repetitively banal to the perfectly original, and in their el­
ementary form insufficiently distinguish between coherence
at closer or greater distance. That a machine is perfectly ca­
pable of selecting from a series of numbers or words one af­
ter the other is certain. In other words, a machine is capable
of liberating itself from the gibberish of a painting chimpan­
zee or from automatic speech. It can also indefinitely repro­
duce a parrot's speech. No less certain is that we are incapa­
ble of reproducing a tragedy by Jean Racine (or even by R. A.
C. I. N. A. C.: Rhyte autogenerator, correlator, ingrator, nation-
alyzer, and computer).
Simulation and Residue
Particularly in the field of automatic translation, some years
ago one could have believed that the machine simulation of
human thought would be infinitely faster than we now be­
lieve. In tact, the psychological profile traced above, which in­
duces us to think that the faculties or the deficient machines
will be rapidly ameliorated, leads to an evaluative error. To
perceive universals, to create, remains in the state of becom­
ing, and we have good reason (cf. Kurt Godel's theorem) to be­
lieve that there exist very profound difficulties about which
we have tended to ponder for a long time. The problem is
symbolized in the creation of valuable, meaningful artificial
texts, the aptitude of machines to master a general semantics.
This is the central problem. Effectively, if a machine was ca­
pable of creating a long, meaningful text, it is owing to the fact
that we would recognize its meaning at a philosophical level
while also being in a position to make it write patents or geo­
metrical theorems: finally, we would be capable of making the
computer compose detective stories, poems, or symphonies
simply by changing the nature of the semantemes entered
into the registers of the machine. This is based on the idea of
great distance order (macrostructure). And we know, particu-
ar y smce Noam Chomsky's pertinent analysis, that the bases
fion fS r em
c
macrostructure are heterogeneous in rela-
the Mark T* ° diSt3nCe °rder (m'crostructure) which
the Markov process has made^2^ ^^& ^
thoughtbutlT"!,tHe re'atl0nshiPs between the elements of
thought but also between the elements of nature; we presentlv
remain incapable of handling this macros,ructure
Yet, the cybernetic mehod offers us a very powerful rea­
son for attempting to continue an undertaking that appears
logically hopeless, since we believe that another kind of the­
ory is required to attain true creation. This method suggests
the idea of a residue of a simulation. It is a method consist­
ing of the optimum reproduction - by way of a kind of iter­
ation of thought - of all the processes that we master, in or­
der to simulate everything that is possible tosimulate so as to
clearly circumscribe at the end of the analysis the doctrinal
residue with which we are confronted. Only then do we draw
on other methods. Here, cybernetics rediscovers the scien­
tific method, one of the most constant axioms of which is to
begin with what is easiest. In the attempt to construct texts
through Markov approximations which are pushed further
and further, we have understood that there is a limit to this
operation and that at a certain point it will be necessary to
change doctrines. Here, the question of the construction of
a work of art by the machine becomes interesting. In fact it
claims to approach the work of art in every possible way and
to propose simulacres each time; each characteristic is based
on operationality and the "degree" is not misused to qualify'
this method as a neo-Cartesianism of the machine, a neo-
Cartesianism based on an operationality whereby the "degree
of similitude" plays the role of the old notion of "truth.
We already have proof of the power of this method. For
example, we know that the Morenian sociometry3succeeded
in accounting for a great number of human characteristic
by building a socio-cybernetics from an extremely limited
number of properties of social atoms combined in molecular
chemistry. Commencing with simple properties, it accounted
for facts as varied as the maturing of the social group, thiex
istence of a leader, the secret counselor, the intellectual caste,
social classes, the established facts of this analysis, the phi
nomenon that lovers are alone in the world [...]. Thus, as v
have suggested above, social psychology would be the res'
due of the analysts' crucible once he has exhausted the a ^
ities of atomistic simulation; what will remain, therefore
the proper object of psychology, the object intrinsic to n
Thus, we discover that a science that we believed to ^
tional - which consisted in proving theorems, in writing^
ary texts recounting stories, etc. - escapes us and wi
a more probing, basic conceptualization because it c ^ ^
a transcendence, which should be evaluated in a' caS^
the other hand, we feel compelled to state that scien ^
believed to be essentially human, such as socio jn
be reduced to a simple combination of atomic P|°^an0ne
a rationality, which is the "model," far more easi \
would have thought. nd this is
n0t
In short, cybernetic analysis constrains us - an ^^
the least of its merits - to change our perspecti
scales of value. It establishes, for example, the inlP^atjOIl0f
the combination of simple elements in the repre
 Moles • Cybernetics 219

the world. This suggests a creative power of the machine that
realizes this combination, always potentially richer than the
precise program for which it was constructed. The true value
thus lies in the complexity of the systems studied, which is
(he source of their wealth of novelty.
The work of art is more amenable to cybernetic analysis
than a work of science, precisely because its criteria of vali­
dity are much less exact and above all much less coherent
than those of the latter. Non-representational art in particu­
lar claims only that a certain quantity of order is present in
the product to give it a consumer value, without indicating
the distribution of that quantity of order existing in the dif­
ferent levels of this hierarchy of utilized semantemes.
If machines claim to simulate intellectual creation in an
effective way, they begin with the simulation of works of art
and thereby with the creation of non-figurative works. Who
would program such machines? We know their flexibility
and we know that it is by all means suitable to insert both a
repertoire of elements (the program) and a procedure for se­
eding and assembling these elements (the program). Thus,
ultimately it will be necessary to pass from its specific lan­
guage to the language of our sensations at the output of the
machine; to make whatever kind of judgment on its product,
since art - except perhaps in crosswords at an inferior level
and in mathematic creation at a higher level - expresses it­
self only in the language of sensations.
This question offers a new role to the aesthetician, no lon­
ger the ethereal philosopher discoursing on the notion of the
beautiful, but the practitioner of sensations, solidly trained
'he psychology of values and preparing the tasks of the
hine,as 'he linguist and the grammarian have prepared
e 'asks for the translating machine. The few experiments
n ucted in this field have revealed that some fundamen-
"i'odes suited for classification, which are all aesthetic
^ u es, and that it is possible to symbolize a type of organ-
§ "'.whereby each type represents a program for creative
Birkhoff)4. From an informational point of view, it analyzes
the architecture of external spectacles, the hierarchy of their
order. It attributes a global value resulting from the compo­
sition of partial values at the different levels, according to the
rules dictated by the aesthetician who developed the pro­
gram, and according to his knowledge of the psychology of
sensation. The machine chooses the spectacles that exceed
a certain rate of value, qualifies them as "works of art," stores
them in its memory, and is then able to regurgitate them on
demand by retranslating them at the output into sensory
phenomena, this time with the help of a digital-analog trans­
ducer, a television receiver or a generator of complex sounds.
The role of the machine is to help the aesthetician to
serve mechanical critique. If the world is full of beautiful
things, the critic will be transformed into an artist, as soon as
he places a frame around a small piece of asphalt, which his
infallible gaze will have appreciated as being aesthetic. One
notes that no one is "responsible" in this process. The pro­
gram is provided by the consensus omnium of humanity and
the source is the vast world.
2nd attitude: The human mind is too weak for the ideas that it
imagines. An idea as elaborated by a responsible artist who
feels incapable of realizing it because the labor of develop­
ment it demands surpasses human ability. This is the case of
Karl Otto Gotz5 who sought to explore the combinations of
black-and-white signs to make super-signs and who resorted
to a team in which each member produces a small part of
an assemblage picture according to the rigorous rules pro­
vided by the creator. The task of accomplishing this rapidly
surpasses the limits of human action, if organized as a team.
We demand that the machine serves as an amplifier of com­
plexity so as to push our desires to their limits and to real­
ize them. One introduces an idea and a repertoire of sym­
bols into the machine and requests that it develop this idea.
For example: Iannis Xenakis is interested in distributing el­

of ^mes ^mach/nes a creer). Here, through this qualification ements of sound according to a certain number of simple

•L: att'tudes, cybernetic analysis already claims some- rules and enquires as to what would happen to these rules
8 onginal about the nature of creation. respecting their perception by the listener. He has no a priori
knowledge of it. He starts by assembling elements of sound
by hand, and then, when the scope of calculations is ex­
followi^ W°r'^ 'S weafofo lhat must be exploited.
f°rmatio^1 / Cr't6r'a °f ^nality, this results in the trans-
ceeded, he asks an IBM 704 to execute them for him.
It seems that a fair portion of our future art could be de­
system f °|eVer^ s^stem exploration of this world into a
veloped along these lines, as clearly shown by the 1963 Venice
^formad/ °r'Zat'°n 0^wor^s of art: this would be the spec-
J Iranslat nC ^ art'^c'a^ au(Thor.
Biennale. If we arrange a great number of parallel lines, each
It includes at the input
with a weak "precession," which is to say at a certain regular
°fohema h W 'C trans^orms sensations into the language
interval to one to another with respect to another system ot
%al-an 1 ^ eXamP'e' television camera, artificial ear,
references, we know that from a certain distance, group phe­
sages thus c ^ transc^ucerl- The machine digests the mes-
nomena can be perceived (auditory interference, moire, etc.)
gram ,1^ J nst'tute(l by passing them through a "filter" pro-
exarnP'e
that will give way to new kinds of macrostructures. We are
the006 °^6 mec^anlcal" values that gauges, for
an<*
particularly aware of the fact that a determined rigor is re-
numfi16 redundancy- l^e number of repetitions,
tn nnsh this project to its completion since one must
Lr of elements of symmetry (George David
 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
always apply the same rule to a great number of facts. Here,
the human being rapidly surrenders. This is the moment at
which to cede to the machine and to ask it to complete the
task. However, until now human beings have never had ac­
cess to this aid to intelligence and work, and our attempts in
this realm have remained extremely limited. Hence, there is
something new; a path has opened for art to rush along.
3rd attitude: Another aesthetic program suggests itself to us:
the definition and discreet exploration of a field of possibil­
ities instead of drawing on the field of natural possibilities
outlined in paragraph one, or of following the implications
of an idea as in paragraph two. One might define a combina­
torial algorithm, relative to sound or visual elements, etc. This
algorithm delimits a field of possibilities relative to this com­
binatorics. This field of possibilities can be extremely large;
the human being could trace a particular trajectory in it and
innocently pass to the most seductive realizations. Only the
machine will be capable of systematically exploring the to­
tality of the field ot possibilities and of filtering whatever the
value of each of the millions of created works to save the best.
That is Permutational art.
T he machine will possess a symbolic code that produces a
repertoire, and a given algorithm introduced by an aestheti-
cian, here considered as an artist because he created his algo­
rithm and is responsible for it.
The algorithm systematically applies the combinatorial
game to all the elements to the point of having exhausted
the field of possibilities. The machine creates a finite but im­
mense number of potential works that it is capable of stor­
ing. However, as in paragraph one, it is wiser to select them
according to a certain number of values, such as intelligi­
bility, sensuality, etc., as provided by the aesthetician. What
remains in the filter will be stored, then sold. This is what
Pierre Barbaud's algorithmic music attempts; it is the S + 7
method illustrated by Jean Lescure in Ouvroir de litera­
ture potentielle [Oulipo, Workshop of Potential Literature]
(1 lustrations); the method of variations by Quirinus Kuhl-
mann and Picard, etc. Permutational art, that exquisite game
played by the mandarins, has considerable importance in a
consumer society to which it introduces personal diversity
into the uniformity of one and the same algorithm. Each cli­
ent o the supermarket chain Prisunic will have a unique and
irreplaceable personalized motif for his or her Formica tabl-
etop exclusively provided for him or her alone by an artist
machine capable of producing thousands of others at the
cost ot the same program.
Artistic ^ THlS C°nS,StS in tryinSto simulate the processes of
it TWs isTh n,aCC°rding t0 eVerythi"g we know about
of reduction IT eXPreSSi°n °f the Cybernetic
evoked at the beginning of this text. Effectively,
it will seek to imitate the composer's approaches or errors
so as to eventually carry out a critique, thereby transcend­
ing that which a mechanical model is capable of accomplish­
ing. This is the neo-Cartesianism of the imaginary machine
clearly elaborated by Michel Philippot6 and put into prac­
tice by Lejaren A. Hiller7 in his celebrated work that resulted
in the musical Illiac Suite. The organigram of the process is
divided into two parts corresponding to two machines or to
two successive ways of using the same, though differently
programmed machine. In the analyzed part, we come across
a translator of sensory phenomena from the external world,
but here, this external world is reduced to the cultural world,
namely, to the source of works of art recognized as such by
universal consensus in the particular domain in which we
are interested: sound, vision, form, color, etc. This translator
seeks to statistically grasp the "secret" through any kind of
characterization - or in any case the objective traits of histor­
ical works of art. Later on, in a further step, it integrates by re­
searching the laws of autocorrelation: in other words, it gen­
eralizes. At the end of this process of integration, we record
it in two distinct memories: firstly, the materiality of the par­
ticular combinations of rules that express each of the works
in the singularity of the combinations of the rules it repre­
sents, insofar as the analysis has been correctly carried out
Secondly, instead of listing the works according to the set ot
rules they use, this time, we list the rules by the set of works
to which they apply. This analytic part represents, ifone may
say so, an artificial spectator or an artificial listener, attentive
to the world of art, respectful towards that which humanin
has found most beautiful, but at the same time curious about
objective characteristics, curious to discover the secret ol the
beautiful.
In the synthetic part, one source, be it imagination or ran
domness, extracts one symbol from the repertoire ol symbc
duly defined at the outset, as in other processes. Each of them
is submitted to a sequential analysis in a subsequent part 1
order to find out whether or not it conforms to the set ol ru
clearly identified in the analytic part and that are reinsert
and define a style at this stage of the process, like the sty ^
Cantus Firmus as suggested by Wilhelm Fucks, Beetho
symphony, or Victor Vasarely's geometric abstraction- ^
At the end of this part of the machine, the purticu ^
bol under consideration either does or does not 0 0 ^ ^
set of suggested rules, in which case it will be tra"sr™ ^
it does not follow them it is rejected and the or en ^ ^
mitted to the random source to suggest a new
be in turn examined according to the same criteria ^
ther being accepted or rejected. This process ot it
repeated until a valid sign has been found. xaCtlyfol-
Thus, little by little a sequence emerges whic ^ ^ fe.
lows the approach or the creative modus °Pera" the
grets or the reversals up to aesthetic satisfaction

framework of a given style. Up to this stage one may say that
this organigram resembles a music student executing an as­
signment in counterpoint and erasing the notes on his paper
until he has satisfied all the rules of the game.
The following stage will be a formalization of the set, al­
ways practically very important and followed by a compari­
son with the repertoire of works listed by the artificial spec­
tator's memory. This is the criterion of global originality, of
knowing whether or not this work has already been real­
ized. If it does not exist, it is eventually recorded or decoded,
that is to say, re-transcribed in sensorial language from the
machine language through the intermediary of digital-ana­
log translators before being available for consumption. One
should note that in this process, the aesthetician assumes
the role of an artist since after having defined the rules of
the beautiful in the arts, he recreates other works according
to the same rules, albeit that he refuses to take responsibility
forthem. When the choice of rules of style has been defined,
a random process is started in which the aesthetician con­
templates the results. This process suggests to the philoso­
pher of an an important question which we have already for­
mulated in a previous study. Did Johannes Brahms write all
the Brahms that he could write and, if Brahms is not a good
example, would Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky be a better one?
To this question, materialized by the machine, in the re­
insertion of the set of rules that define the style of Brahms -
"tol Tchaikovsky -and that are subsequently repeated so as
to explore all the possible works that exactly conform to the
same criteria, there are two possible responses, equally trou-
• for the philosophy of art: if everything that comes out
'' 3 mac^ne after one has analyzed something and repro-
uced all the possible variations around the Piano Concerto
H it can only be a pale reflection of the original, an im-
tation without value, a bad plagiarism. This is because the
titular work in question was an inaccessible idea and that
' other more secret and hidden rules exist which
i e uded analysis, and which one can translate by say-
8 a* the analysis was insufficient and that one must be­
thel'" ^ t B e r e ' s a r e s P o n s e °f considerable ' n t e r e s t f° r
mach" B u t '^ , ' 3 y c ' l a n c e . the works that result from the
rCma'<e turned out t0 be undistinguishable, or
n the ° r | e N e n ^ e t t e r , ^ a n the original, it would be because
0r Brah X ^ ° r a t '° n the field of possibilities, Tchaikovsky
forked I C^00se best route along the many-
than that ' ^ ' S ^ t 0 t B e ^ 3 C t ^ a 1 a better Concerto No. I
^ wrong to ' t t e n ^ ^-h^kovsky could exist - that we would
' m men<; 8 fi 0 n nOre t B ' S p r e c i o u s source of artistic riches. An
1 opens to applied aesthetics.
' "Wifude; In th j
machine ( ' o n e c a n ' m a 8 ' n e 3 final type of creative
tegration at '" e < \ C r e ' e ^ s P e c 'fically based on the idea of in-
u ccessi\e levels. Let us assume that a series of
Moles • Cybernetics 221
pictorial messages is presented to an observer in quite rapid
succession, for example, ti, t2, t3, tn. We know that most of
the time the human observer is incapable of mastering the
flood of originality that assails him, and that his most simple
reaction is to deny it. However, "seeing machines" (machines a
voir), using analog-digital converters transforming the visual
forms into packets of cards, followed by a calculating oper­
ation, can, on the contrary, systematically analyze the auto­
correlations eventually existing on a larger scale between the
disparate elements of the images. They evoke a kind of phos­
phorescence of objectifiable impressions which sometimes
generate super-signs or forms exclusively resulting from the
intersection in a field of consciousness (ferrite memories) of
a great number of patterns possessing a hidden correlation,
invisible to the human observer, such that itself can consti­
tute defined forms. Concerning space, the moire phenom­
enon is familiar to us. Concerning time, we know that the
stroboscopic effect or accelerated film sometimes create un­
suspected visual forms in a sequential observation. The com­
puter will be able to record these forms in its memory, some­
times phantom forms, or new forms which are especially
beneficial for creation. It will subsequently reproduce on de­
mand, as a source of inspiration, or as a visual object.
The whole group of these cybernetic organigrams, in which
each reflects a position of the aesthetician in relation to the
external world, is based on a certain number of common
ideas which are perhaps the most direct products of the cy­
bernetic method:
l»t The postulated existence of atoms, structures, or of se­
mantemes, morphemes or structures, graphemes, mythemes,
etc. Following Claude Levi-Strauss' terminology, this amounts
to the affirmation of the structuralist principle conceived as
an atomic theory of the social sciences and, more specifically,
applied to art. Here, information theory presents itself as the
point of intersection between the structuralist theory from which
it borrows the idea of the atom, the idea of the model, and the
idea of structure as the sum of the constraints governing the
model, and dialectical theory from which it borrows the fig­
ure-ground opposition essential to the Gestalt idea and the
process of iteration that, after having created a model, consists
i n ceaselessly struggling against its insufficiencies.
2 nd The definition of the beautiful is the origin of a statistic
about the beautiful. This is a response that aestheticians have
hitherto all but ignored and which is in conflict with the idea
of the transcendence of the beautiful as suggested by philos­
ophers. The beautiful finds itself linked to society as a point
of intersection for a great number of single ideas.
3rd The organigram method entails the concept of opera­
tional rigor, as a new philosophical category which, among
others, substitutes the category of exactitude. The idea of the
program appears as an algorithm of the mind itself. It is a
222 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
formalization of the steps of thought, and the genial stupid­
ity of the machines - following capacities perfectly defined a
priori - forces their manipulators to take nothing for granted
that cannot be duly recognized as such by the computer. This
is a precise expression of a neo-Cartesianism of the machine.
4 t h The organigrams of the creative machines foreground
the idea of a hierarchy of order or a level of analysis. Ma­
chines which write poetry are sometimes situated at the level
of words, or they perform a simple Lettrism, sometimes at
the level of the phonemes and ultra-Lettrist poetry, some­
times at the level of semantemes or of phrases, and they per­
form permutational literature. And they go even further and
play with the arithmetic of situations in permutational novels
(Marc Saporta). 9
5 l h Creative machines make us encounter the conflict be­
tween Markov structures, proceeding in small steps, and syn­
tactic structures, proceeding in large steps, as a necessary
problem. Intersective novels under tangents belong more to
syntactic structures (Hellzapoppin). The phenomenological
concept of text proposed by Max Bense determines the rea­
soning of a new aesthetics applicable to future scientific texts.
6 , h The aesthetician, being socially rather underprivileged
and having been subject to terrible inferiority complexes over
an extended period of time, since he spoke about what oth­
ers have done, now finds himself promoted to the same level
as the artists he once discussed. He is responsible for provid­
ing the elements of the programs to be introduced into the
machine's repertoire. He also determines the hierarchy of the
levels to be adopted, and the organigrams below precisely
state that every analysis machine can serve as a synthesis ma­
chine, which is to say, serve as a source of works of art; in any
case, the aesthetician will be, if not literally the author - the
author disappears from the work - , at least the manager and
the person responsible.
7 A final concept is imposed by the mechanological rea­
soning that constrains us to consider a dimension of the ex­
ternal world that we have unfortunately neglected up till now:
the concept of "machine" capacity, linked to the reordering of
the universe (or of a fragment of it) by a series of enunciable
processes that possess a certain complexity. One could call
all procedures contributing to the acceleration of the conver­
gence of these processes of the rearrangement of the world,
the creative method."
These are therefore the first results which the drafts of
a creative machine provide long before they even become
ailable. These constitute a particularly rich gedankenex-
P nment, a restructuring of our intellectual world.
bie resuh
C p OC T °^ ^
mVaSi°n
StUdy' WC haVC Seen o t h e r
°f OUr thoUShtS by
Possi-
*e mechani-
rable to t h " Y l ™ " C ° n S ' i t U t e 3 reVoluti™
thought This resuh °f r a " d ™ -ientific
is an exemplary type of the passage from
the quantitative to the qualitative, as so well indicated by
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Certainly, it is a little earh
to draw conclusions on the subject of the influence of mech
anized thought on a society still in full development. But it
is our task to try to anticipate the behaviors, if for no reason
other than to act on them.
And what of the social integration of machine products:
random music, artificial languages, programmed paintings,
texts translated by machines, the Bibliotheque Nationale
[National Library] reduced to one computer memory, the
police file, identity cards, fines, criminal records, and the in­
come of fifty million citizens, that reduce the interstitial free­
dom to zero? Certainly, we are not yet there, although it must
be admitted that we demonstrate a certain incapacity to rec­
ognize what hurts our intellect and our sensibility. How can
one conceive of a symbiosis with machines? This is the so­
cial aspect of cybernetics; however, we have unconsciously
advanced further along this path than we care to rationally
concede, as when referring to machines such expressions
slip out like: "We tell it," "The machine sees that," "It refuses
to," "It accepts the program," "It notices that," "It is asking for
instructions," etc. We must live with machines; they insert
themselves subtly into our life and we are obligated to live
with their products, which is even more important.
There are three aspects we will examine more closely in
the artistic field that have been more specifically suggested
in this essay:
i s l Like the accountant or the worker, has the artist alreads
been replaced by machines that create paintings, music, and
literature? One can imagine a scenario in which he will not
be replaced but displaced in his function. The artist will tri­
form himself into a programmer to the extent that he accept
this conversion. As Philippot remarked, there is no reas»
to suppose less enthusiasm or passion in Hiller or Bar au
when conceiving algorithms for musical programming'
had been experienced by Leonardo da Vinci, Paul Valery-
Beethoven.
2 n d The function of art however has changed protoui
The cumulative processes of art are established by ^
tion of man to his milieu through the course of the SOCK ^
tural cycle. But future mechanical art responds to a nei
mand from the crowd. We have passed from the art o ere
spontaneity to consumer art: it is in the invention o n ^
tural productions, the nurturing of the social milieu ^^
the intermediary of the mass media, that niec'ianil^
r,
serted itself, as suited for mastering combinatorics or ^
the field of possibilities and defined by a basic ° r '°' n 3 ' 0 | 0 gj C al
3 r d Here, one can see a new illness of the tec
world we will call cultural alienation whereby t e ^ ^ ^
individual, through his or her disconnection r^nl^
[anejIV
tive individual, was completely estranged from ^
This is the culture of "kitsch" or the Prisunic sup
 Moles • Cybernetics

culture, a mosaic culture based on the abundance of dispa­

/ AUOITEUR OU SPECTATEUR ARTIFIQEI CHOISISSANT SELON CERTAINS CRITERES POSES PAR
rate elements and at each instant situated at the confluence LA THEORIE BE LA PERCEPTION DANS LES SPECTACLES OEFERTS PAR LE MONDE EXTERIEUR

of our perceptions.

Two independent societies may result from this, one com­

posed almost exclusively of consumers of art or consumers of
machine-made products, wherein the cultural function takes
CRITERES ESTHEWUES SOCIAUX
on greater degrees of importance in proportion to the de­ 6

crease in material values in an affluent economy. In the other

form of society however the "intellectuals" and the creative
artists, capable of asceticism or of exertion, will rediscover
in this emphatically combinatorial art that we have called
"permutational" the theme of the fundamental game and of 1. Artificial auditor or spectator choosing among certain criteria posed by the
theory of perception seen through the spectacles provided by the external world.
spontaneity, formerly the spontaneity of art in its origins.
Here, we rediscover Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens, the man • 1 External world • 2 System of exploration • 3 Translation • 4 Message in

who plays like the Olympian gods. The artist plays by estab­
lishing a field of possibilities: he rediscovers his authenticity
herein, but within a micro milieu, separated from mass soci­
ety. Thus, the artist rediscovers his freedom through the inva­
machine language • 5 Level of super-signs • 6 Aesthetic social criteria
• 7 Storages • 8 Retranslation • 9 World of art consumption
2. Artificial auditor or spectator choosing among certain criteria

sion of society by the machine. He annexes it to his profit and
thereby increases his power, but he encounters a constraint
by being compelled to learn the language. Art transforms it­
self into a practice and takes on a new character in society. If
the artist is not replaced but displaced in his situation rela-
tive to the work of art, the nature of the creative fascination
i- thereby changed, and this fact will probably entail a pro-
lound upheaval in the idea that we have of the artist and of
He idea that we have of the work of art. By way of conclusion,
11 may, perhaps, be appropriate to cite a prophetic remark by
Paul \alery: Our civilization assumes, or tends to adopt, the
tructure or the qualities of a machine. The machine does
posed by the theory of perception through spectacles provided by
the external world. In this organigram, we intended to sym­
bolize the aesthetic attitude that consists in choosing a cer­
tain number of phenomena or images worth in the exter­
nal world worth noting by drawing on the laws of perception.
These laws correspond to an entire school of art: imitative
harmonies, figurative painting, artistic photographs, and cer­
tain modern paintings that take elements from the external
world before placing them in a frame and suggesting them to
our interest.
I, LA MACHINE AMPLIFICATEUR D'lNTELLIGENCE DEVELOPPE UNE IDEE CREEE PAR L ARTISTE EN VDE

•utfer from the fact that his empire is not universal, and D'UNE OEUVRE

at beings foreign to his action, exterior to its functioning,

" sist lis exactitude, an essential feature, cannot tolerate
^ imprecision or social caprice. It can only admit that no
^ remains whose role and conditions of existence are not
are f
Se' ter,ds t0 eliminate those individuals who
oiher°m 'tS P°'nt °Pview' imPrecise, and to reclassify the
CHOIX DES SIBNES
rs, without respect to the past or even to the future of the 6
5pecies- (Valery, P/erWe, 1.1, p. I05i)

C^SaPt'tu^eProfle- This 11. The machine for amplifying in.elligence develops ,n idea crea.ed by ,he
by the symbolic figure, inspired
artist with respect to a work of art
aptitudes ^ °'°^Ca' Pro^'es created to control individual
*mblaoe ? ^FS t0 3n ^ea' mach>ne constituted by the as- . 1 Idea • 2 Artists creation • 3 Development • 4 Signs/codes • 5 Coding
. 6 Choice of signs • 7 Program machine • 8 Work of art • 9 Decoding
tfi) C0I^ ° 1 6 m°St Powerful and best apparatuses (disposi-
• 10 Translation • 11 Work
'easi as a ter teChn°l0gy Can create at l^e present time, at
Opacity a^r°t0^Pe ^ence' ^or example, it represents the
Were it 3 The intelligence-amplifier machine develops an idea created by
ea ^ °^e~art c°mputer laboratory would have

fers to the
reference
r
Put and outmu6"
^ Va"e^
apaC'^
a" 'BM 7°^0' inc'udin8

as
means of in­
Possrble. In a random unity, it re-
average human mind, taken as a
the artist with respect to a work of art. This organigram simply
highlights the effective recourse to machines made by cer­
tain modern artists (Gotz, Zenkis) who imagined that a or-
, i 1, re>cult from the application of a certain idea
224 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
that leads to calculations or combinations which are out of
proportion to human patience or the human brain. Renais­
sance artists died tackling a task that surpassed their powers
of reason. Nevertheless, the computer can relieve the artist in
these operations and it opens a new field to artistic creation.
Ill AMPLIFICATEUR D1NTELLIGENCE OU OE COMPLEXITE SUR UN ALGORITHM!
III. Amplifier of intelligence or complexity of an algorithm
• 1 Artists imagination • 2 Idea • 3 Field of possibilities • 4 Algorithm •
5 Integration • 6 Program • 7 Machine • 8 Repertoire of encoded signs •
9 Filter • 10 A priori • 11 Reject • 12 Translation • 13 Consumption
4. Intelligence or complexity amplifier working on an algorithm.
Here we are concerned with a closed circuit. Suggesting a set
of rules called "algorithm," the artist defines a field of pos­
sibilities. Instead of choosing one from among many solu­
tions as he used to do, in other words, a trajectory in this field
of possibilities which he leaves fallow, he intends to explore
methodically, conscientiously, and indefatigably all the real­
izable possibilities in this field. This is the process begun in
serial music and realized, for example, by Barbaud with the
aid of Bull machines. This is the method of the Groupe de
Recherche d'Art Visuel.
TY SIMULATION DU PROCESSUS DE COMPOSITION A PARTIR DUNE ANALYSE DES
OEUYRES EXISTANTES
70
existing'vvorks Pr°CeSSeS of comPosition starting with an analysis of
• 1 Analysis • 1 Existing works of art • } System of exploration • 4 Translator
• 5 Message in machine language • 6 Choice on the level of the observer
• 7 Level II choice • 8 Level III choice • 9 Sign repertoire • 10 The idea of the
analysis • 11 Laws of statistics • 12 Programming* 13 Analysis of autocorrela­
tion • 14 Statistical characteristics • 15 Stock of rules • 16 Stock of errors
• 17 Defined by their rules • 18 Consumption • 19 Comparison with existing
forms • 20 Originality filter • 21 Storing • 22 Decoding of the retranslation
• 23 Random source of imagination • 24 Sign call • 25 Order of recommence­
ment • 26 Coding of signs/symbols • 27 Critical examination of signs
• 28 Bad • 29 Good • 30 Program • 31 Rules of selection • 32 Choice in the
store of rules of style
5. Simulation of the processes of composition starting with an
analysis of existing works. In this case, the basic reasoning
is that if there is art enclosed in museums and conservato­
ries, this is because it corresponds to certain styles of thought
about which we know, a posteriori, that they satisfy our ar­
tistic sensibility, because they have succeeded. The mecha­
nized study of these works can be translated by a series of
analyses accentuating the simple elements of their compo­
sition, the rules for assembling these elements, the interdic­
tions, and the limits, etc., from a statistical angle. This pari
of the analysis will, in the end, offer both a set of rules, and
a classification of existing works based on the rules they ap­
plied. By choosing a certain number of rules, one defines a
style. The aesthetician is able to transform himself into an
artist by programming a machine that, starting with a source
of imagination - which is randomness - chooses signs ex
tracted from previously constituted repertoires, juxtaposes
them in a sequence, examines them through iteration to dis­
cover whether or not each new sign accords with the preced­
ing signs within the framework of the chosen rules, and con
structs the sequence until the end by iteration. This is the
procedure applied by Hiller in the United States; the works
created by Wilhelm Fucks on the statistical characteristics
of music and the programs created by Philippot also corre
spond to the analyzed part.
V. Synthesis
Integration of forms of macroscopic order
• I Translation • 2 Machine language • 3 Analysis • 4 0f form*
• 5 Rapid analysis • 6 Messages in machine languagt
• 8 Iteration • 9 Retranslation • 10 Consumption
 Moles • Cybernetics

6. Integration of forms of macroscopic order Pushkin's Eugene Otiegin (1833). Markov processes, which allow to statisti­
cally control random processes by defining t he transition probabilities
One of the goals mechanical aesthetics can set itself is to
of different states - which can be letters, musical notes, o r topological data
grasp and reveal relations of order generating forms one - were early o n largely applied for t h e computer-based generation of texts,
might qualify as subliminal in the sense that we do not per­ musical compositions, a n d visual works of art.
Editorial n o t e : Jakob Levy Moreno (born 1889 in Bucharest, died 1974 in
ceive them explicitly, although they still play a prescriptive
New York) was t h e f o u n d e r of psychodrama, sociometry, a n d group
role at a great distance from what we see or hear. The sim­ psychotherapy.
plest example is that of visual forms which, accelerated or in Editorial n o t e : In 1928, t he American mathematician George David Birkhoff
(born 1884 in Overisel, Michigan, died 1944 in Cambridge, Massachusetts)
intersection, produce other temporal patterns than those we
presented a "mathematical theory o f aesthetics" at t h e International
know; patterns too volatile for our human mind to grasp and Mathematical Congress in Bologna. His "aesthetic measure," formalized
which, displaced in the scale of time, may emerge in our con­ a s M = O/C, took into account t he complexity (C), as well a s t he harmony,
symmetry, a n d o r d e r (O) of t h e object resulting in t he feeling of pleasure, the
sciousness and offer themselves as aesthetic values. Accel­
aesthetic measure (M). He applied t he formula to polygonal forms, tiles, and
erated film, slow-motion film, the visual or auditory micro­ vases.
scope have provided many examples of this in the past. But E d i t o r i a l n o t e : Karl O t t o Gotz (born 1914 in Aachen, Germany), o n e of the
leading representatives o f G e r m a n Informel from 1952, began developing
there are forms of relation that do not result from a simple
complex, statistically calculated pictures in 1959/1960. T h e aim of t he
anamorphosis but from more or less complex mathematical pictures, created by h a n d , was to research t he possibilities of "electron
functions (autocorrelation, function of the transformation of painting" in t he form of moving television pictures. Gotz's idea was to
generate a statistic movement in t h e television picture by means of
correspondences, etc.) and which have been ignored, since
statistically countable electronic screen dots, which has nothing to do with
the artist or the aesthetician have failed to recognize them t h e movement from A t o B - for example, t he movement of a cat in a film.
and have been unable to manipulate them. It is here that the Statistic-electronic movement has far more to do with apparent movement,
brought about by t h e consecutive flashing of various electronic screen dots.
machine can intervene to relieve our mind of the production
Gotz stressed from t h e outset that his work with electronic screen dots was
of new analytic forms. not related to his Informel painting. In t h e brochure accompanying the
exhibition Exposition of Music - Electronic Television in Wuppertal in 1963,
Nam June Paik pointed out t h e influence of Gotz's theoretical writings. See:
1 CAPACHES (UNITES ARBITRAGES I Karl O t t o Gotz,"Vom abstrakten Film zur Elektronenmalerei," in: Franz Mon
2 NWOfflf IHNED-
mmniSATm
(ed.), Movens. Dokumente und Analysen zur Dichtung, bildenden Kunst, Musik,
3 "tea Architektur, Limes, Wiesbaden, 1960, pp. 150-158.
< mate otspRii E d i t o r i a l n o t e : Michel P. Philippot (born 1925 in Verzy, France, died 1996
s cokicke
—=^
f inrentissace Vincennes, France) was a French composer, mathematician, acoustician,
! SENSATION ECNTE T"
musicologist, a n d aesthetician.
I SENSATION VISUEUE
Editorial n o t e : Lejaren A. Hiller (born 1924 in New York City, died 1994
9 SEHSAHON AUDITIVE
» kkeption Buffalo, New York) was a n American chemist and composer w h o founded th e
werselle
Experimental Music S t u d i o at t h e University of Illinois at Urbana-
12 CHER C h a m p a i g n in 1958 a n d collaborated o n t h e first significant computer music
7. J
U CONMCft 1— composition. String Quartet No. 4 I llliac Suite (1957), with t he mathematician
" E'tSOHTlOOlOUE
'5 ESPRIT CRITIQUE Leonard Isaacson.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h e G e r m a n physicist Wilheln, Fucks (born 1902 in Lever-
16 ESPRIT
kusen Germany, died 1990 in Cologne) started at t he beginning of the 1950s
HUN A IN
NOYEN
t h e quantitative analysis o f speech a n d language. He is o n e of t he cofounders
of quantitative linguistics a n d quantitative literary criticism. See: W.lhelm
17 0'APTITUDES DES MEILLEURES NACHINES {POPULATION MACHINES I Fucks,"On Mathematical Analysis of Style," in: Biometrica, vol. 39, parts 1
a n d 2, April 1952, pp. 122-129.
Editorial n o t e : See: Marc S a p o r t a , Composition numero 1. Roman, Seu.l, Pans,
' J Calculation" Un'tS' * * ^ e m o r y ' i m m e d i a t e memorization
1962 T h e novel consists of 150 cards: o n e card with a single conclus.on that
''Writtensen ^ b b e b n e s s ° f m 'nd • 5 Consciousness • 6 Apprenticeship
involves all t he characters of t he novel and 149 cards that can be read , n any
poceptj0n • 11 i""" *8 'V'SUa'sensalion • 9 Auditory sensation • 10 Universal
• ^Criticalmind"*^'"31'0" * ^ r e a t e * 1 3 Combine • 14 Logical reasoning order.
"Chines inn„ i • '^ N e r a 8 e hitman mind • !7 Aptitude profile of the best
'population machines)

Editorial note- a u ^ U r e ' S a ' s o m ' s s ' n g in the nova tendencija 3 catalog,
the Russi a n m h pr°Cess' a'so known as Markov chain, named after
died 1922 in p ( . t r o m a t ' c '_ a n A n < i r ey Markov (born 1856 in Ryazan, Russia,
m a , hematical mod T f ' ' S * S p e C ' a ' C ' a s s o p s t o c h a s t i c processes. It is a
i s -°ne for which th , ° r r a n ^ 0 m e v o ' U I ' o n ° ^ a niemoryless system, that
Spends only 0n j, 6 ' e '" 1 0 0 c ' ° f a given future state, at any given moment,
Principle can be !rMem SIale' an<* n o t o n a n y past states. T h e stochastic
^'""'ersofacerta C | S , °° C ' ^ '°*>king at the statistical analysis of: texts.
te
they f 0 || o v , a ' n angua8e have a certain transition probability' vwith
^'etical re(lecti° n e a n ° , ' l e r 1913* Markov actually verified his
* x , s . i.e., by statj 3 n S ,, n p r o b a b i l i , y
'heory through the analysis of literary
V o * e l-vow | and ^ evaluating the frequency of the sequence of
e

"am vowel in the first 20,000 letters of Alexander

226 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3]

Meeting of the participants at Brezovica Castle
August 18,1965

Abraham
Meeting • Brezovica 227
228 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

• 1
Brezovica Castle
• 2
Umbro Apollonio
•3
Enzo Mari
• 4
Paolo Scheggi
• 5
nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 31
Alberto Carrain a n d Bernard Lassus
Documentary by Kruno Heidler
1965 •6
26:08 min Matko Mestrovic
Film stills • 7
MSU Zagreb Dimitrije Basidevic a n d Rolf Wedewer
• 8
Ed S o m m e r
• 9
Francis Hewitt

Matko Mestrovic and Radoslav Putar
Brezovica, August 18,1965
Working Meeting of the Participants of NT3
[Excerpts of debaters' remarks]
After the opening of the third New Tendencies exhibition
in Zagreb, nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3], all artists
and theorists who attended met on Saturday, August 18,
1965, in Brezovica Castle, which is located to the south­
west of Zagreb.
In the minutes taken by the Croatian art historians
Matko Mestrovic and Radoslav Putar, contributions from
the following people were recorded: from Italy the artists
Getulio Alviani, Davide Boriani (Gruppo T), Enzo Mari,
andManfredo Massironi (both Gruppo N), the Italian art
critic Umbro Apollonio, and the psychologist Paolo Bo-
naiuto; from Germany the artist Dieter Hacker (Effekt),
'he an critic and artist Ed Sommer, and the director of the
Stadtisches Museum [Municipal Museum] Leverkusen
Sihloss Morsbroich Rolf Wedewer; from Yugoslavia the
Croatian architect and artist Vjenceslav Richter, from the
CSA the artist Francis Hewitt (Anonima Group); and from
Trance the sociologist and cofounder of information aes-
thetics Abraham A. Moles.
The version in this present volume is a translation of
•e minutes as they were published in the international
e ition of the exhibition catalog, where all contributions
Fpcared in the original languages. Incomplete or incom-
j11 ensible passages have been supplemented with trans-
a"ons from the Croatian version.
^ ginallv published in nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., Ga-
^iasuvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, pp. 161-165.]
^estrovfro'011 W3S °Penec* anc* moderated by Matko
ana'ysisof h1"^ ^r°^ram was designed to carry out a critical
Xew Tend ' ekenera' s'tuation within the framework of the
Conventio
k1" 11 ^ t0 rec^uce<T to a more or less
atcompan'Vtf1^'1'011' ^'t^10ut going into the details that
^heduled I ' * rea''zat'on °fthe program, I would like the
und°TCS t0 ^ ^'Scusse^ ^ere amongst us all jointly.
exaniples
off ^ t'leme event - the dissemination of
^mine t0 ^Searc^ ~ was proposed primarily in order to
at degree the methodological approach to re­
Mestrovic/Putar • Brezovica Meeting 229
search into visual perception has in fact been adopted, and
to what extent it has only been accepted in principle.
Furthermore, we wanted to examine how we could find
an example of visual research in the objective reality of the
contemporary world, and whether the research could go be­
yond the object into the space surrounding it.
The general topic of the meeting proved itself to be a start­
ing point for a wider consideration of the possibilities of
working in this area.
The floor was then taken by Professor Umbro Apollonio:
There is a need to adapt language to the new reality in the
aesthetic realm. I believe that cinema, that film as such, could
at least be an attempt to find another language that is per­
haps closer to reality, also to the kinetic reality of works pro­
duced by the New Tendencies.
Matko Mestrovic s remark that film makes the spectator pas­
sive was supported by Enzo Mari, who added: But I ask my­
self whether it is possible to disseminate more widely ex­
periences such as those of the groups Effekt, Gruppo MID,
or Gruppo T, when direct participation by the spectator
is sought. Film requires the organization of this material
through a third person, but at that moment, i.e., in the films
of the groups Effekt and MID, it itself becomes a direct me­
dium Perhaps experiments with film can be done. Perhaps it
could be a unique action, but I am not sure if film could easily
communicate what we want.
Professor Abraham A. Moles of the University of Strasbourg,
considering the issue of the relationship between experi­
ment and result, said the following about film: It appears cer­
tain to me, based on some earlier experiences, that an excel­
lent film could be made that would spread more widely the
spirit and main aspects of the New Tendency movement, but
it would confront us with the serious problem of choice and
valorization. Experimentation is not of interest to the wider
PU"L ,hese thoughts on film as a medium for making our
 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
work more widely known, the discussion moved on to the
role of the aesthetic object in contemporary society.
Ed Sommer presented his understanding of the subject: An
aesthetic object, unlike objects made for use, carries out its
function in entirely different domains and dimensions: On
the one hand, it acts upon our physiological organism. And
there are psychological and intellectual dimensions that are
activated by the object. So if we do not wish what has been
created and developed by the New Tendency to be consumed
as "pretty" or "nice," or for it to be perverted in any other way,
we have to find or develop in-depth analyses and theories
that will transform our objects into programmed objects and
that will activate the viewer in a clearly defined way.
Professor Rolf Wedewer, director of the Stadtisches Mu­
seum [Municipal Museum] Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich,
speaking of the importance of the theoretical conception
prior to the actual realization of an experimental work, re­
marked: Several phenomena are demonstrated in the object
of the New Tendency, but on the other hand, these phenom­
ena are already very well known in aesthetics, psychophys-
iology, optics, and other sciences, and I do not know why it
should be interesting to demonstrate a phenomenon that
was well-known a hundred years ago.
Mestrovic responded to this remark: A good many of the psy­
chophysical phenomena that are used within the frame of
the research of the New Tendencies are in fact known to sci­
ence, but have not been aesthetically evaluated.
"This position was supported by Ed Sommer: Every arrange­
ment of elements can be interpreted as information, and any
information can be interpreted as a program. It is up to the
artist to transform the domain of scientific information into
a programmed domain for the spectator.
In the ensuing discussion, attention was drawn to the fact
that similar visual research is being carried out worldwide,
the socialist countries included, but that there are neverthe­
less different interpretations of its role.
Thus, in the United States, for example, research is re-
r:ed t0 PUrely P^hopHysiological effects, while within
the New Tendencies in Europe these issues are considered to
have a deeper effect on social structures.
W6re exP°unded and commented on by
o onaiuto, Professor at the University of Bologna: If
workTT 'angUa«es ,hat have developed around the
is interest! ,°f the T-d™cy, we can see that it
them Th "g yZe the Preconceptions that lie behind
These preconceptions can be defined as preconcep­
tions of philosophical origin, preconceptions of physiologi-
cal origin, and preconceptions of "physicalistic" origin.
It is precisely preconceptions of philosophical origin that
lead to too clear a dichotomy between issues of art and those
of science.
The scientist tries to control the variables that affect a par­
ticular experiment, and in doing so he acquires the capacity
for prediction concerning this experiment. That is to say that
there is the problem of functionality, and it is precisely this
that today's artist wishes to do when he or she is confronted
with very complex issues such as urban planning, architec­
ture, or design.
The problem of structuring our society so broadly both
functionally and aesthetically - these two factors coincide
- is one that cannot be approached superficially. The New
Tendency took on this task, but we hope that it will not limit
itself to influencing the design of neckties...
I believe it would be better if, in this context, one did not
follow the example of the United States, where New Ten­
dency is erroneously called Optical art, and insist on seeing
the activities of New Tendency simply in physiological terms
- almost as though the process of perception, the approach of
the viewers personality to the work (which is an extremely
complex thing) could be reduced to a purely peripheral one.
In contrast, the attempt to reduce this complex relation
ship to the terminology of information theory in the con
text of perception has a "physicalistic" origin, and does not
analyze the experience of perception in phenomenologiuil
terms.
Abraham A. Moles, one of the founders of information theorv
has provided a very exhaustive exposition of the possible rob
of this theory in the analysis of aesthetic phenomena. Thet
sential contribution of information theory to aesthetics is
interpretation of the Gestalt phenomenon, and this interf
tation is purely mechanical, that is to say, arbitrary. Howe
a method emerges from this. This method could be e
as a method of structuring, as a method of simulation.
Let's leave aside for the moment the method of ge
psychological analysis and simply approach the co ^
tion of a model that has the ability to present tin mat
tions of the spectator when he or she is recehing mc r ^
complex stimuli. In practice, phenomenologicalan'^
needed in order to define the key elements of the sl^^jna.
Structure is then no more than the set of rU'tS js the
tions, and limitations of the constitutive elements,
totality of rules that allow elementary atoms to e < ^ ^ ^
Proposing this model is the essential contri ^
formation theory, but it is one of its key charact ^ ^^
when the model is constructed, it does not ^
server. The observer then notices the difference ^ ^ w
original and the constructed model and is t en
 Mestrovic/Putar • Brezovica Meeting

solve the same problem all over again through a process of lyzes those negative elements of urban life that are common

iteration of the original stimulus on a different level of de­
composition.
In short, two key elements emerge from this analysis:
First, the importance of the concept of originality or quan­
tity of unpredictability. This quantity of unpredictability is
measurable in clearly defined conditions. The importance
of maximum originality, however, is extremely useful for ex­
periments in visual art. If the stimulus, or the source, or the
work proposed is overly complex, that is to say, overly origi­
to all social systems. The characteristic of my views of urban
life is the introduction of a temporal dimension. In my opin­
ion, this temporal component is the third element that needs
to acquire a value equal to that of space. This is the prob­
lem: how to achieve a plastic volume of an appropriate size
that the elements of an apartment or individual room have
no formative impact.
In the course of the discussion the relationship between the

nal, its value in terms of its sensitizing effect is too weak. If program of the nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3] exhibi­
the object is overly simple, that is to say overly intelligible, it tion and the results shown there was addressed. The discus­

is not interesting and therefore, it also is of little value as a sion of this issue was initiated by Matko Mestrovic: It seems
means of sensitization. A certain optimal complexity of stim­ that we can conclude that the level of technical culture of the
uli is therefore required. members of the New Tendency demonstrated at the exhibi­
tion is lower than expected from the program. This leads me

After the exhaustive presentation by Professor Moles, in to the question of the relationship between technical and hu­
which he departed from the immediate subject under discus­ manistic culture.
sion-the differences between visual research in Europe and That is why I again pose the question of profession and

America-Francis Hewitt, the representative of the New York of the professional role of the researcher, if one can speak of
Anonima Group, was asked to give his views on the subject: such a thing.
The research we are carrying out in America is based more It appears to me that the profession of the designer is the

on the results of American psychology, but the tendencies most suitable one. But a designer remains tied to standard

in Europe seem to follow the impetus of psychology.1 And industrial production and has neither the opportunity nor
in America we have little to do with theory of information the time to dedicate him- or herself to independent research.

aid we are more interested in determining the perception of In society itself, there are no organized opportunities for this

space and try to use this subject in the making of objects. And
u certain'y d° not involve ourselves in actual movement but
onH with part-movement and part-space. The difference as I
lave seen it in Europe is that more complex objects are being
constructed and more complex problems solved.
kind of research.
Manfredo Massironi, a member of Gruppo N from Padua,
tried to summarize the discussion up to this point and added:
In his remarks this morning, Ed Sommer said that the dis­
semination of the results of the New Tendency - hypotheti­

'u,^n Mestrovic followed this with a proposal that the is- cal^ speaking - could in the end change society. I am, on the
e of research outside of the object be considered, and he contrary, convinced that it is society that changes objects and

^ among other things: As the fate of the object in con- intentions. Because, returning to the earlier issue, it should

'porary society is defined largely by market factors, we are be noted that when a certain idea wishes to be accepted in
the existing system, the societal system adjusts the idea to its
sibi L^d W't^1 question, "In what sense is research pos-
1 at \vould be independent of this dependency?" In the needs, and not the other way round; that is to say, ideas do

nthi$arr'e^ °Ut t0 n°W an^ ^ocuments included not change the system.
If we analyze the situation and the development of ideas
vjron '^t'°n' an 'ncreased number of experimental en-
that have emerged within the New Tendency. I think an in­
pheno^"18 C3n ^ Seen" ^esearch 'nto psychophysical
tiaUvr"3 ^at 3re a'S° Present 'n individual objects is par-
version of this kind, in that sense, can be seen.
vs'hich ™lnUet^n l^ese environments, but in a different way,
IWq , °P'ni°n> allows for a more scientific approach. Ed Sommer attempted to define the role of the artist in a
Ve'opm somewhat caricatural manner: I see the artist as an activator
ent
10 ^°'nt °Ut 006 more opportunity for the de-
of the spectator, as a catalyst. He experiences the aphrodisi­
fieldsafnt aPP''cati°n
of experience gained within the
arc itecture and urban planning. acs used to combat the aesthetic impotence of society. I agree
that the relationship is not one-sided.
Concem w i t h 0 ^' C ^ t e r state d his position in brief: M y
This prompted Abraham A. Moles to present a few more very
°'°gical [ C urhan planning starts from a soci-
clear distinctions as to the phenomenon of the work of art:
^ not d^ V'CW ^°fe Precise|y> ^rom a position that
scr'minate between social systems. It rather ana­
The excessive use of the idea that a work of art is a message
 nova tendencija 3 • 1965
has to be condemned. It is a message, but it is also a creation.
Besides, it must be clearly stated that we live in a world of
false meaning. This world of false meaning is not a world be­
reft of all meaning. It means - and we are ourselves a splen­
did example of this - that when someone speaks he or she
tries to express a certain number of ideas, but the recipi­
ent understands different ideas, as he or she chooses. False
meaning is universal and a characteristic of contemporary
society. We therefore have to deal with it and consider it as a
factor. Thus, it is necessary to work on statistical intelligence.
Phenomenological analysis poses two problems: first, par­
ticipation, that is to say, the greater or lesser input into con­
sciousness. Second, retention, that is to say, integration, du­
ration. Concerning participation, there are two channels of
access to sensibility. The work is based on aisthesis, the sen-
sualization of the phenomenon, the stimulus. Shock, for in­
stance: a blow on the head with a hammer is an artistic act,
or on the other hand, a sensory stimulus at the extreme limit
of sensitivity to sound or light. A series of shocks is a means
of sensitization. I he other channel, mimesis, is the channel
for the semantemization of meaning. It is based in particular
on the game: "Do you want to play with me?", and secondly,
on curiosity, that is to say, on the semantic activity of the re­
cipient. As far as retention (or alternation) is concerned, it
can be based on the bizarre, the strange, or the normal. It
can also be based on direct physiological action. Like those
that were explored by Revolteur and Gascaud, using flashes
of light at the same frequency as brain waves. Finally, reten­
tion is based in a construction of super-signs by a semantic
activity that inserts super-signs into the memory. Here, we
come back to the problem of the syntactic structure of the
work of art.
In the ensuing discussion, Dieter Hacker from Munich - re­
turning to the issue of dissemination and presenting the po­
sition of his group, Effekt - mentioned the concept of the
show, which should replace traditionl art exhibitions: Such
an opportunity was offered to us by the nova tendencija 3 ex­
hibition: I think, for example, of the rooms which surround
t ie viewer, where he can develop as much activity as possi-
e. I believe these proposals, as they were made in this exhi-
ition, could later be developed further. Art exhibitions can
be turned into "shows." Then, exhibitions will have an audi­
ence.
Ed Sommer commented on this: Yes, if you use the word "show"
m an entirely subjective way. In an intersubjective sense, how-
viewer efW°ri? . show — passivity on the part of the
viewer, tf we think of that term in a conventional way.
KSKSS;started once again by considering
Enzo Marl had this to say: The topic ofdissemination appears
very important to me. But I am not referring to dissemina­
tion in relation to the audience but among researchers them
selves. This poses the problem of a common language. This
morning we saw that this common language does not exist
We have also seen that the term "New Tendency," which has
recently been used in the singular - while to begin with peo­
ple always spoke of "New Tendencies," plural - is incorrect
We should still be talking of New Tendencies, or better still,
of Old Tendencies.
This is why it appears to me that the biggest problem is
educating researchers. These researchers receive inadequate
and outdated training, as maybe all of you know. Therefore,
I think that the main purpose of these discussions and this
exhibition is to improve researchers' technical training and
knowledge. And this can be achieved only through the joint
exchange of diverse experiences. The need for this can be
seen if we take a look at the material in the exhibition. First,
it is obvious that the results and the quality of this material
in fact do not match the theoretical ambitions of various re­
searchers. And what is even worse, a good part of this mate­
rial - I believe I shall not be exaggerating if I say eighty per­
cent - does not represent research at all, but it is rather only
the imitation of research or even the commercialization ol
research. I would like to ask whether those involved really
know what it is about.
Getulio Alviani asked the following question: It is difficult to
know whether the New Tendency consists only of a handful
of those who know what it is all about, or whether it actually
consists of the other large percentage that is part of it.
Mestrovic responded to this: This third exhibition is
broadly conceived, with a program open to all related [l<
nomena, including those of peripheral significance in re a
tion to the very core of the New Tendency as a mosenie
which reveals that a broader stratum has already been e^
tablished, both in the geographic and cultural sense,« ^
on the one hand dilutes the intensity of research, but on
other demonstrates that similar endeavors are cr0PP'"^ ^
in various places and in various circumstances, v*i
gard at the moment for their quality and intensity- An
a significant fact that must be kept in mind.
Continuing the thought expressed by Mari,
lonio pointed to the massive difference that exists^
poetics and the work - even as a result: We have a ^ ^
become accustomed to reading marvelous te*tS^
{jj(jona|
ics, also including those dating from the days 0 tr^
art, and then finding ourselves facing quite me 10 ^
Now, when we are looking at the works of the e\
do we have a different problem or not?

Man responded to that by expressing what was the original
idea of the New Tendencies: Until now, all poetics have been
at odds with their predecessors. However, perhaps on the
part of the researchers of the New Tendency there was a de­
sire to construct a new, definitive world and to give it depth;
not by a manifesto or by only indicating that things that are
possible to realize - but rather by really trying to build it
once and for all.
This portion of the afternoon's discussion was concluded by
the architect Vjenceslav Richter: It appears to me that the sit­
uation of the New Tendencies is neither new nor typical, it
is actually the repetition of an unvarying phenomenon be­
tween the creator and the consumer. Therefore, every act of
dissemination is a deformation of the initial idea.
Discussion continued around the question of the opportu­
nities for work offered by society and around the organized
conditions for research, which also includes laboratory work.
First, Professor Moles offered a precise definition of the no­
tion of research itself, and indicated some concrete possibil­
ities: Research means trial and error, and therefore it is lab­
oratory work. In fact, research that relates to aesthetics must
he conducted jointly by the creator of ideas and by experi­
mental psychologists responsible for sounding out and test-
•ng die reactions of individuals and then of the collective,
bis is the scientific method and it in practice can only be ap­
ed ma collaboration between the NT group and the labo-
I ties, w hether in universities or elsewhere. This is a long-
II l 'sk which, in my opinion, would demand a division of
or on an international level, and therefore the creation of
apian.
r|\ic welcomed the proposal made by Professor Moles
dencTenti°ned ^at researc^ carr'ed out by the New Ten-
to date has been done in a disorganized way: We can
^atchV^tf131 m°St 'nterest'n8 anc* most influential re-
. ( ,3S een t'lat which was done in groups when those
necessa a,SU^C'ent econ°mic and other resources that are
also see S^Stemat'c work- On the other hand, we have
nature a °W.man^ difficulties, particularly of an economic
stanHctiii °Se |n Some groups and almost brought work to a
°r ld not al'ow it to continue.
nat'onal co ''reSentec' a concrete possibility for closer inter-
saitf t|la( a Perat'°n: ' would like to add to what you have
^etkswas mternaI'ona' association for experimental aes-
c°ngressheldt^^ ^°Unt*ec* 'n ^a"s following an aesthetics
psychological r ^ ^SCems t0 me l^at a division °f work on
•sting jn vari rCSearc^ corresponding to the possibilities ex-
US countries could be achieved by linking the
MeStrovic/Putar • Brezovica Meeting
NT group with the aforementioned association, for example,
or with other associations that share similar goals.
Davide Boriani, representing Gruppo T, then gave an idea of
the conditions of work of his group to date: We too share the
common fate of the New Tendency in that we find ourselves
in a double role - that of researcher and that of artist. Un­
til now, we have been able to sustain our position by adapt­
ing, nevertheless, to the public taste for certain aesthetic
objects, while at the same time, there are no opportunities
for the development of pure experimentation, since, as has
been pointed out, the public has no interest in that. As far as
pure scientific experimentation is concerned, we don't mea­
sure up to the level attained by specialists. The only thing
that we can achieve is the development of a certain sensibil­
ity for these experiments, of which we can successfully re­
alize at best fifty percent. As to the intention to change the
world once and for all, we need more modesty, because such
a thing is not possible. Only small and gradual shifts are pos­
sible. What we have shown at the exhibition cannot be con­
sidered pure research, but rather as an attempt to define an
orientation. Our work has been achieved in collaboration
with different specialists, which leaves us with the hope that
this cooperation could be continued. I think that similar col­
laborations in other fields, such as design, architecture, and
urban planning, could provide more significant rewards than
superficial effects and optical games.
Professor Moles also raised the question of terminology and
the need for a systematization of those problems that need to
be researched: Let us return now to the problems addressed
by the New Tendencies in the area of psychological exper­
imentation. Following up the previous comment, I think it
would be worthwhile to try to define in a short memoran­
dum the key stimuli and problems and the questions raised
by researchers through experimentation. The various groups
present here could try to draw up a list of some of their prob­
lems and submit them to the organizational committee of
the New Tendencies, collate it to avoid the bifurcation of ef­
forts, and then see if we can proceed any further.
Editorial note: Presumably, an error occurred in the transcription of the
protocol, and Hewitt spoke of the "impetus of phys.ology.
234 nova tendencija 3 • 1965

Francis Hewitt
Zagreb from Michelangelo
• August 18,1965

A few days after the nova tendencija 3 (New Tendency 3] exhibition
opened, the American painter Francis Hewitt, a member of Ano-
nima Group, was on his way back to New York. On board of the
ocean liner "Michelangelo" he noted down in his diary his impres­
sions of the meeting in Brezovica Castle. Hewitt who had studied
painting and art history in 1961 founded Anonima Group together
with Ernst Benkert and Ed Mieczkowski. The group organized sev­
eral exhibitions in self-operated galleries: the 10021 Gallery in Cleve­
land, OH, and the Anonima Gallery in New York. It disbanded in 1971.
1'he opening was usual - the discussion never quite came off. Went to
a popular restaurant, ended up with talking to [Ivan] Picelj and Getu-
lio [Alviani] who will be in New York in November. Also a member of
Padua Group1.
On Saturday the conference - bus to [an] old castle 3 miles from Za­
greb. The conference was under way after introductory ideas from "key"
persons. We had interpreters. [Matko] Mestrovic started by excusing
himself + committee ([Bozo] Bek) for the inconveniences.
Then [Umbro] Apollonio - he suggested that divulgation (the
spreading of ideas + works) was a key problem of NT [New Tendencies],
and he indicated that not many were concerning themselves with this
problem. He indicated that the film might be a good means for this dis­
persion.
[Enzo] Mari opposed him by saying that the film was not adequate
because it rendered the audience passive - not active. Later this was
agreed on by other members who had a rather strange + unspoken law
about the importance of the spectator's active participation in the art
process.
Professor [Abraham A.] Moles from Strasbourg, an information theo­
rist, delivered a tew dispersed remarks about information theory + a very
quick summary of his rather French ideas that will be included in the
NT 3 [New Tendency 3] catalog. [A] Professor from Bologna [Paolo Bo-
naiuto] said that it was unfortunate that the research - a word now sub­
stituted for art among those that know - artists = researchers was not true
research and that most of the phenomena that the artists were exploiting
were known to physicists many years ago. It was, he said, regrettable that
the (artists) researchers were not involved in the ideal program.
Again much of the day was spent around tedious issues that seemed
10 indicate that NT [New Tendencies] was only an actual tendency to­
ward which everyone seemed to lean - a stance in the right direction
rather than a place in 1965 -
Ed Sommer
MeStrovic indicated that he would like the NT 3 [New Tendency 3]
to be concerned with problems outside the object, i.e„ in the position of
the object in the society + its effects on it and vice versa.
He [Sommer] did not want the works to be considered as social but
rather aesthete objects - I, was no, a, all clear where any conversation
was gotng later the Effek, group from Germany told of their idea of the
ence - he thought they should be involved with other levels than exhi­
bition - i.e., intellectual.
I was asked to speak - evidently Russians + communist countries •
U.S. were least represented, so I was kind of prize specimen.
I merely said that we were more in line with American psychologt
rather than European (i.e., phenomenology - which evidently still re­
spects the ideas of the Gestalt). Bologna prof, spoke highly of [Rudolf]
Arnheim and [Wolfgang] Kohler. I said [we] were interested in further
correlations of psychological studies + our work which was fundamen
tally interested in two-dimensional research with implication[s] not ac­
tual space or movement.
I ended by offering the hope that NT [New Tendencies] would aban­
don quasi-aesthetic scientific objects in favor of actual research.
Mestrovic said best things done in recent years were done bygroups.
Padua group spokesman G. N. was asked to discuss finances which
the Yugoslavs are quite realistically concerned with this aspect of "re­
search.** There was a noticeable trend toward industrial designer outfits
- mentality and objects. The New Tendency seems rather an amalgamof
industrial design ideas - art for the useful society. The Gruppo N fellow
rather embarrassingly said, they were financed by their parents.
Moles suggested NT [New Tendencies] ally themselves with a group
of aestheticians who have recently organized around a program 10 re­
late more closely aesthetics + psychology.
Architect [Vjenceslav] Richter from Zagreb spoke of the relation
ship to architecture. Repeated old idea that building should [come
from requirements of living space rather than be designed as an object.
Ideas about reorganization of relationships seemed to occupy the
last 1 Zi [hours] of the meeting.
1 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : Gruppo N worked in Padua, but Getulio Alviani was not
member of Gruppo N.
rcz

thine to dt" " m°SVinane idea 'ha' ,He SpeCta,°r must b" Siven sotne-
ny on stl f T S PhySiCal- they hUn8 plastk <•
"hem and h , '° enCOUraS<= ™«ors ,0 move through
an obtect t^L J" Tnd' Th6y ,h°Ugh'' S° interpreted that
art tendencies he H ^ th°U8h' m°St --'-an. ,0 modern
he said show was a passive idea not involving the audi­
tendencies 4

bit international 1-3

1968
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4
1967-1968

Preparation
 |Mil<(o> 24-311
Radoslav Putar, Dimitrije Basicevic, Boris
pl.MI.
»HW
. XMU-* - % ««««• • W"*H— •»
Kelemen, Ivan Picelj, and Bozo Bek
,r.v . »a UN
nt4 program for 1968
txnmov* ••»»»<x
w* NU.) • December 6,1967

"T*W« t-t«M
(11AUt • —to*"* *** [Archive MSU Zagreb; translated from the Croatian]
V

Ist variant:
4 l*]»un
Anthological representation of NT [New Tendencies]
J '•»>« • (Invited authors)
J *<O0# - 7 Mum»U
5
• H-iU i
Retrospective Narrower topic:
HI* IN4M 1*^ *• (from the predecessors - machinism kinetics
W» .**t*
«T»W* until after the war)
w|«tunu
«-«/*
>MM»UV»>A With the participation
of galleries

Kinetics
> MM W} + artistically formed objects

WtouW* « «cge%X*>< *-«*.<> 2nd variant:

3 sections - I multiples
2 kinetics
3 homage to NT
3rd variant:
- Invite critics to select authors and works for
participation in the exhibition:
Italy
Switzerland
France
Germany
Russia
Yugoslavia
Poland
Czechoslovakia
England
USA
Netherlands
- Selection of:
authors
works
- Presentation
- Textual explanation
- Symposium
confrontation of standpoints
criteria

Continuation of the discussion about the concept on

December 18, 1967.
tendencies 4 • 1967-1968

kattrlaln t r j 1 - n l . l o . 14-113 Radoslav Putar, Dimitrije Basicevic, Boris

(8.40..64.
WAtCAVAl* a**t,ouo». O **r.V - ma C <1. Kelemen, Ivan Picelj, Vjenceslav Richter,
t 'uait . u. . v. **.«*<-*«. %
and Bozo Bek
. tofum v/A<U?*W«r&
N. fcCA4»JMT6«tlAA UUKTVOkC

y W?i4tW|l wr WA 'VK-er^3tu4. >•« Ac4U«--^4 .- Continuation of the Discussion about the

. 7cr*«H^o u*®#«sv.n fcowrAvcr* frA »iUf*V*
Concept of nt4 on December 6,19671
MAr* MA.TTIAA4 MA
«rI«un!4) Mi fati MA
• December 18,1967
H .tf^AT.VAriMA U •%AAK1MA
(HI- , Krw*fUAA( 1U-V «*-4^
- 9MT-M -• »iwh«i

- UM(%4 - »H-< • <*68.

[Archive MSU Zagreb; translated from the Croatian]
m SVu4W*'jlU« M^*tM«VoK"V
- ItVtWktMl i«*A#TA*4^r -
- Additional variants:
4. Computer art
5. Reflection of NT [New Tendencies] on industrial
production

- It is necessary to establish contacts

with
physicists
mathematicians
electronic engineers

with
researchers in other fields
(film, literature, music)

- Putar -> [Mihovil] Pansini2

- Exhibition - June-September 1968

- See about financial possibilities
- Organize a secretariat

1 Editorial note: In Program Information 2 from April 1968, the ^°"°W

persons were listed as members of the organizational board for ten " ^

tendencies 4: the art historians Dimitrije Basitfevic, Bozo Btk, Boris ^ ^

Matko MeStrovic, Radoslav Putar, the artist Ivan Picelj, the architec
artist Vjenceslav Richter, the engineer, aesthetician, and sociology ^
Abraham A. Moles, and the engineer Zdenko Sternberg, director ^ ^

Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Ionized Gases at t e ^ ^

Boskovic Institute, Zagreb. Basidevic, Bek, Kelemen, Mestrovic,

and Richter constituted the executive board. jjvanja"

In his introduction to the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizue na^st ^ ^
"Computers and Visual Research" in August 1968, Mestrovic r

extended list which also included the German mathematicia ^

the Czech theorist and artist Jin Valoch, and the engine" h

from the Laboratory for Cybernetics at the Ruder Boskovic ^ ^

addition to the persons listed above, in the catalog tendency ^ ind

also the scientists and engineers Branimir Makanec, » im

Bozo Tezak were mentioned. Mihovil Pansini,

2 Editorial note: The physician, director, and him theorist ^^ ^
born 1926 on Korcula, Croatia, realized with Mr. Doctor is ^^ ^r(<0f
1953. In the early 1960s he developed the concept ofan""^r"aking aim
literary, philosophical, moral, and psychological cont®nI'^ p.|m pes,j,ji
with formal traditions of cinema. He initiated GEFFI < ^ ^
1963-1970), a biannual festival and meeting of experim

cinematographers.
 Preparation • Zagreb 239

Program Information i
tendencija 4 [Tendency 4]
• April 1968

[Archive MSU Zagreb]

TENDENCIJA 4
Galerija suvremene uiajetnosti
Zagreb, Katarinin trg 2 Programme - information
PI-1
April 1968

Our Museum - the Gallery of Contemporary Art - has already in

1961 started a movement "New Tendency" with international exhi­
bitions conceived as a biennal manifestation. There have been
three such manifestations since, which consisted of exhibitions,
contests, consultations and edition of publications, and in them
took part some 15o artists, researchers and scientists and 8 va­
rious groups (Anonimous group-USA, Gruppo di ricerca chiberneti-
ca - Italy, Dvizenije - USSR, Effekt - Germany, 3NNE - Italy,
Equipo 57 - Spain, MID - Italy, T - Italy) all from 17 countries
of Europe, North and South America.
This year the fourth such manifestation called "Tendencija 4"
is going to take place with the basic theme: General and histo­
rical connections between the movement NT and the possibilities
given by computers in the field of visual research
The manifestation "Tendencija 4" will include:
1. Exhibitions "Homage NT" which summarizes the results achie­
ved up to now by this movement on international scale seen
from the viewpoint of the manifestations in Zagreb with the
works of chosen artists who have given the greatest tnbu
tes to the new tendency.
2. Exhibitions "Computers and visual research" which show
results achieved by computers in the field of visual reseaich.
3. A consultation about computers and visual research.
4. A didactical exhibition about computers and their possibilities
5. Exhibition of literature treating the subject of computers
and visual research.
The exhibition will take place in the Gallery m
Art and some other institutions in Zagre n manifesta-
manifestation should be a direct motive to tne next
tion to which tenders shall be officially invited for further
visual researches by mean of computers.
We would much appreciate your informing your
matter and, if possible, let ue too* the addresses of those
who are interested in the manifestation.
With hearties thanks
BoSo Bek
President of the Board of
organizers of "Tendencija 4"
240 tendencies 4 • 1968

Program Information 7
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4
TZHDEXCIJE «
• August 1968 Omlerlja auvraaane umjetnosti
Zagreb, Katarlnln trg 2
4uguat 1968

mOBUTIOK
[Archive MSU Zagreb] T h e S i l l i r j o f
I n Z a g r e b , w h e r e t h e a o J
Information • F e w T e n d e n c i e s * h a s b • s e n t
l a n o w g i v i n g a t a r t t o I „e n. b o
n a t i o n a l o o l l a b o r a t i o e
The Gallery of contemporary art in Zagreb, where the movement "New f i e l d o f v l o u a l r a i , , ,
o f o o. p u t a r a . « » r c h b ,
Tendencies" has been born is now giving start to an international col­
I.
laboration on the field of visual research by means of computers.
In our Wueeua, bearing the nauei Gallery of oontmporuv
art In Zagreb, there hoe already in 1961 been atarted a
I. novensnt " Sew Tendenoiee - (XI) with international ex-
hlbitiona neant as biennal manifestation. One of the
In our Museum, bearing the name Galerija suvremene umjetnosti charactaria tics of "XT" la the reeearch of poaitive,
aclentific baala of the artiatic creation in the field of
[Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb, there has already in 1961 been visual. The norice of artiste belonging to the "XT" la the
senae of declaring the principles, have the character of
started a movement New Tendencies (NT) with international exhibi­ program.- jd experiments and they represent the negation of
traditional artnorka in painting and sculpture, works wbieh
tions meant as biennial manifestation. One of the characteristics of NT were unique, unrapaatcble and etatie. The representative
of "XT" in the sense of the same principles try with their
is the research of positive, scientific basis of the artistic creation in the works to attract the onlooker Into a dynamic conception of
the relation between the object and the onlooker, their
field of visual. The works of artists belonging to the NT in the sense motives ore regularly visualized in tho kynetle atiuctore
of the object or surrounding, and they are specially con­
of declaring the principles have the character of programmed experi­ centrated on tha medium of light. The pionoeiw of
m o v e m e n t " N T " h a v e d e c l a r e d t h e n e c e s s i t y o f ^ '
ments and they represent the negation of traditional artworks in paint­ of tho artistic activity, thoy have emphasised th tap
tanoe of sociological implications of the ar „„
ing and sculpture, works which were unique, unrepeatable and static. vity, tha lndiopem>ability of teen work and the p
The representatives of NT in the sense of the same principles try with of serial, industrial production of art c. '(j^greb
At the exhibitions "XT 1" (Zagreb 1961). •** *'
their works to attract the onlooker into a dynamic conception of the re­ Venice, leverkuaen 1963), "XT 3" (Wg™ - prfienilc.
from 9v groups had taken part• (Anonlsa snam;
group, .u.4 ». croup" 4,
ormip< »•
lation between the object and the onlooker, their motives are regularly USSR; 3P72IT, Vast Germany; gquipo 5'. IBly. Gnrppo
_..k --ah. d'art
rechorcho I - visual,
H alls) franco;
I* I Oruppo
GP-PP^ ' trTTi T tftlT!
vip.
visualized in the kinetic structure of the object or surrounding, and they dl rinoroa oihemotioa, Italy; Gruppo > ^jrlce.
fro. 17 countries of Jurope, Xorth and
are specially concentrated on the medium of light. The pioneers of the
movement N T have declared the necessity of demystification of the ar­
tistic activity, they have emphasized the importance of sociological im­
plications of the artistic creativity, the indispensability of team work
and the perspective of serial, industrial production of art effects.
[...]

III.
II.
10 mee' L
Continuing the activity of informing about the progressive movements - On March 15, 1969 an international jury's ^U".'°oll ^
in the field of plastic arts, wishing to continue the tradition of NT, the which is to select the works presented for coinPfc p0|low'inSex '
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti in Zagreb is organizing the event tenden­ - From May 4 until August 31 there will be °Pen
cije 4 / tendencies 4 (t-4) with the basic motive: discovery of the general tions in Zagreb:
and - may be - historical connection between NT and the possibilities 1) "nove tendencije 4" (New Tendencies 4) ^ ^ds
given by computers on the field of visual research. The purposes of the
The exhibition will include: . shown 00 e* 0f the
t-4 event are:
a) a selection of examples of research alrt,H cjevel°P '
nlt

1. To give the results of the development of the international move­ NTi, NT2, NT3 giving the character of the v)'1,it>rdoclinl''1I; aCtivib
ment New Tendencies (NT) hitherto achieved. movement NT (works, photographs, texts an1'1 orlIjnui
I1SI'H

2. 1o discuss the relations between the experiences gained in the course b) recent research works of authors who <,rt
of development of NT and the possibilities given by computers. in the sense of the movement NT.
3- To give basic information about the possibilities and various im­ 2) "Computers and Visual Research" ^ fie fiel^'S
^ . teu
plications of activities in the field of computers and visual research The exhibition will show the results achieve
(technological, aesthetical, psychological, sociological and other search by means of computers as well as >'u ,|| ^ s>'s,t
problems).
competition. The material of the e x h i b i t i o n
4- To incite intensive and organized efforts in the field of computers presented according to problems treated ioi'
and visual research by means of computers. tr"
3) "What is a Computer co"5
5- To s,ar, new organizational forms of work, which are to gather indi­
typ<
A didactic exhibition about computers, the"*
vidual artists, group and institutions in the international collabora­ ofC"'
possibilities they give.
tion in the field of computers and visual research.
4) "Literature on Computers and Visual Res1' p"1'^ 0f figur
• bservation of new spheres of research and technological possibili-
The exhibition includes publication on pSych0'1thf
puters, cybernetic, the theory of informatio'1-
thetics and other branches connected with ^ri9^
- From May 5 until May 7,1969 'he intei"'1^.^ to|^ pe^
theme "Computers and Visual Research i-s r '
—k- , lc"'
e

The program of that symposium will be ma'

[...]
 Preparation • Zagreb

Waldemar Cordeiro
Letter to Bozo Bek
si* fmlo, 5 ~*t 1968 • August 5,1968

L ri
111 j K iiiU

The artist Waldemar Cordeiro, born 1925 in Rome to a Brazilian fa­

ther and Italian mother, studied fine arts in Rome and moved to Bra­
11.. to >0» e'trrll 1968. zil in 1946, where in 1952 he co-founded the Grupo Ruptura [Rupture
Dm la Blllaa Mailt**, 11 i . fu 4'i
u««« UMNMb f 1" Group] in Sao Paulo which propagated a form of mathematically
mi panata 4* aoua fair* aaaolr, qua da -
6aa r«ob*r«kaa aur 1'aaploi da l'ortln* -
,i,• a, > aril• twin
.jr Urn ii 'mlrt d'oaurraa 4'aH. J* aula lalataaai par laa faetaura phpal - oriented Concrete art. With the emergence of the international Pop
..to la afa «tl«» vimll*.!• caaaldlfa qua t«« 1'affort 4a 1 • -at-«Ha
m Miaetoriaa f*r an. "dirttaliaatif du lang^a art1attqua. U iiff-ranoa an­ art movement in the mid-1960s, Cordeiro moved away from strin­
il. i'lwHMi da la praalira raroTutioa tn4u*trl*U* «
gent Concretismo and began merging geometric abstraction with
. MN poor 1'utJlJaatien da l'ortlaataar dana l'art.
Ealbauiauaanaat la* r4aultata oM*mia Jo* -
(*'1 pidnot aa aa pamat'.aet paa da partlolpar 4 'ofrTaani faatat Jan. the new iconography of consumer culture. He presented one exam­
Probthla***! ja pourral a praaantar qua 1qua a
•a to aa* idaaltata daoa acc .zpaalttca mdlriduall* qui aar* Itmvmr k Part* ple of this "Semantic Concrete Art" in the Zagreb exhibition nova
a DaVrat, la 1J Povaato <
R ) at li 11 actual1*. tendencija 3 in 1965. Three years later, in 1968, as a consequence of his
I'mia raocBcaiaaaat, 4'antra part,
i*. at ddkatt rial', aft rardaat aotia aaatfaatatloa.
interest in artificial languages, which he saw as directly related to
to attandaat aotra rdrcraa, vaulllaa *-r4-r,
•tor nail aur, 1'aipraHlcn da aa. aar.tlaaata dlatinfuda. the syntax of forms promoted by Concrete art, Cordeiro began to ex­
periment with computing technology.*
tX-'v
Valdanar Cort.lro Mr. Bozo Bek / tendencije 4 / Galerija suvremene umjetnosti
Katarinin trg 2 / Zagreb - Yugoslavia

o-/a. Sao Paulo, August 5,19

Dear Sir,

I have just received your Program Information for April 1968.

There are no artists in the Brazilian art world interested by the
theme of your event.
I take this opportunity to inform you that I have been researching
into the use of computers in art work projects for the past year. 1 am in­
terested in the physical factors of visual semantics. I take the view that
the entire effort of the avant-garde is characterized by a digitalization of
artistic language. The difference between the avant-garde of the first In­
dustrial Revolution and the current avant-garde is a technological dif­
ference, not a difference of method. Both are aiming to translate the
work into numbers. Digitalization and binary coding are the obvious
ways for using computers in art.
Unfortunately, the results I have so far obtained do not permit me to
take part in your event.
1 should probably be able to present some of my results in my indi­
vidual exhibition that opens in Paris at the Galerie Debret on Novem­
ber 13 of this year.
I should like to know how to obtain a copy of the catalog of the nova
tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3] exhibition and the current one.
I would, further, be grateful for any information you could let me
have on the arguments around your event and the debates held dur­

ing it.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Waldemar Cordeiro

See: Eduardo Kac, "Waldemar Cordeiros Oeuvre and lis Context:

A Rirtffrnnhical Note," in: Leonardo, vol. 30, no. 1, 1997, pp. 23 25.
Information exhibition accompanying the colloquy

tendencije 4. "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"

tendencies 4. "Computers and Visual Research"
August 2-8,1968

Exhibition

Centar za kul.uru i informacije [Center for Culture and Information], Zagreb

 Participants in the Exhibition
Marc Adrian I A T ] • Kurd Alsleben [ D E ] • Alberto Biasi [ I T ) • Vladimir
Bonacic [YU (HR)| • California Computer Products (Doyle Cavin, Dee
Hudson, Larry Jenkins, Jane Moon, Kerry Strand) [ALL US] • Toni Costa [IT)
• Charles Csuri [us] • Hiroshi Kawano [ J P | • Kenneth C. Knowlton [us] •
Leslie Mezei[ H U / C A ] • Peter Milojevic [ Y U ( R S ) / C A ] • Frieder Nake [ D E ]
• Georg Nees [ D E ] • A. Michael Noll [us] • Ivan Picel, [ Y U < H R >] • Zoran
Radovic [YU (RS)[ • Aleksandar Srnec [ YU (HR )l • Klaus Staudt [ DE ] • Lloyd
Q Sumner [US] • Victor Vasarely [FR] • herman d e vnes [NL]

random objectivation V68-67 a n d V68-70 b y h e r m a n d e v r i e s , IRB 8-9 ( a l s o : I "RB")

and o t h e r w o r k s f r o m t h e I R B s e r i e s b y V l a d i m i r B o n a c i c , t h r e e p a g e s f r o m
lapanese j o u r n a l s d e p i c t i n g w o r k s a s w e l l a s m a s t e r i l l u s t r a t i o n s f o r t h e i r
Production by H i r o s h i K a w a n o , P eek- a- boo R a n d o m C i r c l e s a n d D e s i g n s b y P e t e r
Milojevic (from l e f t )
244 tendencies 4 • Computers and Visual Research • 1968

Centar za kulturu i informacije, Zagreb

August 2-8,1968

LX'ln -iT 'nf0rm"iOn eXhibi"°n «—I"** .he colloquy

- vZ, Re»"T ' V'Z,,el"a <• "C-P—
 Exhibition • Zagreb 245

Utamaro Woodcut by Jane Moon, Fisherman, Snail, and Hummingbird by

' * Mezei (left v ^or,a',0',s of Tower of Babel, and Digitized Girl by
Kerry Strand (top row, from left); Test Pattern by [-], Three Peaks by John Szabo,
'"""Sbird, Randoi w"' ^Une ^a"' Ran<^om Color Distribution,
ar'and ^'les 'n a Circle by Charles Csuri (front wall)
and Cres, by Kerry Strand (center row, from left); one unt.tled draw.ng and
Spires of Contribution by Lloyd Q- Sumner (bottom row)

' ''' AI,le^nandCo!dD raWm8S' b>> Z°ra"

p
Radovid' 4.1960 and 2.1960 by
fEl"»>entary Signsj0^ *SS° v"' ^er,e'lung Elementarer Zeichen (Distribution
"n8ular Random pi ^ro"9''-Raster, Ac/ise/7para//e/er Polygonenzug
*"'cbchnffurtn ID ' ®on'' ^cradenscharen (Families of Curves), and
i6,c,2/66 iT anf>u'ar Hatching] by Frieder Nake, as well as ct 6/68,
an
TW,Nr-3/68 by Marc Adrian (from left)
246 tendencies 4 • Computers and Visual Research • 1968

•1
• 2
• 3
herman de vries herman de vries
herman de vries herman de vries
random objectivation V68-66
random objectivation V68-67 random objectivation W
1968 random objectivation V68-70
1968
Collage, paper 1968
Collage, paper
70 x 50 cm Collage, paper
70 x 50 cm
70 x 50 cm
 Exhibition • Zagreb 247

2
it.it- x/i i) a V V £p_ (y-) foX-Zjci*,. 5o -t£U*—u^ts yrvi »w. -~

P* 8 V>v* •' pl»M, *-v. cZ V 0 rV a 01. I or

llgr^a^ C& Vfier I Trt-4-1 « * r+Sc*4 pes.'p.'tjv. e>)- e a c U * l f » ^ l l ^
' -.^-e cUost*. o^t nu-dov,.

ilusc wer/tj art vx o"tr dL*SS-H*cl U «- ( t»Wt«-(app^w eL 6+U-tr * Cedents o*<L

jutf ;, *yr .
^ J \J t>p-y

•
_ S\
fa tn,
0J- |A'
I r . J S /~' ^ P ' 6 f * *— o ^ e L ftr.'et. -Pfoy
p ' » f t * U j U K t -
1 " "h-(>o^ct ^ ro.^K.sf
cVosev, *pt rcx^.cU>v».

^^Igrrr 'r^rt^w, *«.kW' i> l

**1 l o ^ J l i T r r o ^ 4 ^ i c _ 4. V <aP-^?l SoX"^o fc^*, . /O *SU*~.+~.y s ^

* . 2;*} ^ .
10
- /*/ .
a , - • .
,dV, ry-i
Arv *iU
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tL-.«-

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<,1. un 0^ K.
w^.tfc J. ^ ^ i*r «rj I D. «T

«v><J /-^

j t - * ' ;t >^ r Oxr e<-CV«

c t _ u ' " - : r : ?
VP'Vn otU
<-1
5"^«CU a.rc pArWv.-t_

XlrrXr,, h u 7
y- so j
Zi^'" '-' V 6 y z .
+ , b b . ; - «'-i 0 3e 7 d u x , ~
-"^'(tU „,;«. „ ;-rf— PP.,— Co^l pi... 4^rt/jw
|£<M ••• ... . - ^''W.l-.l)
at r •~*<-UTj,djs
£ 0-1
p-t«- t .
1 ®j* ?. J~ t-^v1 «v •;.
^ °f- "-x/e^, .
t- f»w~. 7. °l" ,r*'^
S - V ^ S . f O K ? , — . J = . t f , ^
V I
H-iv i,-.„ . »•«.
ife,;>
»«t.
p"^r - ipUtt
. p . a t U c U c ^

V(fP Z/ .3 - ^ £. / fxr »v>: tr+<d \ C^Ufyr.fHjI w^V p,r^MCeLJ "

1 U f* „ *• 1 w« r, „^ x r-g,
5 < ( < r r ' - ^ , t a
hV,«j<. wo^Jcs ,rt 0«L ^ Jl ,
°t ^ n? „ •pro^.s ,, pt 0v/^~
»^ -rf„(
*vf_
| p ' i - 7 ' " • " i "
—1 L®y«^^pp,'v,- I , *r •"«*.((«*.. rluti. +. p,i„„r j-Tt ,+ui rn^ c'"'

i. 11.JS1 r. l^t', fv, ti^ryf r°r^U-rt:es

~"l +

l^evries

•Ji^orr, rl' ln'°rma,ion ab°ul the

,o
^P^per ,968

^WSUZagreb
"Like any other higher intellectual activity, the following primary
functions pertain to art:
1. A cognitive function as game and innovation;
2. a social function as communication and other directional effects;
3- a biological function as non-directional manifestation.
e functions have in common that they are mainly sensual; or, thev
are more seldom intellectual and aesthetic.
What should be aimed at is that aesthetic computer programs inv
Kurd Alsleben, Cord Passow
bv K H (-] thC C°mpUter Sraphics 4-1960.
by Kurd Alsleben and Cord Passow realize via the computer (analog 4.1960
1960 if^r ink in
LT W in§ table) primarily the first function. The secon
Drawing by use of an analog comp
function 'S aCC°lmted f°r a Poster'or' via intuitive selection. The third 51 x 65 cm
function is not treated separately."
EAI 231R, plotter
Programmed by Cord Passow
'1 ln: eXhib' C3t" Galeriia suvremene umje,-
Produced at DESY, Hamburg
Zagreb, I97o, n. p, translated from the German.]
Collection of the artist
 © AMN 1965 (g) AMN 1965

VERTICAL-HORIZONTAL NUMBER THREE (1964)

GAUSSIAN-QUADRATIC (1963)
BY A. MICHAEL NOLL BY A. MICHAEL NOLL

aP*rimenu deS'8ns are based on earlier aesthetic

7090 ' M'Chael N°" published under ,he

T«l«phon. i,l 3S 3 Iecl,nical memorandum at the Bell

^oratories on August 28, 1962.

'^ichaelN,Oil
kwiij, A. Michael Noll
Quadratic
IHj Vertical-Horizontal Number Three
Co«: 1964 r .
Computer-generated drawing, photo print from mterof.lm
'3'2i.8cm a'Cd draw,n8' Ph°io print from microfilm
25.3x21.8 cm
IBM 7094, Stromberg-Carlson S-C 4020 microftlm recorder
sc 4020 microfiini recorder
Programmed in FORTRAN
Lab°ra,ories' New Jersey Produced a. Bell Telephone Laboratories, New Jersey
250 tendencies 4 • Computers and Visual Research • 1968

Georg Nees
ohne Titel [Untitled]
1965-1968
Computer-generated drawing, ink on paper
21 x 29.7 cm
Siemens 2002, ZUSE Graphomat Z64

Programmed in ALGOL

Produced at Siemens, Erlangen

Archive MSU Zagreb

: • v \ V
• t_".v -- •
s /-

Georg Nees
•ajfev- ' o/trte Titel [Untitled)
7-
1965-1968 • Vnnrape"
Computer-generated drawing, m
•*3
Siemens 2002, ZUSE Graphomat Zo
* -V
 Exhibition • Zagreb

Frieder Nake
Mkstnpjralleler Polygonenzug, 251216
Vr 2 [Rectangular Random Polygon
25/2/65 Na 2)
IMS
Computer-generated drawing, ink on
paper, original drawing in an edition of 80
31.1 * 22.4 cm
iEL ER 56, ZUSE Graphomat Z64
Programmed in machine code ER 56
Educed at Technische Hochschule
Stuttgart
MSU Zagreb

frieder Nake
."'"^ionenzug, 2512165
25/2/65 Ra"d0m Po|yg°n

IMS

«p!r ?enera,eddraWing'ink
#"3llCm
^5'ZUSEG^h0-.Z64
^u(tda,TmmachlnecodeER56
S«n hnischeH°chschule

^^greb
252 tendencies 4 • Computers and Visual Research • 1968

Lloyd Q. Sumner
Spires of Contribution
1967
Computer-generated drawing, ink on paper

Burroughs B5500,
CalComp 565 plotter
Programmed in ALGOL
Produced at University of Virginia

Peter Milosevic
Design
1968
Computer-generated drawing, m

IBM 7044, CalComp 565

Programmed in FORTRAN
Produced a. McGillUnivers.ty.Momr
W

Kerry Strand
Snail
1968 (1964)
Computer-generated drawing, black ink on Mylar

89 x 50.5 cm
GE-425, CalComp 502/760
Programmed in FORTRAN
Produced at California Computer Products.
Anaheim, CA
ZKM Collection
254 tendencies 4 • Computers and Visual Research • 1968

h h n d fl>t a \ S - c
i| 1 - a I . a m g°"Qiflr«n iid
dp- .alt • ii c
cp£r g n* :• b"
l i' $ r d t-st g -g •)©-•• i.P
o a i l Cld a " C t 1 b l ° k c • bi tltYf
bcO-H] ol&k ' db id getn
|Ia-v0
a ©s| b1i o0 " 3-
bb a f • en - •(ar n a ~0CJ n9
:
. I d ff ee l l . S
e»t b o ' I P " ' 'I "9 ei |fJ "a | |
*a o- « Oi eS» n®0 n d
<>9 i9e rt 0K

c o c c o

pop

do

p o o p

p o l

1 CO1,©,'
c o l p o o l d
poop
loco

• 1
• 2 "Non-digital commands for the graphic cf 2/66:
Marc Adrian Marc Adrian 1. Select words and syllables which make sense semantical
cf 6/68
cf 2/66
1968 that are composed of the following elements: C, 3, |. '•'
1966
Computer-aided design, (Criterion: font = Helvetica, semi-boldface, no capitals;
Computer-aided design,
Letraset on paper, blueprint Semantics: 1) a German-English and 2) a French-Italian
Letraset on paper, blueprint
23 x 93.5 cm
29.7 x 40.2 cm Langenscheidt dictionary.)
2. Select a random sequence of twenty words from those foun
• 1 * 2
through step 1.
IBM 1620 Model II, IBM 1443
printer 3. Link each word found through step 2 with one of three
Programmed in FORTRAN by symbols in a random sequence; this symbol represents the
Jiirgen Kriz
font size in the final result
Produced at Institut fur
4. Link in a random sequence each word found through step 2
Hohere Studien [Institute for
with one of sixty possible symbols, which assign the posittc
Advanced Studies), Vienna
MSU Zagreb of the word on the final display."

[Marc Adrian, typed manuscript, 1968, Archive MSU Zagreb,

translated from the German.]
 Exhibition • Zagreb

•I
"Starting with the coded points of the four
• 3
L«lie Mezei letters A, B, E, and L, a tower of Babel was
Leslie Mezei
IHJ Tower of Babel Transformed No. 2
designed. Applying the random point
On,pu,tr 1967 distortion routine resulted in Babel Shaken.
Ptocesseddra'iwing,
?»ptt Computer-processed drawing, It is one in a rather large series of graphic
2l.l,rC
'•»2|
cm 7
P 0fapl0"erdrawing paper copy of a plotter drawing designs inspired by the Brazilian poet Pedro
28.1 x 21.7 cm
Xisto's concrete poem (B)ABEL."

• 1-3 [Leslie Mezei,"Kompjuterska umjetnost"I

H'e Mezei
T<_ IBM 7094, CalComp 565 incremental "Computer Art," in: bit international 3, Boris
'ifbMShook
Hi? digital plotter Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije
Programmed in the FORTRAN-based
Znt,'P'°CtKti drawing,
grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, p. 128.]
language SPARTA
ai'2lJc°IaPl0"erdraWing Produced at University of Toronto
MSU Zagreb
256 tendencies 4 • Computers and Visual Research • 1968

Vladimir Bonacic
I R B 8 - 9 (also: 1 " R B " ) Editorial note: Computer-generated light
1968 patterns on an oscilloscope. A camera
in front of the screen records the light dots
20°q°8joPch °f'he SCree" °fa colr,Puter-controlled o<
^u.v x 29.5 cm photographically.

PDP-8, self-developed light pen system

Programmed in Assembler
Produced a, Ruder Boskovic Institute. Zagreb
Archive MSU Zagreb
 Exhibition • Zagreb 257

Editorial note: Abstract paintings created by students of Hirosh, Kawano

Hiroshi Kawano
were digitized by dividing the images into grids of s.ngle elements and
Series of Pattern: Flow
recording their attributes numerically. These input data were transformed
1964
b y M a r k o v c h a i n r a n d o m p r o c e s s e s , w h i c h c o n s i s t of 1 ) a n a l y s i s : d e f i n i n g
Computer-generated design, gouache on paper
t r a n s i t i o n p r o b a b i l i t y m a t r i x , a n d 2) s y n t h e s i s : t h e M o n t e C a r l o m e t h o d .
OKITAC 5090A, line printer
Thus, the output data for new images were generated. The images were
Programmed in O K I S I P
painted by hand in gouache on paper.
Produced a t t h e C o m p u t e r C e n t e r , U n i v e r s i t y o f T o k y o
Reproduced in [Japan Display Design
Monthly], v o l . 7 , n o . 6 , # 6 6 , J u n e 1 9 6 5
Archive M S U Z a g r e b
 t e n d e n c i e s 4 • C o m p u t e r s a n d V i s u a l R e s e a r c h • 1968

"A drawing was made of one toy soldier and this became t e
Charles Csuri A computer program which generates random numbers is ca ^
Random War
pseudorandom number generator. Such a program
1967
tribution and position of 400 soldiers on the battlefield- ^
Computer-processed drawing, silkscreen after plotter drawing
called the "Red" and the other one the "Black, and the na™ ^
°rtfolio Edition. Computer Graphic from ICA Exhibition Cybernetic
Serendipity, Motif Editions, London people were given to the program. Another computer pr< '8 ^
51 x 70.2 cm military ranks and army serial numbers at random. The ra^ ^
IBM 7094, drum plotter generator determined the following information and t e

Programmed by C. C. and James Shaffer

this picture with the casualty list 1) Dead 2) Woundec j .g^Con-
Collection Clarissa, Sprengel Museum, Hannover
4) Survivors 5) One Hero for each side 6) Medals lor a c
duct 8) Efficiency Medals." . .jiv

[Charles Csuri and James Shaffer, "Art, Computers and Mathe"

AF1PS - Conference Proceedings, vol. 33. [968- P-l297"'

 Exhibition • Zagreb 259

(n >w ® >f > M I» l ( | >

A*(| I «\(|»\ >
I I »\(|
')<{] I v M l * " > >

0 MM! > * M1
i O > # » A > k <1 * I X l(|» > I «(|
v

VG > M >0 >• I >«• » M I

I K X I > l®»
IX* I > v h > N
>| v (| A > * (I > A ^ lw IIA
> ^ t > w 0 A > c

> * x<i i * x it ft* 1

• M I A® (« "v » M IX 1 *

• 2 "Visual results of the studies: Because of the probability of a regular

Kla"s Staudt
Klaus Staudt distribution with the aid of the statistical order and the combinatorics,
^taiim a
"HI permutation III super-signs arise where, through the type of sequence (offset horizon­
^cardboard 1968 tally), identical signs combine vertically, horizontally, or diagonally to
"'Jlcm ack cardboard White cardboard on black cardboard
form more complex units.
61 x 61 cm
[Klaus Staudt in: tendemije 4,exhib. cat, Galerija suvremene umjetnosti,
tendencije 4 . K o m p j u t e r i i v i z u e l n a i s t r a z i v a n j a "

tendencies 4 . C o m p u t e r s a n d V i s u a l R e s e a r c h "

August 3-4,1968

•
Colloquy

Centar za kulturu i informacije [Center for Culture and Information], Zagreb

Participants in the Colloquy

Marc Adrian | A T ] • Kurd Alsleben I D E ] •

Alberto Biasi |IT| • Vladimir Bonacic |YU (HR)]
• Herbert W. Franke I D E ] • Branimir
Makanec [YU(HR)1 • Matko Mestrovic |YU (HR)|
• Abraham A. Moles [ F R ] • Vladimir Muljevic
|YU(HR)] • Frieder Nake IDE] • Vjenceslav
Richter |YU (HR)] • Zdenko Sternberg |YU (HR)1
• BozoTezak [ Y U ( H R )I • Jiff Valoch | c s (CZ ) 1

• 1
Frieder Nake, Matko Mestrovic (front row, from
left), a n d Herbert W. Franke (second row, left)

• 2
Abraham A. Moles
 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968

Centar za kulturu i informacije, Zagreb

August 3-4,1968 v Putar, Boris Kelemen, and Abraham A

Colloquy tendencije 4. "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istraziv

t e n d e n c i e s 4 . "Computers and Visual Research" runwald, Branimir Makanec. |4 ^

•rdAlslebenlfromleMimng
leniak and Fedor Kri.ovac (standm.
 Moles • Introduction

Abraham A. Moles
Introduction to the Colloquy

Professor Abraham A. Moles, holder of the chair of so­ having its own criteria of judgment. It has had an essential
cial psychology of communications at Strasbourg Uni­ influence, first in Yugoslavia - where it has motivated nu­
versity, assisted Bozo Bek and Boris Kelemen in prepar­ merous artists and established a link between art and all the
ing and organizing the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna design studies that have an industrial impact, since certain
istrazivanja"/"Computers and Visual Research" and also Yugoslavian object designs have conquered the world market
took over the moderation of the event. The papers given at - and also in a great number of other countries. I am thinking,
the two-day colloquy at the Centar za kulturu i informa- for example, of the geometric art movements in France, Italy,
cije [Center for Culture and Information] on August 3-4, Czechoslovakia, Germany, and other countries that I know
1968 were published in 1969 in the third issue of the mul­ less directly.
tilingual journal bit international launched by the Galer- A further step is necessary, now that this first function has
ijegrada Zagreba [Galleries of the City of Zagreb]. The in­ been accomplished. This is to take into account and come
troduction to the colloquy reprinted here is based for the to terms with the technological revolution in the field of art.
most Part on the transcript of the recorded lecture as pub­ Therefore, the role of the New Tendency consists first in de­
lished in bit international 3. It was amended slightly after velopment in the direction of what one can call the most mod­
studying the sound recording. ern. But it is at the same time an integrating activity, which is
to say that the movement synthesizes a great number of var­
Originally published as "Uvodna rijec na kolokviju" / "In­ ied and necessary aspects of contemporary art. Lastly, it is
duction a colloque," in: bit international 3, Boris Kele- part of a sociocultural evolution by its preoccupation, preva­
and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, lent within the New Tendency, with a social problem; namely,
eb> 1968, pp. 3-10; translated from the French.] the relationship between art and society. This has been at the
center of its preoccupations.
A session is very informal, let me begin by saying what a The New Tendency has put the emphasis on change and
the analysis of change: research has been taken as far as pos­
veilj "p6'' 'S ^°r me t0 ^ere 'n ^a8reh. to follow this Nou-
^tndance [New Tendency] movement which has had sible. In particular, it has been able to differentiate between
SU SIant'a'
impact, not only in Yugoslavia but in most what may be termed a trial and an experiment, things too eas­
H« coumHe5 that are interested in modern art. ily confused until recently in modern art, where too many
artists have indulged in a rather Dionysian, freakish crea­
: nance l° 3 ^CW worc*s on ro'e anc* 'm~
tive blossoming, in which the crucial idea of rigor has too
'n short i* C°m^Ulers or ca^cu'ators 'n artistic development.
often been neglected. The character of experimentation is
level - th .W°U't' t0 try t0 justify - on a philosophical
expressed in the phrase "trial and error." Therefore, true ex­
The o'| '31^0rtance 'n fhe field of machine art.
perimentation is expressed in often fruitless trials and it is
tablish the b ^ 4^tendencies 4 exhibition is to es-
only at the end of long, unrelenting work, in which error or
ment Unt i 3SeS new or'entat'on in artistic develop-
success are manifest, that the fundamental validity of an idea,
that has c "T-' ^ ^enc'ency bas been a movement
concept, or intuition emerges. Experimentation is systemati-
anists ^ 3rounc* activities of a great number
zation, exploration of the range of possibilities; it differs es­
^as brouaht"10'^3"^ 8eometr'c a°d kinetic fields. It
sentially from the mere "trial," from this multiplicity of trials
Sucb as rigor of1 ^ 6SSent'a' values of contemporary art,
that we have witnessed over the past twenty years in modern
^Priatene fXeCUt'°n' construct'on of significant form, and
art in which no serious analysis was made of the reasons for
reed itself f fl"S l° e"^S' ^'s ^°rm ^as 3 Pu^^c t'iat
r°m figurative representation but insists upon which something was good or bad. We should recall, in this
264 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968
differentiation between trial and experiment, that when there
is failure, it can be for at least two reasons; either the funda­
mental idea was wrong or its realization - leaving the cases
in which both the idea and the realization are misguided! So
there may be right ideas that are poorly realized. The aim
of experimentation is to reach, through successive trials, the
most favorable form of this realization. Experimentation is
study, study in the field of possibilities, defined by constrain­
ing laws or by an algorithm, which is to say, by a succession of
intellectual steps toward the achievement of a definite goal.
From the point of view of a psychology and a sociology
ol art, it is perhaps one of the essential contributions of the
New Tendency that is has pointed up this difference between
experimentation and random trials, and that it has placed an
emphasis on experimentation to the detriment of trials that
lead nowhere - even successful ones.
We are presently facing a new revolution, more important
than the mechanized revolution that inspired Karl Marx, a
revolution of automation, of artificial thought, of symbiosis with
machines, of mastery of communications, a development we
dubbed several years ago a "secret revolution," in the sense
that those who are part of it - all of us - were unaware that
it was going on. A change is taking place in our era that will
eventually" have an impact on our consciousness, our own
development: this revolution, which was concealed, hidden,
and diffuse, is now emerging as one of the deciding factors in
the world of tomorrow. It has rightly been said that informa­
tion is the third fundamental element alongside matter and
energy.
The role of the artist is to express the society in which he
or she lives, not in a static way, but in its movement. The es­
sential movement in this case is the transition to another so­
ciety, to a transformation of values, in particular of aesthetic
va ues and of the role of creativity in its relationship to pro­
duction. It is this that the artist should express, insofar as he
or s e intends to be not simply a photographer of the world
^ it is, but (also, and much more) a catalyst for development.
n"'^native society discovers new values, and art reflects
and prefigures them. This is the true definition of "avant-
garde art," an art which not only provides the image of society
in transformation but also the image of the most advanced as­
pects of that transformation, that which, being true today for
some, will be true tomorrow for everyone.
How can we know whether the reflection is exact, or
whether it is a mere distortion, albeit a brilliant one?! It is
the public itself that will decide, because a characteristic ot
its judgments is that they contain a great many provisional er­
rors in time and space, with much meandering and wasted
time. This is the point where the task of the intellectual be­
comes tricky.
Yet, after a certain time, we see some lines of orientation
emerging within the artwork, such as, for example, the rejec
tion of Tachism despite the success of some of its representatives,
the individual beauty of whose works expresses nothing
other than themselves. What do we see developing? Through
these criteria, which the New Tendency has brought to the
fore, a new form of artwork is emerging, and a displacement
of the role of the artist in his relationship to matter and to
the algorithms of creative thought. The artist is part of a
tural dynamic in which final forms are conditioned b\ exi
ing forms, conditioning in turn the forms to come, in a pe
manent secretion that is called the socioculturahycle.
What exists conditions what will exist. Avant-garde ar
the search for new forms which the public will get 10 ^
- by the intemediary of a social amplifier - and which
come the cultural frame on which other forms wi
structed in their turn. s.
This brings out the role of machine-based art as a s^
sor to geometric art. In other words, modern art pre ^
presses this society, but the sensibility of the public so ^
lags far behind. There is necessarily a mismatch bet** ^
avant-garde product and the socially accepted prei ^ ^
not about suppressing this discrepancy, even t oug
to-day thinking of a scholar always lags behind N ^ ^
work he or she creates, which is ultimately the e ^_
cjoUS.
herself. Marx pointed out that an evolution
ness goes more slowly than evolution in the econ ^||j aI1 ,
and that the "old mentalities" continue to e\
 Moles • Introduction

F.Ogburn speaks of "cultural lag" or, if you will, in modern lated by culture. Each of these subgroups undergoes a devel­
terms, of cultural viscosity. So, the artist will spread new forms opment that is the law of the progress of the work. In the end,
through the world by other channels than those of the tradi­ an immense field of possibilities is open: this is the idea of
tional work of art. The most important among these is per­ an "open work" (Umberto Eco), which should give rise to re­
haps industna/ design, which incorporates a message of new search and experiments, as defined above. This field has be­
forms into the interior of the smallest object ("the object as come even more apparent to artists as a group, as machines
bearer of form") and which is likely to make these acceptable for the ordering of elements of information (we call them
to the social body as a whole, if they are not too original. computers or calculators) have become more directly acces­
There is here one additional, but practically important, ad­ sible to the artist in his or her immediate sensibility. It seems
vantage of the new information theories: the possibility of as­ reasonable to believe that, in a few years, the education of
sessing this degree of originality numerically. artists will put them in direct contact with the principal al­
The machine appears at this point to have a double role: gorithms for combining aural, visual, light, color, or other
)n the one hand, that of creating new forms in an absolute elements that will prompt a "total" art. The expression "To­
way, and on the other, that of modifying the relations of the tal art" still signifies, of course, partial art, an art that is still
artists to their materials. partial but tending toward totality as an inaccessible ideal. In
The artist no longer directly touches or manipulates color, other words, from a kind ot dynamic myth emerges aesthetic
material, or objects. He or she manipulates algorithms, which play upon a sensory totality: an art that is always a little more
h more or 'ess abstract. He or she must necessarily learn total.
jto handle this abstraction. This gives rise to a problem In the present state of affairs, the artist is not yet at the
1 education of the artists themselves, before these artists level of abstraction that should be achieved by education at a
possibly become, if not educators, at least agents of de- certain point, as quickly as possible.
pment in general society. The role of the artist appears, at However, machines have already come to human beings
moment, to be to construct algorithms or programs for the more quickly than human beings have come to machines, in the
sense that, instead of being mysterious boxes full of secret
tain n ^ ex^orat'on of a field of possibilities defined by a cer-
n umber of constraints that constitute one of the defini- elements, manipulated by the priests of a sect of "program­
functionality, one of the fundamental doctrines of the mers," a caste of initiates inaccessible to the common public,
'^»of objects for the whole of society. computers have very quickly become systems in direct con­
tact with the sensibility of artists, tracing a more or less reg­
•h e work 3 f Ce ^ tS ^ a U " C e Denises celebrated definition of
ular line on a sheet of paper or immediately showing the re­
kdwo ° an ~ r e c a ^' n 8 ^at a painting, before it is a na-
sults of an artists ideas or concepts 3 on a luminous screen or
^t a j] a an <l ^° r S e k a t t ' e > or an anecdote of some kind, is
on magnetic tape. The gulf separating artist from machine in
a certain o C ° Verec ^ co^ore^ marks assembled in
this area has already been bridged, and we will have an op­
chanicai T ~ °ne Can see t^iat everY system, every me-
portunity to see some examples of this.
'Pfceptibi 6 CCtr'Ca' aPParatus, permitting the imposition of
5Ua ' e lemen°^ er0n 3 C C r t a ' n n u m ber
At the moment, we are led to change our mindset and ask
of carefully chosen vi-
creat ' 0 nofa"
ourselves what we should do with this tool. How can aes­
' S C a ^ a ^' e 'P r ' n c 'P' e , °f being applied to the
110 '° n ger
thetic sensibility and the educational function of art in rela­
d °^ 3 r t ' ^ e x P r e s s ' o n "work of art" being
tion to society as a whole be reshaped to satisfy the full range
°^ cc epf a „ ce nC( ^ ^ 3 t r a n s c e n dental criterion, but by one
of "needs for beauty" in the members of that society, each ac­
'^ ese subgro'° r r e ' 6 C t ' 0 n ^ ^ defined subgroups of society.
cording to his or her own cultural frame? Can the sensitive
UpS ^ a v e characteristics that have been formu­
 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968

human being be satisfied by a complex artist/computer sys­
tem, in which for the moment the computer still only repre­
sents an amplifier oi thought? This is one of the problems
posed here by tendencies 4. How can computers and the sen­
sibility of the avant-garde public be simultaneously further
developed so as to bring them both together? In conclu­
sion, I would like to remark that this problem is a very topi­
cal one in the cultural framework that has been constructed
in Yugoslavia. Because machines exist. The financial objec­
tion, the enormous resources required to bring about con­
tact between machines and human beings (what technicians
figurative images, but are concrete realizations within the
scope of equipment already available to you here in Zagreb,
for example, or which will be available to you very shortly,
much more freely than in the past.
Through the New Tendency, a bridgehead can now be es­
tablished in this field that will modify the relationship between
art and society. I hope that movement can fulfill the role which
the sociocultural situation offers.
Editorial note: The original transcript gives "naturally": however, on the

call the man-machine interface), an objection so important
five or ten years ago, is crumbling away from one day to the
next with the increasing number of computers and their in­
recording of the lecture Moles says "eventually."
Editorial note: The original transcript gives "revolution"; however,on the
recording of the lecture Moles says "evolution."
Editorial note: The original transcript gives "combinations;however.

put/output devices that enable a pencil mark to be converted the recording of the lecture Moles says "concepts."
Editorial note: Moles is probably showing Studies in Perception at this ]
into a message forever registered in the computers memory
also known as Mural (this volume, p. 383), a work of 1966 by Kenndhl
and that image" to be modified by known "routines," such as Knowlton and Leon D. Harmon.
the smoothing of the curves, perspective, volume, or the ro­
tation of a model which is now realized by the machine - all
this now being totally accessible to willing artists.
If New Tendency expresses a change or a desire for change
in the artistic domain, it must necessarily express its concern
lor one of the major problems that our age will face. Under
the direction of specialists participating directly in these ef­
forts, we are going to see the pieces brought together by the
Zagreb Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contem­
porary Art] exhibited here. There will be commentaries on
these, and the creative artists will show us how they go about
their work.
In conclusion, I would simply like to show you some im­
ages of machine-generated nudes that are not in the exhi-
ition These nudes have been drawn by a machine. In a
Gedankenexperiment that makes light of history, I would sug­
gest that perhaps neither Leonardo da Vinci nor Andreas
esalius would have refused to sign these images. It follows
rom t is that it is no longer necessary to learn to paint nudes
no I 6 303 emy Wflat wi" academies" be for now that it is
s o j r n e J : e s s f ^ t o l e a r n academic painting? We will see
examp es t at are perhaps less spectacular than these
 Richter • Dilemma

Vjenceslav Richter
Dilemma

The Croatian architect Vjenceslav Richter, was a member
ofExat 51 (Eksperimentalni atelje [Experimental StudioJ)
like Vlado Kristl, Ivan Picelj, and Aleksandar Srnec who
also exhibited works within the framework of the New
Tendencies. The group was founded in 1951 and also in­
cluded the architects Bozidar Rasica, Bernardo Bernardi,
Zdravko Bregovac, Zvonimir Radic, and Vladimir Zara-
hovic. Exat 51 denied the difference between so-called
"pure" art and "applied" art; further, it sought to achieve a
synthesis of all branches of the fine arts and to encourage
true experiment. The group disbanded in 1956.
This text is the written version of Richter's lecture which
ne gave at the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivan-
ia Computers and Visual Research," August 3-4, 1968,
Zagreb.
erties of certain materials, the technology was mostly very
simple, too. It was in fact so simple that it even made working
contrary to the properties of materials possible. In this man­
ner even exceptionally good results could be obtained. Here
it need not be pointed out that the author - compared to that
immobile matter - was a living being. However, in this new
situation, in the relation computer-human, concerning the
possibilities man offers compared to a computer with regard
to the speed and complexity of reaction, one could almost say
that now man is — almost — dead matter. Therefore, the au­
thor develops a feeling of inferiority in relation to his tools.
I have the feeling that on the occasion of my first encounter
with a computer I shall have to apologize to it, and very po­
litely at that, for my lack of skills, my ignorance, and stupidity.
That is where our initial dialog will end.

[Originally published as "Dilema" / "Dilemma," in: bit in-
niatiomli, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Ga-
erije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 25-28.]
opinion, there is no dilemma as to whether comput-
^ ould be used or not. The question is rather how to do
1 ere are many indications warning us that the entire psy-
Yet another question is: what type of author, not to say artist,
stands a chance of achieving eminence in the computer era?
I am one of those authors who are capable of formulat­
ing their ideas in advance, but who nevertheless encounter
certain challenges, surprises, corrections, and changes in the
work process. Yet, there are still many very distinguished au­
thors who are unable to say a single word about their work,

I '£} of the author, that is, his entire way of thinking and even after completion, for speaking about it would almost
amount to sacrilege. Such authors are left standing before
inte ^ t0 c^an8ecl-
1 would perhaps introduce an
e iatesteP between the author and the audience, and the threshold of the computer era as a reminder of the past.
4is is
While waiting for the encounter with a computer, I have
Process' f C"a'°^ ^etween f^e author and his work in the
made a "hand" computer in my studio, consisting of the fol­
uin that° Creat'on- ^ carmot speak for everyone, but I am cer-
in§
lowing: by means of agreed upon signs I program certain
of th' 6 rna'°r't^ auth°rs take an interest in the mean-
compositions, and on that basis my well-trained team works
ng work6 [e'at'0ns'liP ^nveen the author and the emerg-
audienc an^Ua^e an<^
very well and with great precision. In this way we can pro­
e '"formation are conveyed to the
duce about two sculptures per person, each sculpture con­
cal stru a" ^ 3n ec^° ^ue to tbe identical psychologi-
Very intenf6 aUt^or an(^ lbe
sisting of 10,000 pieces programmed in the entirely manual
audience. As I see it, the
way described above. Naturally, this is just an exaggerated
is now n ^'a'0^ between the artist and his work, which
comparison but, all the same, the process is essentially al­
^de ran e t'lr°U^ biter of the computer, offers a
most identical to the one performed by machines. Of course,
'bepast vv ^'^''besand extreme difficulties. The tools
in this way the relation of the executors superiority over the
listed or ^ m°St^ s^ugg'sh: color, clay, and metal either
author is avoided ... As far as I know.
'n8 to a relat00^316^ W'^ ^ autb°rs Idea of a work. Ow-
e ) simple body of knowledge about the prop­
268 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968
Alberto Biasi
Situation 1967
The Italian artist Alberto Biasi, was a cofounder of Gruppo
N, which evolved step-wise. Initially, a collective called En-
nea formed in September 1959 in Padua, which consisted
mainly of students from the department of architecture
at the University of Venice: Tino Bertoldo, Alberto Biasi,
Tolo Custoza, Sara Ivanoff, Bruno Limena, Manfredo Mas-
sironi, Milla Muffato, Gianfilippo Pecchini, and Gaetano
Pesce. However, in December 1959, Biasi, Massironi, and
Edoardo Landi founded the group named "enne" (= n as in
new). Toni Costa and Ennio Chiggio joined the group one
year later. This new formation, which became known as
Gruppo N, disbanded in October 1964. Afterwards, Biasi,
Landi, and Massironi worked together under the name
"enne 65" until 1966.*
The text published here is a transcript of the lecture
Biasi gave at the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazi-
vanja / Computers and Visual Research," August 3-4,
1968, Zagreb.
[Originally published as "Situacija i967"/"Situazione 1967,"
in: bit international 3, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Pu-
tar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 29-33;
translated from the Italian.1
Some artists in the Nouvelle Tendance - recherche conti­
nued [New Tendencies - continuous research] movement
(N.T.r.c.) shared the conviction that their artistic creations (it
is appropriate to speak of creation, despite all the arguments
this current made against the myth of "creation") would in­
duce the spectator to engage in new forms of learning.
Although this stance did indeed produce some interesting
results in art as spectacle or art as play, it stemmed from an
old ideology of art conceived as a mission: it had to educate.
The error underlying this sectarian approach led to a de­
cline into experimentalism. Moreover, those pursuing this
trend must have been aware that there might be a concurrent
process of conceptual demystification in the field of educa-
ion, similar to the one taking place in art (see the first work­
ing hypothesis in the Gruppo N writings of 1962).
Other artists working within N.T.r.c. took the position that
design works that referred only to themselves meant not to
permit the spectator to demand that the work of art should
represent values. They made objects that were intended to
encourage spectators to seek those values in themselves.
Apart from the fact that the "cleanest works" (in this sense)
were made by Piero Manzoni, with his completely white sur­
faces, now, years later, we can say that an operation of this
kind prevented the spectator finding new values in the work,
and that a similar conception of art led to another sectarian
trend, which ended in a form of neo-metaphysics of the ob­
ject, and thus ultimately in the error of sophism.
Lastly, yet another sectarian approach had been devel­
oped by some artists who were convinced that art should be
the expression of reality conceived as a continuous evolution
of phenomena.
This mechanistic conception led to the production <
works of kinetic art.
These three trends seemed to be summed up dialectical
in the nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3] exhibition in N
(To quote the catalog: "The title, nova tendencija 3. 'n '^e 51
gular, has replaced the former plural one, through a desir^
for ideological concentration and in the interests of comir
It also appeared that presuppositions were developing
clarifications being made that would enable aistlutM
tice to be tested epistemologically, when, in i965>1 e ^
ment virtually ceased to exist, due both to economic ^ ^
stances and, above all, to a common lack of <determ'natio
prevent individualistic divergences (which had
peared during N.T.r.c. 2 in 1963) becoming more acute ^ ^
our Yugoslav friends who had initiated the move ^ ^
who lived under a socialist economic system, a string
seen that the realistic issues of individual surviva
their Western friends would create all kinds 0 ^n ^ ^
competition among artists living in countries wi
ist economic structure,
on an art market with an economic stru
even be described as "paleocapitalist.

This marked the beginning - although for some artists it
came even earlier - of the pursuit of success.
Even today the various trends compete with mixed for­
tunes for the favor of the critics and the art market. "Today
s my turn, tomorrow it will be yours," was the only moral
operative in this contest.
If we look at what the artists who belonged to N.T.r.c. in
.j6i are doing today, we can say that some seem to have
irned to skepticism (seen as the last hope), others have be-
)me eclectic, and others still have turned themselves into
ixcellent craftsmen and seem to believe blindly in the one
ling they are doing: always solving the same problem and
•peating the same operations time and time again to the
int of highlighting the personal aspects of their work. In
iort, they are engaging in a kind of specialization. Such art-
is are always highly sought-after by art dealers and always
in the approval of a certain kind of art critic. But it should
'remembered that workers who are able to do a certain job
n well, and are willing to do only that job, are the most
"'"S^'-after, as long as their type of work is profitable to cap-
af As Karl Marx wrote in 1842, "While labor gives rise to
accumulation of capital, and so brings about the grow-
g prosperity of society, it makes the worker increasingly
pendent on the capitalist, exposes him to greater compe-
and drives him into the frenzied world of overproduc-
with its subsequent slump.'" Today it is not difficult to
u kinetic artists who are a little tired of working, who are
" hat disillusioned, and who, deep in their hearts, regret
T°ken out and striven too hard to go beyond Art In­
cite they acknowledge that until kinetic art adopts
toduction methods it would have been easier and less
nk t0 continue making abstract Art Informel.
1 rt, they are convinced that, absurdly, they helped
ch 3,1 m'lr'(ets c^estnuts out °f the fire, absolutely free
-' and in exchange for no more than a little fame.
Mali °h ar°Unc' anc* '°°k at ourselves, it is better to sus-
gments and remain silent (aphasia as art), as the
lu
TO taught
ugh n me 3S n° SUrPr'se someone rediscovers art
minues"' "r 'lrt ^or arts sake, or art as art, etc. But what
nZagreb '° h <iistUrl)in8 is the fact that from the meetings
1 cc laps from the outset, one thing seemed to have
the inco ^ W3S 3 reco8ntt'on> on the one hand,
ePred(im'S'StenC^ °^Prev'ous metaphysical systems and
"em, ancj Qna"' aesthetic theories inextricably linked with
scientific ' 6 ^ fundamental validity of cur-
trends. There was a desire that traditional the­
B i a s i • S i t u a t i o n 1967
ories of art should be replaced by a mode of understanding
and working that would be more in line with new scientific
thinking about nature and human life.
This, then, is a text that I wrote in 1967. But I also wished to
say something about the program of nt4. These words might
also seem to express the opinion of many of my Western
friends who took part in the previous New Tendencies ex­
hibitions. I came to realize that our political situation is very
different from yours. We certainly cannot fail to take your
program into account, but at the same time, we must also
consider the situation of the capitalist economic world. Thus,
any innovation is used by a well-defined class to continue
its exploitation of the working class. Everyone has seen that
the consequence of increased mechanization is increased ex­
ploitation of man by man. Increased automation has not di­
minished man's exertions or given him greater freedom at
work. On the contrary, it is used to rationalize exploitation.
Artists cannot remain indifferent to these conditions.
Moreover, they have abandoned "spontaneist" theories,
whereby technological developments and economic process­
es alone would be enough to gradually and spontaneously
introduce socialism, without being accompanied by a revo­
lution, a root and branch struggle against capitalism at the
ideological, political, and cultural levels. Perhaps for all these
reasons artists from the previous New Tendencies exhibi­
tions have not come to Zagreb. But we must also bear in mind
that those of them who are more aware are engaged in sup­
porting the student struggles in their respective countries.
• See- Lucilla Meloni , " G e s c h i c h « e d e r G r u p p o N," i n : V o l k e r W . F e i e r a b e n d .
Gruvvo N. Oltre la pittura, oltre la scullura, I'arte programmata/Programmed
Kunst: mehr als Malerei, mehr als Bildhauerei, S i l v a n a E d i t o r . a l e , C . n . s e l l o
Balsamo, 2009, p. 41.
, K a r l M a r x , Manoscritti economico-filosofici del 1844, E i n a u d i , T u r i n . 1 9 4 9 ,
p. 34.
 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968
Frieder Nake
Reply to Alberto Biasi
Frieder Nake, began working as an assistant at the com­
puter center of the Technische Hochschule [Technical
University] Stuttgart while he was still an undergradu­
ate mathematics student. In 1963, he developed a program
there, which enabled a SEL ER65 computer to be con­
nected to the university's newly acquired automatic plot­
ter, the highly accurate drawing machine ZUSE Graph-
omat Z64. Nake began with technical test patterns, but
soon created his first artistic graphics, which were pre­
sented publicly for the first time in 1965 under the ti­
tle Computer-Grafik Programme [Computer Graphics Pro­
grams] at the Wendelin Niedlich gallery in Stuttgart. Like
Georg Nees, Nake developed his approach within the con­
text of Max Bense's information aesthetics.
At the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/
Computers and Visual Research," Nake gave an introduc­
tion to the accompanying exhibition, held a lecture on his
work, and expressed his views in the following statement.
The text reprinted here is the written version of Nake's
reply to Alberto Biasi's paper.
[Originally published as "Odgovor A. Biasiu" / "Replik an
A. Biasi," in: bit international 3, Boris Kelemen and Rado-
slav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp.
35~39; translated from the German.]
I really don t know what to say now. I prepared an article for
the journal bit international and came to Zagreb with the idea
of talking about what I cover in the article.
Alberto Biasi has completely confounded me because his
problems are also mine; and 1 don't know now whether to
still hold another rather scientific lecture or not.
I think I shall do the following: the issue of bit will be
published including the article that I submitted; therefore, I
a make three remarks about the contents of the article
and then reply ad libitum to Mr. Biasi.
First, then, the three remarks on the article. The article's
title is "Die Kunstproduktion als EntscheidungsprozeB" [Art
reduction as a Decision Process]. It contains several points
that touch upon what Herbert W. Franke has just told us. In
my article, the creation of an image is considered in the fol­
lowing way: As Abraham A. Moles said this morning, all im­
ages can be viewed in principle as composed of many points.
I have adopted this idea in order to develop a mathematical
model of the creation of an image. This model is described in
the article. The second point is: The artworkscan be regarded
as lying within a space of criteria. This space is formed accord­
ing to how many criteria are used in the consideration. If, for
example, ten criteria are used, there is a ten-dimensional cri­
teria space. Each artwork corresponds to a point in this space.
The goal of a mathematical model of art production can be to
produce an image for one point in the criteria space. This is
a problem of the decision process. There exists a mathemat
ical theory of decision which can be applied here, and I haw
made it my task for the coming year to find a connection K
tween mathematics and art processes in this sense.
Mr. Biasi has told us that there are no artists here todav
That is not quite right, and yet perhaps the following is s\mf
tomatic: Here at the speaker's desk it is mainly scientists or
scholars who make an appearance, or at best artists like kur
Alsleben who work primarily as scientists. This seems to rn
to be a problem of the Tendencies. On the one hand, art ^
are at a loss as to how to proceed, and on the other, there ^
scientists who are making efforts to penetrate art. Mr.
has broached a special problem of the artists: the pro ^
automation. This problem is not, however, the artists
Iem alone; it is equally the scientists' problem, and es[
of those scientists who work directly with automa ^ ^
computers. It is senseless to make private declarations ^
we want to do that, I could talk about howwestoo in^.j
nSi
the gates of factories, how we demonstrated, he 1 ^
built barricades, printed and distributed leaflets- ^ ^ ^
the German student movement is sufficiently we ^
even here in Zagreb and in Italy. Therefore, I w<w
to say something that we won't perhaps like to 1 ^^
We shouldn't demonize automata. Cornputer ^ ^
we would be making a great mistake if we ra 1 s[nan>
them. I think it would be much better if we broug 1 ' •
 Nake • Reply to Biasi

leftists" aspossible together with computers. They know very
well how great the danger of manipulation with computers is.
But there is also a danger of manipulation when "leftists" are
sining at the computers. Therefore, we must in the first place
goand work on computers - but then not make the same mis­
takes as do those on the "right." We must, for example, stick to
the following program: rationality in the service of human­
kind.
Now none of this would pose a problem if social conscious­
ness were different. Then any randomly selected person
could be sat down at a computer and nothing would happen
'harm people. But social consciousness is not like that. For
his reason, we should not make the mistake of bawling like
little children and running away. We have to have the cour­
se to be schizophrenic! In the situation here and now I think
'here is no other option. We must be schizophrenic: for on
ni the hand, we have to live, but on the other, we are perhaps
'mmitted soc'a'ists. 1 know that in Yugoslavia these prob-
rr.s have long not been so fraught as they are in the capital-
st NVest. But since Mr. Biasi has addressed the problem, and
,Ce the Tendencies are very strongly represented by West-
^ wists, 1 think 1 ought to say something about it. We must
com' t0entCr *m° sc^1'zopliren'a'even at results
unive3" VV3^S °^acting> such as working on a computer at a
the °r3 commerc'al business from eight o'clock in
grou n'n^'° ° C'°Ckafternoon> and tf|en g°'ngto
makes sense; but I don't know whether further discussion
will yield other results. Quite in the sense of the cybernetics
that is being debated here, 1 propose the Tendencies should
always hold itself sufficiently open that it could, at any mo­
ment, take a different direction.
1 could envisage the following: The exhibition in May of
next year will be approximately as planned - but, for exam­
ple, only those scientists and artists will be admitted who are
committed to a certain social idea. I mention this as a ques­
tion; 1 don't know. I could imagine that during the exhibition
in May discussions about the exhibition could take place,
that artists and scientists take positions with respect to the
problem of the computer and automation, that a part of the
exhibition would show the dangers of manipulation which
already exist and which will become possible tomorrow, and
other similar things. The London exhibition Cybernetic Ser­
endipity1 addresses mainly the individuals instinct to play.
Why shouldn't the Zagreb Tendencies address the social con­
sciousness? 1 think the discussion has been opened.
1 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h e exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity, curated by Jasia
Reichardt for t h e Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London (August 2
in - October 20. 1968). sought to explore t h e relationships between technology
a n d creativity a n d to present a comprehensive overview of contemporary
computer-aided art forms. T h e show included artifacts by artists a s well as
scientists from t h e areas o f computer-aided music, art. literature, a n d
a n i m a t i o n , a n d objects from applied kinetics, cybernetics, a n d robot.es.

directed0 ^r°^ress've 'nte"ectuals" and discussing actions

I051
lesson ^a'nSt °nesown daytime workplace. And neverthe-
needs i C°nt'nue t0 work there in the morning, for one
inc.The °nes worMare and one needs to make a liv-
I*ave \o f 'S n0t S° s'mP^e tf,at one can saYto a worker:
haps a pa act0ry anc^ )°'n our strike. For the worker has per-
Problpm mi ^ °^Ve cMdren and he has to feed them. The
r[le "0I klack-and-white, but gray.
the f0„0P, Cm fer?denc//e 4 / tendencies 4 appears to be
bring togeth^' ^°U'^ Tendencies make the attempt to
fake [he a ^ 3rt'Sts aiK* scientists? Should the Tendencies
cursive and 1° ^r'n^ a^out a symbiosis between dis-

'ntuitive thought? I continue to think that this

 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968
Vladimir Bonacic
Capabilities of the Computer in Visual Research
Vladimir Bonacic studied electrical engineering at the
University of Zagreb and as a guest student in London
and Paris. In 1962, even before he completed his master's
degree, Bonacic started to work at the Ruder Boskovic In­
stitute, Croatia's foremost research institution for phys­
ics, nuclear physics, electronics, chemistry, and biology,
which was included in Zagreb University's graduate pro­
gram. He joined the Laboratory for Cybernetics which
had been founded by Branko Soucek in 1966.
When the organizers of tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 vis­
ited the institute to establish collaboration in preparing
for "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and
Visual Research," Zdenko Sternberg introduced them to
the young researcher. As a result of this meeting, Bonacic
started to collaborate with the artist Ivan Picelj and pre­
pared not only a paper for the colloquy, but also started to
produce "aesthetic" computer-generated images for the
small information exhibition accompanying the colloquy.
Shortly before the colloquy "Computers and Visual
Research, in June 1968 Bonacic received his doctorate for
a thesis on "Pseudo-slucajna transformacija podataka u
asocijativnoj analizi kompjuterom" [Pseudorandom Data
Transformation in Associative Analysis by Computer],
specific procedures based on Galois field theory that en­
abled analysis of large amounts of data in realtime, for ex­
ample, from nuclear experiments, on small computers.
The text published here is a shortened version of
Bonacic s lecture given at the colloquy "Computers and
Visual Research," August 3-4,1968, Zagreb.
[Originally published as "Mogucnosti kompjutera u vizual-
nim istrazivanjima"/"Possibilities for Computer Applica­
tions in Visual Research," in: bit international3, Boris Kele-
men and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba,
Zagreb, 1968, pp. 45-38.]
he authors intention is to show the current capabilities of
igital computers in the most elementary way, especially in
visual research. Polemics with artists on the issues of artifi­
cial intelligence, transfer, the computer as a creative co-au­
thor, the computer as creator, etc. are avoided.
The computer looks impressive, such that the majority of
authors concerned with visual research intentionally or un­
intentionally attempts to idealize its capabilities. Because the
computer has found its way into our lives within a very short
time, we have not accepted it, or in other words, on average
we know very little about it. Professional literature dealing
with visual research fails to explain the potential of comput­
ers in this field or, more precisely, the detailed process idea -
realization mode - artwork, which has consequently resulted
even in negative attitudes towards computers and even thing
connected with them. As an analogy we might quote the ex­
ample of secondary school mathematics, which is perceixed
negatively by many students. The literature on visual <
search often intentionally ignores the issue of the cream
of an artwork. Its authors have adopted a well-known jour
nalistic method - some details are described minutely, while
others are ignored. By doing so, the ignorance of the reai
ing public is simply enhanced, since on an unknown sul u-
they get a wrong explanation. Certainly there are many au
thors who do not provoke such effects deliberately, but in
vertently, because of thinking that is too idealistic. ^
Even an objective author can seriously contribute^
confusing the reader by drawing analogies between ^
ous fields without very detailed knowledge of '' u i r '
ular problematic. In some publications one can ni ^
gies between random generators and human intuitu
accepts that analogy as a basis, then far-fetched pre 1 ^
tions and conclusions can be made about the ^
ator and similar concepts. Human intuition is eri
subliminal and unconscious, that is, previous tn ^
and transfer. Accordingly, as a rule one shoul ne^
a cook, even of above average in t e llig e n c e ' t0 Ra­
tion flourish intuitively if she becomes the minist e ^
tion. But let us leave this problem to neurophysic 1 ^
will probably solve it effectively, and let us re j U ™ j-^bers
generators. If we draw up a sufficiently long 1 t() gstab
obtained by a random generator, it will be pc

lish mathematically whether these numbers are random or
arranged in accordance with a particular law. Therefore, the
method used to generate random numbers is entirely irrele­
vant, for it is impossible for us to obtain repeatedly the same
list, or even predict the sequence of numbers. Long before
the idea of the computer, tables of random numbers were
published, although no one ascribed to them the faculty of
intuition. Thus, anybody who wishes to draw up his own ta­
ble nl random numbers can do so by tossing a coin, casting
n dice, drawing cards from a pack, picking colored balls or
flints from a sack, or selecting numbers from the telephone
directory. Similarly, Piet Mondrians painting plus-and -minus
'WD[thisvolume, p. 316]' could have been imitated appro x-
lma,e'yeven w'lhout using a computer (Noll 1965) [this vol-
J^e' P- 316] and much earlier, but this would have taken con-
s'derably more time.
' is pointless to start a discussion on the question which
n' etw° is more perfect: Mondrian keeps the relations bal-
indh'(]0r 'S Pei"haps incapable of destroying them. At any rate,
^ ual elements are preserved. The computer version con-
eal
chaos, viz. reflects the typical random or pseudoran-
aom DROFPCC TL„ • „ R
v«tie h- lnvention of the lens permitted man to in-
!he ^["
thert0 invisible organisms and objects that evaded
anat' er°^^e eye' That particular invention was not as fas-
graduaH ^ ^ COrnPuter' because it had been constructed
''vcope 7 Centur'es> Thus, even today's electronic mi-
•besnot 'sh 'if ma^n'^es °b)ects tens of thousands of times,
terialiZe' °u ^ ^ concePt °f the computer started to ma-
'HUcrsioncJ6 ^ow'n8 World War II. The first mod-
^ that h ^° 'CSS t'13n tCn ^ears a8°- The metamor-
0ses 6S m
Ptoblem even C COni^Uter bas undergone since then pose a
%[...] "t0exPerts directly involved in computer de-
To
P'® structureW'tb a rough insight into the com-
^°n a recent ° 3 S°^tWare system>" it will suffice to men-
^tiputer c neWSPaPer advertisement in which a large
?ro8ranimers
^ announced two thousand vacancies for
UPa
new inter^ °S^0U^ belpthe present team in building
rPreter and directory (software) for a newly de­
Bonacic • Capabilities of t he Computer
signed system. This means that a new system requires thou­
sands of engineering years. In the anarchical economies of
small nations, groups of patriots are taking the gamble of
building up their own computer systems. Even in the event
of partially solving the problems of "hardware," the fledg­
ling "debile computer" will die for the lack of a solution to
the "software" problem.
Why, then, is this complex "software" so essential? First of
all, a complex interpreter enables the user to write a program
in a very simple form not so very different from the one used
by experts in discussing their issues in abbreviated form.
Simplified programming has made it possible for a good
computer directory to be simplified to the extent that in most
typical programs only a few parameters change while the
user program takes the form of the control program.
Readers can undoubtedly draw their conclusions at the
next step in computer development: It must be made pos­
sible for computers to write a program under the influence
of input data; then together with an automatic program it
should select the field of interest, that is, information. In
some branches of technology, computers are already capable
of independently changing programs under the influence of
input data (information).
It is perhaps best left to readers to reach their own con­
clusions in concordance with their philosophical view of
the world on whether the computer can be called a creator,
and whether we can treat it as an intellectual partner in the
process of creation. It is not unusual to hear that at interna­
tional conferences scholarly discussions are initiated on the
appropriateness of approaches to certain problems in nat­
ural science stemming from different philosophical views.
Consequently, the question of artificial intelligence and intu­
ition might be considered in a variety of ways, depending on
one's philosophical attitude. Therefore, let us leave this prob­
lem to modern neurophysiology to solve it by means of com-
puter-generated models of the brain.
Is it necessary for the artist to know all about program­
ming if he wishes to create artworks by means of computer?
No, it is not. He can simply explain his idea to a programmer
 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968

or colleague who is familiar with programming, and he can

do this in spoken form as well. One need not even be literate
to use a computer. Furthermore, he need not know anything i Editorial note: Here, Vladimir Bonacic refers to Piet Mondrian'spainting

about the capabilities of the computer. The programmer can Compositie in lijn [Composition with Lines] (1916/1917), which A. Michael

Noll analyzed and formalized in 1964 with respect to the graphic elements
tailor the demands of such a user to fit realistic boundaries. employed and their distribution. The picture that was generated on the
The reader can also judge whether such an approach to com­ basis of this information Noll titled Computer Composition With Lines; this

puters could yield fruitful results, that is, a work of art. The volume, pp. 315-319.
Editorial note: Here, Bonafic is probably referring to Abraham A. Moles
reader might also wonder whether it would be possible to remarks on Ludwig van Beethoven in his article "Cybernetics and the Mori

reach a discovery or a new form by accident. In science, as a of Art"; this volume, p. 210.

rule, no new discoveries are made accidentally, but through

perseverance and systematic work. Positive transfer does not
have to emerge at a desk or in a laboratory. However, the pre­
condition for transfer is knowledge.
Let us for a moment disregard accident, the easiest method
of achieving results, and consider what the computer offers
to the artist. It offers him a new world, a world which until
yesterday belonged only to mathematicians. The computer
is taking us into the world of n-dimensional space. In such
a world, the artist can represent the relationships calculated
by computer in a way that is suitable for the viewer. Even the
most complex equations assume unimaginable forms thanks
to the high speed of the computer. By changing parameters,
the artist can do research on new and unpredictable forms in
a world that was both unimaginable and invisible until very
recently. Pseudorandom processes offer a further opportu­
nity to the artist to research the relationships ruling the new
world. Unlike random processes, pseudorandom processes
are capable of repetition and open up an infinite number of
possibilities to the artist.
The computer must not remain merely a tool for the sim-
ulation of what exists in a new form. It should not be used
for painting in the way that Mondrian did, or for composing
like Beethoven.2 The computer gives us a new substance; it
reveals a new world before our eyes. In that new world after
many years, scientists and artists will meet again, driven by a
common desire for cognizance.
 Makanec • Role of Interaction

Branimir Makanec
The Role of Interaction in Artistic Expression
by Means of Computer

Branimir Makanec, studied at the Faculty of Electrical would be achieved. In terms of cybernetics, feedback (F) is
Engineering at the University of Zagreb. In 1962, as a sec­ here very slow and inefficient (if present at all).
ond-year student, he established the Grupa kiberneticara
Cybernetic Group] at Zagreb University and built the ro­
bot T10SS, "Teledirigirani Izvrsni Organ Samoorganizi-
rajuceg Sustava" [Remote-controlled Executive Organ of
a Self-organizing System]. In 1964, he designed the first
r
electronic classroom at the department of physical medi­
cine and rehabilitation at the Dr. Mladen Stojanovic Hos­
pital in Zagreb.*
The text reprinted here is a transcript of the paper he
^e at the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja / r

Computers and Visual Research,"August 3-4,1968, Zagreb.

umjetniCko ostvarenje
artistic creation
Originally published as "Uloga interakcije u umjetnickom
rra/a\anju pomocu kompjutera" / "The Role of Interac-
n in Artistic Expression by Means of Computer," in: bit
national 3, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), B, / B2 BA
ie grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 73-78.]

' t0 ''m'1 my address to some technical aspects of

: J tr application in this particular new field. Computer

| (,g) is undergoing such a fast development that even
F sPec'al'sts are somewhat puzzled. All the more so
puzzled the ones unfamiliar with current develop- Fig. 1: T h e information flow from t h e artist to his public

Thai^0 eSS'°na's 'n otller fields who just use computers.

However, feedback is an extremely important phenome­
^ VV^ ' Would like to turn your attention to some
non Very little has been said about it here, which is a pity,
3Ve n0t ^een 8'ven ^ue prominence in the pre-
as computers might enable this so necessary interaction be-
°plican0 '3erS' °n^ some sPecific ways of computer
^resentec*- However, the scope of computer tween the artwork and its public.
Time-sharing, that new way of using the computer that
'urewjli n a,n'St'C creat'on is certainly much wider, which
undergoes an almost explosive development these last few
'^assertion s^ow- Now I shall try to elaborate on
years offers us exceptional opportunities even in that specific
field as well. It is in fact possible for the artist to program a so-
Pl^re
called "interactive program" (which substantially differs from
s Public thro 'n^ormat'on Hows from the artist to
: ftSential mec^um
using computer technology instead of a brush) that would
°f his work. Perhaps it is not
enable the public to come into a more direct contact with a
artworkm' t6C'ln'clue's usecl at the point A so that
work of art and thus experience it more intensively. Perhaps
^ 1 ^ mater'a''zecl as is the question of what
nfa new artwork concept. It is interest-
nicated mo orp
to the public (B) and what final effect
276 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968
ing how many people tend to apply the new technology, fea­
turing pronouncedly new abilities, in a traditional way. This
is the same approach as constructing mechanical horses at
the time of the petrol engine invention, so that they might
pull classical carriages. A new technology always provides es­
sentially new solutions and new possibilities: in our present
case it allows the artist-programmer to create interactive pro­
grams. By taking into account all the possible reactions of
the public, such a program makes it possible for the public to
take an active part in experiencing a work of art.
dl
Fig. 2: Interactive program
Figure 2 best illustrates what an interactive program is.
Unlike in figure 1, where the public is expected to be active at
the highest level (concerned with "observation" exclusively),
we can see that a computer program (in a broader sense un­
derstood as a "work of art") enables much more. The artwork
loses its static quality. Presented to each participant individu­
ally, it enables dynamic accommodation to different percep­
tive systems.
Any action Bn performed in accordance with the program
causes the reaction Fn in the participant n. The next program
phase is performed on the basis of these reactions. In that
way, a spiral of actions and reactions is created. That is ex­
actly what we should strive for: active adoption of the mes­
sage contained in a work of art. I may not be competent to
speak of concrete instances of applying these principles, but
I would still like to describe one with reference to visual ex
pression: If we let a participant draw the first line ol a still
non-existent picture by means of a light pen, the computer
might react by saying that the line is, in visual terms, mis
placed on the given two-dimensional plane. But it max also
react otherwise: it can draw a second line, which will estaf
lish aesthetic balance with the first The final result of an
ries of such interactions can certainly not be predicted, but
it will probably to a larger extent be the product of t ra­
tion and creative imagination exceeding the individual one
in the participants of this two-way communication. [.••]
• Between 1968 and 1969 Bozo Tezak, then head of the Poshjediplomski
bibliotekarstva, dokumentacije i informatike |Center for Postg ^
Studies Librarianship, Documentation, and Information SllirK ^ ^
Makanec developed the idea for the Zagrebacki multime ijs ^ ^
[ Z a g r e b M u l t i m e d i a C e n t e r ] (MMC), which was realized in I <
Zagreb University Referral Center.

Marc Adrian
Notes on t-4
Marc Adrian, studied sculpture at the Akademie der bild-
enden Kiinste Wien [Academy of Fine Arts Vienna] un­
der Fritz Wotruba, at the Accademiadi Belle Arti di Brera
[Brera Academy of Fine Arts] in Milan, and at the Acade­
mic de la Grande Chaumiere [Grande Chaumiere Acad­
emy] in Paris under Ossip Zadkine. From 1961, he partic­
ipated in all the New Tendencies exhibitions, each time
exhibiting works from his Hinterglasmontagen [Montages
Behind Glass] series. In fall 1966, at the Institut fiir Hohere
Studien [Institute for Advanced Studies] (IHS) in Vienna,
he began to generate visual poetry and computer texts us­
ing their IBM 1620 computer, supported by the research
assistants Horst Wegscheider and Jiirgen Kriz.
Adrian personified the linkage between the first gener-
ation of the New Tendencies and the protagonists of the
Program Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/ "Comput­
es and Visual Research."
Adrian did not attend the colloquy "Computers and Vi-
Ua' ^esearch (August 3-4, 1968, Zagreb) in person; how­
ler, he sent works and the text that is reprinted here was
read in his absence.
j0rjginally published as "Biljeske uz t-4" / "Notizen zu t-4,"
11 i"ter"otional 3, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar
$• >Galerijegrada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 11-23; trans-
lated from the German.]
l^d Cf't'CS as we" as artists have repeatedly main-
that the ^ ' ,e.^ew Tendencies style1 has come to an end,
hausted ^or further development have been ex-
^endericies c'aim has been made that the New
the 1^, 3^e not ~ or only partially (without going into
"^demand ^ 3SSert'on^ ~ fulfilled their own program-
'hink that jt. necessary to make a personal statement here: I
a style
or a 'S Wr°n^t0 Relieve that the New Tendencies are
nomer)a Sli?anner'sm an(* c°mpare them with stylistic phe-
as Cubism or peinture informelle.
Adrian • Notes on t-4
Instead, that which has penetrated general conscious­
ness and which has had effects under the name New Tenden­
cies, from i960 to the present, seems to be a component of a
larger intellectual movement that is closely connected with
the general reconstruction of a humanistic world view and
its ultimate secularization.
The problems that this movement engages with undoubt­
edly emanate from our immediate present, and what we
have named New Tendencies is a specific form of confront­
ing these problems; the New Tendencies seek to resolve them
in reality, which we know is relative, in a way that is also rel­
atively practical.
This special way of looking at things is not new: its ori­
gins can be traced back to the beginning of the Enlighten­
ment. The practical handling of the knowledge thus gained
dates approximately from the beginning of industrialization.
However, the entry of this way of thinking into the realm of
art began relatively late,2 in approximately 1920, with the on­
set of the total liquidation of the crafts-based certified cre­
ative demiurges, who now only survive at a few academies
where they modestly lead a life without influence but with
no cares either.
This orientation of consciousness essentially deals with
the awareness that the world is artificial, reality is a conven­
tion, and peoples awareness of their surroundings is deter­
mined by their environment, primarily by language. re­
ality does not exist naturally as an absolute, then this means
that it is artificial; that is, produced. Under these conditions,
those who are directly involved in the production of reality
are assigned a great deal of importance.
The literature of recent decades has dealt constantly, in
great depth, with "reality-generating" factors (usually in the
form of scathing critiques).4
I believe we will only be able to speak of generated reality,
that is, of the effect in reality, when changes occur ,n the con­
sciousness of the consumer; changes that represent realms
long as the process is underway: reality is a process that be
comes unreal at the moment it comes to a standstill reality
exists only in change.
 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968
Thus, it is a matter of the production of realities, whereby
only those come into consideration as producers whose
products have not yet been consumed, are new, and there­
fore actually "real" because they are effective. Those who
remodel things that have already entered into general con­
sciousness, who make already existing things "better" (as
though one could make reality more real), in other words,
the most varied types of gala artists, commercial decorators,
and star designers, cannot be considered among these pro­
ducers due to the fact that the pseudo-consumption of these
psychological managers' products does not actually present
or resolve any genuine problems since here we are no longer
dealing with true consumption: that which has already been
consumed has already lost its effectiveness, and therefore is
also no longer real.5
Yet, since the reality of an artistic realization (Realisat),
that is, one that first enters the consumption process, cannot
be called into question, then this is actually the creation of
methods to generate realities.
II
In my case, this question arose at an early stage. Its impor­
tance is evident, and a permanently valid solution is not at­
tainable, the reason for which lies in the essence of consump­
tion - especially in the area of painting and sculpture, where
currently the majority of stored information is methodically
generated and for the most part, the associative complexes of
signals seize upon redundant areas - naturally, the personal
redundancy of the observer.
One of my first theoretical texts, which is reproduced be­
low, engages with this question6: the statements compiled
therein have since provided the methodical basic skeleton
for my realizations.
1) Every artwork is an object or a process with a specific artis­
tic statement.
1/1) Every artwork is perceived as a sum of stimuli, which de­
livers a statement about the artwork via the signals (sensory
stimuli) or contextual connections (associations) that it com­
municates. This statement is initially incomplete but ever ex­
panding, with the ongoing observation of the artwork. This
statement is called information, i.
lke TIT' ' °f th£ artW°rk is comP°sed "f the fac­
tor k (for the definition, see 1/2/,), in the special form k„ (in­
variable relationship) of every artwork of a specific artist, and
the variable relations of the carriers of the stimuli and sig­
nals that can be perceived by the senses: v (Jt„).
1/1/2) The following relationship exists for the constitution of
the statement i (effect of the signal carrier):
i = v(k n )
v is represented by m, + m 2 + ... + m n +1
(see 3) in which
m = material representation of v(k) and
t = duration of the viewing or other effect of the artwork
on an audience.
Since the material representation is generally not sub­
jected to any temporal changes, / (apart from k) is largely de­
pendent on t.
1/1/3) As soon as the apperception process has begun for the
audience, the following occurs:
v(kn) < t
or: as t increases, i decreases,
when t = 1 (i.e., 100 %), i is at its minimum.
In order to keep the reduction in information as low as
possible, it is advisable to keep t (with regard to the current
audience) as small as possible.
To this purpose, the following methods are possible: high
complexity of v and k, short duration of the show, as much
diversity in m as possible.
t(min) can be found where the audience still has time tor.
personal reaction (position), and is different in all cases. A
able average value must be discovered for each artwork.
1/2) The carrier of the stimuli that are conveyed is an obj '
or process perceptible by the senses. When the stateme^
exhausted, the carrier becomes henceforth merely an c
or a process. .. ,
This occurs when i < f; that is, when the amount of in ^
mation is smaller than the amount of time necessan
trading the information.
1/2/1) The signal carriers that are perceptible to the se
m2... mx, have afixed relationship to one another 111 ^
vre, as well as in each individual work of an artist.
tionship is designated by k. s0-call^
This relationship arises individually through lhe^Q^
coherence factors, which are intrinsic to ever} P^^ c an
The sum of the coherence factors presented in an a ^ ^
be termed the personal style or the signature ^ ^^

dally chosen form are designated as k n . Their entirety can­
not be changed at will, neither quantitatively nor formally.
12/2)Since must be viewed as a constant, i can only be in­
fluenced by v. kn represents only a specific selection from
among kh k2... kn and, in the best case, can consist theoreti­
cally of the situation where the entirety of the factor k is pre­
sented in an artwork: k„= k.
The updating of an artwork can also only be achieved
through a change in the relation v, which comprises the ele­
ments m„.
Possibilities of influencing i by v (expansion of v) are: to
change the dimensions, to change the color tones (expressed
in degrees on the Kelvin scale), to make sub- and infrastruc­
tures clearer or more blurred, permutations, distributions as
changes of the dimensions of surfaces in space, time, or the re­
verse, variation of the degree of intensity, structural shifts, etc.
1 - Si In this connection, as well as for the minimization of
1 i5ee t't/3), v must be planned as variably as possible from
lfle outset- This is facilitated by modern reproduction pro-
cesses to which the artwork can be subjected upon its com-
;:etion, and in the course of which it is invariably possible to
achieve different i/(fc„) (e.g., different "states" in etching and
'hography,changes in linguistic forms and fonts for literary
"Dorics, variations in size and exposure for photographs,
'erent ^orms°f interpretation for musical works, or ma-
Pu'ations of the recording, etc.).
2) TL • ,
ea>m is to develop methods for artistic production pro-
^es that allow the individual coherence factors (k) of each
tto become visible in the most diverse ways (f) in the re-
• e process. These methods must be amenable to being
creat ente^ P'annec* 'n advance (programmable). The
^01 of these programs is also an artistic activity.
^haM™'011 ^eSe met'10^s is a practice known as
com 3 'ment'onism: it is the most important task of
COntemPorary an theory.
the far. "mv'n8 has been established about the effect of
Th (see 1/2/,):
different e 1 °j'Servat'on anc* comparison of key artworks of
03,1 he det^ S ^St^es' suPra"individual commonalities
Co,I,nionaHtlni'ne^ ^^ 'n^erent to a" artworks. These
1Ureofthe eS ^°rm t'1C ^3S'S l^e manifestly artistic na~
^tommona^'^ " 'S ^ t3S^ art ^istory
Adrian • Notes on t-4
2/2) Every artistically relevant design process is compiled
from a combination of these commonalities.
Moreover, these commonalities can also be detected in ev­
ery - also non-artistic - act of perception: spatial and tempo­
ral similarity of the same or similar parts, spatial or temporal
symmetry, integrity through the cohesion of individual parts
abstracted from a common background, continuity, similar­
ity, as well as various well-known numerical relations, for ex­
ample, the golden ratio.
Gestalt psychology summarizes these terms under the
heading of coherence factors. They are inherent in every in­
dividual person in a different way and form the very basis of
the cognitive ability.
In the present text, their existence in an artwork - qualita­
tively and quantitatively in accordance with the individuality
of the artist - will be designated k.
Furthermore, the innate constants of a personality will
also be designated as k. Included here are optical or associa­
tive rigidity, perseverance of themes in literature and music,
hallucinatory perseverance, etc., as well as other individual
but unchangeable forms of reaction.
k never appears in its entirety all at the same time. Its par­
tial appearance in individual artworks will be designated in
the following as k n .
k is explicitly visible only in an artist's entire oeuvre. It is
an unchangeable constant intrinsic to a specific personality.
3) When the artwork's elements m,, m 2 ... rn„ (see 1/1/2) en­
ter into relationships that constantly reappear in many or all
of the artists of an epoch with no great variation, one speaks
of the formation of a style. Artworks then differ henceforth
from one another only through the presence of the individ­
ual factor k„.
Since the statement i is reduced to k n through abandoning
i/'s variability, and k„ as a derivation of k is less variable than
the formation of a style constrains the originality of the in­
formation. Therefore, style is inimical to the artwork.
,/,) To create programs for u (especially v[U) through which
the artist can enable u to become visible in various ways,
both subjective and objective methods can be utilized.
,/,/.) Methods are subjective when the elements of n (», «,
m„) (see 1/./2) are organized by intuition or by a process de-
"termined by the artist; in such cases, „ can be strongly influ­
enced by k, which means that k can also be evident in the
to detect
nrnrptc of organization.
280 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968
3/1/2) Objective methods for representing v are, for example,
the representation of elements of n(mbm2... mn) (see 1/1/2) by
numbers, which are organized by machines or random pro­
cesses. k then appears in the end result of all possible reali­
zations as the maximum production result that is selected by
the artist.
3/2) The character of m can sometimes be limiting for v, but
it can never decisively determine v\ rather, the choice of m
seems to depend on k, often even on v. This is the case when
the artist has ideas about the methods of realization prior to
ideas about the end product.
4) The originality, which represents the artistic value of the
artwork, is present in the statement i, which should be un­
derstood as a function of the representation of individual co­
herence factors (1/1/2).
4/1) The factor k n (presence of individual coherence factors in
a particular artwork) in its representation v (relationship of
the signal carriers to one another) rests on the skill and tech­
nical ability of the artist to achieve a maximum of self-repre­
sentation with the most variable form of appearance.
Based on the artists personal assessment, the maximum
of self-representation is achieved when a sufficient moment
of satisfaction occurs; that is, the release of his or her state of
tension.
4/2) A representation of k n is possible only through v as v(k n )
(see 2/1). Here, the following relations are possible between
v and k„:
a) contrast (increase of 12 through k and vice versa)
b) addition (v + k joined as a whole)
c) independence from one another
4/3) Since the audience cannot detect k in an individual art­
work (see 2/2), the effect of k„ is unconscious. All that is con-
sciously perceived is v(k n ).
Therefore, the greatest importance is accorded to the de­
velopment oft/ (see 2). In the audience's consciousness, the
state « = u exists which means that the audience is interested
m the material forms of the means of representation and not
in the opinions or personality of the artist that are expressed
in the artwork.
5) Every artistic expression is always self-representation. The
audience can only apprehend the personality of an artist,
which is manifested in the artwork (*„), in the sum total of
the artists oeuvre. For this reason, true understanding of an
artwork during an artists lifetime is not possible.
The propositions presented above have been crudal for the
direction and form of my work since 1957. For my contribu­
tions to nt 1-3, points 1/1/2, 1/1/3,1/2/2, and 2 were especially
significant. At the time when nova tendencija 3 [New Ten­
dency 3] was developed, it was already no longer possible to
ignore the necessity of expanding the repertoire. The various
forms of development of the New Tendencies were seriously
under threat as a result of the anticipated, but unexpectedly
explosive Op art boom. Second and third-rate fashion deco­
rators appropriated the New Tendencies forms of expression
and ruthlessly made them redundant; moreover, in a way
that was formally meaningless. The flood of these commod­
ities grew to vast proportions, and those unschooled in the
matter confused them with the efforts of the New Tenden­
cies: the products were useless. Although the goal of indus­
trial production was a programmatic point of the New ten­
dencies, only the weakest products of the New Tendencies
were produced, and, in addition, many more that from the
outset seemed insufficiently thought through. Cited as the
reason for this was the producers' shortsightedness or the
consumers' lack of interest in better realizations.7
Notwithstanding, I did not want to abandon the issui
of reproducible patterns; however, it seemed necessary
guard against amateurish imitations on the one hand, an
overly rash consumption on the other. I also believe that t
method of reproduction of individual basic types is suPtr
cial: it seems to me to be much more important todeveof
theoretical framework that provides a structure for de\e
ing the most varied realizations, each one different from
other, in whatever number desired.8
It is obvious that the possibilities for programming ^
puters outlined in the "theory of methodical inventio^
can be employed here. With one basic program, a p o' ^
generate almost any number of different variants 0 ^
tions, each of which could then be further reproduce
trially (if that appeared necessary). 0fcom-
As a result, around 1966 I devoted myself to the us ^^
puters for artistic purposes. The Institut fiir Ho ^L^ntfd
und Wissenschaftliche Forschung [Institute for
Studies and Scientific Research] in Vienna provi e ^
for my experiments in the form of advice, help, at ^
computers. None of my realizations would have |
beyond the stage of vague plans without this hi (
 Adrian • Notes on t-4

with the first step in the direction of dispersion (originality)

The very first discussions in the computer center of the IHS
already produced the following results: Digital calculating
machines serve, in general, to realize a pre-given model in
greater dimensions. At first, this fact made artistic use of the
computer very difficult because, for example, the simulation
of processes by a computer is possible only to a certain de­
gree, and this simulation can, at present, only simulate a par­
tial process. However, even if it were possible to simulate a
creative process as a whole, it seems to me that at present it
is hardly credible that this simulation process would achieve
better results than the model of which it is a simulation. Ad­
ditionally, this process is, per se, outside the realm of art, and
thus for me of only very secondary value. It is rather the con­
cern of psychologists and sociologists, in whose area of inter­
est it belongs. From the outset the question that presented
itsel! tor me was how I can use the computer as a tool to gen-
crate the patterns that I want faster and on a larger scale:
models whose impact consists in restructuring and disorgan-
'ing existing mental and ideological entities, destruction of
raditional and conventionally established concepts.
At present, I think the following statements about the ef-
fect of digital machines are justified:
^e construction of computers that develops results ne-
-,n,ropica"y permits the use of computers for artistic pur-
0ses
only in the sense of rearranging of material (montage
man expanded sense).
io^s rearrangement is generally carried out in the direc-
^ 0 greater structural order. The data has to be entered in
they were already so complex that any apperception was seri­
ously in doubt. For this reason, up to now it has been practi­
cally impossible for me to generate graphics that correspond
to my ideas and demands. I also know of no other results
from other colleagues who work in similar areas in which the
graphics' intensity of effect surpasses the intense effects of
works by Francois Morellet, which are also mechanically pro­
duced, but without computers. Finding a basic program that
adequately meets these demands is a problem that remains.
4) The principles that I follow, on the one hand, and the work­
ing methods of the computer, on the other, necessitates the
utilization of aleatoric elements.10 Furthermore, a reasona­
ble resolution of the realizations' complexity is necessary.
For me, this resolution is best achieved through the delib­
erate addition of a temporal dimension. Here, it is relatively
easy to dissolve the intrinsic diversity in the process for per­
ception and utilize it artistically.
As means of representation, all media are candidates that
possess an intrinsic, primarily temporal dimension: texts,
films, and music.
The realizations exhibited here were almost all realized
through dispersion: texts were destroyed at random or de­
termined through a priori aleatoric selection and assembled
through simple syntax into an elementary language, or op­
tically distributed through a random process and defined
in size, interval, and grade. Similar distribution systems are
also the basis of film images, whose possibilities, of course,
permit much more complex forms of implementation: for
obvious reasons, I have confined myself here, initially, to

ods f3"1 'nCV'ta^'e or(^er t0 be usable. The working meth­ simpler systems.
yl a comPuter program that is intended to generate high-
Summary
sion rea''zat'ons must therefore take place as disper-
1. The creation of art is the creation of methods to create re­
destru ^ " 'S necessary t0 determine the maximum viable
ality; reality is a process. Art consumption is the participa­
tha'is atth>°^t'le m3ter'a' 'n f^e Program itself in advance;
tion in reality: its result is the expansion of awareness. The
°f "ha 6 m°>St ai^vanta8eous moment between the states
"theory of methodical inventionism" is a theory for the crea­
difficult. :;°US 3nC' 'nterest'n8-"9 This task is incredibly
iram'c 6 Se'ect'on °f this moment determines the pro- tion of art.
5 anis artistic quality.
II The production of artworks through industrial reproduc­
3) For r^ljTofj
tion should be regarded as secondary to the issue of the pro­
P^arik f910nS ^at aFe §enerated by programs designed
cante
duction of patterns which, for their part, enable a multiphcity
evidenF" tW°^meris'ona' (graphic) solutions, it be-
re3lization>ni^ exPer'ments
of realizations, which all differ from each other. Computers,
that the complexity of the
used properly, are exceedingly useful for this: the applica­
'UI'0ns ReaT°US t0° ^or artistically satisfactory so-
tion of aleatoric moments seems inevitable and must be pro-
100 hanal at '^aI'°ns COmP°sed of lines or planes were still
j~a the nroeram.
6 ^na' achievable level of "harmonious," and
t e n d e n c i e s 4 • C o l l o q u y • 1968

III. In the context of methodical inventionism, the computer G e r h a r d R u h m , " U b e r d e n Inventionismus," in: Marc Adrian, lnvenliom,

appears useful as an art-producing medium to the extent Edition Neue Texte, Linz, 1980, pp. 85L
T h e s e f a c t s p r o m p t u s t o q u e s t i o n w h e t h e r , given the current mental state
that it is not intended to serve in the simulation of psycho­
o f t h e c o n s u m e r c l a s s e s , w e s h o u l d n ' t postpone thoughts of industrial serial
logical or sociological processes, and certainly not creative p r o d u c t i o n o f a r t w o r k s u n t i l a l a t e r time: in any case, this idea has proved

processes; rather, its actual possibilities are to use it as a tool m i s t a k e n a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e a n d it s e e m s doubtful whether it can contrib­
u t e t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e New Tendencies in the future.
for complex distributions of high-level improbability.
H e r e I r e f e r t o t h e l e c t u r e by A b r a h a m A. Moles o n permutational art at the
n o v a tendencija 3 s y m p o s i u m a n d t h e relevant publications by the same

Vienna, June 1968 author.

H e r e I r e f e r t o t h e s c h e m a p u b l i s h e d by Kurd Alsleben in his book
Aesthetische R e d u n d a n z [ A e s t h e t i c Redundancy), p. 23; the scale follows that
of Moles.

Editorial note: In the original text "New Tendencies" is abbreviated as "NT." E d i t o r i a l n o t e : Aesthetische Redundanz. Abhandlungen iiberdieartistischen

This would be a starting point to resolve unclarified problems for sociolo­ M i t t e l der bildenden K u n s t , S c h n e l l e , Quickborn, 1962.

gists and psychologists: it is the question of whether and why there is a 10 N a t u r a l l y , t h i s r e f e r s t o t h e m a t h e m a t i c a l l y defined form of chance and not,

hierarchy of areas of thought, a scale that begins, for example, with "earning a s t h e l a y p e r s o n m i g h t t h i n k , s o m e arbitrarily produced, apparent

one s daily bread," and ends with something like "religion, etc.," and whose " r a n d o m n e s s , " w h i c h w o u l d b r i n g every enterprise of this type dangerously

individual degrees, each according to its rank, offer a different degree of c l o s e t o t h e l o n g s u p e r s e d e d t r e n d s o f Informel and Tachism.

resistance to revolutionary changes. Considered in this way, the "realm of

art is one of the most rigidly conservative in the sociological group; to
change it is one of the most difficult and contested intellectual revolutions.
Oswald Wiener, "Die Verbesserung von Mitteleuropa," novel, serialized in
e i g h t p a r t s , i n : manuskripte. Z e i t s c h r i f l f u r L i t e r a t u r , 8 / 2 2 , m a n u s k r i p t e -
Literaturverein, Graz, 1968.
I refer here, among other works, to Marshall McLuhan's well-known book
w h i c h f o r a l l t h e c r i t i q u e it p r e s e n t s i s i t s e l f a n e x c e l l e n t e x a m p l e o f a r t i s t i c
pseudo-information. I do not believe that the mass media can correctly be
addressed as reality-constructing: their share in the production of reality is
much less than is generally assumed. Instead, they reproduce a kind of
seeming reality that their consumers carry within them in an unformed
state; they express vague wishful thinking, which is then accepted as found
reality" by those who anyway accept only that which does not cause them
a n y d i s c o m f o r t , t h a t is, w h a t t h e y " k n o w " a l r e a d y , b u t c a n n o t f o r m u l a t e o r .
for example, rethink because of lack of ability.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : H e r e A d r i a n i s p r o b a b l y r e f e r r i n g t o M c L u h a n ' s Under­
s t a n d i n g M e d i a . T h e E x t e n s i o n s of M a n , M c G r a w H i l l , N e w Y o r k , 1 9 6 4 ; h i s b o o k
The Medium is the Massage, designed by Quentin Fiore, only appeared in
1967.

See in this context: Ed Sommer,"Uber den Gebrauch von Kunstwerken," in:

bogawus. Forum fur Literatur - Kunst-Philosophie, 7 - 8 , D i e t f r i e d G e r h a r d u s
a n d S i e g f r i e d J. S c h m i d t ( e d s . ) , M u n s t e r , 1 9 6 6 . a n d , a d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e e s s a y
m the catalog nova tendencija 3 [New Tendency 3). Furthermore, and
understandably, those who offer what has already been consumed for
re-consumpt.on have the support of the great majority, those too lazy to
t ink, and naturally also the representatives of the state, which is legally
constituted by the majority. This is one of the reasons for the primary,
inalienable asocial.ty of every artist who takes his profession seriously.
Ed,tonal note: Marc Adrian refers here to the treatise "kurzgefaB.e theorie
des methodischen inventionismus"[A Concise Theory of Methodic
I n v e n t i o n i s m j , w h i c h h e s t a r t e d t o e l a b o r a t e i n ,953. H e d i s t r i b u t e d t h e
d o c u m e n t l o c a l l y , n V . e n n a a r t c i r c l e s i n ,957. T h e t e x t w a s a n e l a b o r a t i o n
of the poetic theory of Chilean anarchist, painter, and poe, Ivan Contreras-
Brune. which was mtensely debated in the circle around Friedrich

^rni Work H KO"rad ^ RUhm' °SWald W*ner,

Wobik and many others. Contreras-Brunet born ,927 Santiago de Chile
propagated the theory ,0enable everybody ,0 produce poems in every
moment, ,0 democratize experimental poetry. His method consisted in

t Z Z 7 d T ! y f r ° m , d i C t i o n a r i e s ' « • • « » * l i s t s Of s u b s t a n t i v e s ,
v e r b s a n d a d j e c t i v e s a n d c o m p l e t i n g t h e m w i t h c o n v e n t i o n a l filler w o r d s
S i n c e 1952, C o n t r e r a s - B r u n e , l i v e s - o n l y i n t e r r u p t e d o f a s t a y i n t h e U S A
f r o m 1957 t o 1961 - i n P a r i s .
 Valoch • Creator or Tool

Jiri Valoch
Computer. Creator or Tool?

The Czech artist and theorist Jiri Valoch, twenty-one years
old at the time of the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna
istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research," had al­
ready organized an exhibition titled Computergraphic,
with computer graphics by Charles Csuri, Leslie Mezei,
Frieder Nake, Georg Nees, A. Michael Noll, and Lubomfr
Sochor, at Dum umeni mesta Brna (Brno House of Artsl
in February 1969.
This text is the written version of the lecture he gave
at the colloquy "Computers and Visual Research," August
3-4. >968, Zagreb.
Originally published as "Kompjuter. Stvaralac ili orude"/
Computer. Schopfer oder Werkzeug," in: bit international
3.Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada
Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 91-94; translated from the Ger­
man.]
hat prompted me to write these lines, which were con-
ed only as comments on the problem of computer art,
6 ma,er'al produced by the Czech authors on display
natne'y> the creations of Lubomir Sochor' and Zdenek
d< both of which in a certain sense represent two ex-
gether in various relations to one another. Next, the results
are recorded using a plotter or printer. It was only when So­
chor analyzed the graphic solutions, which were created
for other purposes, that he began to devote attention to the
aesthetic value of the drawings. Later, he began to examine
the graphic solutions of different systems, to alter the coef­
ficients, and to track graphically the influence exerted by
these alterations. However, also in this case the actual evalu­
ation was merely selecting among the material that had been
generated. Zdenek Sykora is an artist and painter who be­
gan the part of his oeuvre that is of particular interest to us
here by utilizing static, geometric structures composed of ba­
sic geometric figures. Gradually, Sykora sought to vary these
elements to obtain certain statistical relations between the
boundary elements. Because of his interest in random se­
lection, he made the selection by rolling a dice; the results
resembled the older works by Francois Morellet. Pursuing
this further led Sykora to employ the computer to process
numerically the variations of the relations between the ele­
ments. He then transposed these into the "picture"; that is,
he put color and form together with single characters and,
with the help of templates, he - himself - painted a picture.
In this case, the picture is produced mechanically; it is real­

^ P°Ssibilities ^ the application of computers. ized by the creator who merely assumes the function of a re­
producer" of something that has already been realized in an­
The
10the - <?|C°mputers f°r artistic creation automatically leads other form by the computer.
T' The situation of both these Czech authors seems to me to
n-bers3 °rat'Ve WOr^ °f teams that consist of at least two
be exemplary in an extraordinary way: Sykora's creations rep­
ever J" 'P^rammer ~ computer + plotter/printer). How-
creator
resent a certain exception insofar as here, a professional cre­
Ch *** 0tber possibilities: the American
ator consciously leaves the creative process to the computer.
cated team3^65 ^SUr' 'S ^ 'n't'ator" °f a rather compli-
This stands in contrast to Charles Csuri's approach, for ex­
printer) ^ 'Creat0r ~ Programmer - computer + plotter/
ample who wants to use the computer for his own work as
'n8situat"^ ^zecb c'rcle, we encounter the follow-
a tool In Sochor's case, the role of the human being is even
wiihanaio00 CaSC en8'neer Sochor, who works
more radically reduced, because the selection is the work
eve,,0fso ° ° P
C m uters > are not dealing with a creator, not
we

of the viewer and not of the author. I admit that the option
'eas' not befo"6 extraor<^nary aesthetic interests (or at
of a team, which "contains" a creator in the traditional sense
ternatically) HJ ^ Startec* t0 create computer graphics sys-
of the word, gives rise to certain misgivings, as the particu­
ihe graphic 'merests ^ocus solely on researching how
,ions'
lar example of Csuri seems to me to confirm. In Csuri s case,
the SorltS W'" ^°°^* He Programs systems of equa-
utl°ns and derivations of which are added to­ the computer is nothing but a device; a tool whose task is to
 tendencies 4 • Colloquy • 1968

realize what the creator finds difficult to achieve. Therefore, Valoch also mentioned Sochor as a participant of the information
the computer is classified as one of the modern technical exhibition. However, the photo documentation of the exhibition and the
archive of the Muzej suvremene umjetnosti Zagreb [Museum of Content
aids, which has the task of simplifying artistic work or at best
porary Art Zagreb) does not provide any information indicating that his
of enriching it with new variations. This is undoubtedly use­ work was actually presented there.
ful and parallels the use of computers in various other areas
ol human activity. However, this is not the most important
application, since we are far more likely to see the goal in fa­
cilitating the creation of new and different aesthetic objects. After
all it is not the objective of computer art to amalgamate with
traditional art, but to set itself apart from it. The computer as
a device or tool is a possibility; as a creator or co-creator it is
indispensable. On the other hand, naturally one cannot ex­
clude the computer as a new means of realizing traditional
creations. However, insofar as this does not concern initial
attempts which excite utter amazement that "the computer
can do the same as humans," one must expect that the value
of objects produced in this way rather concerns their status
as objects of study than that they possess a unique aesthetic
value ol their own. And conversely, a computer which itself
becomes a creator - namely, which is exploited by the pro­
grammer such that its specific possibilities are realized - facili­
tates significant contributions to aesthetic organization; that
is, to the elimination of disorder, which Abraham A. Moles
sees as being the goal of art.
This is why I value the creations of both Czech authors-
they were aware of the limits of their "human" possibilities
and because they sought to realize something which lay be­
yond the limits of their possibilities, they contented themselves
with a subordinate position in this "human/computer" team.
I hey thereby demonstrate more than those others who at­
tempt to suppress the specific possibilities of the computer
so as to approximate traditional creation.

center of ,he central military hospital in Prague as operator, where heltLte.

to investigate the possibilities of computer graphics
 t-4 Organizational Board

Meeting of the t-4 Organizational Board

Held on August 4,1968 in Catez ob Savi

After the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja/
"Computers and Visual Research," some of the partici­
pants met in Catez ob Savi to prepare the next exhibition
in the following year and the competition that would be
a pan of it. The minutes of this meeting include contri­
butions by Kurd Alsleben, Bozo Bek, Vladimir Bonacic,
Boris Kelemen, Abraham A. Moles, Frieder Nake, Ivan
Picelj, Vjenceslav Richter, and Zdenko Sternberg.
The original minutes in Croatian were only lightly ed­
ited before being translated into English. Spelling mis­
takes and omissions in names were corrected. The charac­
ter ot the text as notes has been retained.
[Archive MSU Zagreb]
meeting was opened by Dr. Boris Kelemen, who wel-
"med everyone present and introduced the topic of the
'mputer and its application; then he asked Dr. [Abraham
' '^°'es 10 saY something about the topic:
AbrahamA.Moles
eral. What do you think about this and about the different
criteria for this competition? The last program is evaluation,
and which criteria should be taken into account for the eval­
uation. We would like to see the possibilities of computers in
its quantity. We should state what we mean by good and bad.
We should have sub-criteria. There is also the technical crite­
rion: is something drawn well or not, originality as a quality,
is it new or not. And another factor, the number of combina­
tions - photographs of artworks. Also the role of the audi­
ence should be taken into account in the assessment process.
Boris Kelemen
I suggest that we discuss these problems:
a) Parts of the competition.
As Professor Moles said, the competition is international.
b) Problem of quality.
c) Problem of output devices.
In my opinion, it will be possible to set up the program, but
I would like to talk primarily about the problem of the work
and not of the program.

eve ,'lat tbl's competition has various purposes. We Frieder Nake

I think you will agree with me that we should accept works
stri 1' 610 ')r°V'c'e a 8°°d argument why it should be re-
made by electronic devices, that we should determine if such
, n '° art c'rc'es- We shall hold an international compe-
^ r°ugh the works. We must organize an exhibition, a procedure is involved. The jury must investigate whether

te, and limit the number of works . The exhibition will the program and the work are in agreement.

desinvT^Sen(*'n& a c'rcular letter to the various cir-

°f autho ^'^eSe act'v't*es* should put together a list Vladimir Bonacic
I think that it will not be difficult to check if a work has been
'beMav Works must be submitted early enough for
^ard u^'t'°n ~ ^ ^arc^ 'atest- We especially look made by a computer.
eraturear { ° Stereo^'ms ~ ^our dimensions.1 Music and lit-
ifihereis °Ut °^t'le ^Uest'on-f°r the graphic problems, Abraham A. Moles
I am in favor of supplementing the works wtth programs. We
proceed 3 V'SUa' Prob)'em. there are uncertainties. We must
must demand from each artist a general description of what
Sual^r"03'1^the circu,ar invitation we must stress
ant*
he would like to demonstrate in symbolic language.
ernpirical ^°'nt out l^at regu'at'ons are
0^becom Can aCCePf a Wor^ that is outside the scope
ular enirv W^'C^ wou^ not be included as a reg- Matko Mestrovic . # .
Maybe we should see how many people participate in the
COn,e vvouldlj 'fT C3n St'" eva^uate tt- Especially wel-
™rr,r»Ptition. Whether there be five or fifty of them.
°'°grams - holographic technique in gen­
 tendencies 4 • 1968
Boris Kelemen
As far as numbers are concerned, so far there are about twenty
people. Computer graphics are developing rapidly. In my ad­
dress book I have about two hundred people. The question
whether they will actually participate remains open, but I
think that even if we only have fifty authors, that is enough.
The other problem - of orientation - we have already dis­
cussed. There is also the issue of computers in design; the
question is whether these drawings belong to art and whether
we can accept them as such. We must discuss that.
Ivan Picelj
This afternoon we talked and came up against the same
problems. The research begun has the tendency to be the ne­
gation of art. It is our task to determine the direction of the
research. However, all explorations can only show the possi­
bilities that can be applied to other fields and have nothing
in common with our fields of interest. For computer art we
must establish a new evaluation method.
Bozo Bek
We are going round in circles due to Picelj and Mestrovic; I
do not have the background information, but to change the
state ol things, those who do should tell us if we are in the
phase of investigating the possibilities of the computer, or if
we are in the phase of posing the Mestrovic problem, who
said that we are in the first phase. I would suggest that we
stick to the Frieder Nake and [Herbert W.] Franke suggestion
in order to obtain as many results as possible, to formulate a
criterion, and to do that which was done at nova tendencija 3
[New Tendency 3]. 2
Vjenceslav Richter
I think that things were not better when we first wanted to or­
ganize a competition than they are now. We always wanted
to be objective in our wishes. I suggest that in a further text
we set up the general problematic; that is, to what extent the
computer improves visual research and to what extent new
qualities are demonstrated in this way. It is possible to set up
things that way. The criteria are included through the com­
position of the jury. The question is whether the jury would
take our criteria into consideration, which is actually their
right within the framework of this problematic. A well set-up
jury, and everything would be fine.
Kurd Alsleben
I am against the non-existence of criteria, although they are
ours anyway. We would lose the chance to do something.
1 The relation between order and disorder in three respects.
2 1 he known structure in art.
3 Strategy; speak about the goal that the object strives to
achieve in relation to the addressees; to what extent has
this been achieved, within which strategy has it been
achieved, and how originally.
Vladimir Bonacic
That is a lot of criteria...
Abraham A. Moles
We should be modest, cautious, relatively simple. We must
be honest and faithful to participating artists.
Originality - general aesthetics - technical independence
in relation to the new policy.
The jury would consist of five to seven members. It should
do some real work. No general, superficial criteria. They
should be as objective as possible.
Boris Kelemen
We should attract as many people as possible and set up as
comprehensive a documentation of computer artists as pos­
sible. I support the Franke/Nake/Alsleben thesis. But we
should elect a jury that would carry out that which I want
to hear here. The jury can also work in another way, but this
thesis is a cornerstone of the exhibition. I would like to ask
Professor Moles that we should agree on what we will write.
Abraham A. Moles
The jury will be elected from among the people who are well
acquainted with the material -if there is disagreement the at
solute majority will decide - the question oftechnical qualit
- originality - something about aesthetics - one factor is how
much this has to do with the development ofcomputers.
Vjenceslav Richter
It seems to me that it would be dangerous to put thi s ' n -
competition brief, because we shall get entries made acur
ing to a recipe; everything will be all right, but there v
no guarantee of something new.
Frieder Nake
In the letter they get, everything will be said in two sent
something in the spirit of these ideas. We have ^
we cannot prescribe the criteria to the jury. I w0U ^(0
return to Mr. Ivan Picelj's point - you were the on^^ ^
speak about the necessity that works should agree ^
Tendencies - no one has accepted that or s P°' c e " ^ ^
Should we stipulate that the works be in accor a
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4?
Boris Kelemen tation
You are basically right - but if we impose this un ^ ^ ( | lJt
the outset, what will we get for the exhibition.
 t-4 Organizational Board

we stick to our decision to constitute a jury; we have already Vladimir Bonacic

talked about this with Professor Abraham A. Moles. A scientific work should be assessed by scientists.

Abraham A. Moles Boris Kelemen

1 The size of the jury - not too many people. It seems that there is no place for art critics.
2 Absolute majority - principle,
j Odd number. Ivan Picelj
4 People known through their work. The purpose of this event is to abolish the difference between
5 Who will be elected. science and art. To me, a mathematician is an artist; an artist
6 They must not be participants. on the jury, if he is a real artist, will be inclined to his subjec­
7 Ifwe want to put together five to seven names in April, be­ tive view. If you take two artists, there will be such a discus­
fore the exhibition, we must take into consideration that sion in the jury that the others will be unable to work.
some people will not be able to come, so we shall need a
longer reserve list, an international list of at least fourteen Abraham A. Moles
people (members like Boris Kelemen or [Radoslav] Putar One artist among five persons will change nothing. If he said
whom we find very useful). that he did not like it, he would not be able to change the
[Victor] Vasarely structure of the jury.
[Leslie] Mezei
[Martin] Krampen Kurd Alsleben
[Daniel E.] Berlyne3 I'll change my proposal, let's take a graphics expert, or an ar­
Mecoind? chitect, or someone with a similar professional field instead
Umberto Eco of the artist.
hed Attneave - psychologist4
Plotnikov5 Ivan Picelj
Soloviev6 These people are well informed about art and there is no
Nake need for anyone to coach them. Molnar is a painter and ex­
perimental aesthetician, thus he is an ideal person.
Frieder Nake

'1a)be there should be five people selected not because of Bozo Bek
eir names but because of their field. I have an objection as regards the selection; the organization
Aestheticians: Bense, Abraham A. Moles is primarily constrained by financial means. Our museum
Graphics: [A. Michael] Noll, Mezei has limited funds to meet the expenses for overseas jury
Artists: Vasarely, [Francois] Molnar members. I have goodwill to compose the jury as well as pos­
Vizers: Boris Kelemen, Putar sible. In Europe there are many people who could be mem­
Cntic:
Eco bers of the jury and obtain best results. I am against artists in
the jury... I would also like to propose a representative from
K"rd Alsleben
the USSR, but I doubt that this is feasible. In Czechoslova­
lam
against having artists on the jury. kia there are many people working with computer graphics;
I think that Mr. [Jifi] Valoch should be a member of the jury.
^Kelemen

urv-li f^tan^a^'e ^at Frieder Nake wants an artist on the Boris Kelemen
' he is from mathematics. Instead of Noll Krampen: Valoch, Eco, Molnar.

FriederNak
e
Kurd Alsleben
\ou wjJJ » «i
I would like to amend my proposal. I would include a pho­
°ntheju ri? C°nv'nce me that there should be no artists
tographer; photographers deal with icons to some extent,
will nepd^ Ut 3S ^3r 3S comPuter experts are concerned, we
s°meone who understands graphics. they have experience with non-iconic signals, with the artis­

tic generative process.

ShAlidben
"ence that tfi1 m'SS °PPortun'ty to utilize all the expe- Zdenko Sternberg
We are talking so much about the people who should be on
®Ve®supoo ' art'stshave accumulated; therefore, I would
. . it will hp nrovided bv history; it is not
88651 having two artists.
288 tendencies 4 • 1968

easy to decide if we take into consideration that we do not yet USSR Research Institute of Industrial Design in Moscow, which was founds

have exact parameters, so that it is irrelevant who will be on in .962. In 1969, Soloviev became vice president of the International Council

of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), and he was its president from

the jury and apply non-existing parameters. 1977 to 1979.

7 Editorial note: According to Matko MeStrovic, this refers to the Italian

Frieder Nake construction engineer and architect Pier Luigi Nervi (1891-1979). His most

famous works include the Palazzetto dello Sport in Rome (1956/1957)

I am wondering at Mr. Sternberg saying that history will
and the UNESCO building in Paris (1957), which Nervi realized together
show... with the architects Marcel Breuerand Bernard L. Zehrfuss; see: Annette

Bogle,"Ingenieurportrat. Pier Luigi Nervi. Betonbaumeister und Begriindet

des 'Ferro-Cemento,™ in: Deutsche Bauzeitung, 8, 2006, pp. 77-81.

Vjenceslav Richter
8 Editorial note: Rul Gunzenhauser, born in 1933, studied mathematics
I suggest the architect L. Nervio. 7 physics, and philosophy at the Technische Hochschule [Technical

University) Stuttgart and the University of Tubingen. He earned his PhD

in 1962, supervised by Max Bense, on Asthetisches MaJS und asthetische

Frieder Nake
Information. Einfiihrung in die Theorie G. D. Birkhoffs und die Redundarr.thnnt
Let us first agree on the number of members - five members dsthetischer Prozesse [Aesthetic Measure and Aesthetic Information.

elected by the majority. Introduction to G. D. Birkhoffs Theory and the Theory of Redundancy in

Aesthetic Processes] which was published in 1962 by Schnelle, Quickborn

Vjenceslav Richter
I am in favor of seven members.

Frieder Nake
Let us select five groups of vocations out of which we shall
choose the names - artists will not be on the jury. Instead of
an artist, a specialist in sensuality - a photographer.

Boris Kelemen
Abraham A. Moles
Bense
Krampen
Eco, Valoch
[Rul] Gunzenhauser 8 , Molnar, Mezei, /Noll/
Lucien Clair
Boris Kelemen

Editorial note: Abraham A. Moles refers here to the computer-generated

movies by A. Michael Noll showing an animation of a cube within a cube,

a "three-dimensional perspective projection of a four-dimensional hyper-

cube.'See: A. Michael Noll,"Computer-Generated Three-Dimensional

Movies and Pictures." in: Bell Telephone Laboratories Technical Memo­

randum, January 20, 1966.

Editorial note: Here, the recorder of the minutes erroneously noted

down t-3.

Editorial note: The reception of the work of Daniel E. Berlyne (1924-1976)

by proponents of information aesthetics focused on the experimental

aesthetics developed by him; see: Daniel E. Berlyne,"Aesthetic Behaviour

:l - 0ra;°ry Bc'haVi°Ur'"in: feedings of the 5'" International Congress

of Aesthet.cs Amsterdam, 1964. Daniel E. Berlyne,"Measures of Aesthetic

Preference, in: Sciences de TArt, special issue, 1965, pp 9-23

TclZl thT ^uTT <19'9-,991) made a sig-fican, contribution

nd in 7 observations on the connection between Gestalt

Theoru ZTZ 7c ** of Information

London ^59^. Summary of Basic Concepts, Henry Holt, New York.

Editorial note: Here, reference is probably being made ,0 the Soviet com-

Fhe CaratentlSt Ni
k ol
a >'ev'ch PIo'"ikov (1930-2000), chief designer of
Carat computer series, which were developed in the early 1970s Thev

were w.dely used by the Soviet Navy in radio-electronic systems '

Editorial note: According to Matko Mestrovic, this refers ,0 the Russian

designer Yur, Soloviev. born in 1920. Soloviev was director of the VNIITE
 Preparation

Program Information 10
M
tatae"? 4
Stlc1.it rawwm
ItUrlAir tre i
urjrtaortl
PI-10
PPomBae-lnfor-^tion 10
'cvtuivr 1966
1 tendencije 4 / tendencies 4
• November 1968

•Cwirttn tr.l Tixuxl n«M«rch" [Archive MSU Zagreb]

j H U I f l O E TO TEE E X H I B I T I O N

r.ODrCIHiFT 0 ? CO-T7ETITIOH
"Computers and Visual Research"
I. v, -un of lio .-af.lfttta.ion T-«, tha Gallery of Cantenpo- Invitation to the Exhibition and Competition
wirHs on-aclci-f ar. exhibltlet (l) and a-.-onreing en lnUr-
:L3K™lTm a-ar IHT'eoBron MM: •OjjrtMi. and
Announcement
si*-
lit Gallery of Conteaporary '.rt is Inviting you ta take part
In both tit eihibitioc and the eonteet.
Within the framework of tendencije 4/ tendencies 4 (t-4), the
I) 11 E I B I I I 0 I
n lcttctloo of the aranltere of T -4 le to giveto the public Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary
r^-tlc surrey of the vorio of indiTidueTarUete anS jroupe.
-.1 mris ilsualidag plastic ttenea vhich_ derive fr» t^_e elebo-
ratlao of jigs? net by -oia.of analS^ue or .distal, co^utera Art] is organizing an exhibition (1), and announcing an inter­
«oV.« msiiuAnsMHft'.
r* rata aay.bt _aeeoripli«hed: national competition (2) entitled "Kompjuteri i vizuelna
1. By ta!or by plotter end baaed upon dataa elaborated with
istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research." The exhibi­
2. b'bttie'of a prcgramd :rar.oforvatioc of a photography or
other doeu eate or visual natara
3. Cith or titbou* the application of the ele-ent: case tion will open in Zagreb on May 5,1969, and the deadline for
t. Itjitfered froo the acreen of a catoda-ray tuba (oeclloaeo-e
or t 77-screra) competition entries will be March 15,1969.
5. Co blaine the above saantlociad or new techni iuaa
t. it photographic, Eovle-filua or other projections The Galerija suvremene umjetnosti would like to invite you
T. it inalltee - flat or in space - of architectural constructi­
on, figurea or objects near.t for the Industrial daalgn to take part in both the exhibition and the competition.
Ia (husIc,
tie erteat of other diacip'.ir.ea literature or
others) but eith t-e result containing plaatlc characteria-
tlei (jraphlci, notatioca ate)
. is results of any other exact researches i-. the field of
atbene'.lea, -eaietry, phyeica or other dlaolp'inea, having 1) Exhibition
alaatie charec'er.
II) Conditions for the exhibition The aim of the organizers of t-4 is to present to the general
10. The vorka should be presented aa graphics, photographies
«rie reproductions and tha Ilia, & the cite fit for oxhl- public a systematic survey of works by individual artists and
Itla; in at- dart allary conditions, an' tie '.hree-dl. anal-
onal objects should be of each aiiaa ar/ construe'lor charac- artist groups that visualize plastic themes which derive from
the elaboration of programs by means of analog or digital com­
puters or other such instruments.

The works may be accomplished in any of the following ways:

1. By hand or by plotter and based upon data elaborated
with a computer.
2. On the basis of a programmed transformation of a photo­
graph or other document ot a visual nature.
3. With or without the application of the element of
randomness.
4. Recorded from the screen of a cathode-ray tube (oscillo­
scope or TV screen).
5. A combination of the above mentioned techniques or
new ones.
6 As photographic, movie film, or other projections.
7 As analyses - planar or 3-D - of architectural construc­
tions, figures, or objects intended for industrial design.
8. Created within other disciplines (music, literature, or
others), but where the result has plastic characteristics
(graphics, notations, etc.)
9. The results of any other detailed research in the fields
of mathematics, geometry, physics, or other disciplines,
that have a plastic character.
 tendencies 4 • 1968

2) Conditions for the Exhibition

[...]
17. All works which arrive at the Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti before March 15,1969 will be presented at
the exhibition.
18. All works sent to the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti will
automatically take part in the competition.
3) Competition
Aim of the competition:
19. To ascertain the state and direction of movements in the
field of visual research and computers.
20.To encourage potential competition entrants in new and
advanced research in visual communication.
21. To highlight the results which represent the discovery of
new methods of work and hitherto unknown aesthetic
situations.
31. The marks awarded by the jury will be graded: I, II, I||
32. The prizes are:
I) Work on a computer in Zagreb and a solo show at the
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti in 1970; special mention
given to the works.
II) Work on a computer in Zagreb and special mention.
III) Special mention.
33. The award-winning works will be made public by means
of the mass communication media available to the Gale­
rija suvremene umjetnosti.
For additional information about details of participation
in the exhibition and competition, please write to: Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, Katarinin trg 2

Provisions of the competition:

22. The competition is for works, and not for programs.
23. Preference will be given to works created with digital
computers.
24. The resulting work must exhibit the characteristics of
visu- al communication with aesthetic reality, and can be
conceived in two, three, or more dimensions.
25. The work must be amenable to all standard techniques
of reproduction (taking of photographs, photo enlarge­
ments, making movie films, prints, and projection).
26. The work should be accompanied by
a) a short description of the authors intention, flow dia­
gram;
b) a program;
c) technical data about the instruments involved in their
making;
d) the author's declaration permitting the publishing of
flow diagrams and programs, otherwise these two docu­
ments will be available only to the jury.
27. The decisions of the jury will be announced on May 4,
1969 at the opening of the exhibition.

Jury
28. The jury will consist of international experts whose
names will be announced subsequently.
29. The jury will provide a written explanation of the cri­
teria used in judging the works, and will also give written
explanations and arguments about the decisions and
marks, which will be announced together with the
results of the jury's work.
30. Besides awarding the prizes the jury may give special
acknowledgment to works which do not fulfill the com­
petition conditions but which demonstrate special values,
ideas, methods, and results.
 Preparation 291

Program Information n
Program* -1ni ornat 1on
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4
feVomc. , fovenber 1968
itirre~e:* unj«tno«tl
Xoveabe
• November 1968
Eatmrlnlo trg 2
I»« r t b
Ii-wl«vl«

t1sEA2ra.ii rerosnE
•KUlfiStS AS# VISUAL HLjSARCX"
[Archive MSU Zagreb]
I 7 VI ! A I I 0 I

J. I', nuwe of the ranlfeatotlon T-4, th* Gsllsry of Contsape-

International Symposium
rtrj Artii orgsrixlng tbo UHMEASIOai. ST-OS1U with the
lltl.rCoaputera sal visual r*5*aSS£" "Computers and Visual Research"
Kit oynjoslim alll be held In ZarT*b on tay 5,6, and 7, 1969.
tie itllwy of Contggormry Art la, lpvltjflg.jrgi_t.o_BMtoc>l!8*g
Invitation
ii'W '»ot"o'«Vub:
1. vitb 1 rejort on one or core then*
2. ilth tailing part In a discussion after each report

At orranlzere of the anlfertatlM T-4 fBBGM* that j-our. par-

Within the framework of tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 (t-4), the
ftcijaftor.; 2*. •
b P .
B .
-'K*- 3MB?. -°T
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary
1. rceorj of L-foroatlon and present probleaa of aesthetics
i. itraneil, senlotlc, seaaniie and -eneratlee probla 8 of .
aesthetic states
Art] is organizing an international symposium with the title:
). fart and aeanlng of social inpllcatlons In Interactions
anthor-artworl-spectator "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual
4. Irottas of the casual In visual research
5. General end specific programing probleaa in visual research
S. foselble questions of relationship between experiences acqu­ Research."
ired during the developnent of •'lew tendenclee and the pos­
sibilities given by ccoputers
7. Is* technology and the idea of programs In ' XT'-
This symposium will be held in Zagreb from May 5 to
E. Sunposltiors for basic cryterious in valuation of the re­
sults of visual research
5. Froblens of visualization of construction conditions for
May 7,1969.
a serial production of objects (projecting by oeanc of
cr-outers)
10. Technological questions of visualization of programs by
Mass of cetiputers and external devices
11. Consideration of ten spheres of research and technical
The Galerija suvremene umjetnosti invites you to participate in
C ibtllties (holocraa and others)
si aspects of conputer-treatnent of prorrs for t*i-
sic and texts.
this symposium:
CHEim 0.- VAETSCIPATIOS Of THE StTOSIUH 1) by presenting a report on one or more themes;
-We notifications for the par tecipatlon (to-ether with the
fllled-in forns) should be sent until I'ebruary 15.1969. 2) by taking part in the discussion which will follow each
" ' * J«J> 'or the lectures should arrive Tn .agreb until
'?•.)"?. Should they not arrlvo until thst date, tliey
till ncTte printed In the review ' bit" which Is going to b* report.
issued before the Opening of the synposlun.

The organizers of t-4 suggest that your participation in the

symposium should focus on one of the following themes:
1. Theory of information and current problems in
aesthetics.
2. Numerical semiotic, semantic, and generative problems
of aesthetic states.
3. Role and meaning of social implications in interactions
author/artwork/spectator.
4. Problems of the casual in visual research.
5. General and specific programming problems in visual
research.
6. Possible issues in the relationship between experience
gained during the development of the New Tendencies
and the possibilities afforded by computers.
7. New technology and the idea of program in the New
Tendencies.
8. Suppositions for basic criteria in evaluating the results
of visual research.
9 Problems of visualizing construction conditions for serial
production of objects (projecting by means of computers).
10 Technological questions pertaining to visualization of
programs by means of computers and external devices.
H. Review of new fields of research and technical possibili­
ties (holograms and others).
,2. Visual aspects of computer treatment of programs for
music and texts.
bit international i. teorija informacija i nova estetika

bit international i. the theory of information and the new aesthetics

1968

Magazine
 293

teorija the theory

informacija of informations
and the new
aesthetics
max bense
akfohama.-males

bk-fcbLtbit •bit. br. no 1 1968

Sadriaj Table of Contents

3 Uvod Introduction

7 Matko MestrovU Matko Me'strovic bit international I. the theory of

Promatrani promatrai L'observateur observi
information and the new aesthetics
17 Abraham A. Moles Abraham A. Moles
Teorija informacija Theorie de ^information 1968
59 Abraham A. Moles Abraham A. Moles Magazine cover and contents
Moie li joS biti umjetniikih Peut-il encore y avoir
Editors: Dimitrije BaSicevic
djela des ocuvrcs d'art?
Abraham A. Moles and Ivan Picelj
69 Abraham A. Moles
Eksperimentalna estetika L'estMtique experimentale dans Design: Ivan Picelj
la nouvelle >oc«tf de consommation
u novom potrolaikom
Archive MSU Zagreb
drultvu
79 Max Bense Max Bense
Estetika i programiranje Asthetik und Programmierung
All references to this publication in
89 Radoslav Putar Radoslav Psitar
Cybernetic Serendipity the present volume correct the
Cybernetic Serendipity
(Izloiba u Institutu suvremene (Exibition in Institute of typographical error "informations
umjetnosti, London) contemporary Art, London)
on the publication's cover.
99 Obavijesti Informations

107 Bibliografija Bibliography

bit IHaarr digit] it iedinic

ravna rezoltam iabora tzmeda dvije jedMJto
.jeroiatne alternate -. upotreb. namZ..o
u komumkacijama i teonji mforroacije.

2: jedinica memorije koja odgovara

Izdavai/Publisher
•posobnosti u,klad.!ta»ai>,a rezultata «bo.a
Galerije grada zagreba izmedu dvije alternative — u upotrebi
Zagreb naroiito u vezi . digitalnim
Veliki Webiterov rjeinik 3. «d. 19«>>-
Katarinin trg 2
 Why bit Appears

In the Program Information 2 of April 1968, the organizers of

the tendencije 4 /tendencies 4 exhibition announced the launch
of a new international journal titled bit international. The ti­
tle bit refers to the basic unit of information storage and com­
munication and is short for binary digit, a term that has been
used in the field of computing and telecommunications since
the late 1940s.
From 1968 to 1972, the Galerije grada Zagreba [Galleries
of the City of Zagreb] published nine issues of the magazine,
whereby bit international 5/6 and bit international 8/9 were dou­
ble issues. The editor in chief was Bozo Bek, curator at the
Galerije grada Zagreba. The editorial board included the art
critic and artist Dimitrije Basicevic (Mangelos), curator of the
Benko Horvat Collection of the Galerije grada Zagreba; the art
historian Vera Horvat-Pintaric; Boris Kelemen, curator of the
Galerija primitivne umjetnosti [Gallery of Primitive Art]; the
art critic Matko Mestrovic; the film director, screenwriter, and
producer Vatroslav Mimica; the artist and designer Ivan Picelj;
Radoslav Putar, director of the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt [Mu­
seum for Arts and Crafts]; and the architect and artist Vjenc-
eslav Richter. The general manager of Radiotelevizija Zagreb
[Zagreb Radio and Television] (RTZ) Ivo Bojanic joined the
editorial board for the issues bit international 4 and 5/6.
The editors responsible for the first bit issue were Basicevic
and Picelj. Picelj, who created the design of all the New Ten­
dencies catalogs, also designed bit international.

[Originally published as "Zasto izlazi 'bit'"/ "Why 'bit' Ap­

pears, in: bit international 1, Dimitrije Basicevic and Ivan Picelj
(eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 3-5.]
 Why bit Appears

In the realm of communications, today there are great differ­ channels of information and to create universal platforms
ences and gaps between: for progressively orientated action.
The pages of bit are open equally to research and to re­
Theoretical knowledge and everyday praxis. ports on current experience as well as on newly developed
The results of exact research and the dominant position of methods that are being worked out in workrooms, laborato­
"intuitive" methods. ries, factories, and institutes; we hope to receive works by in­
The scientific and the artistic. dividual authors and - this is of special interest - by collec­
Modem technological possibilities and the level of their ap­ tives. News about completed and classified results and about
plication. exploratory action that has just begun are equally welcome.
Progressive ideas and the exponents of traditional interests. bit is not a medium for attention seekers or for capitalizing
Current problems of design and educational and teaching on intellectual gains; it is first and foremost a vehicle for the
programs. ongoing endeavor to develop communication theory and
he endeavors of lone pioneers and the aspirations of large praxis, bit will publish unpublished articles as well as pre­
communities. viously published articles which the editors deem are worth
The social environments potentially creative capacities and reprinting.
its ability to assimilate. bit will present a variety of opinions and approaches. Con­
The criteria of universal meaning and the criteria of local troversy will not be tolerated if the editors are of the opinion
conditions. that personal prestige is the issue, but divergent views will be
^elopedand underdeveloped cultural environments. given space either alongside each other or successively if to­
gether they could lead to new results or results of a higher
^se are the grounds why the editors of bit have started order. Further, there will be no conventional limits on ex­
^ magazine: to present information theory, exact aesthet- pression in the pages of bit. The motives for research and the
function of reporting are given priority over writing style. Fi­
sube^H maSS me^'a' v'sua' communication, and related
nally, the editors of bit are convinced that this journal will
tioir^ t0 ^ 3n 'nstrument °f international coopera-
promote the exchange of experience, knowledge, and infor­
com "3 ^3t 'S kecom'ng daily less amenable to strict
mation, and in this way contribute to resolving the contradic­
^obe"11161113''231'011 'n^v'^ua' an<^ isolated activities are
based C°m'n^ '6SS e^c'ent) an<^ results of efforts that are tions of the contemporary world.
comin "30 °r^an'zet^ division of work on all levels are be-
(j,ere ^ °re 'mPortant. The editors of bit are convinced that The editors
n '"dispensable need to strengthen and extend the
bit international I • 1968
Max Bense
Aesthetics and Programming
Max Bense, studied physics, mineralogy, mathematics,
geology, and philosophy in Cologne and Bonn and re­
ceived his doctor's degree with his Ph.D. thesis Quanten-
mechanik und Daseinsrelativitat [Quantum Mechanics and
Relativity of Dasein (Existence)]. From 1938 he worked as
a physicist for the chemical industry concern I.G. Farben
in Leverkusen, before being called up at the outbreak of
World War II. In the army, he initially worked as a mete­
orologist, and from 1942 until the end of the war as phys­
icist and mathematician in Hans Hollmann's Laboratory
for High-Frequency Techniques and Electromedicine.
Bense was hired by the University of Jena in 1945 as head
ol administration, but fled to West Germany in 1948. He
was appointed professor of philosophy and theory of sci­
ence at the Technische Hochschule [Technical Univer­
sity] Stuttgart in 1950. From 1953 to 1958 he parallely fol­
lowed Max Bill's invitation to teach at the Hochschule fur
Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of Design] (HfG).
Building on the work of three American scientists - the
"aesthetic measure" of the mathematician George David
Birkhoff, the semiotic models of Charles Sanders Peirce,
and the information theory of Claude E. Shannon - from
the mid 1950s Bense developed his information aesthetics
(Informationsdsthetik), which was declared as the theoret­
ical basis of visual research using computers by the orga­
nizers of tendencije 4/tendencies 4. Bense's most important
publication in this regard was Aesthetica. Einfuhrung in die
neue Aesthetik [Aesthetica. Introduction to the New Aes­
thetics] (1965), in which he presented a synopsis of the pre­
vious publications in which he had developed "the aes-
thetics of a technical reality": Aesthetica (1954), Aesthetische
nformation [Aesthettc Information] (1956), Asthetik undZi-
v.Usat,on [Aesthetics and Civilization] (,958), and Program­
mierung des Schonen [Programming of the Beautiful] (i960)
Bense was a significant inspiration in the genesis of com­
puter-generated art: as early as ,965, he presented comput­
er-generated graphics by Georg Nees at the "Asthetisches
Colloquium [Colloquy on Aesthetics], and at his sugges­
tion [as,a Reichardt mounted Cybernetic Serendipity (,968),
a landmark show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
(ICA) in London that presented creative forms engendered
by technology, specifically by computers.
[Originally published as "Estetika i programiranje"/"As­
thetik und Programmierung," in: bit international I, Dimi-
trije Basicevic and Ivan Picelj (eds.), Galerije grada
Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 79-88; translated from the Ger­
man. First published as "Asthetik und Programmierung
- Aesthetics and Programming," in: IBM-Nachrichten, 180,
1966, pp. 294-296.]
We speak of modern aesthetics insofar as it employs math­
ematical and empirical procedures, uses abstract ideas am.
models, and pursues besides numerical-descriptivealso tech-
nological goals. Thus, such aesthetics can also be called al
stract or mathematical aesthetics. Unlike classical aesthetics
for instance Hegelian aesthetics, modern aesthetics does m
rest on a philosophical but on a methodological concept, tha
is, it is oriented on objective rather than subjective problem*-
Modern aesthetics defines the given artistic object as t ^
carrier of an "aesthetic state." Although the aesthetic
is quite as "material" as the "physical state ol the u t
ered object, unlike the latter it is very weakly determine a
thus marked by certain "improbable distributions (or ^
"arrangement" of the elements) from the statisticalI p01 ^
view. In general, the "aesthetic state" will be consi ere^ ^
a state of "order" (O) applying to a repertory of mater
ements of a certain "complexity" (C). "Order, for e^Jo(-
comprises "symmetries" that possess a maximum ^
"purity," whereas "complexity" defines the degree c
sition," which is in principle inexhaustible. ^ ^
The description of the "aesthetic state of an a *
ject occurs in four phases, so that we accordingly 1 ^^ ^
between Numerical aesthetics, Semiotic aesthetics, efflt
thetics, and Generative aesthetics.
aarily
Numerical aesthetics is material aesthetics, it pn ^ ^ ^
scribes the "material" givens of an artistic 0 |e ^
ther "selective" aesthetics because its specificatic
 Bense • Aesthetics a n d Programming

artistic process as a process of selection, for which an artis­

tic object is merely a "structured set of elements." Its goal is,
therefore, to attain numerical values such as frequencies, en­ QUA SN LEG
tropies, statistical data, and redundancies which, instanti­
ated in the general aesthetic measuring function developed
by George David BirkhofF, lead to singular values for a "ma­

terial aesthetic state."

M.f§

'Order" (0) can thereby be measured by "redundancy" and

"complexity" (C), by "entropy" or "statistical data."
Semiotic aesthetics is "relational" aesthetics of signs insofar
as it understands its fundamental concept of the "sign" (fol­
lowing Charles Sanders Peirce) as a "triadic relation" and
grasps the artistic process as a process of signs. A "sign" is a
"triadicrelation" in the sense that it simultaneously functions
as a "means relation," an "object relation," and an "interpre- T h e triadic sign relation

tant relation." These three relations of "means," "object," and

interpretant" are (following Peirce) again triadically divisi­
ble. As "means," a sign can be a "qualisign" (physical qualities
such as, for example, color tone), a "sinisign" (a unique indi-
' dual sign such as, for example, every artwork as a whole or
a definite numerical value), and a "legisign" (licit signs such
tor example, every word of a language). As object relation,
2 is a pure "symbol" (such as names) or an "icon" (if it is
ofan imaging nature) or an "index" (if, like a signpost, a date,
1 significance, it possesses only an indicative character).
^_an 'nlerpretant relation," a sign can function as a "rhema,"
diient, and an argument." As a "rhema," the sign is an
°Pen' 'ncomplete carrier of meaning such as, for example,
"individual word, an individual color element, or a met-
processes of encoding and decoding. Naturally, the system of
"meaning" (interpretant relation) is linked to the system of
"representation" (the object relation) in the triadic sign re­
lation." The "rhema" corresponds to the "icon," the "dicent"
to the "index," and the "argument" to the "symbol." Never­
theless, the two levels should be kept separate in semantic
analysis. It should be noted that the triadic sign classes de­
termine not only the "system of representation" (the repre­
sented "world," the object relation) but also the "system of
meaning" (the context, the context of meaning of the repre­
sented world, the interpretant relation). It is evident that the
semantic aspect of modern aesthetics is still the aspect that
has been least taken into account. Only recently have proce­

"fal °"' ^enCe'3 S^n l^at 'S construed as neither "true" nor dures and ideas from "metric semantics" (Charles E. Osgood,
^ Asa dicent (for example, a "sentence"), the sign has George J. Suci, Percy H. Tannenbaum) and "abstract text the­
ory" (Max Bense, Walther L. Fischer) been integrated into
a "do"0'°^e'n& "true or "false,"and can be regarded as
not °S| Carr'er °^meanin8- As an "argument," the sign is Semantic aesthetics.
The most recent development in modern aesthetics is
as for ^ C'°Se^' ^Ut a'so complete, that is, in all cases "true"
called Generative aesthetics. Its goal is the analysis of art-gen­
form tXamf>'e' ®n a Pr°of,"a "harmonic division," or a poetic
erating processes into a finite number of constructive steps. Thus,
Attordhi eXam'3'e' tkle definite rhyme scheme of a sonnet),
Generative aesthetics concerns "definite" aesthetics. In the
dasse "r ' e*>oa'Semiotic aesthetics is specifying the
ideal case, it leads to the deployment of "programs" that serve
fistic ob' S'^nS ^3t 3re re^evant t0 tkle construction of an ar-
to produce "aesthetic states" with the help of program-con-
Sinro the
Since .u ^ '^at 'S* sem»otic classification of an artwork.

'§ classes occurring in the interpretant relation

n trolled computers.
i'rhei
'cent, and "argument") are at th Yet, the generative principle of the definite construct,on
of an "aesthetic state" is already prefigured in Numerical
units" a m^3n'n^ 'n the sense of "contexts" or semantic
and Semantic aesthetics. In Numerical aesthetics, Charles E.
,ng- are ^t0 which only three such "cla mean-
Shannon's well-known procedure, in which a "real text (in a
Presupposeslr^fU'S^a^)'e, lt ^°"ows that Semantic aesthetics
"real" language) is stochastically approximated by an incre­
' 6 Sem'ot'c analysis of an artistic object.
mental selection of words from repertories of equiprobable
Waning car^"''" ^escr^es the "aesthetic state" as a
rier- and joint frequency distributions, is used for the construc­
Signs' convey "meaning." The convey-
'ng tak« place ' "'6Ua L°nVey mean,nS- tive generation of "artificial" poetic texts in a finite number
^idedlur i m cornmunication. Semantic aesthetics is
eai) related to . . „ , .
uestnetic communication, that is, to its nf stems.
298 b i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 1 • 1968

In Semiotic aesthetics, we speak of the "generative" sign Meyer used BirkhofF's previously mentioned formula,
schema insofar as the "sign" as "means" precedes the "sign" M = O/C, to introduce aesthetic criteria into mechanical selec­
as "object relation," and this in turn precedes the "sign" as tion in "aesthetic programs." Hiller and his co-workers de­
"interpretant relation." rived their aesthetic criteria for the mechanical technique
of musical composition from statistical stylistic character­
istics of existing music. The successive decomposition of
materiale elemente equiprobable distributions into distributions that are non-
materijali elementi
7 2 equiprobable or are joint probability distributions with the
help of an aesthetics-oriented "program" may be seen as the
principle of the mechanical art-generating process.
This programming schema essentially agrees with the cal­
culating formula for the "aesthetic state." We assume that the
mittel-
bezug art-generating process operates anti-physically insofar as it
relacija
transforms "mixed states" or "disorders,"hence "equiprobable
sredstava
distributions" (or "chaos,"as Hiller says), into "states of order."
MSIN MLEG MQUA Here is the place to point out that the descriptions of Numer­
ical aesthetics bring to light empirically "measured data" that
objekt - represent "singular orders," whereas Semiotic aesthetics desig­
bezug
relacija r ZG nates "meanings" that are general orders as interpreted by its
predmeta
• • t classifications. "Singular order" yields innovation, and hence
that which is the real core of "statistical information" and
OJN OSY OJC
which art theory commonly calls "originality," whereas "gen­
interpre- eral order" enables identifications, and hence that with which
tantenbezug
communication is actually concerned, is called "statistical
relacija
interpretanta redundancy" and corresponds roughly to "style in art the
T t ory. Consequently, we speak of "innovative" and "redundant
k. JDI JAR JRH states of order," or of "creative" and "communicative order.
The "creative order" is always an order of slight proba
The generative sign schema:
bility, an "improbable order" that conveys its information in
• 1 Material • 2 Elements • 3 Means relation • 4 Object relation • 5 Interpretant the form of "innovation." The "communicative order, onthi
relation
other hand, may be called a "probable order"; its informant
is conveyed by its "redundancy." The "improbable order ol
Work with "aesthetic" programs for generating "aesthetic the "aesthetic state" (a random material distribution) deter
states" with the help of a computer has been developed above mines it as a singular order. The justification for apply 'n.-
all by Lejaren A. Hiller (Illinois) and his co-workers in the merical aesthetics and its empirical measurements to •
area of music, by Nanni Balestrini, Max Bense, and others in thetic states" consists in the fact that only singular num
the area of texts, and by Leonard B. Meyer (York), A. Michael can describe "singular states" as such. Within Semiotic aft
Noll, Konrad Zuse, Georg Nees, Frieder Nake, and others in thetics these (statistical) numerical values of aesthetic
the area of graphics. The constructive schema of aesthetic function of course as "sinisigns." ....
#
computer production is composed of three parts: the aes­ The "aesthetic state," a "text," a "composition, 3

thetic program," which supplies aesthetic criteria in the form
of "data," the data-processing computer, and the computer-
controlled reahzator (cf. the drawing arm and table).
Program -» computer + random generator
The program is dependent on the aesthetics; that is, there are
machine-oriented" aesthetic criteria that can be translated
into a programming language or a machine code. Thus, the
antecedent notation of the machine-oriented "aesthetic'pro­
gram expressing an abstract and numerically oriented aes-
tnetics is evident.
is construed as a "structured set of elements, an t ^
tropy" of the "structure" (that is, the mix ratio or^S^
of disorder") of the "elements" (for instance, "wor s' ^ ^
"points") is presupposed for determining order an ^ ^
realizator. plexity." More precisely, we determine complex1'} ^ ^
tical information" (about "entropy"), and order t ^^
ogous to "redundancy"; for whereas "complexity cz
be "innovative," "singular,"and "original, order as .
be recognizable and identifiable, that is, redundant ^ ^
stylistic characteristic). Important for Per*'orJnin^ie(jC state'
lation is naturally that the "elements of an aes ^
be characterized numerically. For texts, for exar [
•
Bense • Aesthetics and Programming 299

.unordnung« »ordnung<« 2
•nered« •red-

tendenz des physikaJischen ablaufs tendenz des asthetischen ablaufs

teinia fizikaJnog toka teZrya estetskog toka

Hie physical disorder schema in relation to the aesthetic order schema:

• 1 Disorder • 2 Order • 3 Tendency of the physical process • 4 Tendency of the aesthetic process

traduce the "syllable count" of words as a numerical char­ successfully programming "aesthetic states" can thus ev­
acteristic of the "elements." In the case of graphics or draw­ idently lie only in Numerical aesthetics that is wholly di­
ings, we can lay a grid over the image. The size of the "grid rected to the object.
elements, which are then counted as "elements" of the "aes-
thetic state, is determined in accordance with the smallest of
(graphic-generating visual elements (for instance, "spots"
'lie segment"). Then we determine numerically certain
characteristics distinguishable in the "grid elements"; for ex-
nple,the covering" of the "grid elements" with "Indian ink,"
'e number of contrasts" within, or even the "number" of in­
cident spots. Of course, this in turn always yields only
, 6 S[)ec'a' orders" or "complexities" or "entropies" of the
^ er>ng, the contrasts," or the "spots"; we therefore speak
^o\ering aesthetics," "contrast aesthetics," "spot aesthet-
and the like.

objen neCeSSai^ t0 re§ar(J the "aesthetic state" of an artistic

I t as layered. The artistic object proves to be repertory-
rallv J"1 ^ers anc* "complexities," and so, too, natu-
be ^ ^CSt'letica"y or'ented relationship between O/C,
a"dfin naiZed 'n '^e mater'a' layer, in the area of "signs,"
Wet0 ^ ' J ^ 'CVe' meanings." It is therefore reasona-
P'ex- lav' 7he aest^et'c state an artistic object as a com-
(^'ogy we^d' 3nd ^Cre' t0°' t0 <^astanSuash ~ as i" to~

"Ween th'S«'n^U'S'1 ^etween coarser and finer topologies

5tate"de ,COarser ancl "finer" aesthetics of an "aesthetic
ronsiderirj60 U^°n repertory of "elements" we are
Wefhoose ^e§ree °f numerical characterization
,er further ° eSCr'^e l^e "elements." Here I prefer not to en-
!'st'ca' conn"10^6 <^CU't P°int of the topological and sta-
rather onlv gCt'°nS °f ^^e individual "aesthetics," and will
P asize once again that the prerequisites for
300 bit international I • 1968
Abraham A. Moles
Experimental Aesthetics in the New Consumer
Society
The first issue of the journal bit international was devoted
to Abraham A. Moles and Max Bense, two theorists from
France and Germany who had both started to apply in­
formation theory to aesthetic problems in the 1950s. The
organizers of tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 viewed their "infor­
mation aesthetics" as the theoretical basis for conducting
visual research with the computer. Moles laid the foun­
dations of information aesthetics in France with two doc­
toral dissertations, La Creation scientifique [The Scientific
Creation] and Theorie de I'information et perception esthe-
tique [Theory of Information and Aesthetic Perception],
which he completed in 1956. La Creation scientifique was
published in 1957, Theorie de I'information et perception es-
thetique in 1958. Unlike Max Bense, whose approach was
oriented more on semiotics, Abraham A. Moles sought to
combine cybernetics and information theory with exper­
imental psychology and explanatory models from the so­
cial sciences.*
[Originally published as "Eksperimentalna estetika u no-
vom potrosackom drustvu" / "L'Esthetique experimentale
dans la nouvelle societe de consommation," in: bit interna­
tional 1, Dimitrije Basicevic and Ivan Picelj (eds.), Galerije
grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 73-79; translated from
the French.]
Artists a r e gods, w h o wish to reconstruct man a n d who,
to that end, begin not with the skeleton but with t h e hat.
fitienne Decroux 1
Experimental aesthetics is becoming a discipline of consid­
erable social importance. The importance of a social fact is
determined by its "mass effect," which is calculated, more or
less, from the number of people influenced by it, weighted by
the degree of influence they each experience. I, seems likely
that the applications of experimental aesthetics must soon
give it a considerable "mass effect" in the consumer society.
Art in the past was characterized, defined, and objectified
by works. The artwork was an event in our environment of­
fered for our attention; it was, in a way,"transcendent" in that
it implied a value judgment. In terms of economic value, the
artwork was thoroughly useless and that uselessness was one
of the chief yardsticks of art; only a posteriori speculation on
recognized artworks actually formed part of market society,
but that phenomenon remained foreign to the essence of the
work, which was its disinterestedness.
First, the surrealist revolution, then the subversive thrust
of post-war values, frenzied competition for originality, and
the rise of a mass media-based civilization totally overturned
the place of the work of art and the very meaning we accord
to it. The essence of the work of art is to be found now in
the copy, not in the original. The segregation of creative an
ists, who speak, from consumers, who listen orwhomereh
receive passively, has put the final touch to the dominan
fact of our time: cultural alienation. Consumers no longer
have any direct participation in creation; they receive it, un
dergo its effects, but their action is reduced entirely to a u te
guided more or less by those "intercessors" that are the opir
ion formers: art critics, publicists, and intellectuals of the m.
cro-milieu of art.
Several factors have contributed to this radical changt
On the one hand, the "pictorial work" (oeuvre picturdI ^
explored the possibilities of the picture: the famous colore
face Maurice Denis spoke of has become a field of P01^
ities open to the widest exploitation. Similarly, t e wo
sound art (I'oeuvre sonore) has become a certain tint1 |
filled with sound objects assembled in a particu ar
What can be put into it? . ^
Once the question has been put in this way, there ^ ^
ing left, it would seem, but to fill up this surface^ ^
Nevelson, Mark Tobey, Wols, Georges ^at^'eU'.a," asvve||
Xenakis have discovered the factor of filling up, w hie ^ ^
understood in the past by the Mannerists, but has
forgotten. The dialectic between figure and groun
to the idea of a figurative form disappears, and t e
form against picture is replaced by the very idea^0
opposed to that which is not picture - namely, t e ^ .j
ing world. This is the dialectic of the frame or t
 Moles • Experimental Aesthetics

offer fliis remarkable fact for your attention." Here again, the
entire field is explored that separates the single form stand­
ing out against the world from what we might call, combin­
ing the visual and the auditory, the white noise that represents
an extreme: the maximum possible originality. This distance
is fully covered: perfect disorder, total originality is the total
dissolution of all form.
To compensate for these former dimensions, other qual­
ities of the artwork emerge. Each of these qualities of the
artwork is statistical in character: degree of filling
picture, originality of the material, level of perception, and
unforeseen nature of the content. In the past, the idea of "re­
search" stood opposed to the idea of "completeness" and the
experiment stood opposed to the artwork. Today "research"
has merged with the artwork:
ai An act of research can be crystallized into a work by the
will of an artist. Yet, when the form vanishes, the criterion
of completion and finish that previously separated the
artwork from experiment vanishes in its turn,
b' The creation of the new is intrinsically novel. It may, then,
be proposed as unique and noteworthy. Since the act of re­
search claims in itself to be aesthetic, it is a thing of inter­
est and novelty; the artist has something of the performer
about him and becomes akin to the soloist in music: he of­
fers the opportunity to be present during creation.
cl Lastly, the artist plays consciously on the curiosity which
a consuming audience, alienated from creation, has for
'be mechanisms of that creation. Instead of offering them
a painting, he offers them the act of creating a painting,
' us moving surreptitiously, but sometimes brilliantly,
lrom Pa'nting to theater.
'n short,
society consumes novelty. This expresses itself in the
w o| c°pies an(j 0ffers a yast g j gj j
mm which re-
e ma na ref
SIan "|S' e sole re^u8e °f aesthetic authenticity, but is con-
• no ISU 'eCt t0 attr^on ^ banalization. The Venus de Milo
'"c lull n^ei"l^e Louvre: has dissipated its charms in
-tippedT"^6 °^'tS Tta visitors to the Louvre are
ers°f os 3n0t'ler emot'on ~ the tourist emotionl The own-
bnt that SjtC^fC^S are 'or may ^e) gripped by aesthetic emotion,
^""li S 00meci t0 unwavering attrition (where has the
The full range of these characteristics defines, then, a new
aspect of the artistic problem. There are no artworks any
more; there are artistic situations and those situations divide,
of their own accord, into clearly distinct categories:
- the category of creation,
- the category of consumption,
to which we must add, for example, that of manipulation or
intervention in which the individual manipulates, transforms,
or lays before us objects that he does not create himself.
up of the The aesthetician, formerly a philosopher of transcen­
dence, who crowned the outcome of the artist's struggle with
resistant matter with the fine flowers of his thought, now
finds his role changing. He finds himself at a crossroads: he
is an essential function of the art world. Instead of speaking,
after the event, of what others have done, he defines, not the
rules of transcendent beauty, but the rules of message re­
ception and of the perception of messages by the consuming
masses. He lays out the terms clearly: "If you want your mes­
sage to get through, then you must follow such and such a
rule" (of informational statistics). He also performs the the­
orizing function: he establishes, for the use of the interme­
diaries, that theoretical scaffolding which will enable these
latter to facilitate access for the consuming individual to aes­
thetic pleasure by the semantic path, even if that means sub­
sequently leaving theory behind to enter directly into sen­
sual contact with the work.
The aesthetician is, ultimately, the one who provides the
algorithms of thought by which the artist, as a worker in orig­
inality, constructs something that is both less and more than
a work of art: namely, a method for making artworks and for
offering a certain number of realizations of them, as stylistic
exercises - leaving it to manipulators or disciples to derive
from them all the variations that may be of interest.
i. The idea of consumption, essential to a mass society,
through the effects of which beauty is merely the reflection
of a provisional originality, implies, then, the provision of art
- of "A touch of Art."2 For each consumer, the problem ceases
to be a qualitative one and becomes quantitative. How can
ever-renewed originality be provided for an expanding, ed­
ucated audience?
Permutational art is one of the solutions. It depends on

the combinatorics of simple elements, offering a field of pos­

n°'asan ^ art wor'd presents itself, then,
sibilities and an algorithm for exploring that field. It will be
barrel a r Store^ouse °f treasure, but as a Danaides'
the function of the artist to exploit the morphemes suggested
^feb the bSerV°'r n°Ve^ ^orm' sound' or movement,
by the aesthetician by choosing a repertoire for himself, defin­
and which e^ect °f the copy is eternally emptying
ing a combinatory rule, and shaping a program. We know that
^"'toiriain 3 5 ' C O n S e ^ U e n t 'y' t0 PerPetua'ly if we
a number of recent works are products of such a process, and
Seethe ar1310 3 ^°tent'a' f°r creative originality in society.
that the aesthetician who is to any extent familiar with these
na'ity .the W3S f°rmerIy t'le sPecifieci source of origi-
mechanisms is capable of predicting the future course of an
^Sinalitx [° emt^enar'ses°f permanently renewing that
artist's work, at least in its major outlines, from the heuristic
new that defines
which that work contains. As a result, the function
302 bit international I • 1968
of the artist is intellectualized; artists' contact with materi­
als, once so essential, now loses its importance and artists in­
creasingly base themselves largely on the new techniques
of action on nature. More particularly, artists will base their
work of providing artworks increasingly on the creative use
of controlled sequences. Already a number of artists are
working on this and are producing programs.
2. The idea of consumption further implies systematic re­
search on the functions of the new. The exploration of hu­
man society in its pursuit of novelty does not necessarily in­
volve creation in the absolute sense, but also the discovery of
things already created but now forgotten. It is the role of the
socio-aesthetician to bring out the artistic character of the
discovery of the terrae incognitae of the Beautiful (understood
here in the sense of the original), whether we are speaking
of African masks, nineteenth-century antiques, or Greek am­
phorae. Antiquarianism emerges out of this function of the
new, in which what is old, but no longer known, comes to be
dubbed "new." The aesthetics of tourism might be said to be­
long to this category, and we may ask ourselves whether the
holiday villages based on the farthest shores of the Mediter­
ranean might not find here a solution to the problem of artis­
tic alienation by creating an archeology for all.
• 1 Value • 2 Time • 3 Towards ihe incomprehensible • 4 Degree of complexity
Variations in the optimum acceptable quantity of originality over time. This
three-dimensional diagram illustrates schematically the variations in value
a c c e p t e d by a p o p u l a t i o n a s a f u n c t i o n o f q u a n t i t y o f o r i g i n a l i t y a n d d e g r e e o f
c o m p l e x i t y o v e r t i m e . It i s a s u r f a c e i n d i c a t i n g a m a x i m u m v a l u e t h a t s h i f t s
gradually from one period to another. In short, acceptable complexity increases
culture^' 08 3 mCChaniSm *hat is , h e very
3. Lastly, this notion of consumption implies not so much a
pursuit of new works, or even of new ideas for making works,
but a pursuit of new arts, a meta-creation, the methodical ex-
ploration of perceptible reality in order to find new paths to
sensuahzation within it. The artistic function depends on
the semantic pleasure that ensues from the Apollonian game
of world mastery through categories and of the insertion
of that world into the intelligible ("finishing the crossword
puzzle ) and, at the same time, on the aesthetic pleasure that
arises out of Dionysian sensualization and immersion in the
cosmos ("O time suspend your flight!").4 The role of the aev
thetician will be to satisfy this function of consumption by
exploring the unexplored channels of tactile, olfactory, ther­
mal - or other - sensibility, by providing, in the literal sense,
new thrills, since the old ones are threatened with obsoles­
cence. The aesthetician creates new arts, then, by defining
sensory combinatorics, and marks the fact that technology
opens up a new field for acting on individuals for these new
arts that was previously closed to them. There are no phil­
osophical grounds for asserting categorically that "olfacto-
tactile kinesis" must necessarily give rise to an inferior art-
since it has not previously been tried and up to this point, the
means of access to tactile sensibility have been rudimentary
or over-complicated.
• •» V
<s
• 3 >
<
m: 11 r
V 13
1, V 1
0
0a J
D 0 il
A n e x a m p l e o f a p e r m u l a t i o n a l work o f a r t : a three-dimensional crossword in
H e b r e w ( B l u h m e ) . T h i s e x a m p l e highlights a n informational propem it
S e m i t i c l a n g u a g e s , w h i c h a r e t h e o n l y languages with such a low lesel of
r e d u n d a n c y o f l e t t e r s a s t o m a k e it possible t o construct a meaningful wor
of each of the groups of three letters.
Conclusion
The role of this analysis is to bring out the radical d u n -
degrb d e comptexite
stupanj komptoksnosti wrought by the consumer society and by the notion cI
copy on the very concept of art. In the past, tin art ^
served no useful purpose; now it forms part of the banc
"useful" values of the "Citizen of Happiness who nee
dose of beauty and hence of originality. In the past.1 ^
work was unique and material; it is now merely an
concept, disseminated as a trace in countless copies. ^
mechanism of the diffusion of been replaced by artistic situations which, jointly
ers, construct human life as a series of situations. ir|
situations, there are those of the consumer' t^Cr c( fjgjn
ist, and the intermediary - each of them quite i ist ^ ^ ^
each other, or at least provisionally so. Art has
rebellion and has become a profession (Alphons ^ ^ ^
The artist was, in the past, unique and Person3 • jje e*-
a metteur en oeuvre, a "programmer of the eau ^
ploits for his own ends the work of the aesthet' of
periments on the perception of originality, on
aesthetic pleasure, and their combination.
 Moles • Experimental Aesthetics 303

Two roles emerge as fundamental: First, there is the role
ofiheartist, who seeks, at times, to be understood and works
forthe masses, often in a team, on the assumption that there
isadefinable"model ofrecepture"5 and that the problem is to
>atisfv it, and, at other times, carries out research as absolute
and unconditional as that of the scientist. In the latter case,
he necessarily needs intermediaries, so as not to be cut off
completely from society at large.
Then there is the role of the aesthetician, who is no longer
a philosopher now, but a laboratory-based social psycholo­
gist, who defines the rules of the perception of originality,
the socio-dynamic mechanisms of its dissemination, the
laws of combinatorics, and the algorithms of machine pro­
gramming and who enters into collaboration with the artist,
works as part of his team.
The position of art in the contemporary world then be­
comes akin to that of science and a crisis arises before our
very eyes in the communication of art to the public, simi­
lar to the crisis experienced by science in the late eighteenth
century, when it became separated from general culture.
As in the case of the scientist after that date, artists, if they
are not mere functionaries of the science of art, now need
mediators to dilute and disseminate their message. Hence­
forth, the scientist and the artist play the same role in con-
temporary society of providing, either in bulk or in small
packages, the quantity of essential originality, the requisite
dose of subversion and, hence, of self-questioning, for soci-
etyto progress.
Helmar Frank."Theorie informationnelle de l'art du mime," in: Cahiers d'etude
de radio-television, 24, 1961.
Rene Konig and Alphons Silberman, Der unversorgte, selbstandige Kiinstler.
Cber die wirtschaftliche und soziale Lage der selbstdndigen Kiinstler in der
Bundesrepublik, Deutscher Arzte-Verlag, Cologne, 1964.
Leslie Mezei,"Art and Computer," in: Computing Machines Review,
Toronto, 1964.
Abraham A. Moles, Theorie de I'information et perception esthetique,
Flammarion, Paris, 1958.
Abraham A. Moles,"Aspects informationnels des problemes d'une poetique,"
Mediation, 1, 1962, p. 120.
Abraham A. Moles,"Manifeste de l'art permutationnel," in: Ring des Arts, 4,
1965, pp. 8-12.
Abraham A. Moles,"Le Manierisme et l'art kitsch," in: Art et Sociile, public
lecture at the University of Strasbourg, 1965, mimeographed.
Abraham A. Moles, Sociodynamique de la culture, Editions Mouton, Paris,
The Hague, 1967.
Francois MolnAr, communication to the International Conference of Art
Critics, Rimini, September 1965.
Francois Molnar and Francois Morellet, Pour un art abstrait progressif, Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1963.
Max Mathews, John R. Pierce, and Newman Guttman,"Musikalische Klange
von Digitalrechnern," in: Gravesaner Blatter, vol. 6, no. 23/24, 1962,
pp. 109-125.
Frieder Nake,"Bemerkungen zur Progratnmierung von Computer-Grafiken,"
in: Programm-Information PI-21. Herstellung von zeichnerischen
Darstellungen, Tonfolgen und Texten mil elektronischen Rechenanlagen,
Deutsches Rechenzentrum, Darmstadt, April 1966, pp. 3-32.
A. Michael Noll,"Computers and the Visual Arts," in: Martin Krampen and Peter
Seitz (eds.), Design and Planning 2. Computers in Design and Communication,
Hastings House, New York, 1967, pp. 65-79

;"^
hnsl0Ph Kluetsch, Computergrafik. Asthetische Experimente zwischen
•"Com 'Uren' ^ ^ ,3les's' University of Bremen, Bremen, 2006; published
^ nputtrgrafik. Asthetische Experimente zwischen zwei Kulturen. Die Anfange
°mpi"er U"SI den '960erlahren, Springer, Vienna, New York, 2007.

! I!:31 n°te: Translated fr°m the French.

3 Mitorj"°te: A,ouchofArI"in English in the original.
Dajerjff M '96^' ^ax ®ense and Elisabeth Walther published Moles'
mutational \ ^ermu,l"'one^er' Kunsf [The First Manifesto of Per-
Ptmiuhi• »' " ''le'r r°' ser'es- 8ee: Abraham A. Moles, ersfes manifest der

kLurhvii l'e ^ lemPs> suspends ton vol" is a line from the poem
5 Tra„qa^P S!deUmar,ine-

pined6 ^ceP,ure is a neologism that does not seem to have

8 a«eptance.

TfcwdotW Ad,,
^a'n, 1955 ^'urkritik und GeseUschaft, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am
^teodorty A J
Main, I9630rn0'NeU" kritische Studien, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am

LaM •
hetika^M °'
a,9 r thmiqUe £dilions Dunod' Paris- l965-
'
^er'ags-Ans,ai, c e,aPhysische Beobachtungen am Schonen, Deutsche

^rse.Aesrtep l3"' 1954-

Mai B^en"Baden"l 958,/ AS'Hetik ^ Zivilisa,ion , Agis, Krefeld,

^ZT
nrernational
"0nA«'ed-,iOn
d'esth*S' ^
2°' S,uttSart' >968-
Pre^erence,"communicat'on to 'he "Colloque
"n ^"Perintentai « 9Ue exPerimentale" [International Colloquium
mal Aesthetics], Paris, June]965_
bit international 2. kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja

bit international 2. computers and visual research

1968

Magazine
 INTERNATIONAL:

uteri com

mtchael a,
Jurbert w. jfrar ke m. r. schrosder
W&tmM " i "
georgnees petar milojevic
frieder nake |j

bktbktbkt bit international br. Nf 2 J 968.

Table of Contents
Sadrlaj

J Jr'lM Denegri
Jedna nova perspektiva —
kompjuteri i vizuelna
istrazivanja
9 Herbert W. Franke
Kibernetske osnove
programirane umjftnotu
19 Hirothi Katvano
Estctika za kompjutcrsku
umjetnost
29 Georg Neet
Kompjuterska grafika
i vizuelna kompleksnost
45 Frieder Nake
Umjetnifka produkcija kao
proces odlufivanja
51 Michael A. Noll
Digitalni kompjuter
kao kreativno sredstvo
65 M. R SchroeJer
Slike iz kompjutera
Je'sa Denegri
A new prospective —
computers and visual
research
Herbert W. Franke
Die kybernetischen Grundlagen
der programmierten Kunst
Hirothi Kawano
The aesthetics for computer
art
Georg Nees
Computergraphik und visuellc
Komplexizitat
Frieder Nake _
Die Kunstproduktion als
Entscheidungsprozess
Michael A. Noll
The digital computer
as a creative medium
bit international 2. computers
M. R. Schroeder
and visual research
Images from computers

81 Leslie Mczei Leslie Mezei 1968

Sparta, a procedure
Sparta, proceduralno
oriented programming
Magazine cover and contents
orijentirani jezik
language for the Editors: Boris Kelemen
programiranja za
manipulation of arbitrary
mampuliranje arbitramim
crteiima drawings and Radoslav Putar
Petar Milojevic Design: Ivan Picelj
95 Petar MilojevU
Dynamic design
Dinami&i crtei
lfttaval/Pubiishcr Archive MSU Zagreb
Marijan Vejvoda
123 Marijan Vejvoda
gWjradaZagreba Research into thought
Istrazivanje mifljenja
^rinin trg 2 131 Biblioerafiia
 b i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 2 • 1968
Jerko Denegri
A New Perspective: Computers and Visual Research
The art historian and art critic Jerko Denegri studied his­
tory and geography at the Visa pedagoska skola [College
of Pedagogy! in Split and art history at the Philosophical
Faculty of the University of Belgrade. In 1965, Denegri be­
came curator at the Muzej savremene umetnosti, Beograd
[Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade].
The text reprinted here is the written version of the pa­
per he gave at the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istra-
zivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research," August 3-4,
1968, Zagreb.
[Originally published as "Jedna nova perspektiva. Kompju­
teri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "The New Prospective. Com­
puters and Visual Research," in: bit international 2, Boris
Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Za-
greba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 4-8.]
All the phenomena that influence basic human behavior in
life, society, and production during a specific historical pe­
riod are reflected directly or indirectly in the spheres of both
culture and art, and in this way they determine not only the
character of peoples existence in material coordinates, but
also in intellectual and contemplative ones. Therefore, it is
normal that in our time, which is essentially characterized by
the ubiquitous and unprecedented power of technology, the
relationship between certain scientific insights and artistic
imagination is becoming increasingly precarious. I am not
talking about the very core of this relationship, of the poten­
tial danger of losing the specific essence of art, or of the dan­
ger that the domain of art might be subordinated to the do­
main of science. Rather, I am referring to the necessity and
possibility of reconciling many people's creative and imag­
inative capabilities with what happens on a daily basis due
to the complex reality of everyday life with the objective of
achieving insights that are as clear, direct, and appropriate
as possible into the very foundations of our common existen­
tial framework under actual historical conditions. General!}
speaking, modern art has taken two diametrically opposed
attitudes towards these conditions. On the one hand, it has
issued warnings about the symptoms of losing the human
core in the changed living and social context under rapid in­
dustrialization, pointing to the emergence of alienation and
the reification of the human personality, while at the same
time considering the overall technological progress as an ad­
mittedly unavoidable reality which, nonetheless, gives cause
for concern and endangers humankind. On the other hand,
modern art expresses an unswervingly positive attitude to­
wards the widening of our horizons in life, thanks to the
positive application of a diversity of scientific knowledge, in
such a situation, art itself has the task, based on its ability to
exert a complex influence on the human spirit and psyche,
prepare and accommodate gradually both the indi\idual and
society as a whole to this new reality, towards which humar
ity has been striving inevitably since the first industrial re
olution. This belief was also shared by the pioneers of mo -
em architecture and the protagonists of the first a\ant gar^
artist groups of the twentieth century, from Futurist111 to
Stijl, Russian Constructivism, and the Bauhaus. In a
purely intellectual endeavors one can discern an un 1eF
ing attempt to direct human thinking and practical ha
the direction of erecting a highly productive, but at t e ^
time humanized and happy society of the in ust^.^.
och. As we know, it is true, as many a fact of modern
proves, that in reality these endeavors were bruta
- twice - into the mire of successive world catastr°P j
open-ended perspectives in this direction were in ^
and the eventuality of this ideal society remaine _
even today it lacks almost all the preconditions
Ti,fl Second
for its fulfillment. The Comnd World
World War
.... and t ^ existei-
11
of the suffering individual to this state of
tial peril have facilitated the rise of art that is c ^ ^
by markedly confessional, rebellious, and esser
 Denegri • A New Perspective 307

self-revelation of a lonely individual unable and not wishing
toding to anything steadfastly except to the eternal and en­
during power of raw matter itself. The art that dominated in
the 1940s and 1950s was - in its best and most powerful ex­
amples - the art of heroic revolt but at the same time of sol­
itary skepticism; art whose expression was characterized by
pain and screams of the individual; by agnosticism and exis­
tentialist emphasis on the very fact of existence on the phil­
osophical level; by acceptance of the given present moment
and abandonment of any efforts to direct the powers towards
'"tore motives on the level of ideas. In different parts of Eu-
°Pe. an intuitive belief in the idea that constructive action
s possible has spontaneously emerged in this psychosis of
general uncertainty, in this loss of all belief in existing and
imposed myths," whether they are historical and national
r^ultural and ideological. And art, once again, just like the
ear) avant-garde movements, offers insights into scientific
P enomena as the perhaps only safe haven that in a world
enstant political, social, and ethical shifts may serve as an
moMrdatively stable support in the attempt to build some
tive behavior which characterized this new plastic operation­
ally, and as a consequence of this changed act of creation
properties of the artwork emerged that could be subjected
to a certain analytic conceptualization. By adopting specific
instruments immanent to the premises of scientific thought
("structure," "program," "information," etc.), art has gone be­
yond its status of an exclusively emotionally based human
activity, and achieved the ability to establish certain values
objectively; values that are the object of exact design pro­
cesses, as well as of realization and verification of meaning
related to this new type of artwork.
At this juncture where, through the artistic act, one over­
comes the entirely transcendental component of expression
and opens the way towards the exact definitions of certain
problems, a level has been reached where the advantages
offered by certain cybernetic automatic instruments can be
utilized for constructing new form structures. This begins
with Norbert Wiener's prophetic idea, who early sensed the
complex and fully developed interdependence between hu­
man and machine in manifold manifestations of activities.

'•*« anc* 8enerally more acceptable values. The In the same way, basing his research on unquestionable em­
pirical procedures, Abraham A. Moles has pointed out the
"roui)hn^enC'eS movement' which made a mighty break-
fact that today the human race is facing the dawn of the sec­
tem t? 31 keS'nn'n§ °f this decade, originated as an at-
m \° c anne' the meaning of the artistic act and art itself ond technological revolution; that is, the automation revolu­
tion which will, by its dimensions, radically change almost
picture Sf °ma'nso^''fe wherein the only possible and real
c'v'''zati°n
all the spheres of human creative behavior. Further, because
particui° today began to form. These
of the general pervasiveness of the very essence of human
~-,!iodol '"es t^10ught began not only to reflect on new
work, the second technological revolution will inevitably
ca'iQnsthaf1^ ^6S^n technologies, but also on the indi-
work-s 3tt C CX'St'n8
spread through the sphere of art as well and bring certain
0 Parameters °f the relationship artist-
repercussions with it. Under these circumstances the mod­
be ascribed^ a^°Ut t0 c^ange- The merit that should
ern artist, and especially the artist of the future, will become
chant p0 • °^^6W tendencies movement lies in its tren-
l

aware of the prospects opening up to him: the computer, the

artandth
e ^°^'1eC'UeSt'0n 3S tC> rea' re^at'ons between
instrument which has by now found multiple applications in
^goingconfl^ ^'^0^'^6'anc^ 'n t'le ^act l^at within this
most diverse domains of social and productive practice, will,
10stabili th 'Ct lt-'laS n0t °Pte<^ ^or denial, but for actions
2e
thanks to its specific properties, play an exceptionally impor­
''eth°d and 6 *)°S't'Ve sP'r'tual features of contemporaneity.
tant role in defining the process of the new type of artistic
Search were the constructive variants of crea­
 b i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 2 • 1968

creation. In this respect, it is essential to realize the real pos­ ful results. Our next task for the immediate future in actual
sibilities and function of the computer in this kind of process, research practice is the further elaboration of the specific
as well as to define the operative tasks of the artist more pre­ formative principles, which can help to make these results
cisely under such changed working conditions. As Abraham as good and efficient as possible; not only from the stand­
A. Moles said, the person who operates computers for the point of methodology, but also from the viewpoint of "aes­
purpose of obtaining "artistic information" will be a kind of thetics." I believe that the nature of the real value of the en­
"aesthetician programmer." In this capacity, he will combine tire enterprise, made possible by the convergence of art and
his artistic inclinations with specialist scientific training, so cybernetics, will depend largely on the solution of this prob­
that he will not only possess a clearly defined design aware­ lem. If these results also prove satisfying at a certain level ol
ness of the forms and structures he investigates, but will also aesthetics in the future, then, surely, a new series of chasms
be able to operate a computer in such a way that will enable will open in the already teetering forms of present-day ps>
him to fulfill his initial concepts as efficiently and completely chological and sociological functions of art in the contempo­
as possible. Here the computer acts as an "amplifier of com­ rary world. At the moment we are not able to realize all the
plexity (Moles' term); as a medium for processing data that detailed implications that will result from these changes.
are planned and applied by the aesthetician-programmer
responsible. The machine, therefore, is not a "creator" but
a tool, albeit a tool that is capable of exceptional results
and transmutations of the problems submitted to it. In some
cases, the results may even surpass the norms of the given
program in their final visual effect. This may come about
through autoregulative units in the computer that generate a
certain amount of unpredictable relationships, systems, and
combinations. However, the most important aspect is that af­
ter this operation has been completed, the program trans­
forms the numerical data, that is, the repertory of symbols
provided by the aesthetician-programmer, into autonomous
visual or auditive data that is accessible to our senses. This is
the way that the necessary "artistic" quality is preserved in a
realized artwork, irrespective of the fact that it was obtained
t rough a process which in certain phases implies strict sci­
entific conceptualization.

The propositions outlined in the above are really only a few

basic indications of the relations that operate between the
artists motives as an expression of purely human spiritual
activity and automatic tools as technical aids that help to ob­
tain the most complete, rich in content, and otherwise fruit­
 Kawano • Aesthetics for Computer Art 309

Hiroshi Kawano
The Aesthetics for Computer Art

Although the Japanese philosopher Hiroshi Kawano, then

associate professor of aesthetics at the Tokyo Metropoli­
Iman
tan College of Air Technology, did not attend tendencije 4 / |covjek
tendencies 4 in person, he did send a selection of his works 1 brain
1 mozak
and essays to Zagreb. In the late 1950s, he began work­ work of art
umjetnicko djelo
ing in the field of semiotics, focusing on the writings of program

Susanne K. Langer and Charles W. Morris, before shifting

computer
his research interests to information theory around i960. kompjuter
A reader of German, Kawano happened upon the writ­
ings of Max Bense in 1961, more specifically the two works
Aesthetica II. Aesthetische Information [Aesthetic Informa- Fig. 1

M d956) and Aesthetica III. Asthetik und Zivilisation [Aes-

thetics and Civilization] (1958). Inspired by Benses ideas, Thus, the program is composed of a set of states which
kawano trained in programming, and in September 1964, formulate the method of human artistic creation mathemati­
^ published his first examples of his computer-gener- cally in a computer language.
ated designs in the Japanese IBM Review No. 6. A work of art is first and foremost a construction of aes­
thetic elements by a certain syntactic composition. This com­
[Originally published as "Estetika za kompjutersku umjet- position is the grammar of a work of art, and the aesthetic
ntSI Aesthetics for Computer Art," in: bit interna- elements are components which are to be composed into a
i0nf2* ^or's Kelemen
and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije work of art; in literature it is the letter, the word, the phrase,
NaZagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 19-28.] or the sentence; in visual art it is also the color point - as in
neo-impressionist Pointillism (for example, in the pictures
mPUter Simulation of Artistic Creation of Georges Seurat) - the line, or elementary forms [such as
the circle, square, or triangle]'. Moreover, these grammar
musicLe'^ren A' liter's experiments with computer-aided
1 e ®flc Suite - in Japan, too, many computer-aided and symbol elements have to be explicitly defined. Claude

5>
E. Shannon attempted several language simulations from
:liteT"13' 3rtS ^Cen attemPted 'n fields of mu-
this point of view. First, he defined a dictionary of English
incom atUre'anc* v'sua' art. I think that these experiments
words (symbol repertory), and then he defined the transi­
0^ act'^ art 3re 001 °n'^ use^u' f°r Practica' ar~
tion probability matrix describing the connective relation of
^planati ^erSOna' or soc'al), but also for the scientific
n-gram words in English based on the analysis of ordinary
want to n j 3113n^ '°8'cal foundation of aesthetics. I
English. Using this vocabulary as a word repertory and the
What he hereespecially th^ latter problem.
word-word transition probability matrix, he experimented
Produce art anc* h°w can the computer
with the generation of artificial English sentences as a series
Pu,er mustF S an" Proc*uce worhs of art, the com-
ates works
of a random number of words. Now, if the set of words W(i)
o°
nta'n Pro8ram formalizing how man cre-
(i = 1, ..., n) and the transition probability P(i, j) with which
gram, the ^ t^rou§h the instructions of this pro-
W(i) connects with W(j) are given, artificial sentences will be
^evvaymand^UterCan art'^c'ahy produce works of art in
generated as follows (fig- 2).
 b i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 2 • 1968

to
\prema

••••
the head and in frontal attach
from W/ j / on an english writer that the
od \n character of this point is
therefore another method for
the letters that the time of row 1 row 2 rw3
W/ i / / P/i.j// whoever told the problem niz 1 rnz 2 re 3
for an unexpected.

Fig. 2
Fig. 4

Shannon's method, which is based on Andrey Markovs If our eye scans this picture (fig. 3) row ty row' ^
process theory, has been applied to the fields of literature and scanning, the picture is reduced to series of aesthetic quanta,
music, and many computer-aided works of art have been ex­ which are connected in succession discontinuously bv n-pe
perimentally produced with this method. I have tried some riod (fig. 4).
computer-aided experiments in visual art using Shannons This series of aesthetic quanta may be defined, for exam
Markov process model. The work of visual art that is a pic­ pie, as a second-order Markov chain, which is the two
ture is composed of n x n grids of two sorts of color points, mensional extension of the informational character 0 J

black and white (which are named aesthetic quantum) as English sentence. Therefore, one quantum Q(i-i) conc''t'1"
shown in figure 3. the transition probability of the next quantum Q(i)• 'n a
tion, one quantum Q(i-n) also conditions the quantum ,
that comes after n quanta (fig. 5).

%i
%
fy%\%
i
% Q/i- n/ Q/i-1/ Q/"

Fig. 3
Fig. 5
I
Kawano • Aesthetics for Computer Art 311

During and after this experiment, we may not recognize the

law of aesthetic experience, but already before the experi­
\\Dfema
10
ment, we must pre-cognize a certain artistic law without hav­
lro(n\ B W ing any accomplished aesthetic experience. The art-genera­
od \
tive program is just this pre-cognized artistic law: that is, the
X = B-B. B-W. W-B, W-W
B-B Y = B, W algorithm of artistic creation. This law seems to be logical
rather than empirical because it is pre-cognized a priori. The
B-W
/P /x,y// program of the computer is, therefore, a sort of axiom, a geo­
W-B metrical or logical transformation rule. This axiomatic pro­
gram consists of two parts: 1) the elements, such as aesthetic
W-W
quanta or alphabet letters, etc., which are taken as axioms
carrying the aesthetic universe of a picture, and 2) the prob­
abilistic law of the syntactic connections between n-gram el­
Fiji ements, which is taken as the transformation rule. From this
a priori axiomatic system, certain artificial pictures as theo­
" '^ e aest hetic quantum
Q consists of a black quantum (B) rems are generated deductively. Through these experiments,
'•whitequantum (W), four combinatorial states between we can study different axiomatic systems and the patterns of
v"i)andQ(i-i) a r e possible: B-B, B-W,W-B, W-W. This tran- various theorems deduced from them. If the output pictures
."° n P ro ^ a bility [P(x, y)] from Q(i-n) - Q(i-i) to Q(i) can be are not meaningful for humans, we may think that the pro­
as a matrix, shown in figure 6. After we have gener- gram as axiomatic system is still incomplete. And in changing
,V* r t a ' n s e r ' e s °frandom numbers from this transition the former program as to the character of the elements (the
axiom), and the syntactic construction of the Markov chain,
cord' 2 ' m3tr ' X ^ m e a n s of the Monte Carlo method ac-
that is to say, the way of combination of the aesthetic quanta
dom ^ 10 ^ a n n o n ' ant ^ ^ a v e translated this series of ran-
(the transformation rule), we will try to experiment with the
ihe U / n ' 3erS ' n t 0 t ' l e a s s igned color points composed of
^ni' Ct ' C ^Uanta ® or W, w e put them in the n x n format, same art-generative simulation again and again (fig. 7).

inp a T em ^ r e P e t ' t ' o n w tth n-period, thereby generat-

am ples of 3016 " 5 '' 0 p i c t u r e a s s e e n i n
figure 3. Here, two ex-
icallv ° , SCNera ' Markov chain pictures that were mechan-
Produced by the
computer OKITAC 5090 are shown
thlsVoIume,p.
253].

8 a 'Character of Mechanical Art Generation

^differs6"13' met^0C^ comPuter-aided visual art (pic-

^factsand "h 'tS C^aracter ^rom ffie observation of empiri-
actuall - 1 6 'n^Uct've abstraction of a general law of art.
3 P'cture'
computer needs to con­
sent that formulates the artistic method a priori.
Fig. 7
 bit international 2 • 1968
By repeating this experimental process, the system of this
program becomes more and more refined and complete, and
the generated works of art gradually become similar to pic­
tures created by humans. From the perspective of this exper­
imental simulation, the program as axiom has initially a hy­
pothetical character, but its systematic character as a general
law is strengthened after some revisions by experimental ver­
ification. An experimental process like this may be just a de­
ductive one. Therefore, a computer-aided experiment of art
has a logical character that differs from usual experiments in
the empirical sciences whose methods depend upon obser­
vation and induction.
3. The New Standpoint of Experimental Aesthetics
Until now, experimental aesthetics has tried to induce em­
pirical laws from phenomenal facts, like other empirical sci­
ences. Gustav Theodor Fechner, the founder of empirical
psychology, advocated the aesthetics from below, in which
the task is to find the general laws of aesthetic experience
empirically. However, such empirical laws seem to be a small
part of the total empirical facts or a partial copy of the phe­
nomenon, and therefore, they do not have a logic or gen­
eral character. Thus, such an empirical aesthetics will not be
able to have the consistent and harmonious system of formal
science forever, but is limited to being only a collection of
many empirical facts and its classification or rearrangement
by trial and error. I think that precisely this defect of the
method from below, which continues to dominate empirical
aesthetics even today, hinders the development of an authen­
tic scientific aesthetics, which ought to replace traditional
idealistic aesthetics now. The logical axiomatic method is
most necessary for modern scientific aesthetics. First of all
this new experimental aesthetics should redefine the aes-
thet.c universe of ehe work of art. And only the axiomatic sys-
tern can formulate this aesthetic universe explicitly. The def­
inition of this aesthetic axiomatic system can be given by two
items as follows:
1) symbol repertory (dictionary)
2) transformation rule of symbol combination (grammar)
My experimental works of art (pictures) were produced
from an abstract information source with this pure axiomaiic
system (as hypothesis). Research on aesthetically complete
a priori axiomatic systems from which a computer can pro­
duce works of art meaningful to human beings ought to be­
come the proper task of our new experimental aesthetics. In
this sense, the new experimental aesthetics should have the
character of a formal science, such as logic and other mathe­
matical sciences. If so, there is no necessity to collect and in­
vestigate many data of human aesthetic experience. We may
build abstract fictitious models of artistic creation on paper
by thinking and represent them mechanically by comput
ers. This abstract aesthetics without human aesthetic expi
riences is exactly what new experimental aesthetics will aim
at hereafter. Recently, Noam Chomsky's theory of generate
grammar using the phrase structure model in linguistics h
been in the limelight. I think that this theoretical model
more relevant and convenient to describe and build the au
omatic system of the aesthetic universe than Shannons finite
state Markov process model. Today, aesthetics needs not
be metaphysics, but a science. If our aesthetics can rep at
the old, but systematically beautiful, metaphysics \ut
logical method from above, which only metaphysics has m
nopolized till now, this new experimental aesthetics wi
a hegemony among the traditional aesthetics in the
Experimental aesthetics should cast off the old skin o ^
called experimental aesthetics from below in order to s^ ^
in obtaining the systematic character of science. That i ^
empirical science should not be separated from og
ence. Experimental aesthetics should have the same
ological character as logical science to be an effects
in the proper sense.
for thi»
1 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h e e x p l a n a t i o n w a s a d d e d b> H i r o > h i k
publication.
 Noll • Digital Computer

A. Michael Noll
The Digital Computer as a Creative Medium

A. Michael Noll studied electrical engineering at the Ne­
wark College of Engineering (NCE) and New York Uni­
versity. After graduation with a B.A. from NCE in 1961,
he joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill,
NJ, as a member of the technical staff. During the sum­
mer of 1962, while engaged in research on speech process­
ing, Noll began to use the devices available at the labora­
tory- the IBM 7090 computer and a Stromberg-Carlson
microfilm recorder - to produce variations of drawings
with lines and dots using computer pseudorandom pro­
cedures.* In April 1965, while working at Bell Telephone
Laboratories in the Acoustics Research Department, his
drawings were presented together with random dot ste-
' e °grams by his colleague Bela Julesz** at the Howard
Wse Gallery in New York City. Noll did not travel to Za-
5 f cb in person, but participated by sending his drawings
or the tendencije4. kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja /tenden-
4- computers and visual research exhibitions in 1968 and
•969, as well as the article reprinted here, which was first
published in 1967 in the journal IEEE Spectrum.
heard about the experimental use of digital computers in crea­
tive endeavors have probably shrugged them off as being of no
consequence. On the one hand, creativity has universally been
regarded as the personal and somewhat mysterious domain of
man; and, on the other, as every engineer knows, the computer
can only do what it has been programmed to do - which hardly
anyone would be generous enough to call creative.
Nonetheless, artists have usually been responsive to ex­
perimenting with and even adopting certain concepts and
devices resulting from new scientific and technological de­
velopments. Computers are no exception. Composers, film
animators, and graphic artists have become interested in
the application of computers in their creative endeavors.
Moreover, recent artistic experiments with computers have
produced results that should make us reexamine our pre­
conceptions about creativity and machines. Some of the ex­
periments, described in this article, suggest, in fact, that a
tight interaction between artist and computer constitutes a
totally new, active, and exciting artistic medium.
How Does an Artist Work?

Originally published as "Digitalni kompjuter kao stva- There is an anecdote attributed to Henri Matisse about how
to approach the creative act of painting. You take a blank
(jj 30 „ mC(^ 1 digital Computer as a Creative Me-
v ro, in. bit international 2, Boris Kelemen and Rados- white canvas, the French artist said, and after gazing at it for
a while, you paint on it a bright red disk. Thereafter, you do
51 6, Ut c ar ' 6 C ^' Galeri)e grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp.
2< 1967 IEEE; reprinted with permission from IEEE nothing further until something occurs to you that will be just
rm' v°l' 4, no. 10, October 1967, pp. 89-95.] as exciting as the original red disk. You proceed in this way, al­
ways sustaining, through each new gambit with the paint and
brush, the initial high visual excitement of the red disk.
but an • m ^ t e r ' m a n ^ a s c r e ated not just an inanimate tool
The anecdote is a somewhat simplified version of Matis­
fully ex'p 6 C t U a l a n d a c t i v e c r e a ti v e partner that, when
se's idea, but even if we take it lightly, it can do a number of
^ 0 r m sand° l t e ^ COU^ ^ US6d t0 Proc*uce w holly new art
things for us. For one thing, it dispels some of the sense of
puters are ^° S S '^ n e w a e s t hetic experiences. Digital com-
mystery that hovers over the procedures of the creative per­
e r a t e artist^ t0 P r o d u c e rnusical sounds and to gen-
son It tells us something concrete and easily visualized about
directly with^ 1 1 3 ' ' m a ^ e s ' a r t ist or composer interacts
e> tplores
the creative process while emphasizing the role of the unex­
the 1 6 C°mPuter trough a console. This article
pected ideas for which the artist lies in wait and for which he
^' U m andm l he computer as an artistic me-
sets a formal "trap" in his medium.
Th e notion e S / r e ^' C t '° n S a ^ o u t t ^ l e a r t t^ie future-

mac hines ma" ° C r e a d n 8 a r t works through the medium of

Even a relatively "passive" medium - paint, brushes, canvas
- will suggest new ideas to the artist as he becomes engaged.
y seem a little strange. Most people who have
 bit international 2 • 1968
The resistance of the canvas or its elastic give to the paint-
loaded brush, the visual shock of real color and line and the
smell of the paint will all work on the artist's sensibilities.
The running of the paint, or seemingly "random" strokes of
the brush, may be accepted by him as corporate elements of
the finished work. So it is that an artist explores, discovers,
and masters the possibilities of the medium. His artwork is a
form of play, but it is serious play.
Most of all, the Matisse anecdote suggests that the artistic
process involves some form of "program," one certainly more
complex than the anecdote admits, but a definite program of
step-by-step action. Without doing too much violence to our
sense of what is appropriate, we might compare it to a com­
putational hill-climbing technique in which the artist is try­
ing to optimize or stabilize at a high level the parameter "ex­
citement."
Once we have swallowed this metaphor, it becomes less
improbable to imagine that computers might be used, in
varying depths of engagement, as active partners in the artis­
tic process. But computers are a new medium. They do not
have the characteristics of paints, brushes, and canvas. Nor
are the statements that grow out of the artist's engagement
with them likely to be similar to the statements of, for exam­
ple, oil paintings. An interesting question to explore, then, is
how computers might be used as a creative medium. What
kinds of artistic potentials can be evolved through the use of
computers, which themselves are continually being evolved
to possess more sophisticated and intelligent characteristics?
The Character of the Computer Medium
In the present state of computer usage, artists are certainly
having their problems in understanding engineering de­
scriptions and in learning how to program computers in or­
der to explore what might be done with them. However, they
are learning, and they have already used digital computers
and associated equipment to produce musical sounds and
artistic visual images.1
The visual images are generated by an automatic plotter
under the control of the digital computer. The plotter con­
sists of a cathode-ray tube and a camera for photographing
the images "drawn" on the tube face by deflections of the
electron beam. The digital computer produces the instruc­
tions for operating the automatic plotter so that the picture-
drawing capability is under program control. Musical sounds
are produced by the computer by means of a digital sampled
version of the sounds that must then be converted to analog
by a conventional digital-to-analog converter.
For both of these artistic applications, a challenging prob­
lem is the composition of special-purpose programming lan­
guages and subroutines so that the artist can communicate
with the computer by using terminology reasonably similar
to his particular art. For example, a special music compiler
has been written so that the composer can specify complex
algorithms for producing a single sound and then pyramid
these basic sounds into a whole composition. A similar phi­
losophy has been used in a special language developed for
computer animation called "BEFLIX."2 Both applications
share the drawback that the artist must wait a number of
hours between the actual running of the computer program
and the final generation of pictorial output or musical sounds
when he can see or hear the results.
Since the scientific community currently is the biggest
user of computers, most descriptions and ideas about the
artistic possibilities for computers have been understand­
ably written by scientists and engineers. This situation will
undoubtedly change as computers become more accessible
to artists, who obviously are more qualified to explore and
evolve the artistic potentials of the computer medium. Un­
fortunately, scientists and engineers are usually all too famil
iar with the inner working of computers, and this knowledge
has a tendency to produce very conservative ideas about the
possibilities for computers in the arts. Most certainly the
computer is an electronic device capable of performing only
those operations that it has been explicitly instructed toper-
form. And this usually leads to the portrayal of the computer
as a powerful tool but one incapable of any true creativity.
However, if creativity is restricted to mean the production ot
the unconventional or the unpredicted, then the compute
should instead be portrayed as a creative medium-an acme
and creative collaborator with the artist.
Computers and Creativity
Digital computers are constructed from a myriad ot elei
tronic components whose purpose is to switch minute eei
trie currents nearly instantaneously. The innermost uor
ings of the computer are controlled by a set of instructio
called a program. Although computers must he e T
itly instructed to perform each operation, higher leu [
gramming languages enable pyramiding of progr.init
statements that are later expanded into the basicl011^
instructions by special compiler programs. These Pri ^
ming languages are usually designed so that the urn
can write his computer program using words an s ^
similar to those of his own particular field. All oft '•> ^
the portrayal of the program using words and sym
lar to those of his computer as a tool capable o per
tasks exactly as programmed. er.
However, the computer is such an extreme^
a C C O m-
ful tool that artistic effects can sometimes be eaS'^
[joDa|
plished that would be virtually impossible by co ^^
artistic techniques. For example, by ca'cu'at'n^
(jonSfit)ni
ing on the automatic plotter the perspective pro;jjmenSjon»l
two slightly different directions of some three 1
object, the computer can generate three-dinien.
 Noll • Digital Computer

of novel shapes and forms. Such three-dimensional anima­

Fig.I
Sian VanDerBeek, Kenneth C. Knowlton
Mart and His World
1967
Computer-generated movie
Film still, film, 60 seconds
IBM 7094, Stromberg-Carlson S-C 4020 microfilm recorder
Programmed in BEFLIX by Stan VanDerBeek and Kenneth C. Knowlton
Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories
Collection Ann and Michael Spalter
this frame was selected from a movie produced by Stan VanDerBeek using
' special animation programming language devised by Kenneth C. Knowlton.
Each frame consists of a fine mosaic of dots that are combined to make
«red shapes and forms. Intriguing and unusual "dissolves" and "stretches"
"a: are easily done using the computer would be tedious if not impossible
•oexecute by conventional manual animation techniques.
'orial note. The sixty-second film Man and His World was produced for
Expo67 in Montreal with the theme "Terres des Hommes."
tion, or kinetic sculpture, is far too tedious to perform by any
other method. The computer's ability to handle small details
has made possible intriguing dissolves and stretches, such as
those executed by Stan VanDerBeek (fig. i), without the te­
dium of conventional hand animation.3 Mathematical equa­
tions with certain specified variables under the control of the
artist have also been used by John Whitney to achieve com­
pletely new animation effects. Much of Op art uses repetitive
patterns that usually can be expressed very simply in mathe­
matical terms. The waveforms reproduced in figure 2, which
are like Bridget Riley's painting Current (1964), were gener­
ated as parallel sinusoids with linearly increasing period.
Thus, computer and automatic plotter can eliminate the te­
dious part of producing "op" effects.
Computers most certainly are only machines, but they
are capable of performing millions of operations in a frac­
tion of a second and with incredible accuracy. They can be
programmed to weigh carefully, according to specified crite­
ria, the results of different alternatives and to act accordingly;
thus, in a rudimentary sense, computers can appear to show
intelligence.4 They might assess the results of past actions and
modify their programmed algorithms to improve previous re­
sults; computers potentially could be programmed to learn.
And series of numbers can be calculated by the computer that
are so complicatedly related that they appear to us as random.
Of course, everything the machine does must beprogrammed,
but because of the computer's great speed, freedom from er­
ror, and vast abilities for assessment and subsequent modifi­
cation of programs, it appears to us to act unpredictably and
to produce the unexpected. In this sense, the computer ac­
tively takes over some of the artist s creative search. It suggests
to him syntheses that he may or may not accept. It possesses at
least some of the external attributes of creativity.

The Mondrian Experiment

How reasonable is it to attribute even rudimentary qualities

of creativity to an inanimate machine? Is creativity some­
thing that should only be associated with the products of hu­
mans? Not long ago, in 1950, Alan M. Turing expressed the
belief that at the end of the century "one will be able to speak
!

of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted."5

Turing proposed the now well-known experiment consisting
of an interrogator, a man, and a machine, in which the inter­
rogator had to identify the man by asking the man and the
f*2
machine to answer questions or to perform simple tasks.
A crude approximation to Turing^s experiment was per-
t^haelNoll fomed using Piet Mondrian's Compositie in lijn [Composi­
,965 ^ With Linearly Increasing Period tion with Lines] (191?) and a computer-generated picture
composed of pseudorandom elements but similar in overall
ftM7W4.S,m™m,Cr0filrn composition to the Mondrian painting (figs. 3, 4). Although
Bell Tel^ ^ar'son S'C 4020 microfilm plotter Mondrian apparently placed the vertical and horizontal bars
relePhone Laboratories
316 b i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 2 • 1968

• - "ri? 1

• - n t • . ' y "-r r

. 7-Oi
• I ™ I " • _ •

.' l ». H -r I •
© AMN 1905

COMPUTER COMPOSITION WITH LINES (1964)

COMPOSITION WITH LINES (1917)
BY A.MICHAEL NOLL
BY PI ETT MONDRIAN

© RIJKSMUSEUM KROLLER-MULLER

Fig. 3
Fig. 4

A. Michael Noll
T h e p i c t u r e o n t h e l e f t , Composition With Lines, is a repro uc^ b\
Computer Composition With Lines. Mondrian Experiment t h e D u t c h p a i n t e r P i e t M o n d r i a n . T h e p i c t u r e o n the right wa^g ^ ) r o l j r .
1965
a d i g i t a l c o m p u t e r u s i n g p s e u d o r a n d o m n u m b e r s with s,a,is picture 0 "
, e e t S ' c°mPuter"generated drawing and photographic reproduction after t h e M o n d r i a n p a i n t i n g . W h e n x e r o g r a p h i c reproduction 5 0 ^^^59
C°mp0Sitie in (Composition with Lines] of Piet Mondrian at s h o w n t o 1 0 0 s u b j e c t s , t h e c o m p u t e r - g e n e r a t e d picture was p)-
Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo
o f t h e m . O n l y 2 8 s u b j e c t s i d e n t i f i e d t h e Mondrian painting
24 x 18.3 cm
o f t h e o b s e r v e r s a s s o c i a t e d r a n d o m n e s s w i t h h u m a n creati
IBM 7 0 9 4 , S t r o m b e r g - C a r l s o n S - C 4 0 2 0 m i c r o f i l m r e c o r d e r
t h e r e f o r e l e d a s t r a y i n m a k i n g t h e p i c t u r e identifications.
Programmed in FORTRAN

P r o d u c e d a t B ell T e l e p h o n e L a b o r a t o r i e s , N e w J e r s e y

in his painting in a careful and orderly manner, the bars in
the computer-generated picture were placed according to a
pseudorandom number generator with statistics chosen to
approximate the bar density, lengths, and widths in the Mon-
drian painting. Xerographic copies of the two pictures were
presented, side by side, to one hundred subjects with educa­
tions ranging from high school to postdoctoral; the subjects
represented a reasonably good sampling of the population at
a large scientific research laboratory. They were asked which
picture they preferred and also which picture of the pair they
thought was produced by Mondrian. 59 percent of the sub-
ects preferred the computer-generated picture; only 28 per­
cent were able to identify correctly the picture produced by
Mondrian.
In general, these people seemed to associate the random­
ness of the computer-generated picture with human crea­
tivity whereas the orderly bar placement of the Mondrian
painting seemed to them machine-like. This finding does
not, of course, detract from Mondrian's artistic abilities. His
painting was, after all, the inspiration for the algorithms
used to produce the computer-generated picture, and since
computers were nonexistent fifty years ago. Mondrian could
not have had a computer at his disposal. Furthermore, we
must admit that the reduction in size of the original painting
'I its xerographic reproduction degrades its unique aes-
'hetic qualities. Nevertheless, the results of the experiment
n light ofTurings proposed experiment do raise questions
°ut the meaning of creativity and the role of randomness
n artistic creation. In a sense, the computer with its program
be considered creative, although it can be argued that
man creativity was involved in the original program with
^computer performing only as an obedient tool.
* ^uest'ons
should perhaps be examined more
eeP^ y more ambitious psychological experiments using
computer-generated pictures as stimuli.
T°«"l
Real-Time l„teraction
^cretTeX^)er'ments ''escribed show that the computer
'be co 6 ^°tent'a^t'es beyond those of just a simple tool,
^ther lo^111^ met^Um's st'N restrictive in that there is a
Pr°gram °'lme(k'ay between the running of the computer
^ ^put" H 6 ^r0t*Uct'on tbe final graphical or acous-
tecbn°l°g'cal
^'e great] reCent developments
actKg hardwaT^UCe<^ ^ t'me de'ay through special inter-
t'ghtenineofVh faC'lltieS and Pr°gramming languages. This
irnP°nant for h man mac^ne feedback loop is particularly
response * an'St' W'10 nee<k a nearly instantaneous
por
C°ns°'e
has h 'n mus'c an electronic graphic
^unds wfoch een t0 Spedfy P'ctorially sequences of
tionsfo
rampli^J6 Syndlesized by the computer.7 Func-
e' ^recluency, and duration of a sequence of
Noll • Digital Computer
notes were drawn on the face of a cathode-ray tube with a light
pen. If desired, the computer combined specified functions
according to transparently simple algorithms. Thus, the fine
details of the composition were calculated by the computer
and the overall structure was precisely specified by the graph­
ical score. The feedback loop was completed by the computer-
generated sound heard almost immediately by the composer,
who could then make any desired changes in the score.
A similar man-machine interactive system has been pro­
posed for choreography.8 In this system, the choreographer
would be shown a computer-generated three-dimensional
display of complicated stick figures moving about on a stage,
as shown in figures 6-7. The choreographer interacts with
the computer by indicating the spatial trajectories and move­
ments of the figures. Random and mathematical algorithms
might be introduced by the computer to fill in certain fine de­
tails, or even to give the choreographer new ideas to evaluate
and explore.
A New Active Medium
The beginnings of a new creative partnership and collabo­
ration between the artist and the computer clearly emerge
from these most recent efforts and proposals. Their com­
mon denominator is the close man-machine interaction us­
ing the computer to generate either musical sounds or visual
displays. The computer acquires a creative role by introduc­
ing randomness or by using mathematical algorithms to con­
trol certain aspects of the artistic creation. The overall con­
trol and direction of the creative process is very definitely the
artist's task. Thus, the computer is used as a medium by the
artist, but the great technical powers and creative potential­
ities of the computer result in a totally new kind of creative
medium. This is an active medium with which the artist can
interact on a new level, freed from many of the physical limi­
tations of all other previous media. The artistic potentialities
of such a creative medium as a collaborator with an artist are
truly exciting and challenging.
Interactive Aesthetic Experiences
In the previous examples the artist sat at the console of the
computer and indicated his desires to the computer by man­
ually using push buttons or by drawing patterns on an elec­
tronic visual display. There are probably efficient ways of
communicating certain types of instructions to the computer:
however, the communication of the actual subconscious
emotional state of the artist could lead to a new aesthetic ex­
perience. Although this might seem somewhat exotic and
conjectural, the artist's emotional state might conceivably be
determined by computer processing of physical and electri­
cal signals from the artist (for example, pulse rate and electri­
cal activity of the brain). Then, by changing the artist's envi­
ronment through such external stimuli as sound, color, and
 bit international 2 • 1968

Fig. 6

t"6"
\

f \
\

Fig. 5
Fig. 7

A. Michael Noll visual patterns, the computer would seek to optimize the
Three-dimensional movie
thetic effect of all these stimuli upon the artist according
1965
Computer-generated movie some specified criterion.
Film This interactive feedback situation with controlled emi
IBM 7094. Strom berg-Carlson S-C 4020 microfilm recorder
ronment would be completely dynamic. The emotion
Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories
action of the artist would continually change, and tin
These frames are the left and right images of a 3-D pair from a computer- puter would react accordingly either to stabilize the ar
generated three-dimensional movie. The object randomly changes its shape in
emotional state or to steer it through some preprogra ^
what might be called a form of kinetic sculpture. To view the 3-D effect, place a
sheet of paper on edge between a stereo pair. Position your head so that each course. Here, then, is a completely new aesthetic O
eye sees only one image. With a bit of adjustment, the images should seem to ence utilizing man-machine communication on ^
converge and appear three-dimensional.
est (or lowest, if you will) subconscious levels an ^
processing and optimization of emotional response.
A. Michael Noll
digital computer could perform all the intorma"11
Computer Choreography
1965 ing and generate the sights and sounds of the
Computer-generated movie environment required for such a scheme. One ^ nj.
2 stills from a digital copy
tempted to describe these ideas as a consci0"^^^^
IBM 7094, Stromberg-Carlson S-C 4020 microfilm recorder
Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories ing experience in association with a ps\ chec e ^
Th, choreographer of,he fu.ur. migh, ,1, a, ,h. console of a computer and see Although such an artistic feedback scheme is^
aah,play of human figures stylked by simple „ick figures as shown in these the future, current technological and psycho og^
frames from a computer-generated movie. By interacting „ith the computer, the
choreographer mtgh, create hi, dance composition, perhaps ,easing certain
gations would seem to aim in such a direction,H'spla>s ^a'
b" - mn'hematical aigorithms
three-dimensional computer-generated color 1^
seem to surround the individual are certain y « ^ti
 Noll • Digital Computer

nized and studied in great detail, using advanced signal anal­
ysis techniques; it is not inconceivable that some day their re­
lation to emotional state might be determined.
Artistic Consequences
Predictions of the future are risky in that they may be really
nothing more than what the person predicting would like to
see occur. Although the particulars should be viewed skepti­
cally, they actually might be unimportant; if the art of the fu­
ture follows the directions outlined here, then some general
conclusions and statements can be made that should be in­
dependent of the actual particulars.
- should be exciting to observe. We might even be tempted
to say that the current developments and devices in the field
of man-machine communication, which were primarily in­
tended to give insight into scientific problems, might in the
end prove to be far more fruitful, or at least equally fruitful,
in the arts.
See: A. Michael Noll,"Patterns by 7090," in: Bell Telephone Laboratories
Technical Memorandum, August 28, 1962.
Bela Julesz (1928-2003) was a visual neuroscientist and experimental
psychologist in t h e fields o f visual a n d auditory perception. Julesz, w h o fled
from Hungary in 1956, joined t he Bell Telephone Laboratories t he same year.

The aesthetic experience will be highly individualistic, in­ From 1964 to 1982 h e h e a d e d t h e Sensory and Perceptual Processes
Department.
volving only the individual artist and his interactions with
the computer. This type of participation in the creative and See: Max V. Mathews,"The Digital Computer a s a Musical Instrument," in:

aesthetic experience can be experienced by artist and non- Science, vol. 142, no. 3592, November 1963, pp. 553-557. Arnold Rockman a n d
Leslie Mezei,"The Electronic Computer a s a n Artist," in: Canadian Art, vol. 21,
artist alike. Because of the great technical and creative power November/December 1964, pp. 365-367. A. Michael Noll,"Computers and th e
ot the computer, both the artist and non-artist are freed from Visual Arts," in: Design Quarterly, 66/67, 1967, pp. 65-71. Edward E. Zajec,

the necessity of strong technical competence in the use of
different media. The artist's "ideas" and not his technical
ability in manipulating media could be the important factor
"Computer Animation. A New Scientific and Educational Tool," in -Journal of
the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, vol. 74, November 1965,
pp. 1006-1008.
See: Kenneth C. Knowlton,"A Computer Technique for Producing Animated

in determining artistic merit. Conceivably, a form of "citizen- Movies," in: AFIPS Conference Proceedings, vol. 25, 1964, pp. 67-87.
Editorial n o t e : "BEFLIX,"a software developed by Knowlton at t he Bell
artist" could emerge, as envisioned by Allon Schoener.9 The Research Laboratories, is a n abbreviation for "Bell Flicks."
interactive aesthetic experience with computers might fill a Editorial n o t e : In o r d e r to produce computer-generated movies, t he
experimental filmmaker VanDerBeek started to learn programming at th e
-bstantial portion of that great leisure time predicted for
Bell Telephone Laboratories around 1966. Using t he software BEFLIX, he
'he man of the future.
produced several films in collaboration with t h e developer Kenneth C.
The artists role as master creator will remain, however, Knowlton. See: G e n e Youngblood,"Expanded Cinema," in: Vasulka.org,
" T h e Kitchen 1971-73," essays, available online at: www.vasulka.org/Kitchen/
eCause even ^ough the physical limitations of the medium
PDF _Expa nde dC i ne ma / Expa nde dC i ne ma .ht ml , pp. 246-269, 12/14/2009;
e different from traditional media, his training, devo- originally published a s Expanded Cinema, Studio Vista, London, 1970.
n"ind visualization will give him a higher degree of con- See: Marvin L. Minsky,"Artificial Intelligence," in: Scientific American, vol. 215,
no. 3, S e p t e m b e r 1966, pp. 246-260.
,° '^eart'sticexperience. As an example, the artists par-
Alan M. Turing,"Computing Machinery a n d Intelligence," in: Mind.
Jr interactions with the computer might be recorded A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy, New Series, vol. 59, no. 236,
ayed^bY the public on their own computers. Spec- O c t o b e r 1950, pp. 433-460.
See: A. Michael Noll,"Human o r Machine: A Subjective Comparison of Piet
^ founts of interaction and modification might be intro-
M o n d r i a n s "Composition with Lines" (1917) a n d a Computer-generated
actjv *1 e inc^iv'duah but the overall course of the inter­ Picture," in: T h e Psychological Record, vol. 16, no. 1, January 1966, pp. 1-10.
See: Max V. Mathews,"A Graphical Language for Composing and Playing
lay, and^er'enCe W0U'<'Sti" ^how the artist's model. In this
S o u n d s a n d Music," presented at t he 3 1 " Convention of t he Audio
"d co T ^St f'me' art'St wou'd he able to specify Engineering Society, O c t o b e r 1966 (preprint no. 477).
vidUa| ^ C6rtainty fbe emotional state of each indi- See: A. Michael Noll,"Choreography and Computers," in: Dance Magazine,

bv-the^ rtlC'^ant' ®n'y th°se aspects deliberately specified vol. 41, no. 1, January 1967, pp. 43-45.
See: Allon Schoener,"2066 a n d All That," in: Art in America, vol. 54, March/
pattjj.jp Stbe 'eh to chance or to the whims of the
April 1966, pp. 40-43.
monit ^W°U'^ Poss'ble because the computer
'taccord' ^ ^ Part'c'Pants emotional state and change
ti°nwith th '° an'StS sPecihcations. The artist's interac-
pCt eCOmpUterwouldbeof a new order because the
This is no
Ct'°ns °Tthe older media would be eliminated,
^pt aw ^I^ l^3t t'1C
1 trac^'tional artistic media will
'hisnew J' Ut un^ouhtedly be influenced by
new medi me^'Um' introduction of photography -
Painting awa ^°^e n'neteenth century - helped to drive
Painting Wha rePresentation, but it did not drive out
a"°fthe art for enew creat'vecomputer medium will do to
ms painting, writing, dance, music, movies
320 b i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 2 • 1968
Georg Nees
Computer Graphics and Visual Complexity
Georg Nees who had graduated from his studies in math­
ematics and physics at the University of Erlangen-Nu-
remberg was working as an industrial mathematician at
Siemens in Erlangen. In autumn 1964, Nees created his
first computer graphics using a Siemens 2002 as well as
the drawing table ZUSE Graphomat Z64 which had been
recently purchased. From the outset, Nees drew a connec­
tion between his drawings and the theories of the philoso­
pher Max Bense, whose book Aesthetica III. Asthetik und Zi-
vilisation [Aesthetics and Civilization] (1958) he had read.
In October and November he submitted two illustrated
papers on these experiments to the journal Grundlagenstu-
dien aus Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft [Basic Research
in Cybernetics and the Humanities]: "Statistische Grafik"
[Statistical Graphics] and "Variationen von Figuren in
der statistischen Grafik" [Variations of Figures in Statisti­
cal Graphics]. The papers were published in December,
when Nees also contacted Max Bense to persuade him
to be his supervisor for his planned Ph.D. thesis.* Max
Bense accepted, and he also exhibited Nees' drawings at
his Institute of Philosophy and Theory of Science at the
Technische Hochschule [Technical University] Stuttgart
in February 1965.
Georg Nees never attended any of the New Tenden­
cies symposia, but he did send drawings and the text re­
printed here to the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istra-
zivanja / Computers and Visual Research" in 1968.
In addition to working in his profession as an engineer,
Nees studied philosophy from 1965. He gained his doctor­
ate degree in 1969, supervised by Bense, with his disser­
tation Generative Computergraphik [Generative Computer
Graphics].
[Originally published as "Kompjuterska grafika i vizuelna
kompleksnost" / "Computergraphik und visuelle Komple-
xitat," in: bit international 2, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav
Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968, pp. 29-
44; translated from the German.]
Introduction
Finding an explanation for why the world of visual experi­
ence is so charged with complexity is not easy. The problem
is not that the sensory organs process such an astonishing
number of details, for among the countless elements of an
image just a single one can mean life or death - the tiny gap
in the camouflage of an enemy; a small piece of the hide ofan
animal of prey that comes into view. Why does the conscious
experience of sight, though, contain more than the semantic
information, which is of immediate importance for the sur
vival of the seeing person; namely, an extravagant profusion
of design? It is probably part of the evolutionary process
vision that there is always more at one's disposal in the lit Id
of vision than is needed immediately.
These days, in a large part of the human environment,
formation is only rarely produced that triggers emergent
measures for the purpose of survival. If somebods
ders peacefully through the woods in central Europe,u
it is unlikely that a dangerous feline predator will he
ing among the branches. The many-facetted patterns
twigs and leaves are not interference that is cosering
essential signal, but contribute to the contemplate nn^
of the viewer. Thus, the motivation has changed. ^
the point of view of information theory was disruptive'-'' -
before, is now interesting information. Whereas w a
rectly meaningful is now often communicated
simply constructed signs (lightning flashes that an"^j
a thunderstorm, the color of a traffic light), thec0 ^[Con.
quality of the proportion of information whie 0 ^
tain warning signals builds a store of complex c ^^vej.
evidently represents one of the preconditions or
opment of art and science. Perhaps the forms 0 ^^^
proportion of information still have to be
sciousness because otherwise they would not e .1
further evolution. ( comp|exio
In recent years, awareness has increase t ^.cU|arjn
- complex information - is a phenomenon op ^^
dependence. Developments in many discif
 Nees • Computer Graphics

iributed to this: mathematical logic, abstract mathematics,
abstract painting, symbol theory, Gestalt theory, morphol­
ogy, structuralist linguistics, information theory, and also the
construction of complex machines, particularly electronic
computers, whereby these machines initiated the develop­
ment of programming theory. When today one speaks about
a complex structure that is important for a particular branch
ofknowledge, in most cases one tries to complement the spo­
ken word by showing a model of the structure being referred
to, whereby the model is routinely an arrangement of indi­
visible basic building elements that relate to each other. Be­
cause the basic building elements represent certain elemen­
tary statements, for example, the statement that at this point
in the model of a grammatical sentence a noun can stand,
comes just in the nick of time and even proves indispens­
able. In this essay, I shall substantiate the assertion that an
aesthetic laboratory can be built up around the computer in
which models of aesthetic information can be constructed
and studied. Modeling aesthetics is still in its infancy, so for
this reason, all that can be done is to elaborate simple ex­
amples to show the mode of working in an aesthetic labora­
tory in the manner that it is done at the moment and how it
can be perfected in the future. It can be assumed that com­
puter graphics will gain in importance for cognitive psychol­
ogy, about the quantitative information theory of which we
know quite a lot through Helmar Frank, for example.5
i. Visual Complexity in Models

the basic statements themselves are nothing but signs, and
the entire model is a complex sign. To develop and visualize
models whose degree of complexity can comprise ten to one
hundred thousand basic building elements, today one uses
electronic computers.
II a model is constructed in a particular scientific disci­
pline, then the information that the model contains is impor­
tant to that discipline. Scientifically important information
"be grouped together with directly useful information, to
hich warning information mentioned above belongs,
under semantic information." Complementary to semantic
information is the residual information that is at first mean­
ness but usually very complex, which is a part of the infor-
7°"that is free of warning signals. The science of this re-
ua information would then be a theory of pure cognition.
ne understands aesthetic" in the original meaning of the
.J asathe°ry of pure cognition, then aesthetics is the sci-
|]Q ° n°n semant'c '"formation. This is precisely the posi-
o information aesthetics as represented by Max Bense1,
3m ^°'es2> and Helmar Frank3. Information aes-
^ncomPasses theory of the information that
11V_/11 111 Cl l em-
111
The electronic computer has been called a complexity tele­
scope because it renders facts visible, resolvable, and termi-
nologically manageable, which before it was invented were
not accessible to rational analysis. As examples may be men­
tioned the sufficiently exact calculation of the stream of neu­
trons in a nuclear reactor and the circulation of traffic in a
city, whereby both nuclear reactor and city do not necessar­
ily have to be in existence.
It is a particular type of electronic computer that is be­
coming ever more closely associated with all scientific, tech­
nical, and economic processes: the program-controlled com­
puter. In its "memory," programs and data are stored that it
processes step by step. The program-controlled computer
contains a processing unit which executes the commands
of the program consecutively. The system of memory and
processing unit is supplemented with features that are often
referred to as receptors and effectors. Through the receptors,
the computer enters information from its environment: fur­
ther data, which it needs during the running of the program,
and even further programs. Through the effectors, the com­
puter influences its environment: it prints out results or di­

dassic 7artWor'(S; l^at >s»'t comprises a new version of rectly operates switches and valves in technical arrays. Re­

forinf St et'CS ^ense ^as provided a philosophical basis ceptors and effectors are information channels at the end of
information aesthetics. which something to do with energy occurs: for example, tem­
Models as wp h peratures are measured or tools controlled. A program-con-
p)eX inf • 8Ve Seen> serve a ^presentation of com-
trolled electronic computer is a functional unit, which is con­
^ualizatj013''011 ^0ni 3 researcfr lfrat's 'inked with
nected to its environment and thereby processes data; thus, it
10 make use ^°U'C'nt a'so information aesthetics be able
does not only compute. This is why the term "data process­
•ion that if60 ,Certa'n moc'eling techniques? The informa-
ing equipment" (DPE) for the program-controlled computer
P^rsinthe ^ m°^e' 'S aestfretic information that ap-
10 model
t|^
m'r0nment' nature, and art. It would also need has become common.
The idea suggests itself of using the DPE to guide a me­
'^etic inform ^r°CeSSUa' nature of the appearance of aes-
chanical arm to which a drawing pen is attached. A device
inforniat'°n W'lere^ process is understood as time-
constructed in this way is known as an automatic plotter.
c°mpu The DPE either transmits its control pulses directly to the ac-
ter 7* ^knique for information aesthetics is
elements of the automatic plotter, or it punches out
'^informa''^ ^ecause ^e visual complexity of aes- tuating
a punched tape which can be scanned by the control unit of
^nthesizing 0°" t0° mucfr f°r the analytical and
the plotter.' A system consisting of DPE and plotter is the
Paper, the e\ Her °^a human being with just pencil and
tronic calculating machine (the computer) tool one needs for machine-based production of graphics.
 b i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 2 • 1968
Each graphic is produced by a program that is stored in the
memory of the DPE and which has to be executed by the
computer unit.
For sure nobody doubts that the DPE can draw a square,
and then draw a second square in the first whose sides are
95 percent of the length of the sides of the first square (and
parallel to them), and so on. In the program that inserts the
next square into the previous one, a command can be added
whereby the DPE closes itself down when the length of the
sides of a square are less than a specific value. And for sure
nobody would disagree that the nested squares, which are
produced in this way, represent a certain modest aesthetic
fact. A graphic has been generated by a machine. We de­
scribe it as deterministic because it is predictable how the el­
ements of the Gestalt gradually emerge and group. No ran­
dom occurrence intervenes, which could contain surprising
elements. One could even do away with the visualization of
this graphic, because everyone can imagine it clearly. All the
same the DPE demonstrates even in such a simple example
that it lends itself to processing systems of signs with many
details, even to synthesizing such systems. For this reason,
the appellation "complexity telescope" is actually too narrow
for the DPE; one could just as well call it a complexity source.
Chance7 holds surprises, sometimes unwelcome ones, and
often ones that have not been factored in. This is why at first
glance it does not seem to fit the way a DPE functions, where
each step results logically and transparently from the pre­
vious one. However, if one nevertheless wants to generate
graphics mechanically in which chance plays a role, that is,
which are not entirely planned down to the last detail, one
can attempt at first to let chance happen before the work
with the machine begins. Figure i was created in this way.
Without making many trials, a sort of curved line was
drawn on millimeter paper. The coordinate values of the
curve at its points were taken and written down in a list. Af­
ter reading this list, the DPE only had the task of interpret­
ing the sequence of pairs of coordinates as a curve and to add
two "arms" with a constant angle of spread at each point of
the curve.
However, computer graphics can contain the element of
chance in another way; namely, not in the form, but in the
aesthetic material; for example, as in figure 2.
This graphic was produced by the DPE drawing se­
cants in a virtual circle in such a way that each secant cuts
the horizontal diameter of the circle. One can also make an
imperative version of the description of the graphic formu­
lated in this way and thus transform it into a program for the
DPE: "On the horizontal diameter of the virtual circle select
the position of a point at random and draw through it a se­
cant with random inclination; repeat this operation k times."
The value of k, for example, k = 100, must be determined be­
fore running the program. What is, then, the practical op­
erative meaning of the term "chance" in the program? Ho*
does the DPE solve a chance event, like the designation of a
random size of angle, in the instant that it requires it? There
are several technical solutions of this problem. One of them
has a certain elegance in that it substitutes "pseudorandom-
ness" for chance, which the DPE, which is able to calculate
then calculates.
The procedure for calculating random numbers func­
tions as follows: one designates three powers of 2 that fol­
low each other, like 128, 256, and 512. Suppose, for a moment,
that one already has a series of random numbers and / is the
last number of the series: one could obtain a further ran­
dom number by first multiplying / by 5, and then through
successive subtraction of 128, 256, and 512 one could reduce
it to below 128. If 127 is the first random number of the series,
say, then S times 127 minus 512 makes 123, which is smaller
than 128, and can therefore be the second random number of
the series. In the next step, one obtains 123 times 5 minus512
equals 103, in the step after that 103 times 5 minus 512 equals
3, then 3 times 5 equals 15, then 15 times 5 equals 75, and so
on. Thus, the first six random numbers in the series are 127,
123, 103, 3, 5, 75. If one needs random numbers in a different
interval from o to 128, one multiplies the values calculated
originally with a constant factor. However, the random series
soon begins to repeat itself when the exponents of the three
powers of two designated at the beginning are too small
But all difficulties disappear, and one gets sufficiently will
distributed random numbers if one uses the powers of
2147483648, 429467296, and 8589934592. which were used
generate the graphics depicted in this essay.8 The program
for generating random numbers is known as a random ge
erator. The DPE activates the random generator each tin1
requires a new random number. .
Before taking a closer look at the structural propertte
figure 2, let us clear up a common misconception: Figurt^
are aesthetic objects, but they are not artworks, they are
from the standpoint elaborated here, as models 0 arr^1U(
Thus, art is not being created, we are at most reflecting
<irt
Aesthetic objects and artworks as special aest ^ ^
jects are units of aesthetic information. As eur\ pi
formation consists of - simply or comP'eX'^.C°oarj |,or-
- signs, each aesthetic object is a sign. If we
derline cases, the analysis of which can be \ery ^^
(for example, Kazimir Malevich's "Black Square ^ ^^
has four corners) then aesthetic objects are co^ ^ ^
signs. Max Bense has pointed out that wit ^ ^in­
formation that is conveyed to the viewer p^r
communication, one can discern a certain aes ^ ^
tion that Bense terms innovation.9 If °ne 00^
that depicts a rose, the insight that this is 3 ^ view*
tic information: this rose signifies itself anc gi
 Nees • Computer Graphics 323

Georg Nees
Georg Nees
•fcJW (Untitled]
o h n e T i t e l [Untitled!
"45-1968
1965-1968
Suter-generaied drawing, ink on paper Computer-generated drawing, ink on paper
•'**u cm
29.9 x 21.2 cm
Siemens 2002, ZUSE Graphomat Z64
framed in ALGOL
Programmed in ALGOL
^ucfd at Siemens, Erlangen
Produced at Siemens, Erlangen
^MSU Zagreb
A »-<• l-» iff \/1 ^11 7iicreh

tire oeuvre of a particular artist (for example, Pablo Picasso's

^torrah^h'131 " ^ * r°Se' ^6t' b°W rose Presents 't_

unjqUe ^oer„ ow Pa>nter represents it - this perfect and Blue Period), the style of this collective is very important in­

extreme! ^^ 'nnovation in the picture. Innovation is formation for the analysis of the artist's work.
Let us return to figure 2. What connection exists between
bflityiha!-*'^11 'S ^ense saYs that the proba-
the structural characteristics of this figure and the structure
^is when ^ COme^ at a" 's virtually zero. One realizes
Wa>sdestro 06 C°ns^ers of the program that generated it? First, it can be stated that
that this fragile "how" is almost al-
the k edges of the circle, which the program demanded, are
processfor ,u^ 3 P'cture's copied by hand - a painful
all there. And that is the beginning and end of the direct cor­
Supp,emenetaeSthetiCaI,y °bserVer*
relations between program and graphic. For the many inter­
aesthetic3^ "°^'nnovat'on's t^le sty'e information
Cause °ie
sections of lines, sections of lines, polygons, angles, star- and
can"" f^ects" ^'e's not an explicit concept be-
styie of
bundle-like partial figures, as well as the myriad relations be­
a pait'^ ^ l° St^e an ePoch hut a'so to the
tween all these picture elements exceeds the human capabil­
^,0$^ 3rt'St' ^bus' ^or theory it is expedient
ities of completely grasping visual complexity. One thinks of
of a collective ^^ W^'c^ ls repeated in each example
aesthetic objects. If the collective is the en­ the incongruity between the short text of the program and
 h i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l 2 • 1968

a completely written out catalog of all picture elements and

their interrelations. To remark, in conclusion, that it is rather
banal that a motley heap of straight lines thrown together re­
sults in a hodge-podge of details, is only acceptable if one is
not further interested in the complex of signs that has been
generated.
Apperception - which means the understanding reception
of complexity - does require a certain mindset. The aestheti-
cian, as the theorist of non-semantic information, is tuned to
visual complexity that is otherwise superfluous. Were figure 2
the image field of a microscope filled with filaments, it would
have no physiological meaning for the aesthetician.
Thus, one is given the entire richness of detail in figure 2
when one lets the DPE run the simple program, which is
described above. The DPE is a complexity amplifier. At the
same time it must be admitted that the programmer has a
certain, if only vague notion about the result when he writes
the program. Because the programmer is in complete control
of the programs structure, the image generated by the ma­
chine is the result of the interplay between program struc­
ture and the function of random generators, which during
the running of the program provide the range of dispersion
of the geometric parameters - in this case, the position and
inclination of the secants (in general one uses independently
running random generators for the individual parameters in
the program).

Incidentally, all three images teach us that the information

gained in the aesthetic laboratory can exhibit the same de­ Fig. 3

gree of complexity as that encountered in the field of infor­

mation aesthetics. Thus, a purely dissecting investigation of Georg Nees
artificially generated pictorial information, which captures [Untitled]
ohne Titel
1965-1968
descriptively parts and relations between parts, has its lim­
Computer-generated drawing, ink on paper
its. Even aesthetic information produced by machines can 29.9 x 21.2 cm

be structurally "relatively transcendent" for the human ap­ S i e m e n s 2 0 0 2 , Z U S E G r a p h o m a t Z64

Programmed in ALGOL
perception apparatus; that is, it can exceed the power of vi­
Produced at Siemens, Erlangen
sion and enumerative description. The idea that aesthetic Archive MSU Zagreb

information is of a static nature pervades the entire aesthet­

ics of Bense. There is statistics of image structure. One must
attempt to substantiate this assertion with statistical state­
ments about examples of aesthetic information. One could
assign frequency of innovation to innovation, which in­
creases or decreases approximately with the frequency of
area of the individual signs encountered in the picture. Then,
for example, one could discuss whether in general the mean
innovation frequency is somewhat greater in pictures by
Mark Tobey than in pictures by Paul Klee. 10 If the informa­
tion is generated by a machine and its program, which uti­
lize random generators, one can look for relations between
the picture statistics and the way the random generators op­
erate. This demonstrates the direction that further investiga­
tions can take.
2. Style Analysis and Adaptive Induction
In the first section of this essay, the style of a cc 1
described as that which recurs in every exampe
tive of aesthetic objects. With the aid of the DP -
easily produce collectives of graphic units of in
becomes possible to model problems of style. eraie( j|j»'
Figure 3 depicts a collective of figures. Itwas th<
running the same program over and over a g a l "'^ ^ ^ jn ,
random generators operating in the program ^ ^ ^
tiated each time the program was run, but t ^ ner .
terrupted series of random numbers the inno
ates onp figure after another. The program lor*
 Nees • Computer Graphics

is very simple: "Scatter thirty dots at random in a rectangu­ itself, but a program that is capable of generating examples
lar frame, join up each dot to the one after via a right angle of a style. If it were possible to read off special anthropolog­
and parallel to the sides of the rectangular frame; however, ically relevant characteristics from this program, one might
in the case of the tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth dot deviate even arrive at interesting statements about the person whose
from this rule and join up the tenth to the eleventh, the twen­ work is modeled by the program.
tieth to the twenty-first, and the thirtieth to the first with a
straight line."
Instead of just twenty-five figures, if one invested more Georg Nees completed his Ph. D. thesis in 1969 and published it t he same year

time one could have generated a few thousand figures
out there being any repetition. Thus, computerized drawing
enables the inexpensive production of a great number of var­
iants on a gestalt theme. This is, of course, of practical rele­
vance for design. Suppose one is looking for a particularly
interesting or exciting figure as source material for an adver­
tising poster using the program of figure 3. One can let the
DPE generate figures until one finds a suitable figure,
then one selects it. This is an entirely legal design procedure,
which, for example, before the DPE was invented, was used
bv lohann Wolfgang von Goethe when he availed himself of
a collection ofsynonyms. A more plausible example than the
series in figure 3 would be the design of shapes of vases or
•veaving patterns through automatically generating sketches
with a program.
Independent of the practical application the method of
generating variants on a theme is a means of model-based
study of styles. If one extrapolates from the example of vase
forms and enquires, for example, as to the style character-
®ics in the work of artist X, who designed vases in the Em-
P're period, one has a problem of the kind I am referring to.
e could write a preliminary program, generate a series of
ctures with it, and then compare the series of pictures with
mples of the artists work. In this case, one would be com-
P ng the sty les of two collectives. If the results of the com-
jnson, which would be entirely dependent on the criterion
•' least''d*" SenS't'V'ty person doing the comparing (or
ependent as long as such a comparison cannot be
ognitM ^ 3 trough machine-based pattern rec-
-ram n'3re ne^at've' one would have to change the pro-
One would ^'Ctures' anc^ make new comparisons.
adaptat' ^r°Cee^ 'n manner until, through step-wise
with­ u n d e r t h e title Generative Computergraphik [Generative Computer Graphics]
(Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin, Munich).
Max B e n s e.Aesthetica 1, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1954.
Max Bense, Aesthetica. Einfuhrung in die neue Aesthetik, Agis, Baden-Baden,
1965.
Abraham A. Moles, Theorie de I'information et perception esthetique, Flammarion,
Paris, 1958.
Helmar Frank, Grundlagenprobleme der Informationsdsthetik und erste
Anwendung auf die mime pure, Ph.D. thesis, Stuttgart, 1959.
and See: Georg Nees,"Statistische Grafik," in: Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und
Geisteswissenschaft, vol. 5, no. 3/4 December 1964, pp. 67f. Georg Nees,
"Variationen von Figuren in der statistischen Grafik," in: Grundlagenstudien aus
Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft, vol. 5, no. 3/4 December 1964, pp. 121-125.
See: Helmar Frank, Kybernetische Analysen subjektiver Sachverhalte, Schnelle,
Q u i c k b o r n , 1964.
Figures 1 - 3 were generated with a Siemens computer a n d a ZUSE Graphomat
plotter.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h e G e r m a n word Zufall is used both in t he general sense
of "chance" a n d in t h e s e n s e of "randomness" a s used in computational
science a n d statistics.
See: Peter G . Behrenz,"Collected Algorithms from CACM," in: Algorithm 133:
Random, ACM, New York, 1962.
See: Bense 1954.
Here, t h e r e is a certain analogy to statistical analysis of literary style; see:
Wilhelm Fucks,"Mathematische Analyse des literarischen Stils," in:
Studium Generate, vol. 6. no. 9, Springer, Berlin, Gottingen, Heidelberg, 1963,
pp. 506-523.
11 Editorial n o t e : George David Birkhoff developed his idea of the aesthetic
m e a s u r e a l s o with regard to t h e form of vases. See: George David Birkhoff,
"Quelques elements mathematiques de Fart," in: Atti del Congresso
Internazionale dei Matematici, Bologna, 3 - 1 0 Settembre 1928, vol. 1, Nicola
Zanichelli, Bologna, 1929, pp. 315-333.

'weetith.'1 ^ aC^'evec* sat'sfactory similarity of style be-

Program th"0^' ^'CtUres anc* vases of artist X. The final
callus 31 'S VVr'tten cou'd then be viewed methodologi-
Pimstyle Th^' °^e creat've process of Master X of Em-
analys jg C Pract'ca' execution of such a process of style
is

''ngaesthetj01 'nC'U^ec* ^ere an(^ ls on agenda of mode-

Respo
ductjvg Cog t0 St^'e's nothing other than an example of in­
fo sty|eofa l0t| Process °f'step-wise approximation of
artworks c ° eCt'°n m°dels to the style of a collection
Con,eofada °U • terrnec^ Captive induction. The out-

P lve induction, however, would not be the style

bit international3. internacionalni kolokvij kompjuteri i vizuelna

istrazivanja, zagreb, 3-4 kolovoz 1968

bit international3. international colloquy computers and visual

research, zagreb, august 3-41968

1968

Magazine
 327

bit international 3. international

colloquy computers and visual
research, zagreb, august 3-4 1968
1968
Magazine cover
Editors: Boris Kelemen
and Radoslav Putar
Design: Ivan Picelj
Archive MSU Zagreb
 hk-fchk-fchk-fc bit international br. no. 3 1968.

Sadrzaj Table of Contents

Abraham A. Moles Abraham A, Motes

Uvodna rijei Introduction
na kolokviju 3 coiloque
Marc Adrian Marc Adrian
BiljeSke Notizen
uz t-4 zu t-4
Vjenceslav Richter Vjenceslav Richter
Dilema Dilemma
Alberto Biasi Alberto Biasi
Situacija 1967 Situazione 1967
Frieder Nake Frieder Nake
odgovor replik
a. biasiu an a. biasi
Matko Mestrovic Matko Mestrovic
0 situaciji The situation
nt of nt
Vladimir Bonalii Vladimir Bonalic
Mogucnosti Possibilities
kompjutera for computer
u vizuelnim applications
istraiivanjima in visual
research
Vladimir Muljevii Vladimir Muljevii
Koje su What are
dodirne taike the points
izmedu of contact
kompjutera between computer
1 umjetnika? and artist?
Izdavai/Publisher Bolo Telak Boio Telak
Galerijc grada Zagreba O kompleksnosti On complexity
vizuelnih of visual
Katarinin trg 2 istrafivanja research

Branimir Makanec Branimir Makanec

Uloga interakcije The role of
u urnjetni'kom interaction
izraiavanju in artistic
pomocu kompjutera expression
by means
of computer

Zdenko Stenberg Zdenko Sternberg

... sadafnje . . . the present
moguifnosti possibilities
impliciraju potrcbu imply the necessity
brfeg produbljivanja of an urgent
spoznaja o prirodi accumulation
kreativnog process ... of knowledge
about the creative
process...

Abraham A. Moles Abraham A. Moles

Odgovor ing. Stenbergu Replying to
eng. Sternberg

Jiri Valoch Jiri Valoch hit international 3. inumitioMl

Kompjutcr — Computer als
stvaralac ili Schopfer oder colloquy computers and msua
orudc Werkzeug
research, zagreb, august 3-4
Kurd Alsleben Kurd Alsleben
Uvodna razmifljanja Voriiberlegungen 1968
uz algoritmiiko zum algorithmischen
senzificiranje Sensifizieren Contenis

Herbert W. Franke Herbert W. Franke Editors: Boris Kelemen

Uvodna rijei Einfiihrung zur
and Radoslav Putar
k izloibi Ausstellung
• Kompjuterska grafika- •Computegraphik- Design: Ivan Piceli
Leslie Mezei Leslie Mezei Archive MSU Zagreb
Kompjuterska umjetnost Computers rt

Informacije
Bibliografija (nastavak)
Informations
The articles in bit internet'0"'1
Bibliography (continued)
thai document the colloqu)
"Kompjuteri i vizuelna istra

are reprinted on pp-

volume.
tendencies 4
bit international 4-6

1969
tendencije 4. nove tendencije 4

tendencies 4. new tendencies 4

May 5 - June 30,1969

•
Exhibition

Muzej za umjetnost i obrt [Museum for Arts

and Crafts], Zagreb
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^'hf festivaltendencije 4/tendencies 4, the Galerija

^jrowwumjetiios,! (Gallery ofContemporary

fcrCuln' C T" ^ kU',UrU ' inforrnaci)e (Center

re and Information), the Galerija

®B»i( Cemra |Sluden,s Center Gallery], the

the Inte/ en'Cr0fthe Ruder Bo5kovic Institute,

fntema,i3C'°"a stalna izlozba publikacija
M,lic . °n, ermane"i Exhibition of

^;:a|tP-e Yugoslav sec'i°n Of AICA

uumjetnosti ' "aIlon of ArI Critics), the Muzej

*N»«W deDa° " eUm ^ A"S and Craftsl>

•^rr,,ore-,heRad"^
*^1. the TehnYW3116 'W°rkers University MoSa
^.a„dt k'mUZei[Tech"i«lMuseu
m|

^ E„ ^nS,,,U,e0fSi^'Messing and

^intering auk'Hf, he Pacu'ty of Electrical

:g8§g:ssssssIsssss:s§s:::ssgsSo
"831 the University of Zagreb.

..o.oo.o.

tendencije 4 tendencies 4
pr-'" kompjuten ivizualna istrazivanja
5.5-31.8.1969.
galerija suvremene umjetnosti
katannin trg 2
I nova
5.5 - 15..b.Wba.
muzej za umietnost i oon
trg marsala Ufa 10
I

|
typoezija
6.5- 5.6.1969.
galerija studentskog centra
savska cesta 25
eb
I

[
publikaciie i knjige
6.5-5.6.1969.
isip
savska cesta 18
zagreb
zagreb ' zagreb
8 Pur,ched paper tape_
3J2 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

Participants in the Exhibition

retrospektiva nti-nt)/retrospective nli-ntj

Marc Adrian |AT] • Getulio Alviani [IT| • Vojin Bakic [YUIHRI]

• Alberto Biasi [IT] • Gianni Colombo [IT) • Toni Costa[IT| • Gabritlt
D e v e c c h i I IT) • J u r a j Dobrovic [YU (HR)[ • Michel Fadai |FR| •
R u d o l f K a m m e r [ D E ] • Julije Knifer [YU <HR)] • Vlado Kristl|YU«HR-
• Julio Le Pare [AR/FR] • Heinz Mack [DEJ • Manfredo Massironi 11 •
A l m i r M a v i g n i e r I BR/DE) • Francois Morellet [FR| • HelgaPhilipp A
• Ivan Picelj [YU(HR)1 • Otto Piene [DEI • Karl Reinhartz[DE| •
Vjenceslav Richter [YU (HR)| • Paolo Scheggi (IT) • Aleksandar
SrneclYU(HR)] • Miroslav Sutej [YU (HR)1 • SandorSzandai'lHi •
P a u l T a l m a n |CH] • Yvaral [FR|

Participants in the Exhibition

nt4 - recentni primjeri vizuelnih istraiivatija / nt4 - recent examples of
visual research

Anonima Group (Ernst Benkert, Francis Hewitt, Edwin Mieczkowskii

[ALL us| • Marina Apollonio [IT] • Art Research Center (John F.Abbi >
Peter Clapp, Nancy A. Stephens, Thomas Michael Stephens, Jon Bret •

tendencije 4
Thogmartin [ALL US), Philip J. van Voorst [NL/usl) • Otto Beckmann
• Stefan Belohradsky [cs (SK)[ • Alberto Biasi [ITJ • Jiri Bielecki
[cstcz)) • Hartmut Bohm [DE[ • Alessandro Carlini [IT/DEI and
Bernhard Schneider [DEI • Jarmila Cihankova ICS (CZ)| • Boris
Cikalovski [YU (HR)| • Inge Claus-Jansen [DEI • Gianni Colombo •
Waldemar Cordeiro [IT/BR| • Dadamaino [IT] • GabrieleDevecchi
[IT] • Milan Dobes [cstczi] • Juraj Dobrovic [YU (HR)1 • Angel Duar
[ES/CH| • Herbert W. Franke [DE] • Bruno Gambone [IT] • Karl
c*>l.r I. kulluru I tnforitwcl|« (..gnb), gaterl|.
g.l«'l|. ituckntikl ontir Ingnb), •I.klron.ko numarHkl carta', hntltut G e r s t n e r [CH/DE] • R o l f G l a s m e i e r [DE| • Hans Jorg Glattfelder[CH
•ruaar bolkoyiCa lia«rat>). lalp (lagrabl. |uv>ilavar.ka aakd|a a I c a
(raarab), mu»| la um|ainoal i obct (cagrab), na-ma (ia«rab), radnKko
avauSllllta amola pijada. Iiagiab). -ate'aln. camac (lagrab). tabnlikl mua| • Hein Gravenhorst [DE] • Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica(Flavio
(••grab). cared la rapelaclomj I llgnalnu lahniku. al.kt,olabn.(ki lakeltai
( 'agrab)
Casadei, Vittorio D'Augusta, Eugenio Lombardini, Pino Parini, Giorgk
Scarpa, Giulio Tedioli, Antonio Valmaggi) [ALL IT| • Gruppo MID
invitation card • Dieter Hacker [DE] • John Gabriel Harries [GB/IL] • Axel Heibel
[DE] • Jiri H i l m a r [ c z ] • Gottfried Jager I DE] • Raimer Jochims DI
Wolf Kahlen [DE] • Rudolf Kiimmer [DE] • TamaraKlimova|csi«
5 V 1969
• Radoslav Kratina [cz] • Richard Kriesche [AT] • Edoardo
9.00 — 13,00 radnidko sveudililte .mole pijade* symposium »computars and visual
proleterskih brigade 68 research. introductory senior • Wolfgang Ludwig [DE] • Max Hermann Mahlmann IDE] • " R-
17.00 — 18,00 center a kulturu 1 informed je fllma
preradoviceva 5 Mahlmann-Piper UP/DE] • Marcello Morandini [I rl • Maurizi^
19,00 — 21,00 galerlje suvremene umjetnosti exhibition .computers and visual
katarlmn |rg 2 rasaarch* N a n n u c c i [IT] • K o l o m a n Novak [YU (RS>| • Luigi Pezzato IT]
20,00 — 22.00 muze) ra um|atno»t I obrt exhibition .new tendency 4«
. trg marlala tlta 10 Helga Philipp [AT] • Ivan Picelj [YU (HR)1 • Otto Piene IDE] • RAN^

Radovic[YU (RS)] • Karl Reinhartz IDE] • Vjenceslav Ric terl

9.00 — 13.00 rednldko sveudiliite .mole pijade. symposium .computers and visual
proleterskih brigade 68 research, morning session
16.00 — 19.00
• Bernhard Sandfort [DE]
radnidko sveudiliite »moia pt|ada« symposium .computers and visual^
prolatarskih brigada 68 research, afternoon session
19.00 — 21.00 lalp exhibition publications and books
sevska casta 18
20.00 — 22.00 galarija studentskog cant ra exhibition .typoezijae
tavska casta 25

9,00 — 13.00
radnldko sveulillfte .moia pl(ade« symposium .computers and visual
prolatarskih brigada 68 research, morning session and
concluding remarks

• 1
Exhibition catalog
tendencije 41 tendencies 4

1970
Design: Ivan Picelj
MSU Zagreb
•2
Invitation with program
tendencije 41 tendencies

1969
Archive MSU Zag«
 Exhibition • Zagreb

^slTie,n°Stiobrt'Za8reb 2 2 / 6 7 b y R u d o l f K i i n i m e r , metastatisches system

' J u n e 3 0 , 1969
[Metastatic System] by Bernhard Sandfort,
a n d Lochblendenstrukturen [ P i n h o l e S t r u c t u r e s ] b y
''""ion view$ nu
t ~reCen,ni Primi"ri vizuelnih Gottfried Jager (on the wall, from left), as well as
ecWf examples of visual research Ondulaciona prostorna struktura [ U n d u l a t i n g S p a t i a l
Structure] by Vjenceslav Richter, Molekularna
struktura K - P [ M o l e c u l a r S t r u c t u r e K-P] b y B o r i s
Cikalovski, No. I by Giorgio Scarpa, and [-]
,C 1 (\ \
68/2 by Karl Reinhartz and works by Klaus Staudi
(on the wall, from left), as well as Svjetlouw '
(Shapes of Light 5| by Vojin Bakic, Metal

by Stefan Belohradsky, Occultamento [Conceam •

by Maurizio Nannucci, and 6807by Helga r

Variabile HG [Variable HG] by Grazia Vuisc*^

netic Object With Light by Luigi Pezza.o, *-
(Instability) by Yvaral, \-\,Superf'c'ea lt*
vibratice by Getulio Alviani, (-). Qufl 0

(Square + Circle) by Edoardo Landi, -I- - ^

sticks by Radoslav Kratina, Povriwa ur ^
IvanPice.j.£7AbyAnge.Duarte,anW

Structure by Radoslav Kratina ( ac . _

different versions of
Object) by Dieter Hacker and Glowfleut

Piene (front)

•3 u tfHS 0
Research Center (ARC), Kansas: ,
Art
ie Chain by Nancy A. Stepbeis ( ro ;
omplex Curved Plane Spaceby Thom
 Anonymous • tendencies 4

Anonymous
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4

In the tendencije 41 tendencies 4 catalog, published in 1970,
no authors are cited for the text reprinted here. In all
probability, this general introduction was written by ed­
itor in chief Bozo Bek and the two other editors of the
catalog, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar. A far larger
group of people, however, were involved in developing
the concept of tendencies 4. The organization committee
included Dimitrije Basicevic, Bozo Bek, Vladimir Bonacic,
Boris Kelemen, Branimir Makanec, Matko Mestrovic, Les­
lie Mezei, Abraham A. Moles, Vladimir Muljevic, Frieder
^'ake, Ivan Picelj, Radoslav Putar, Vjenceslav Richter,
ZdenkoSternberg, Bozo Tezak, and Jin Valoch. The mem­
bers of the executive committee were Basicevic, Bek, Kele­
men, Mestrovic, Picelj, Putar, and Richter.
'Originally published in tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija
su \remene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.]
jssical art exhibitions are inadequate for the currently de-
of-J ° neC( ^ '° r a P' a s d c culture. The idea and the program
3. to offer basic information on the possibilities and the var­
ious implications of working with computers and in vi­
sual research (technological, aesthetic, psychological, so­
ciological, and other issues);
4. to start intense and organized efforts in the utilization of
computers, and particularly in visual research with the
aid of computers;
5. to initiate new forms of work, which will bring together
individuals, groups, and institutions in international co­
operation in the field of computers and visual research;
6. to observe new fields of research and new technological
possibilities.
To realize this complex and ambitious plan, the organizers
of tendencies 4 have brought together a large number of in­
dividuals, groups, and institutions both from Yugoslavia and
abroad. Many documents have also been collected. All that
has been done so far, and all that has been preserved in ac­
tual and written documents from the exhibition and confer­
ences is in accordance with the aims of the organizers, di­

alized k a ^^ t e n ^ e n c ' e s 4' were conceived, prepared, and re- rected towards the future and the opportunities it offers. The
organizers of tendencies 4 thank all their friends and co-work­
Proie 6ef ^'S 'S m'nC*' For l^is reason' (he tendencies 4
August nC U ^ S V a r ' o u s e x hibitions that took place from ers, as well as the groups and institutions involved, who with
not restri ^ U n t "^ u ^ u s t ^ 0 ' J 969. 2
The program, however, is their creative efforts have helped to realize what has been
%€re fC t0 t'lese ^tes. It is open to earlier activities that conceived.
tUr eactivi Un 7 t^C name 'New Tendencies," and to all fu-
and extend' 65 ' ^ ProPaSat'ng
Editorial note: The authors originally used, both in Croatian and English,
sual research W ' t ^ 1 m a c hines" in the area of vi-
the abbreviation 1-4.
agte^ent 6 P r o 8 r a m ' n c 'udes a series of international
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : O r i g i n a l l y , tendencies 4 w a s n o t p l a n n e d a s a b i e n n i a l e v e n t .
sev era |p M-.seminars,
• and exhibitions,
exnioitions, and has resulted
rest in In April 1968. the organizers planned various exhibitions for tendencies 4.
which were all scheduled to take place in the summer of 1968: homage to nt.
In this -' C a t l ° n S m t h e Periodical bit international.
computers and visual research, computers and their possibilities, literature about
orpam,
lhe organi; , c pussiDiiuies at c o m p u t e r s a n d v i s u a l r e s e a r c h . A t t e n d e n c i j e 5 1t e n d e n c i e s 5 , s c h e d u l e d f o r
As has ° tendencies 4 have been used. A u g u s t 1 9 6 9 , it w a s p l a n n e d t o p r e s e n t t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n o n
As has alread "* " a v c u c c " u s e u -
arat ionsfo l n c ^ c a t e d ' n documents during prep- visual research and computers.
fo;r

^crmmuentNewTendencies(NT)^
'•onalnv, U'tS t0

^ Ur t n g the d U t U a '
^3te 'n

r e ' a t '°ns
development of the interna-

and the experience gained

' n 8then«r,-LM e ' 0 ^ ment f he New Tendencies, includ-
^ties offered by computers;
 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969
Radoslav Putar
New Tendencies 4
The art historian and critic Radoslav Putar, who gradu­
ated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of
Zagreb in 1949 and taught there as assistant lecturer un­
til 1961, became curator of the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt
[Museum for Arts and Craft] in Zagreb in 1962. In 1964
he left the museum to head the information department
of the Centar za industrijsko oblikovanje [Center for In­
dustrial Design] (CIO), but returned there already one
year later. His institution cooperated with the Galerija su-
vremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art] on
tendencije 4/ tendencies 4, the gallery where the nove ten-
dencije 4 / new tendencies 4 exhibition took place.
[Originally published in tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.]
(...] a n d that in the future the development of messages and communication
facilities, messages between man a n d machines, between machines a n d man, and
between machine and machine, are destined to play a n ever-increasing part."'
Norbert Wiener
Now, nearly ten years after the New Tendencies set out, in
retrospect quite a clear view can be gained of what has hap­
pened under the name of New Tendencies. The volume of
events is considerable, and it is already a certainty today that,
within the wider picture, these events have acquired a not in­
significant historical stature. Although the New Tendencies
have not been overly fortunate, it is with relative satisfaction
that we can claim the indubitable fact that the germ of the
phenomenon was conceived, developed, and that it started
transmitting its contents from a place in our surroundings. It
is necessary to give prominence to this statement, since there
aie already signs that provincial delimitations on the one
hand and cultural imperialism on the other are trying, rather
aggressively, to wrap this fact in a fog of silence and prepar­
ing it tor final negation.
But, against all the subjective interests concerning the in­
terpretation ot a significant historical episode, it is obvious
that a constellation of ideas, whose popularity is not dying
out yet, was the issue. Certainly, all systems are determined
by time coordinates of their own, and we could not support
all the statements and gestures that appeared on (he stage
of the New Tendencies, nor could we raise the banner that
had the principles of certain production methods inscribed
on it. And yet it is clear enough now, that "it is wrong to be
lieve that the New Tendencies are a style or a mannerismand
compare them with stylistic phenomena such as Cubism or
peinture informelle. Instead, that which has penetrated gen
eral consciousness and which has had effects under the
name New Tendencies, from i960 to the present, seems to k
a component of a larger intellectual movement that is closeh
connected with the general reconstruction of a humanistic
world view and its ultimate secularization. 1
The New Tendencies sprang out of a diffuse state; at one
stage they strove energetically to condense and even cr\ ta
lize into a group movement (in the narrow sense of the wc
so that the participants of the movement might sit out
action, united in their volition and convinced of the r
ness of their methods. In fact, the New Tendencies meant
entire complex of yearnings, mutually linked throug ^
consequences; but this does not contradict the clarit> ^
general orientation which was dominant within t e
work of the New Tendencies. This dominance, ho\\e\e ^ ^
and restless it might have been, has never been ^
the fact that the movement did not manage to c°n"
into a compact front. This is clearly reflected in t ^
sition of the activities and events, which were c o n c ^ ^ j n
variety of ways and of varying scope at different 1
the development of the movement. ^
The most synthetic definition, which at t e^ ^
gives a clear evaluation, was provided by Abra ^
at the international colloquy which paved 1 e ^ u y e || c Ten
c i j e 4 1t e n d e n c i e s 4 : " T h e r e f o r e , t h e r o l e o f t 0 f w f i 3 t
dance consists first in development in the it ^ ( . m e a n jn
o n e c a n c a l l t h em o s tm o d e r n .B u t i ti sa t t e ^ i n ­
tegrating activity, which is to say that the m ^ cts0 fcpn
sizes a great number of varied and necessary ,utj0n k
temporary art. Lastly, it is part of a sociocu t
 Putar • New Tendencies 4

its preoccupation, prevalent within the New Tendency, with
asocial problem, namely, the relationship between art and soci-
dt/. This has been at the center of its preoccupations.
The New Tendency has put the emphasis on change and
the analysis of change: research has been taken as far as pos­
sible. In particular, it has been able to differentiate between
what may be termed a trial and an experiment, things too eas­
ily confused until recently in modern art, where too many
artists have indulged in a rather Dionysian, freakish creative
blossoming, in which the crucial idea of rigor has too often
been neglected. [...]
From the point of view of a psychology and a sociology
of an, it is perhaps one of the essential contributions of the
New Tendency that is has pointed up this difference between
experimentation and random trials, and that it has placed an
emphasis on experimentation to the detriment of trials that
lead nowhere - even successful ones." 3
But, since the New Tendencies were completely turned
towards the future and since they carried in them the ele­
ments of this future, it was in themselves that the negation
of their existence was conceived. At the same moment as the
retrospective tendencies 4, the fourth exhibition of the New
Tendencies, exposed the contents of the "movement," which
bad started to penetrate the established visual art culture
1 'he bourgeois world, the same contents, despite an out-
ar d appearance of crisis, were transformed in a leap into a
new, lively, fruitful stage of symbiosis with machines. Moles
id ihis e\en earlier: Machines "have discretely invaded
. u |or'd or m o r e precisely, the world of our thoughts. Cer-
S energy-based machines, of which the automobile is
m ° St o n e r o u s example, have a very limited discretion:
j w constamly aware of their presence, take them into ac-
[ [ )e ° Ur P' a n s ' a n d refer to the industrial revolution and
n
*illfncr" m a n ^ U t ' 1 e n c e ^ o r t ^' information machines
of the singular and the irreproducible creative act of an in­
dividual genius; they talked of team work which would per­
form instances of visualization of plastic ideas; many fol­
lowers of the New Tendencies have tried to give their work
the habits of a machine, or else they have based their pro­
cedures on the use of mechanical or electrical devices; they
have all dreamed of the machines - and now the machines
have arrived. And they have arrived from a direction which
was somewhat unexpected, and accompanied by people who
are neither painters nor sculptors...
Even more: the machines have, as it were, proposed the
possibility of assignments and of solutions which the follow­
ers of the New Tendencies did not take into account. Every­
thing has been shifted sideways, and everything has been il­
luminated by a new light which we had not anticipated. And
yet there are threads linking the events within the framework
of the New Tendencies and the new stage dominated by com­
puters. Although it might seem that a tradition choked in its
own projection of futurity has been brutally brought to an
end, its positive negation is possible: through a new effort of
organized incursion into the unknown. It remains to be seen
whether the ground will stand it. The challenge this oppor­
tunity brings is great.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : N o r b e r t W i e n e r , The Human Use of Human Beings. Cybernetics
a n d S o c i e t y , s e c o n d r e v i s e d e d i t i o n , D o u b l e d a y , G a r d e n C i t y , NY, 1 9 5 4 , p . 1 6 .
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : M a r c A d r i a n , " B i l j e s k e u z t - 4 " / " N o t i z e n z u t-4," i n :
bit international 3, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada
Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968; translated from the German; this volume, p. 277.
Editorial note: Abraham A. Moles,"Uvodna rijec na kolokviju"/
"Introduction a colloque." in: bit international 3, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav
P u t a r ( e d s . ) , G a l e r i j e g r a d a Z a g r e b a , Z a g r e b , 1 9 6 8 , p p . 5f.; t r a n s l a t e d f r o m
the French; this volume, p. 264.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : A b r a h a m A . M o l e s , " C y b e r n e t i q u e e t o e u v r e d ' a r t , " i n : nova
tendencija 3, exhib. cat., international version, 1965, p. 91; translated from
the French; this volume, p. 217.

an in C , r ? aSm ^ y c o m e t 0 determine our actions and in such

Kvoluti °US Ha^ '^at WC 'e8'fimately speak of a secret
ticipant$"< SaCC ° m ^' S ^ eC * w't^10ut knowledge of its par-

The f
s'nce the kpS ^3Ve c ^ a r a c t e r i z e d the New Tendencies
Ce dedthe as we" as the phenomena which pre-
^ese have ^ mar^ a PP r °ach to the machines, and
°Nanex ° W Unexpected, y t 0 many - suddenly devel-
tt ' er -is only th S '° n °^ U n d r e a r n e d "°f dimensions. This, how-
an dcontents' 6 P ' l e n o m e n o '°gy °f events. Their structure
convincingly ^ 3 n a s t o n ' s hing way reflected clearly and
UP from the N" ^ t a '' S ° P ' d e a s and things which sprang
^ r s t n e r spoke^h^ 1 1 0 ' 6 ' 1 0 ' 6 5 ' ^ V C n k e P o r e the 1960s, Karl
^"tioned r o 6 3 ° U t ^ P r o § r a m m ing of procedures; he
erne nts; (Jij p 0 ,'. ne p r o c e dures of the encoding of picture el-
°' Su hjectivirv d 3 ^° U t a n o n ymity and the exclusion
^21; everybod"""^ ^ n°W ten^enc'ie 2
(New Tenden-
y discussed the extinction of the meaning
338 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

•1

Raimer Jochims
SchwarzlichtNr.7 [Blacklist N»
1966
Oil, wood
80 x 80 cm
Museum fiir Konkrete Kunst

Ingolstadt

• 2
Luis Tomasello
Atmosphere c/irttmop/fs'W"',..
(Chromoplastic Atmosp

1967
Wood, hardboard, pa""

130 x 130 x 16 cm

MSU Zagreb

• 3

WolfKahlen
Sheep Mounts
(furdreiunterschteJhch
is
Wyoming HU (f°r

Positions in Space)!

1969
 •5
• 4
Marcello Morandini
Jiri Bielecki
Tensioni [Tensions)
Vegetativni forma-relief
1968
[Vegetative Form Relief]
Wood, multiple (50 copies)
1967
1 0 x 2 0 x 6 2 cm
Plastic sheet
200 x 100 cm
340 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

Alberto Biasi
Politipo M [Polyptych M|
1966/1968
Plastic, wood, glass
61 x 61 x 8 cm

MSU Zagreb

Jorrit Tornquist
Dreidimensionale Slruktur X
[ T h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l Structure XYZI

1967
Painted PVC, black light

320 x 320 x 320 cm

 Exhibition • Zagreb

Pino Parini
WoMli attenzione: alternazione
[Modalities of Attention:
Alternation]
1968
Glass, plastic material, wood
50.40«11 cm
 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

Anonima Group
Statements for May 1968

"Making art is not doing research.

Proposals reveal less than objects or situations made to
exemplify them.
Using geometry is not the only way to think clearly.
Pure technology is always more interesting and beautiful
than art merged with technology. Technology advances.
Art changes: it never advances.
Advanced art is beyond technological assistance.
Advanced technology is beyond artists.
Painting does not mix well with the other arts.
I hose things that mix well get lost.
Groups are a way out of the art world, not into it.
The art world reveals the artist at his worst, the artist as
businessman trying to be irresponsible in the marketplace.
Bad business.
A program without limits is not a program.
Artists haven't changed society, can't and never will.
Art only influences taste.
There is a big difference between a revolutionary aesthetic
and the social reality. Politics brings aesthetics to its
knees."

[tendencije 4 , exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosti,

Zagreb, 1970, n. p.]
 Exhibition • Zagreb 343

• 2
Gudrun Mahlmann-Piper
Winkelpermutation [ A n g l e P e r m u t a t i o n ]

1969
Photocopy
42 x 62 cm
344 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969
Almir Mavignier
nove tendencije I - A Surprising Coincidence
The Brazilian artist Almir Mavignier, who curated the
first New Tendencies exhibition, was living in Hamburg
in 1969. He had moved there from Ulm, as he had been
appointed professor at the Hochschule fur bildende Kiin-
ste [University of Fine Arts] Hamburg. For tendencije 41 ten­
dencies 4, which in the exhibition nove tendencije 41 new ten­
dencies 4 included a retrospective of the New Tendencies in
the years 1961-1965, Mavignier wrote a short review of the
formative years and history of the movement and its series
of exhibitions.
[Originally published in tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.; translated from
the German.]
In i960 1 found myself in Zagreb. The open-mindedness of
an astonishingly well-informed group of artists and art crit­
ics made this a stimulating first contact.
This first impression was deepened once I got to know the
country better: the contrasts lay not only in the natural en­
vironment, between sea and interior, but also in the people
with their diverse cultures and traditions - diverse and yet re­
lated through their extraordinary spirit of hospitality.
It is precisely this hospitality that opens many doors
which in big cities would otherwise remain closed. One of
these doors opened for me at a podium discussion in the Za­
greb art academy. The subject was a report about the Venice
Biennale of i960.
I was asked what hitherto unknown artistic movement
had made its presence felt at this Biennale, and I replied
"None," and that this was for the simple reason that the struc­
ture of the Biennale (as it then was) enabled only the kind of
art to be presented which had already become knownthrough
the art trade or official national exhibitions.
To have the wind of still unknown movements, one has
to go to artists' studios and get acquainted with artists who
are experimenting with new ideas and new materials - art­
ists like, in my opinion, Francois Morellet, Gruppo N, En­
rico Castellani, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Ludwig Wilding,
Karl Gerstner, Uli Pohl, Marc Adrian, and Walter Zehringer.
amongst others, who are searching for new paths and new
artistic ideas. To corroborate this opinion, I proposed orgar
izing an exhibition of such artists, and once again the V-
slavians with their hospitable trustfulness were happy>(f
my proposal into practice.
In fact, some time later the initial preparations tor t <.
hibition began. Bozo Bek, the director of the Galenje gnu '
Zagreba [Galleries of the City of Zagreb], and the art
Matko Mestrovic were indefatigable in clarifying
points of organization with me in a lively correspon e
For me, the difficulty was the need to discover p
pants beyond the circle of my acquaintances, an t ^
persuade them to send their works to Yugoslavia t ^
formation exhibition" - and later to persuade a ew ^
artists to travel to Zagreb so as to inform therm
this exhibition.
 Mavignier • nove tendencije I 345

On average the works that were sent in were very good.
The selection of the works had been left to the artists them­
selves. Besides pictures, however, there was a new kind of
sculpture that possessed none of the traditional character­
istics of sculpture and had more the character of an object.
The order in which the exhibition should be arranged
was immediately clear to me - the objects after the pictures;
that is, from painting to objects.
As the exhibition's title, I suggested "neue tendenzen" [New
Tendencies]. This title came from the exhibition Stringenz.
^metenderize tedesche [German New Tendencies], which had
taken place in 1959 at the Galleria Pagani.
The biggest surprise of the first New Tendencies exhibi-
tlon was amazing kinship of the experiments by artists
from different countries, although these artists knew little
about each other or frequently didn't even know each other
at all.
Particularly the exhibition The Responsive Eye (1965), or­
ganized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, attained
great international significance. It not only surprised Amer­
ica by introducing Americans to numerous European art­
ists as yet unknown there, it also created a firmer footing for
these artists in Europe.
At the grand opening of this exhibition, which can be
termed historic, I repeatedly reminded, indeed, I felt an ob­
ligation to remind my audience of Zagreb's contribution for
which I expressed my gratitude.
Almir Mavignier, 1969

This phenomenon made us in Zagreb conscious for the

^ 1 time of the existence of an international movement; a
wement in which a new conception of art is revealed,
lc experiments with the visual investigation of surfaces,

structures, and objects.

fibers^11658 °^" n6W v'sua' dimension forced the orga-

'hed as we" as l^e artists themselves, to pursue
quire 6 °^ment °^'s movement and to document and ac-
dencie" about it through further New Ten-
eV information

side Yugosl '^t'°nS' wb'cb subsequently also took place out-

346 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

Wolfgang Ludwig
Kinematisches Objekl III

(Kinematic Object IW

1968 • , «ti
Board, silk screen, Ple*'g|4>-

70 x 70 x 4.5 cm
Estate Wolfgang Ludwig

Marina Apollonw
Dinamica circolart 6s
[Circular Dynamics 6s|

1966/1968
Paint, wood, can be routed

by the viewer

84 x 84 cm
 Exhibition • Zagreb 347

• 4 • 5
"F.Abbick Nancy A. Stephens
Philip J. van Voorst Jon Brees Thogmartin
,ara,,'l Structure Nine Moons to the Chain
1969 Study in Pattern Overlap Three-dimensional Participatory
1969
Hwood, "ylon 1969 Space Grid
Vinyl, colored water
106, 1969
106 x 91, Vinyl, steel rods
183 x 243 cm
60 x 60 x 60 cm Vinyl, steel
244 x 244 x 304 cm
348 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

Dadamaino
Progetto Componibile
[Modular Project)

1966-1968

Wood, plastic, paint;

elements can be moved

86.5 x 87.3 x 5 cm

MSU Zagreb

Dieter Hacker
Multiplier™ Objtkl
[Multiplied Object]

1968
Polystyrene, wood

0 140 cm, 35 elements

ZKM Collection
I

E d i t o r i a l n o t e : metastatisches system [ M e t a s t a t i c
Bernhard Sandfort
System] is a permutational work which is set up dif­
metastatisches system
ferently in each exhibition space. The position and
[Metastatic System]
orientation of the pictures are random, determined
1968
by the order in which they were packed up after
Wood, paper, paint
the last exhibition. The painted structure is also the
16 x (66 x 66 cm)
result of chance: lots were drawn to decide the
sequence of colors, and a matchstick was thrown to
determine the orientation of the lines on the surface.
350 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

•3
•2
Axel Heibel Ivan Picelj
Jarmila Cihankova
Variable Objektgruppe, bestehend aus
environment
vier gestaltgleichen Elementen [Mytoscope -Object
1969
[Variable Object Group, Consisting of
Wood, plastic
Four Elements of Equal Gestalt]
Ca. 95 x 165 x 35 cm
1968
Slovak National Gallery,
Plexiglas
Bratislava
4 parts, 22 x 22 x II cm each
GeorgThiele, Hamburg
 asmeier construct objects wilh moveable manufactured articles, I find my elements
i" department stores, I do no. develop any forms, I use forms that others
' have developed, I arrange my elements in series, I try to find the best posst-
V-J„l„ bility for changeability, I only have this problem, I do no. make art, the v.ewer
6 J
So '"8
970 makes the art, I design programs."
^kZily pe [Rolf Glasmeier in: tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosti,
Zagreb, ,97o. n. p.; translated from the German.]
gn '"golstadt
352 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

Maurizio Nannucci
Occullamento [Concealment!

1969
Object: Plexiglas, wood, neon;
chest: synthetic lacquer, wood
Object: 49 x 55 x 55 cm,
chest: 50 x 60 x 60 cm
MSU Zagreb

Kt, %
# II #
i
ariobilt lot'1'
leric Reflotf'011
i ^
 Exhibition • Zagreb

•3
• 2
Sm,nNovak Gabriele Devecchi
Gianni Colombo
I Hi "" or®M'lf [Light Organ] ambiente zag-nt
crono (cromo) dromo, ambiente
(Environment zag-nt]
[Chrono (Chromo) Dromo, Environment]
1968
leclr|c motor 1967/1969
>60. 15 Metal, electric devices
0>.. 3 systems, 2 projectors, motors
«su Space: 320 x 220 x 220 cm
^greb Space: 450 x 500 x 500 cm
4 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

*ob^SrW. a 6aBo#fl ?6 dm 7p*mfQ-g). »>»•>•»

• 1 "Programming is not the issue, rather it is a means t° |(w

Alessandro Carlini, Bernhard Schneider
Metaarchitektonische Studien. Programmiertes
Environment |Meta-architectural Studies.
Programmed Environment), sketch
1969
Print, paper
complex process of spatial change in a differentiated way[•••
cycle in its entirety presents an open work, which displays c ^ ^^
and discontinuous dependencies in the ordering of thee
of space, painting, movement sequence). It is not close nej the
spatially formal or temporally processual way, but is deter

user on a case-by-case basis."

• 2
[Alessandro Carlini and Bernhard Schneider in. tindau ^
Alessandro Carlini, Bernhard Schneider
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 197°-n- P-',rar
Metaarchitektonische Studien. Programmiertes
Environment |Meta-architectural Studies. the German.]
Programmed Environment)
1969
Wood, paint
850 x 550 x 300 cm

•3

Alessandro Carlini, Bernhard Schneider

Metaarchitektonische Studien. Programmiertes
Environment [Meta-architectural Studies.
Programmed Environment), sketch
1969
Ink, paper
70 x 100 cm
'^lic images; these are objects that have
mP ace in the polis - in the agora-, unique
c,sthat ma.chthe scale ofthe city (or
s«pe|.[...]The Farb Zeit Turn [Color
«t ower] forWestdeutscher Rundfunk
akineri T BroadcastingJ in Cologne [is]
^»,»rW1on,whichis25 meters high
irS°f'0r0,a,ableel™™''-The
*«,h° Thelemen,is,riansularanc
are assigned to

fc^nBmCrt'!)nedbyanlini"COmpUte
A«»Wlof6o diff 6°°Pet Si«naL

Sonen,^"'Pr°8ramSrU"'eaCh

"'"tvcles,'"bf"elements rotate, the

lncon'inual 2! C°l0red SUrface is set
differently.- ° '°n Wh'ch is accentuated

^r8e Stauffer "inn c

ln: W
+ r'
Fra§en a" Karl Gerstner,"

Cr(,fr^tF^
Vi'wUndF'22 Da"ielSp°erri} Andri
^•^nsthalle n-CaL> Kunsthal|e
',3>er' SluttPart " 0rf-Edition Hansjorj

"^German., 9 9lP"; Elated from

356 tendencies 4. new tendencies 4 • 1969

A multiple 'camera obscura' generates several programs of super­

positions of pinhole structures (diaphragm patterns). The hole screens
consist of an evaluate number of little apertures (= sign) in a determined
arrangement (pattern, screen). (...) Color, contrast, and distribution of
the signs and of the structures and the continuation of a series result
from a determined program. The program can be steered by the kind of
signs and patterns, their angle constellation, and by their distance."

(Gottfried Jager in: tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjet-

nosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.]

Gottfried Jager
Lochblendenstrukturen - Programm 3.8.14
[Pinhole Structures - Program 3.8.14]
Generative photography
1967
Photographs
8 x (50 x 50 cm)
Gottfried Jager
 Exhibition • Zagreb

1 Sfirie R - A US' if,

2 5«*•« R+E-A S/3

3 S<r.( R+ E - A 9/3 66

1/ Sfrit R+-OR i / * ^&/6f

13tomechanical transformations are aesthetic

orders, which can be described by formula and
11 a good provision to grasp observation
numbers. Therefore, it is possible to intro-
n exPerimental technique into the scien-

research of aesthetic processes. [...]

' " "metrical constructed signs are being

, e"e lnt0 comP'ex structures of higher

er "i means of determined programs of
Photomechanical technique. [...]

WHfr
dewn8fuiuredevei°pments-according

franke-,hefell™i"8«"l'esaid
, 'ngphoIomechanical transformations:

"fc JkT'haVe 3 geometrical|y Precise

"fiofl an be realiZed
f ^ form«la. 'he
'rjnsf0rmed °rmatl0n tfleory can be easily

^,o:::h:basis to the nearest transiti°n

8U'ded visualization,

15 Parallel ,rr 03561° C°mputer Photog-

computer graphic art)."

ln: tendenciie4> exhib. cat., Ga- Hein Gravenhorst

Um,etnosti, Zagreb,1970, n. p.] Serie R-A 1/5 66; Serie R+E-A 5/3 66;
Serie R+E-A 4/3 46; Serie R+GR 1/3
66/69
1966/1969
Photograph, ink, paper
Archive MSU Zagreb
 Editorial note: From 1964 to 1969, Josef Hermann
Stiegler developed methods to generate'cybernetic
graphics," which he called programs. The program

"secondary transmutation" resulted from investigating

works by Hans Magnus Enzensberger. Stiegler

experimented with montages of single lines taken

from poems by Enzensberger, which appeared in the

volumes v erteidigung der wolfe [Defense of the Wolves
landessprache. gedichle [Language of the
(1957),
Country. Poems] (1960), and blindenschrifl [Braille
(1964). For self-monitoring purposes Stiegler sought a
method to produce a topographical plan for montage
which resulted in a "generative program within the

context of rational aesthetics."

See: Josef Hermann Stiegler,"Ein rational-astheti-

sches Programm," in: wb2. dokumentation werkstitt

breitenbrunn. 1968, Breitenbrunn, 1970, n. p.

Josef Hermann Stiegler

Sekundartransmutation,
Partialdiagramm 9 [Secondary
Transmutation. Partial Diagram 9|

Archive MSU Zagreb

I
Exhibition • Zagreb 359

•I
Herbert W. Franke
Elektronische Grafik
[Electronic Graphics]
1962
Photograph
Dimensions variable
Siemens oscillograph controlled by
an analog computing device built
by Franz Raimann
Produced at Siemens, Erlangen
Collection Herbert W. Franke

"A cathode-ray oscilloscope served as the instru­

ment; a routine device in physics laboratories.
In addition, a mixing console was developed with
which it was possible to generate and overlap
electric alternating current of any time depen­
dence. [...] Controlling the image processes
according to predetermined programs and the
influence of randomness is [...] insightful.
Recently, such experiments have acquired a new
importance: as design which permits the analysis
of an using a simplified model as it were.
As many electronic graphics can be described
b lormulas, they offer better preconditions for
numerically capturing cognitive processes than
traditional works of art, and make it possible
to introduce an experimental way of working in
scientific research on aesthetic processes."

[Herbert W. Franke in: tendencije 4 , exhib. cat.,

Galenja suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970,
"" p': tra"slated from the German.]
tendencije 4. kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja
tendencies 4. computers and visual research
May 5 - August 30,1969
•
Exhibition

Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb

 36I

Jonathan Benthall in front of works by Peter Milojevic

Participants in the Exhibition

Marc Adrian |AT| • Kurd Alsleben IDE]/Cord Passow IDE] • ars intermedia (Otto Beckmann [AT] / Alfred
GraBl |AT]) • Vladimir Bonattc [YU (HR.l • California Computer Products (Doyle Cavin, Dee Hudson, Larry
Jenkins, Jane Moon, Kerry Strand) |ALL US] • Compos 68 (Jan Baptist Bedaux, Jeroen Clausman, Arthur
Veen) [ALL NL] • Waldemar Cordeiro IIT/BR] • Charles Csuri I us] • Darel D. Eschbac [us]
•William A. Fetter [US] • Alan M. France |GB ] • David R. Garrison [us] • Jens Harke [DE] • Leon D
Harmon [US] • Hiroshi Kawano [JP] • Kenneth C. Knowlton [us] • Auro Lecc. [IT] # Robe" Hary' [
• Gustav Metzger [DE/GB] • Leslie Mezei [HU/CA ] • Peter Milojevic [YU (RS) / CA] • Frie er a e
• Georg Nees [DE] • A. Michael Noll [us] • Michael Palyka [us] • Ivan Picelj [YU <HR)] • ompu erc
of the Boris Kidric Institute, Vinca [YU (RS)] • Manfred R. Schroeder [DE/US] • L1°y Q- umn^

• Alan Sutcliffe |GB| • Zdenek Sykora [CS (CZ)] • Evan Harris Walker [us] • Edwar ajec i r
362 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969

Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb

May 5 - August 30,1969 Visitor in front of works by Charles Csuri, Robert Ma

Installation views tendencije 4. kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja/ Visitors in front of Beabed by Waldemar Cordeiro an , jcs| by 0"° ^
tendencies 4. computers and visual research Elektronische Computergraphik [Electronic Computer

and Alfred GraBI (right)

*3 , n Harmon and Ken""r"

Gargoyle, Seagulls, Mural, and Telephone by eon
Knowlton, Bell Telephone Laboratories

• 4
PLN0434 a n d DIN. GF100 by V l a d i m i r Bonacic
 Exhibition • Zagreb 363

•5

Visitor in front of Work no. 4. Series of Rectilinear Pattern and Work no. 5.
Ltnberto Eco m "T B°*° B"'ana Toniic, Dalija Griin, Martin Krampen,
Series of Flow Pattern by Hiroshi Kawano
•6 0 ^e^Ir°vic, and Vladimir Bona£i£ (from left)

Meeting of the jury: Bozo Bek and Umberto Eco in front of a portrait of Josip
D^vecchi, Matk"m "'' °' ten<^enc'ie 4 'ter*dencies 4 exhibitions: Gabriele
Broz Tito and a painting by Victor Vasarely (from left)
^robertoEco and ^,r°V'^' ^'ann' Colombo, Biljana Tomic, Vladimir Bonacic,
by Evan Harris \v lit"1'" Krampen <Prom 'eft) in front of Idealized Brushstrokes
^"temporary Art] " 3' Ga'eri'a suvremene umjetnosti (Gallery of
364 t e n d e n c i e s 4 • c o m p u t e r s a n d v i s u a l r e s e a r c h • 1969

• ••o • •O
•
• 00 ff • 00 f
f f1f of •• f o•
#•# of- • • • o*
• Of • Of
• •fO • • ••o •
• «.Of ' f • • o»
"•«:off f« Off
f ' f . ' O f f f • Of
» C Of• •

<•« Of
8 * ff O•
•f • f O •'
fff o«
* ff Off f f Of f
- O• « lO
* -• O f • • O*"'
f Of " -»o '
c - o «•
•• Off • • Off

f « O f•

- o-
'O'

•1 * 3
Ivan Picelj, Vladimir Bonacic Editorial note: Ivan Picelj designed this object after the poster he ha c ^
T-4
endencije 4 . I t w a s r e a l i z e d i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h V l a d i m i r B o n a c i c . Acc ^ ^ ^
1968
'icelj, t h e letters " t 4 t 4 t " lit u p at t h e top o f t h e object, one eighth of ( ^ ^ ^
Aluminum, electronics, electric lamps
rea, point after point and from left to right. When the lettering »as 1 P
101.8 x 59.7 x 33.4 cm
amps went out and the cycle began again. s blinked
MSU Zagreb
On the rest of the object's surface a rapidly changing pattern o 'g ^e0bject
' h i c h w a s controlled by a random generator that Bonacic had insta '

aday is not programmed as it was originally: the random generate r ^eorjgjml

Ivan Picelj, Vladimir Bonacic ghts n o longer functions. When the object was restored in the 19'
T-4 rogramming of the lettering "t4t4t" at the top was also changed.
1968
Detail

MSU Zagreb

Boris Kelemen
Computers and Visual Research
The art historian Boris Kelemen had studied at the Fac­
ulty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb and had
worked as a curator at the Benko Horvat Gallery from 1956
on, until he took over the direction of the Galerija prim-
itivne umjetnosti [Gallery of Primitive ArtJ in Zagreb in
1965. In 1968, Kelemen made a significant contribution to
the preparation of the new program "Kompjuteri i vizuelna
istrazivanja"/"Computers and Visual Research" and set up
the contacts to international artists and scientists.
[Originally published in tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.]
When the organizers of the international event nova tenden-
dja 3 [NewTendency 3] came to the conclusion that "the New
Tendencies have been perceived as a myth," yet in spite of
'his, they still asserted that "there exist true and fundamen-
ta ' reasons for continuing the movement" through "the dis­
semination of examples of research." 1 In 1965, the first exhi-
itions of computer art" were held: in January, Georg Nees
ex ibited his works in Stuttgart, and three months later Bela
ueszand A. Michael Noll in New York. 2 In the same year,
ft Benses Aesthetica 3 was published, and Abraham A.
0 es took part in a "working meeting of the participants of
ja tendencija 3.' These three circumstances - the beginning
rese Cr ' S ' S ^ ^ ^ 6 W Tendencies, the beginning of visual
ihe[^ rC US '"^ C O m P u t e r s ' a n d f he
establishment of an aes-
_I CS ^'"formation as the theoretical basis of these trends
P se themselves on us as a historical congruence, which
7 th
a U t h 0 r S W i l l h a v e t o b e a r i nmind.
a dialo ' S ? 0 ' n t ' ^ 0 W e v e r > w e must leave history and establish
ar eaoTvj^' , ' 1 ] t ^ e C O m P u t e r a n d i t s c u r r ent
l 'l
recentl^ 6 ^ 611 ^ ^ r a r , ke who first pointed out that, un-
ca xemen
*\p S U a ' a r t ' a r 8 e 'y u s e d the same manual tools as
the last h" 11 . ^° r t ^ e ' r c a v e P a ' n t ings. 4
iijggppe^ 0 ^ 6 ^ y e a r s that the first devices for pictorial draw-
a s an
He^ W ^° S e P r o d u c t s > of course, were not recognized
e - am thinking of photography, guilloche engrav­
Kelemen • Computers and Visual Research
ing machines, pendulum systems, projecting devices, color
organs, and screen images of electronic oscillations. More
recently, art critics have discovered the fascination of Lissa-
jous figures as results achieved by pendulums, with the con­
sequence that Zoran Radovic was awarded first prize for his
works at an international exhibition of drawings. Today, it is
not necessary to mention the recognition achieved by photog­
raphy, but new visual research made possible by generative
photography (Hein Gravenhorst, Gottfried Jager), or through
other kinds of machines (John Gabriel Harries, Josef Her­
mann Stiegler), must be emphasized. Such research can pro­
vide us with valuable information on the processes of percep­
tion by which cybernetic art theories attempt to create a basis
for objective art criticism (Max Bense, Abraham A. Moles).
In any case, such visual shaping produced by machines con­
stitutes a separate unity, which is now being affirmed within
the field of visual art directly or at least in parallel with the
strengthening of Op art and the New Tendencies.
The increasing influence of technology in the visual art
of today (in music this was the case from the moment the
first instruments were used) is certainly of secondary impor­
tance in the creation of a work of art. However, research into
the aesthetics of information today draws attention to the
fact that artistic creation goes through the following stages:
realization, emission, consumption, and criticism (Frieder
Nake). Here, the realization is a free choice of signs from a fi­
nite set of material elements, and the emission of a "work of
art" is an individual case in the general scheme of communi­
cation: the transmitter emits information which the receiver
receives. In an art process, the transmitter is the artist, the re­
ceiver the observer, and the information emitted is a work of
art as a material carrier of information. Within this scheme
capabilities in the
we shall leave aside the indispensable presence of generally
known redundant elements on the consumption of a work of
art as well as criticism, which can be regarded as feedback
in 'the communication process, and the complex of interac­
It was only during
tions in which we must not forget the society as an .important
factor Let us return to the realization of a work of art. It can
be regarded within the frame of transforming information as
 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969
a selection of signs with which order (structure) is created,
transformed, or destroyed (regardless of the semantic and
semiotic implications present).
Such a process of realization corresponds to that of the
computer, which not only transforms energy, but also infor­
mation. Because of this possibility of manipulating infor­
mation on the one hand, and thanks to new technological
discoveries on the other, the first drawings executed with a
computer already appeared ten years ago (Hiroshi Kawano,
Kurd Alsleben).
Computer graphic art first emerged in institutes in the
course of numerical or mathematical calculations in which
separate external units, such as drawing machines, plotters,
or oscillographs, were used. Apparatus of this kind some­
times produced images that apart from their physical (or
mathematical) reality also had an aesthetic one, regardless
of whether any aesthetic intention existed initially or not. In­
trigued by such results, scientists fixed them, and sometimes
amused themselves by drawing. Thus, they suddenly discov­
ered a new field in which visual research was possible.
We have already mentioned figures produced by pendu­
lums. However, there are many more possibilities for creat­
ing such drawings if an analog computer connected to a plot­
ter is used. Thus, a separate group of computer graphics has
emerged, very widespread and always attractive. Similarly,
the computer can also create visual poetry, or even plays.
(Marc Adrian, Kurd Alsleben, Jens Harke, M. Matausek).
Nevertheless, while an analog computer works out the
constantly changing variables of a system analogous to a
given problem, a digital computer works out calculations in­
dependently according to a given program. The development
of digital computers has opened up the most important field
of computer art to date.
The basic scheme for building up a work of art is also valid
in the creation of computer art. This scheme is composed of
three parts: i) an aesthetic "program," which provides aes­
thetic criteria as "data," 2) the computer, which processes
the data, and 3) the realizer, which can be a machine (a plot­
ter, an oscillograph). Thus, also the calculations based on a
program, that is, statistical geometric structures composed
of basic geometric forms, which are often the basic problem
for representatives of the New Tendencies, can also be com­
puter-processed as has been done by Zdenek Sykora in his
works. However, he did not leave the realization to the ma­
chine, but executed it manually, with classical artistic tools,
similar to Evan Harris Walker or Hiroshi Kawano in their first
works.
Since in the process of generating computer graphics by
means of a digital computer the principal scheme remains
the one described above, a separate random generator can
be included in data processing. In this way, random choice
elements can be introduced, and the depicted objects(circles
squares, lines, etc.), their dimensions, directions, and the to
tal number can be controlled. Because various random num­
bers emerge in the process, a large number of drawings, all
different, can be realized with the same program. Today, this
method is the most widespread, while the artistic expression
of this type of computer graphic art (carried out by realiz-
ers) is abstract (Compos 68, Alan Mark France, Hiroshi Ka­
wano, Auro Lecci, Peter Milojevic, Frieder Nake, Georg Nees,
A. Michael Noll, Richard James Stibbs, Edward Zajec, and
others).
Figurative expression is also possible with computers. It
is based on drawings of real figures, for example, faces, bird>.
soldiers, and so on. Such figures can be directly transferred
and multiplied (a drawing of Kitagawa Utamaro done h\
Jane Moon), but they can also be manipulated in all son- of
ways. During this manipulation, random choices are made,
and also mathematical and random transformations, di
structions, or distortions, which always bring new inform,,
tion (Charles Csuri, Leslie Mezei, and others).
The realizer need not always be a plotter or an oscill
graph. An electronic typewriter can be a means of teai
tion in visual tasks, permutations, or in poems and play
(Marc Adrian, Waldemar Cordeiro, David R. Garrison,
erly Rowe, Alan Sutcliffe).
Computer graphic art is important in industrial e
and visualization. For example, the famous City M
737 was entirely constructed from data obtained with a ^
puter, as
purer, as wen
well as
as Seattle-Tacoma Airport; further,
oeaiue-im-uiuaiui^vi — drawing ^
human figures, L/fluvU
I I III I 1(11 1 HgUlCj) based v/li
on anthropometric
1,1,11 [ data and compo
of seven articulated parts of systems, are used A
certain factors in new constructions of cockpits (
Fetter). ,. ariasa
At this point we have, in fact, gone beyond grap K ^
branch
LV 1 <11 1 V_ 1 1 of
Ul visual
V IOUUI expression. Painting
- w/ has alrea ) >
tioned, but sculptures can also be made with a u ^^
ther manually on the basis of computations (Ro
comp",er
or by connecting a milling machine directly to ^ ^ ^
(Charles Csuri). Vladimir Bonacic makes 0bieits ^
that chance 15
is Iruled
U1CU out.
UUi. On the facade oft e tra(e J
ment store in Zagreb, for example, Bonacic ^ ^
....
an irreducible eighteenth-degree polynomial 1 e( j tcn th
long series of eighteen objects. He has also -,t
 Kelemen • Computers and Visual Research

degree polynomials, using images for parameters instead It contained computer-generated graphics by Nees with the accompanying

of numbers. This enables the solution of far more complex text "iiber die programme d e r stochastischen computer-grafiken" [On the
Stochastic C o m p u t e r Graphic Programs] and a text by Bense entitled
problems. "projekte generativer asthetik" [Projects of Generative Aesthetics).
This short enumeration enables us to imagine the devel­ T h e two Bell Telephone Laboratories scientists Bela (ulesz and A. Michael

opment of great new technological possibilities. Mention Noll exhibited their computer-generated images at t he Howard Wise Gallery
in New York u n d e r t he title Computer-Generated Pictures (April 6-24, 1965).
must also be made of the scanner, with which real photo­ Editorial n o t e : With Aesthetica. Einfiihrung in die neue Aesthetik [Aesthetica.
graphs can be digitally represented by recording light val­ Introduction to t h e New AestheticsJ (Agis, Baden-Baden, 1965), Max Bense
published a revised a n d extended edition of four books which had been
ues of a series of points with various symbols (Leon D. Har­
published since 1954: Aesthetica. Metaphysische Beobachtungen am Schdnen
mon, Kenneth C. Knowlton), and the microfilm plotter, with [Aesthetica. Metaphysical Observations o n Beauty), Deutsche Verlags-
which different combinations of new images and informa­ Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1954; Aesthetica II. Aesthetische Information [Aesthetica II.
Aesthetic Information], Agis, Krefeld, Baden-Baden 1956; Aesthetica 111.
tion can be obtained (Manfred R. Schroeder). It is clear that
Asthetik und Zivilisation. Theorie der asthetischen Kommunikation [Aesthetica
especially film has a great future and a variety of possibili­ HI. Aesthetics a n d Civilization. Theory of Aesthetic Communication],
ties (Duane M. Falyka, Charles Csuri, A. Michael Noll). But Agis, Krefeld, Baden-Baden 1958; Aesthetica IV. Programmierung des Schdnen.
Allgemeine Texttheorie und Textasthetik [Aesthetica IV. Programming the
let us remain within the framework of this exhibition, which
Beautiful. General Text Theory a n d Text Aesthetics), Krefeld, Baden-Baden,
clearly demonstrates that we are on the threshold of new 1960.
forms of art; let us turn our attention to the results so far, to Editorial n o t e : See: Herbert W. Franke, "Uvodna rijec k izloibi Kompjuter-
ska grafika'"/ "Einfiihrung zur Ausstellung 'Computergraphik,'" paper
what has been realized.
read at t h e colloquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and
The results to date of visual research with computers need Visual Research," August 3 - 4 . 1968, Zagreb, published in: bit international 3,
not necessarily engage the attention of New Tendencies "re­ Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb,
1968, p. 117.
searchers, but they do exhibit a wide field of possibilities to­
Editorial n o t e : Georg Nees, "Kompjuterska grafika i vizuelna kompleksnost"/
wards which these researchers cannot remain indifferent. Computergraphik und visuelle Komplexitat," in: bit international 2, Boris
These possibilities are not only of a technological nature. First Kelemen a n d Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1968,
p. 38; translated from t he German; this volume, p. 322.
and foremost, a computer can solve otherwise completely in­
accessible complexities, and then enable the manipulation of
'hosecomplexities in all possible ways. This fact is important
for the expansion of the problem of visual research, and also
for discovering dimensions as yet almost unknown.
Georg Nees assertion is important in this context: "Fig-
ures' 3 are aesthetic objects, but they are not artworks; they
2re Seen 'rom t'le standpoint elaborated here, as models of
jworks. Thus, art is not being created, but we are at most
^ ecting about art."5 If we develop this thought further, we
arrive at the conclusion that in fact the computer solves
lor^^iH^ except the essential. The essential is still reserved
whiT^ W^° ma'Ces Pr°gr*ms and poses the questions,
Fi V C°mPUter l^en so'ves as an extension of his hand,
cas' 3 J' ^' S ex^'kihon should not be understood as show-
h^ond^u SUpremacy optechnology, but as an attempt to go
:n,i f ,e new ,echnology and use it to achieve new results
""^eld of the visual.

Editorial i
S U v temene ^' V u '® a c '' e " ' n = «ova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., Galerija
Editorial note'xh O S '' ,96^' P- translated from the Croatian.
or8anizedh M P ' , r e s e n l a l ' o n °f Georg Nees' computer graphics was
diversity] s ** ^ e " S e a t t ' 1 e Technische Hochschule [Technical
Either(ed U "® a n February 1965. See: Max Bense and Elisabeth
• c o <nputer-grafik, edition rot, 19, Stuttgart, 1965.
368 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969

Program Information 13
tendencije 4 / tendencies 4
T-4 PI-13
Informs tion-bulletin
Tendencies
Program-information 13 • May 1969
Ssorstarlata 1 May 1969
The Gallery ef Contemporary Art
Katarlnin trg 2, Zagreb
Jugoslavia

"Computers and Visual Research"

"COMPUTERS AND VISUAL RESEARCH"
Deoiaion of the Competition Jury Decision of the Competition Jury
In the information-bulletin of November the 10th the
Gallery of Contemporary Art in Zagreb hod announced,
under the auspioee of Exhibition T-4, an International
competition for the works exhibited within the exhibi­
[Archive MSU Zagreb; also published in tendencije 4, exhib.
tion "Computets and Visual Research".
cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.]
At the meeting in Zagreb in the Gallery of Contemporary
Art, the international jury composed of Umberto fcooo
(Italy), fcarl Gorstner (Swltzeiland), Vera Korvat-
-Pintarid (Jugoslavia), Boris Kelemen (Jugoslavia), In the information bulletin of November 10,1968, the Gale
Martin Xrampen (PR Germany) decided ae follows:
"With regard to the task we have been entrusted with, rija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art]
i.e. to evaluate the achievements in the realm of
computer-aided visual research, we feel it necessary to in Zagreb announced, under the auspices of the exhibition
emphasize the following: that, in oui opinion, in view
of the experimental nature and completely open domain tendencije 4/tendencies 4 (t-4), an international competition
represented by the materials exhibited, criteria for
judging the entries, e.g. aesthetic quality, complexity
of programming or mathematical Ingenuity, cannot be
for works exhibited in the exhibition kompjuteri i vizuelnn
established for the time being. This is so especially
if we consider the fact that the goal of computer-aided istrazivanja I computers and visual research.
aesthetic research is to suggest new aesthetic parameters
in the future. It would be "authoritarian" to submit At the meeting in Zagreb in the Galerija suvremene
such research to judgement in terma of traditional para­
meters. Furthermore, early Individual work should be umjetnosti, the international jury composed of Umberto Eco
considered in terms of our own human and technical
premises, as a whole, the exhibited materials can be (Italy), Karl Gerstner (Switzerland), Vera Horvat-Pintaric(Yu
treated from different points of view, and the interesting
oharacterlzutions of single works can be brought into goslavia), Boris Kelemen (Yugoslavia), and Martin Krampen
prominence from these view-points.

(Germany) decided as follows:

With regard to the task we have been entrusted with- to e\al

uate the achievements in the realm of computer-aided visu.il
research - we feel it necessary to emphasize the following
point: In our opinion, in view of the experimental nature and
completely open domain represented by the materials exhil
ited, it is not possible at the present time to establish criter
for judging the entries, for example, aesthetic quality, com
Afte: exumination of all'works sent to the Gallery the
Jury wishes to draw attention to the projeote which, in
plexity of programming, or mathematical ingenuity.
our opinion, are interesting from several points of
view. These are the following works: This holds particularly if we consider the fact that the p1
1) that performed by the group working with "Boeing
Computer Giaphlo", Bellevue, Washington, USA (William
of computer-aided aesthetic research is to suggest nev
Allan Fetter and collaborators: Jones L. Berry, Robert
Fee, Kenneth Frank, Morris H. Goldberg, Constantino
thetic parameters for the future. It would be authoritaria^
Lazzaretti, Robert Tingley, F. Michael lelland, Francis
P. iileon); to submit such research to judgment in terms of I, u'l|l

2) that performed by the group working with the fine

"Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc.", Murray Hill, Hew
parameters. Furthermore, early individual work
Jersey, OSA (Leon D. Harmon, Kenneth C. Knowlton,
Michael A. Roll, Manfred R. Schroeder)) be considered in terms of our own human and Iu

3) Works (1-16) by Vladimir BonaCid, the "Ruder Bodkovid" premises. As a whole, the exhibited materials can be
Institute, Zagreb, Jugoslavia)
4) the "mounted" play "Syspot" by Marc Adrian and by hie from different points of view, and the interesting; c ara^
co-workers Gottfried Schlemmer and Horst Wegscheider,
Vienna, Austria) izations of individual works can be highlighted r<
5) "Hobby Box" by the group "Compos 66" (Jan B. Bedaux,
Jeroea Clausman, Artur Veen), Dtrecht, Netherlands. viewpoints.
The works executed by "Boeing Computer Graphics" and
the "Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc." show, in our
opinion, the best developed technics and programming
of visual phenomena. After examining all the works that were sent to the
Works 1-16 by Vladimir BonaSld are, in our opinion, to
be put into prominence because of the harmony between suvremene umjetnosti, the jury would like to draw a ^
the mathematical consequences within the programmatlon
and the visualizing of the processes resulting from to the projects which, in our opinion, are interes
the programmatlon. We praise especially Bonatid's new
approach entailing the solving of problems by inducing several points of view. These are the following.
a picture and not a number ae a parameter, rendering
possible thereby a solution of much more complicated
problems.
"Syspot" by More Adrian, Gottfried Schlemmer and Horst The works produced by the group from Boei"g pf(.
Wegsohelder is — to our knowledge — the first attempt
to program a theatrical play, an attempt which reveals Graphics, Bellevue, Washington, USA (Wl
KennClh
new possibilities of visual happenings and induces
visual and linguistic elements into the program also.
ter and collaborators: James Berry, Robert g0b
Frank, Morris H. Goldberg, Constantino Lazz^'
err Tinelev. Michael Welland, and Francis
 Competition • Zagreb

2. 1 he works produced by the group working at Bell Tele­

phone Laboratories Inc., Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA
- 3 - (Leon D. Harmon, Kenneth C. Knowlton, A. Michael Noll,
ft praise the 'Hobby Box" by the »roup "Coopoe 68"
because of the possibility of creating multiples so mil
and Manfred R Schroeder).
ss of the possibility of larger social application,
3. Works (1 -16) by Vladimir Bonacic, Ruder Boskovic Insti­
as sas contemplated as the asard for ths most Interest­
ing prelects, se propose to alios ths authors of ths
most interesting of the 5 projects named to use a
tute, Zagreb, Yugoslavia;
Zagreb coaputer, to have the results published in the
rerles "Bit international" and to exhibit their work 4. The "mounted" play SYSPOT by Marc Adrian and his co­
in the Oalleiy of Contemporary art in Zagreb:
workers Gottfried Schlemmer and Horst Wegscheider, Vi­
Vladimir Bonaild, Zagreb
fare Adrian and his collaborators, Vienna, and
the group "Compos 68",Utreoht.
enna, Austria.
Zagreb, Hay the 5th, 1969 5. Hobby Box by the group Compos 68, (Jan Baptist Bedaux,
Oaberto acco
Karl Geretner Jeroen Clausman, and Arthur Veen), Utrecht, Netherlands.
Vera Horrat-Plntarld
Boris Kelemen
Martin Kraapan

The above menti-ned persons sill be informed about **•*

The works that were produced by Boeing Computer Graph­
realisation of the proposition of the international
jury.
ics and the Bell Telephone Laboratories exhibit, in our opin­
ion, the best developed technology and programming of vi­
sual phenomena.
Works i— 16 by Vladimir Bonacic deserve, in our opinion,
prominence because of the harmony between the mathemat­
ical consequences within the programming and the visual­
izing of the processes resulting from the programming. We
especially applaud Bonacics new approach, which entails
solving problems by introducing the image as a parameter
instead of the number, and thereby makes it possible to solve
far more complicated problems.
SYSPOT by Marc Adrian, Gottfried Schlemmer, and Horst
Wegscheider is - to our knowledge - the first attempt to pro­
gram a theatrical play; an attempt, which reveals new pos­
sibilities of visual events and also introduces visual and lin­
guistic elements into the program.
We commend Hobby Box by the group Compos 68 be­
cause of the possibility of creating multiples, as well as its po­
tential for wider social application.
As the award for the most interesting projects, we pro­
pose to allow the authors of the most interesting of the five
projects named to use a Zagreb computer, to publish the re­
sults in the review bit international, and to exhibit their work
in the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti in Zagreb:

Vladimir Bonacic, Zagreb

Marc Adrian and his collaborators, Vienna,
and the group Compos 68, Utrecht.

Zagreb, May 5,1969

Umberto Eco
Karl Gerstner
Vera Horvat-Pintaric
Boris Kelemen
Martin Krampen

The above -mentioned persons will be informed about the re

alization of the international jury's proposal.
370 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969

Vladimir Bonaiic
DIN. PRI8
1969
C o m p u t e r -controlled light installation
Metal construction, electronics,
electric lamps, glass
18 x (48 x 88 x 25 cm), total length

30.80 m
Installed on Nama department store.
Kvaternik Square. Zagreb
SDS-930, computer program
implemented in special-purpose

hardware
Produced at Ruder Boskovic Institute.

Zagreb

Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb

May 5 - August 30,1969

Competition, tendencije 4. kompjuteri i

vizuelna istrazivanja / tendencies 4. computers
and visual research

Vladimir Bonacic
Art as a Function of Subject, Cognition, and Time
Vladimir Bonacic studied electrical engineering at the
University of Zagreb, as well as in London and Paris, and
wrote his Ph.D. thesis on "Pseudo-slucajna transformacija
podataka u asocijativnoj analizi kompjuterom" [Pseudo­
random Data Transformation in Associative Analysis by
Computer]. In November 1969 he became head of the Labo­
ratory for Cybernetics at the Ruder Boskovic Institute.
The organizers of tendencije 4/tendencies 4 probably first
contacted the institute in early 1968. This developed into
a collaboration between Bonacic and the artist Ivan Picelj
in the same year. Together they realized Ivan Picelj's de­
sign for the poster for tendencies 4 as a three-dimensional
light object with the title t4. Bonacic also created a series
°t computer-generated images for the information exhi­
bition that accompanied the colloquy "Kompjuteri i vi­
zuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research,"
^hich took place in August 1968. One year later, his new
works, which had been created in the interim and handed
ln for the 1969 exhibition kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja I
computers and visual research, received awards in the com­
petition.
The text that is reprinted here in an abridged version
w^s originally published in bit international 7 where the
° lowing remark was added to the text: "Paper read at the
•mPosium Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja'/'Com­
puters and Visual Research."' However, the text published
n it international 7 differs greatly from the audio record-
lngof Bonacic's presentation.
^ iginally published as "Umjetnost kao funkcija subje-
n^Poznaje i vremena" / "Art as Function of Subject, Cog-
a iT 3n^ ^'me' 'n: international 7, Boris Kelemen
adoslav ^utar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb,
l97l > PP-129-142.]
dayiS to°fthe ^as'c Pr°blems confronting human beings to-
a et e world of science more communicable and
Competition • Zagreb
accessible to the individual. Differentiation in fields of re­
search is a consequence of both the inexhaustible variety of
problems we solve and our biological limitations. To obtain
greater insight into the ideas achieved by various branches of
science (especially the natural sciences) nowadays requires
a few years of study. Particular fields have their own spe­
cific methods and terminology, and their presentation in ev­
eryday language is almost always only a very rough approxi­
mation of the core of the problem.
In spite of the differentiation among scientific disciplines,
there are common features in the various fields. To most peo­
ple, these basic features remain hidden, even the less specific
problems or the methodology of other fields of research.
Present-day mathematical methods, as well as our way
of thinking, have become inadequate for solving new sci­
entific problems. The scientist looks for new potentialities.
The solution of many a problem is almost impossible with­
out the aid of a computer. Heuristic programming, which
is the method a human being would use in solving a prob­
lem, is applied to the computer. We start from the hypothe­
sis and possible solutions that have to be checked, before we
proceed with trial and error. The solution is in fact the con­
firmation of the hypothesis, but heuristic programming does
not promise it a priori. This method of identifying patterns
also plays an important part in the solution of a problem.
New and quite unpredictable structures obtained through
computers reveal the essence of the process. One discovers
unknown logic and laws, and results unobtainable through
classical mathematical analysis appear. Transforming the
structures within various coordinate systems and time, we
find out the determination which gives us a more complete
picture of the observed process. The structures in figures 1
and 2 (elements of the pictures PLN 5 and PLN 6), which are
completely unexpected and which cannot be distinguished
by traditional mathematical methods, are presented. These
pictures show periods connected with the initial stage 1 and
polynomials of the eighth degree in feedback.
372 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969

In figure 3, an element of the picture IR. PLNS. 0044. 7714.

7554. 7744 (also I R . P L N S - 3 . V . B.) } we can see the structural

differences in time when generating the maximum period of
irreducible polynomials of tenth degree in feedback (divider)
and the initial stage 1.
he..?
New expressive potentialities in communication with the
individual were sought. The logical process becomes a func­
tion of time. Thus, besides the basic structure of the aesthetic
objects, we notice their relations, obtaining more complete
information on the observed process. In a large number of V"v '• •!'<<?
cases, the logical process used by the computer exceeds our
abilities. Using electronic, logical structures and adjusting
the logical process to our perceptive system, we get to the es­
sence of the process observed in the computer. Figures 4-5
(Dynamic Object DIN. GF100) represent three of 65,535 dif­
ferent structures, while the change of the structure over time
demonstrates the relations. The positions and the color of
•1
256 squares are defined by the Galois field module x 4 + x 3 + 1,
Vladimir Bonacic
which determines the 16 different states. The irreducible poly­ PLN 5

nomial in the feedback x'°+ x 8 + 1 gives all the possible rela­ 1969
tions. Computer-generated image
Photograph of oscilloscope
We have attained the new quality that could become rele­ 28.5 x 34.5 cm
vant to human beings if an adjustment to our perceptive sys­ PDP-8, oscilloscope

tem is carried out. An aesthetic object is not only an image of

•2
the cognitive process, otherwise hidden, now revealed. The
Vladimir Bonacic
laws which constitute the essence of the cognitive process PLN 6
ecome obvious. An aesthetic object is no longer only a stim­ 1969
Computer-generated image
ulus for spontaneous associations, but an expression which
Photograph of oscilloscope
in the relationship with the observer becomes the essence of 45.5 x 55.2 cm
cognition within the frame in which it exists. [...] PDP-8, oscilloscope
 Competition • Zagreb

"Dynamic Object - color slide and electronic logic (dimension 135 *

^ ladimir Bonacic 152.5 x 25 cm). A Galois field of 2s elements is formed as a polynomial
DIN.GF100 field above GF (2), namely, 0.1; modulo polynomial of the fourth degree
1969
x4 + x3 + 1 (100). This field is equivalent to 24 different residues, namely,
Computer-controlled light object
2
4 congruent polynomials. Congruent polynomials are characterized by
,al construction, electronics,
the same color. The field consists of 256 different elements, namely,
16 different colors. With the help of electronic logic, all possible rela­
tionships of exhibited two-dimensional elements may be observed
'sd5< 152,5 x"cm
digitally The logic offers the possibility of observing all 2 1, namely,
Jecia|-purpo8Sehardwirremed 65 535 states with the help of the irreducible polynomial of the 16'
degree in the feedback connection x'6+ x3+ 1. Depend,ng on the
observer, the picture changes according to the clock every 200 mill-
at Ruder Boikovif Institute,
seconds or 2 seconds, introducing the observer into a pseudorandom
MSU Za
greb process By means of remote control, the observer can watch each stage
for as long as he likes. The digital computer has been used here/

(Vladimir Bonacic in: tendencije4, exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjet-

374 tendencies 4• computers and visual research • 1969

"On the next sheet you will find a design generated by the ELX-8
computer of Utrecht State University.
It was created according to an aesthetic theory.
Each design is unique.
The number of possibilities of this theory is 4,9 ... 42.

How to work out this design.

Put the yellow sheet of cardboard under the design, and prick with
the pricker in the middle of each of the Yi symbols.
Connect the four holes in the yellow cardboard with a thin pencil
line, in such a way that you obtain a rectangle.
Cut out this rectangle with the razor blade.
Do the same with the Y2 symbols, and so on.
Do the same with the blue cardboard and the B symbols, the red
cardboard and the R symbols.

Now place the black cardboard under the design and prick all the
holes again to mark the places where the rectangles have to be glued.

When you start glueing, the following difficulty will arise:

A part of a planned rectangle coincides with a part of another one.
In this case the computer suggests the next solution.
Let the rectangle dominate which, if it were covered by the other one,
would be mutilated in such a way that a spectator would not have
any idea of its original proportions.

This time again use the pattern to determine where to locate the
blocked-out section of the underlying rectangle.

For this composition you need the following amount of cardboard:

Yellow 6.0 + 16.0 + .0 + 2.0= 24.0 cm2

•3
Red .0 + 1.0 = i.ocnT • 2
• I Compos6S
Blue = 111.0 cm2 Compos 68 Compos 68 Compost- '
Compos Hobby Box
Compos Hobby Box February l*6®
[Compos 68, Compos Hobby Box, instruction manual, computer sheet, February 1969
February 1969 Cardboard
1969, MSU Zagreb] Pattern with stylus
Collage of colored 31* 37.51"
28 x 37.5 cm MSUZagrfb
cardboard
Electrologica X8,
28 x 37.5 cm
MSU Zagreb plotter
MSU Zagreb

Compos 68 (Jan Baptist Bedaux, Jeroen Clausman,
and Arthur Veen)
"Definitions..."
The jury of the competition for works exhibited in the ex­
hibition kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja I computers and vi­
sual research also bestowed an award on Hobby Box by the
Dutch artist group Compos 68: three students, who were
friends, had the idea of investigating art historical ques­
tions experimentally with a computer, and in 1968 they
formed a group, Compos 68. Arthur Veen was studying
biology and at the time was assistant to the Hungarian bi­
ologist Aristid Lindenmayer, professor of philosophy of
biology at Utrecht University, who was developing a for­
mal language to model plant development and growth.
Veen supported Lindenmayer's work with the computer
with his knowledge of programming. When Veen told his
friend Jan Baptist Bedaux, who was studying art history
m Leuven, about Lindenmayer's computer models of bi­
ological growth, Bedaux suggested they should try to set
up a model to explore the compository arguments of Piet
Mondrian. Together with Jeroen Clausman, student of bi­
ology and anthropology, they worked out their ideas and
translated them into practice at the computer center of
the department of mathematics of Utrecht University."
According to bit international 7, the text published here
's a written version of the lecture given at the symposium
kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and Vi­
sual Research," May 5-6,1969, Zagreb. However, this could
not be confirmed by the audio recordings of the sympo­
sium because they do not include a recording of this pre­
mutation.
[Originally published as "Definicije..."/ "Definitions..." in:
''international7, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.),
a er'je
grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, pp. 143-148.]
'• Definitions
Composition
fion Th W'^'n l^e bounds of the two-dimensional composi-
ti°ns jsljiSenSe or§an wfib which we perceive these composi-
e eye.
The eye is sensitive to electromagnetic waves
Competition • Zagreb
with wavelengths in the range 3,500-7,000 Angstrom (visible
light from red to purple). The eye can ascertain very exactly
the place where the light comes from, its hue (wavelength),
its intensity, and its saturation.
Therefore, a two-dimensional composition can be consid­
ered as a plane that is constructed from a great number of
colored points. However, not every accumulation of colored
points can be called a composition. There must also be some
kind of organization of these points. The definition with
which we work is:
1. A two-dimensional composition is a collection of colored points
placed on a plane according to a certain form of organization.
In this definition texture does not play a role. From a theoret­
ical point of view this is correct, for texture is a form of very
small three-dimensional structure.
I .2. Aesthetic Theory
We formulated a working definition of an aesthetic theory
proceeding from our definition of composition.
II. A n aesthetic theory is a l a w of organization, which makes a
composition out of a collection of colored points.
When we use the terms "composition" and aesthetic theory
in the following, it is in the sense described in these two def­
initions.
2. Research on Aesthetic Theories
There are many aesthetic theories. They are used to cre­
ate certain objects. However, the flnal result is not only in­
fluenced by the factor "theory," but also by the personal aes­
thetic experiences of the creator. The two factors are linked.
We were interested in forming an opinion about a given
aesthetic theory by looking at its effect in an object. How­
ever, the personal aesthetic experiences of the creator were
an obstacle for us. By means of a computer, which does not
have such experiences, it was possible to eliminate this factor.
 I
376 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969
Competition • Zagreb

L_.
J
L-? rJ 1I EHHffl

c: 1
p ifi a • 5 Mil•m

"These series have been made to show the effect of an aesthetic rule as
But using the computer limited the amount of theories dras­ clearly as possible. Series I conforms to the following theory: Each rect­
tically. The computer can only work out aesthetic rules that angular line has a value which is equal to its surface, multiplied by the

can be formulated with mathematical exactness. The result
becomes a product of the theory and the factor of "chance."
This last factor is often used by computer artists, but for us,
it is an obstacle to achieving a clear view of the results of the
theory. It can be reduced by making a series of objects ac­
cording to the theory. To get an even clearer view of the effect,
See: Arthur Veen,"Compos 68," in: Peter Struycken, Vormjtvingenexiclt distance to the center of the composition divided by the distance to the
disciplines. Design and the Exact Disciplines, Utrecht, Prins Bernhard nearest corner. For every plane there must be another plane with the
Foundation and University of Utrecht, Spring 1971, n. p. same value. These two planes are given the same color, so it is easier for
the eye to recognize the pairs. In Series II the planes are chosen com­
Editorial note: The system had the capability of assigning nun.!
pletely at random. However, they have the same colors, they are also rect­
to the elements "color" and "form" in order to obtain numbers tor
angular, and the dimensions are the same as in Series I. Thus, the only
mathematically formulated aesthetic theories.
Editorial note: According to the authors, the plotter could on \ mo>
difference is the aesthetic rule (compository theory). The spectator is

we also made a series that was not constructed in accordance now able to judge subjectively the perfect objectively worked-out theory.
eight different directions.
More specimens were made so as to eliminate the factor of'chance.
with the theory.
[Typescript, 3 pages, Archive MSU Zagreb, n. p.]

See, as illustrations, Series i and Series 2 in the exhibition ten-

dencije 41 tendencies 4.

Series 1 was created according to the following theory: Each

rectangular plane has a value, which is equal to its surface ?1
multiplied by the distance to the center of the composition
divided by the distance to the nearest corner: For each plane
there must be another plane with the same value. These two
planes are given the same color, so it is easier for the eye to
recognize the pairs.
In Series 2 the planes were selected completely at random.
However, they have the same colors, they are also rectangu­
• 1
lar, and the dimensions are the same as in Series 1. • 2
C°mpos 68 Compos 68
Thus, the only difference between these two series is the Compos 68
Compos 68 Series I Compos 68 Series I
aesthetic theory. And it is possible to judge its effect by com­ ' 'OQ Compos 68 Series II
Detail
paring the two series. [...] 1968
lnk. j;rra,ed desi8n' hand"c°lored Computer-generated design, hand-colored

^:rpap" Ink, felt-tip pen, paper

::::°'r x8.pio,
ter
3.88 x 28 cm

zC.::;echiuniversi,y Electrologica X8, plotter

Produced at Utrecht University

ZKM Collection
tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969
Marc Adrian, Gottfried Schlemmer,
and Horst Wegscheider
SYSPOT
In the fall of 1966, the Austrian artist Marc Adrian con­
tacted the Institut fur Hohere Studien [Institute for Ad­
vanced Studies] (IHS) in Vienna, a postgraduate research
and education institution housing departments of econ­
omy, sociology, and political science. In the following two
years, Adrian generated with the technical support of
Jiirgen Kriz and Horst Wegscheider on the institute's com­
puter a number of sketches for black-and-white graphics
with randomly distributed letters and words, as well as
texts in English. These works were exhibited at the col­
loquy "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers
and Visual Research" held in 1968. For the tendencije 41
tendencies 4 exhibition in 1969, Adrian realized in collabo­
ration with Gottfried Schlemmer and Horst Wegscheider
a play with the title SYSPOT in June 1968. The piece was
one of the awarded projects of the competition accom­
panying the 1969 exhibition. However, as the organizers
were unable to meet the expenses calculated by Adrian
lor its production, it was never performed.
Gottfried Schlemmer began to edit werkstatt in 1962, a
journal for experimental literature and art, and from 1967
he worked as research assistant at the Austrian Film Mu­
seum in Vienna. In 1968, Schlemmer founded the Austrian
Filmmakers' Cooperative together with the Viennese ex­
perimental filmmakers Marc Adrian, Valie Export, Kurt
Kren, Hans Scheugl, Ernst Schmidt, Jr., and Peter Weibel.
Horst Wegscheider took up a position as research as­
sistant in the computer working group at the Institut
fiir Hohere Studien in Vienna in 1966 and also lent his
support as a programmer to the institute's economet­
rics working group, which at that time was developing a
model of the Austrian economy.
[Originally published as "syspot," in: bit international 7,
Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada
Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, pp. 161-169.; translated from the
German.]
Schematization and text selection:
Marc Adrian and Gottfried Schlemmer
Programming:
Horst Wegscheider
Computer:
IBM 1620 Model II at the Institut fur Hohere Studien [In-
tute for Advanced Studies], Vienna
Montage material was taken from the following magazine
Eltern 4/68, Jasmin 11/68, Der Spiegel 21/681
Vienna, May-July, 1968.
The characteristics of the actors were taken from t h e -
sified ads of a daily newspaper.
SYSPOT is a montaged play intended to be pe £
on stage. As far as I know, it is the first play in whk ^
portant aspects were coordinated by a digital Pr0^"ni
created by an analog computer.3 The word SYS
print command for the computer at the Institut ur
Studien in Vienna with which this play was rea iz
The following is a simplified version of how t ep ^'
created: Texts found in popular magazines (a
gans, phrases from reports, catchwords, an "golden
were scanned into the sentence database, an
were inserted instead of the respective noun
tives, etc. The fragments extracted in this way wer
into a word memory, and a linguistic template
that followed the structure of advertisement tex^^...
introductory phrase, headliner, closing p ra-
or specific claim. The sentence materia wa
into this template by the computer ran °m^orn|v -
placeholders in the sentences were again
with the textual material from the wort me
similar procedures, the: speak.en|were ^ ne^^
tor's instructions introduced. All 0
Competition • Zagreb
to be transposed into digital analogies and formulated in the actors will have to come to terms with situations that bear lit­
respective program. tle relation to the sanitized conditions - safeguarded by the
What emerged corresponded quite closely to what had
been predicted: a structure of action and language, which
trade unions - prevailing in contemporary theater.
Gottfried Schlemmer
through all its irrationality and chthonic chaos renders the
advertising and consumer culture of society visible and
dramatis personae:
one actor (a) and two actresses (b and c)
transparent; it shows clearly that it is impossible to build a
unified and coherent consensus upon the existing social and a: athletic, late twenties, young manager type,
economic forms in which it would be possible to conceive of b: calm, likeable, intelligent, vivacious, charming, mid-thir­
humans as rational beings. ties, modern outlook, sense of humor, capable, receptive
Marc Adrian to all things aesthetic and to ideals,
c: petite and attractive twentysomething.
The development of a program according to the concepts de­ a: is intense towards c, and ambivalent towards b.
veloped by the authors did not cause any significant difficul­ b: is intense towards a and c.
ties. The programming language SNOBOL was used which c: is ambivalent towards a and b, narcissistic.
has proved to be particularly suited to tasks of this kind. The
structure of the vocabulary (classification in word types as the following props are distributed around the stage:
well as the allocation of certain types of words to certain 1 pile of old newspapers, 1 suitcase, 1 crate of bananas, 1
positions in sentences with extremely simplified grammar) crate of full coca-cola bottles, 1 carton of bath foam in trans­
was easily mapped in SNOBOL: to select word sequences, parent packs, 1 carton containing boxes of washing powder, 1
equally distributed random numbers were used. The work carton of tubes of toothpaste, pieces of clothing, 1 mattress, 1
was done under time pressure - thus, no special value was chair, 1 camera, 1 large plastic bowl, 1 full tin of paint, 1 vac­
placed on elegance or sophistication of the program. uum cleaner, 1 tv set, 1 washing machine.
The program was run on the analog computer IBM 1620
Model II at the Institut fiir Hohere Studien in Vienna. newspapers, bananas, coca-cola bottles, bath foam, wash­
Horst Wegscheider ing powder, and toothpaste are taken out ot the cartons and
crates each time there is a corresponding command (em­
The first motivation for our endeavors was most likely the brace, trample on, etc.) and after use left around the stage at
challenge of creating the notation for a theatrical work by random; the command "operate" (coca-cola, banana, wash­
means ot a computer that would run on tracks, as it were. ing powder, etc.) means to use the prop in the appropriate
The plot of a "love triangle," familiar phrases from ev- way: drinks are drunk or spilt, toothpaste pressed out of the
'tvday life of the consumer society, and a selection of objects tube, what is edible eaten, bath foam or washing powder
commodities) as ProPs> which for the consumer have long stirred in the plastic bowl or on the stage, and so on. the com­
been indispensable status symbols, were expected to guaran­ mand "free choice" means that the action or choice of prop is
tee the plays accessibility for the theatergoer. We found ap­ at this point left to the actor or director.
propriate popular and topical material in the magazines Fiir
aS ^e" zu zwe'{ [Living as a Twosome] and Die schdnsten c: (creeping around the tube of toothpaste) aren't crossing
, ^
d !r e des Lebens [The Most Wonderful Years of Our Lives], points allowed to fall in love? heavens cajole body fresh tele­
phone lines, this is a must-have! (creeping around the packet
n a'So 'n one well-known news journal.4
^ of washing powder) but who really tells their child what that
A piece such as SYSPOT, which is not organized in a usual
is: heaven? do embarrassments liquidate tired stomachs or
'P'°t, act, exposition, etc.), but has only a stereotypical
"tax (three sentence variations), begins at an indefinite not after all?
^
tand ends abruptly, naturally presents many problems
a: (sitting on the packet of washing powder) drink embar­
.omj Sta^'n§- TTie director and the actors will have to over-
n organ:- '"-
l :
3 num^er°f rassments! women discover independent tastes, the martinis
or problems: numerous repetitions in the text
thr
iheiHi6006 Var'at'°nS ma^e n difficult f°r the actors to learn don't know boredom.
edy etc)65' ui me
°^ e typical
^P'03! styles
styles ot
of acting (realism, com- .. , f ,, .
n£
forth C |Can be utilized
^ Ut"'Ze^ as
as a
a starting
starting point
point for
for preparations
preparations b: (pushing the mattress) aren' v,annpnp.d to
from ^ ^eXPress'ons and gestures will have to be invented
ratch based on the text and the stage directions. The
382 t e n d e n c i e s 4 • c o m p u t e r s a n d v i s u a l r e s e a r c h • 1969

Manfred R. Schroeder "Each of the 16,384 picture points [...] is repre­

Eye II/"One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"
1968
sented by a single letter or space from the

Computer-processed photograph
phrase 'One Picture is worth a thousand words,
Photo prints from microfilm repeated over and over again. Each letter is
61 x 51.5 cm exposed from one to forty times [...]•
General Electric GE-645, Stromberg-Carlson S-C 4020
microfilm recorder [Manfred R. Schroeder, "Images from Com­
P r o g r a m m e d b y S u z a n n e L. H a n a u e r puters and Microfilm Plotters, in: Commurtica
P r o d u c e d a t B ell T e l e p h o n e L a b o r a t o r i e s Hons of the ACM, vol. 12, no. 2, February 19^9-
MSU Zagreb
P- 99-]
 Competition • Zagreb

"At close viewing distances the many tiny patterns are clearly visible, but
unless you know exactly what to look for, the large picture (the overall
'Gestalt') cannot be perceived. With increasingly great viewing distances
the small patterns disappear, and the overall picture emerges.
There are several reasons for experimenting with these pictures:
a) To develop new computer languages which can easily and quickly
manipulate graphical data.
b) To explore new forms of computer-produced art.
c) To examine some aspects of human pattern perception."

[Leon D. Harmon and Kenneth C. Knowlton in: tendencije 4, exhib. cat.,

Galeriia suvremene umietnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n.p.]

Editorial note: The photograph of the nude was

scanned. The average brightness level of each unit was
Uurgi ^armor>, Kenneth C. Knowlton
computed and encoded. The given density was then
1*
reproduced by a microfilm printer as different dot

m'crofil
patterns: each pattern consisted of 10 x .0 dots. Several
m P'10,08raph, photo print from
patterns were defined for each brightness level which
were then chosen randomly by the computer. Harmon
and Knowlton used micro patterns in the form of
border ^ er8'Carls°n S-C 4020 microfilm
multiplication and division signs, transistors, Zener
'"ki"MsuZwb diodes, vacuum triodes, resistors, tape reel, and other
384 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969

Computer center
Boris Kidric Institute, Vinca
Selected Time Function
1967
Computer-generated drawing
Copy on paper
21.3 * 29.6 cm
Analog computer, plotter
Produced at Boris Kidrii Institute, Vinca
Archive MSU Zagreb

Computer center
Boris Kidric Institute, Vinca
Movement Of Electrified Particle I"
Magnetic Field
1967
Computer-generated drawing

Copy on paper
17.2 x 18cm
Analog computer, plotter
Produced at Boris Kidric Insti

Archive MSU Zagreb

 Exhibition • Zagreb

^ i rough the possibilities offered by the oscilloscope for variation,

Otto Beckmann, Alfred GraBl
ind I,"0"5 m°des exPression are simultaneously available in one
Elektronische Computergrafik Beckmann/Grafil 69
the a/ St°C'1ast'c Process- These variation possibilities include [ E l e c t r o n i c C o m p u t e r G r a p h i c B e c k m a n n / G r a B l 69)
I ,us,a^i''ty °f the amplitudes assigned to the states of the process, 1969
Phototype after a screen photograph on aluminum
alLsT0^ br'8htneSS' Se,tin8 of the ,ime base- and so on" This
also •' Q\ an'SI 10 intervene creat've'y'n the process running. One offset printing plate
22.5 x 29.8 cm
Grap^l 3m'nar structures, whereas the corresponding graphic of the
M a r k o v p r o c e s s g e n e r a t o r ( b u i l t b y A l f r e d GraBI),
°mat would have a more linear character.
storage oscilloscope Tektronix 564B
'hisreT^'° 'be met'lods *°r generating computer graphics so far, Produced at Institute of Low-Frequency Engineering,
ts in two main innovations: Technische Hochschule Wien [Technical University
1 The n°'Se ®enerator as a s°urce of true randomness. Vienna)

Usin ° 30 OSC'"oscoPe to make the desired processes visible. [...] Richard Beckmann

moniton e^r0^ra^b'C Processes> tbe screenshot of the image on the

Key film 35 Irans^erret' 'o aluminum panels; for works in color Color-
*er Mm was used
(Otto Beckm
suvreniene 3011 ^red GraBl 'n: tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija
urnjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.; translated from the German.]
tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969
Exhibition • Zagreb 387

PO«M 1 1 4 3 EOR SPASMO ALAN SUTCLIEPE

COMPOSED USING TCI 1904 INTER G ATIONAL COMPUTERS LIMITED

NEU TENDENCIES 4 ZA6PEB 1 9 4 9 NOVE TEMDENCIJC 4

WHEN t o o SEE THE RAIN PLEASE SAT THIS POEM BEGINNING OUTPUT

LIRE MESEC CIRE ZVEZDA SUNBJER

LIRE CRTEN LIRE SREBRO GVOIGJF "These poems were composed as pan of
SROZSJI •The Information Content of Three Conso­
LIRE RAMEN LIRE VAZDUH
LIBIEU6ALJ LIREJABURA LIRISVOIGJB
LIRE SPASMO, for electronic tape, color slides. - nants and Three Vowels
SPAVATE LIREJESEN
LIREUOAIJ
GROZ6JE
LIRETRAVA piano, and audience, first performed inthe
ZVlZDA
•N A U N LIREMESEC The program generates groups of six letters
RRV LIRECRVEN Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on Februan
LIRERAMEN - three vowels and three consonants - whose
LIREVETAR 1969. The poems, all different, are recited ',
LIREBRAUN positions alternate according to pseudorandom
SPAVATE LllCJC.t. the audience. Each run of the program pro
GR01GJE 11RFUGALJ numbers and according to a frequency of
ZVEZDA 11RETRAVA duces 256 poems. The program can begin-
I BRAUN LIREMESEC appearance roughly proportional to the proba­
NLIB LIRECRVEN
LIRERAMEN
a different vocabulary as data to produce.! .;
IIREVETAR bility of the words' initial letters appearing
I IREBRAUN ferent set of poems. [...]
SPAVATE IIREJEIC* in the Portuguese dictionary.
GROZGJE LIREUGALJ Some questions arise:
ZVlZDA LIRETRAVA The groups of two or three letters that bear
BRAUN LIREMESIC Is one of the poems better than any other
SNEG LIRECRVEN some meaning are given a numerical value
LIRERAMEN Which is better, 1,000 people all saying the
LIREVETAR according to a table which, counting the lines
llKEBNAUN same poem, or 1,000 people saying
LIRET LIRE 5"E« used in the dictionary to explain the meaning
L1RISU
LUETIC LIRE different poems?
of a particular group, goes from a minimum
Would you write a program to composeor.
of 0 to a maximum of 9. The basis of the eval­
URISUNA LIREMESEC LIRESREBRO LIREGROZGJ E LIRE poem?
LIREVODA LIRERAMEN L I R eZ V eZ D * LIRE LIRE uation is highly ambiguous: the more words
Are 1,000 poems better than one poem
that are needed to explain a word, the greater
If 1,000 people read different poems, is that
its significance. The number shown beside
music? each group is, therefore, the sum total of each
Do other poets want to be able to write 1,000
groups value; in other words, the total signifi­
poems in one hour? cance of each six-letter group."
POFH 4432 FOR SPASMFL A L , » SUTCLIFEE
COMPOSED USING I C L 1904 INTERNATIONAL COMPUTERS LIMITED What doI mean, better7.
Would it make any difference if we could pro­ [Waldemar Cordeiro in: tendencije 4, exhib. cat.,
NEW TENDENCIES 4 EAFLREB 19 S 9 MOVE TENDENCIJI 4
UNFN Too SEE THE RAIN PLEASE SAT THIS POEM BCGINNIN S O U I E U V Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970,
duce a million poems in one hour?
n. p.;translated from the Italian.)
Could there be a mistake in the program?
IIRE TRAVA SUNBJER
LIRE MESEC
LIRE ZVEZDA Do you need a computer to obey a prograr
LIRE SREBRO GV07GJE
LIRE C RTEN LIRE VAZDllH GROZGJE
LIRE RAMEN LIRE ZVlZDA SUNBJER
LIRE VETAR EIRE JARURA
[Alan Sutcliffe in: tendencije4. exhib- cat.,Ga <
LIRE BRAUN LIRE SREBRO
LIRE PON0C LIRE rija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, !9.°
LIRE JIITRO LIRE
LIRE JESEN LIRE
H R E S O MA LIRETRAVA LIREEVE2DA LIREBVOEGJE LIRE LIRE
LIRSRRV LIRECRVEN LIREVAJDUH L I RE SUNSJ ER LIRE LIRE
LIREMESO IIREVETAR L I RF J ABURA LIRE LIRE LIRE
LlRESUMA LIRERAMEN IIEC2VE2DA LIRE LIRE LIRE
LIRESUMA LIREMESEC LIRESREBRO LIRE6ROZGJE LIRE
LIRLRRT LIRE
LIRERAMEN LTRETVEEDA LIRE LIRE LIRE
LIRETLCA LIRECRVEN LIREVAEDUH L I RE SUNGJ ER LIRE LIRE
LlRESUMA LIREVETAR L I RE J ALURA LIRE LIRE LIRE

LIRIZUT LIREMESEC LIRESREBRO LIREGROISJE LIRE

LIRENEBO LIRE
LIRERAMEN LIRE2VEEDA LIRE LIRE LIRE
LlRESUMA LIRECRVEN LIRFVA2DUH LIRFSUNRJER LIRE LIRE
LIRITICA LIREVETAR LtRCJABURA LIRE LIRE LIRE
4
LTRESIT LIREMESEC LIRESREBRO LIRFGROEGJE LIRE
LLREMESO LIRERAMEN LIRE2VEZDA LIRE
LIRETICA LIRE
LIRECRVEN LIREVAEDUH 11RESUNCJ E R LIRE
LIRESNEG LIREVETAR LLREJ ABURA LIRE LIRE

• 3
• 4
• 1 Walde
•2 Editorial note: Each poem in one run was nunil e ' ^ Waldemar Cordeiro
Alan Sutcliffe Alan Sutcliffe from 1,111 to 4,444. The words chosen and the ayou Programa Seabed 012- palavras ao acaso
1969
POEM 1143 FOR SPAS MO partly determined by the values of the four digit v0cabulaO [Program Beabea 012 - Random Words)
POEM 4432 FOR SPASMO
1969
1969 tendencies 4, Sutcliffe created a special program using_.jngt0 1969
128'41.2 cm)
Computer-generated poem chosen from Lyall's Guide to 25 Languages 0 bur p -n £„g|i-r
Computer-generated poem IBM 36O/44 Computer print on paper
Computer print, ink, paper Sutcliffe, a set of 256 poems in Serbo-Croat anc a se ^^
Computer print, ink, paper 21 x (28 x 41.2 cm)
22.5 x 26.5 cm
22.5 x 26.5 cm were probably sent to Zagreb; however, nothing ProducedaMi" F°RTRAN IV by Giorgio Moscati
ICL 1904, line printer . ,. A aloud or presented as
ICL 1904, line printer
Programmed in FORTRAN 'yo,sioi'aui0
Programmed in FORTRAN
ZKM Collection
ZKM Collection
388 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969 Exhibition • Zagreb

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— 06 OOOOOOOOO! looooonooo
looooonooo -69—0600-0906600-900—6—606©—09696900600006000060066000—0 OOOOOOOOOI
IOOOOOOOOO looooonooo
OOOOOOOOOI IOOOOOOOOO ^
loooooon ooooononoooo' nOOOODOOOJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOI loonnono nononoooooooooooooooonoop
*00000 oooooaoooooooo- < oooowooouooonoooooooooooooooooonoooooooooooooooooooo ooonos
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100 OCOOOOJOOOOUOOOOO- UOOOOOO—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ooI

°arelD-Eschbach
Boxes
David R. Garrison 1967
Hypothetical Surface No. 1
1968/1969
" *ocm
Computer-generated design
Computer prints, ink on paper
IBM 6400, IBM 360/20, CDC printer,
pj EDIN FORTRAN

IBM printer
cii2ryaf,w^oH
Produced at State University
of New York at Buffalo
Archive MSU Zagreb
Hiroshi Kawano Hiroshi Kawano
lvW no.7. Artificial Mondrian Work no. 5. Flow Pattern
% 26,1966
(8" Order Markov Chain)
Conipuier-generaied design
January 11, 1967
Gouache on paper
Computer-generated design
2'-6 * 39.7 cm
Gouache on paper
OKITAC 5090A, line printer
109.7 x 28.6 cm
r °grammedinOKlSIP
H1TAC 5020, line printer
Programmed in FORTRAN IV
diversity of Tokyo
MSU Zagreb
Produced at the Large-Scale
Computer Center, University
ofTokyo
MSU Zagreb
 t e n d e n c i e s 4 • c o m p u t e r s a n d v i s u a l r e s e a r c h • 1969
392 Exhibition • Zagreb 393

"The basic reason which made me turn to -
computer was the need for a new mediuir
Coming from the field of painting and tra:
tional graphics, I initially approached the
problem from a purely aesthetic point.:
and tried to develop the concepts which I had
hitherto worked with. My concepts wot
upon the assumption that art can be tin un
versal aspect of reality, and 1 was therefore
most interested in the works and ideas !
Mondrian and Kazimir Malevich...
My compositions consist in various arr.r,
ments of a given number of units ina squr
format, which is limited in size by the p' '"'
on which the work is executed. [...|
With the use of the Random Number
Generator subroutine (RAM), the computer
f ^ Ci arranges the units randomly itself.
"It is about the programming of structures. Their char­
acteristics are determined by a type of element, and by
the rules they follow. The elements are built up from
simple geometric forms - by dividing or joining those
forms. These are constructed in such a way that the
machine can distinguish them by type and position. (...]
The state of the program is determined by four rules:
the elements must join on the basis of their color,
the elements must not join on the basis of their color;
the elements must join on the basis of their form (in
this case, circles); the elements must not join on the
basis of their form (in this case, circles)."
[Zdenek Sykora in: tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.; translated
from the French.]

(Edward Zajec in: fenc/encr/e4, exhib.cat., 0

COMPLOT, suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n.p

• 1 Z(Jenek Sykora
Edward Zajec £t"w-bild struktura (Iruhy)
RAM 1 Black-and-White Structure (Circles))
I "68
1969
Computer-generated drawing Computer-generated design
°'lon canvas
Ink, paper
22"«110 cm
21 x 30 cm
IGP-30

bogrammed by Jaroslav Blazek

• 2
mputer pa„erns produced a| char,es
Edward Zajec diversity, Prague
RAM 13 ^Su Zagreb
1969
Computer-generated drawing

Ink, paper

21.5 x 30cm

• 1 * 2 romp'1''
I B M 1 6 2 0 , Houston Instrunu

DP-1 plotter

Produced at Carleton Colleg •

MSU Zagreb
394 Exhibition • Zagreb

Hypothetical output of the computer graphic program "Line* by Auro Lecci

^
Plorence, Italy

LS,
\

llKMJH
If |
*

\ m
1 1

I |
•

M1
w Mi 1
Jf Bp !
Jiff pp 1
jr v D "aneM.Palyka
"Making a slight programming adjustment (often simply chang.ng the
parameters of the random-number generator), I run the program to
display a six-minute sequence on the cathode-ray tube and respond to
the images in the same way as a painter responds to his images during
Computer-generated film
the act of painting. [...] i
°'° con,ac< sheets of selected frames from Attempting to break away from the purely logical level of involvement
/ "6 mm film
6 min upon which the computer thrives, I try to respond with sensitivity to the
images that the computer produces from my program. Th.s somefmes
«•£'whhrdigital compu,er'Philco cathoderay
involves making use of programming errors, which bring excttng visual
^^medir„7 LGOL!on 8FaPhiC diSP'ay SyS,Cm results as well as erasing those that do not. [...]
I might add that the film is recorded directly from the cathode-ray
P'ttsburgh^PA3'"'8'6 Me"°n Un'Versity'
tube whh no editing done afterwards. [...] The work itself is no. what you
Auro Lecci see here. This is merely a ghost of what was happening in the room w,th
Hypothetical output of the computer graphic

program "Line 2"

the cathode-ray tubes."
May 1969
Computer-generated drawing
Ink on paper
IBM 7090, CalComp plotter
Programmed in FORTRAN
Produced at CNUCE, University of Pisa
Archive MSU Zagreb
396 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969

Exhibition • Zagreb 397

p«er Milojevic
* SeaStar
Peter Milojevic
Flora NT (also: Floral Design or Seasons)
1965
1969
Alan Mark France Computer-generated draw
ing Computer-generated drawing
lnl< on pap
Cycle Two er
Ink on paper
1968 "•5* 276 cm
IBM 360, CalComp 565
Computer-generated drawing 'BM7°H CalComp 565
Programmed in FORTRAN
Ink on paper jammed in FORTRAN Produced at McGill University, Montreal
70 x 61 cm
MSuTagrebMCGi"UniVer5ity,Mon,real Archive MSU Zagreb
1CL 1905, CalComp plotter,
ICL 1934 plotter
Produced at International Computers
Limited, London
MSU Zagreb
398 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969
Exhibition • Zagreb 399

•m/HJfc-TB-

-The idea behind this picture is that by studying mathemaucally the

compositional elements employed by the great artists, one might discover
Frieder Nake artistic principles; and with the aid of a computer, these principles could
13/9/65 Nr. 2. "Hommage a Paul Klee" be tested by using them to generate new examples of art As a starting
1965 1966 point completely random arrangements of rectangles (idealized brush
Computer-generated drawing Computer-generated design strokes) were examined. This picture makes several concepts that have
Ink, paper
Silk screen after a painting in acrylic
49.3 x 49 cm
been developed to produce organization in pattern and color.
on canvas
Standard Elektrik Lorenz, ER 56,
The program was written in FORTRAN for an IBM 7040. The pattern
40-5 x 30.3 cm (image: 25.3 x 25.5 cm)
ZUSE Graphomat Z64 IBM 7040 of each sub-element is printed out to scale (using sixteen 9-inch square
Programmed in Machine Code ER56 Programmed in FORTRAN blocks of printout) together with the color designation ,n terms of the
Produced at Technische Hochschule Produced at University of Miami, Munsell standard color notation. The printing is produced on canvas
[Technical University] Stuttgart Coral Gables, FL
MSU Zagreb using acrylic paint.
Sammlung Clarissa, Sprengel
1 •• .
Museum Hannover
400 tendencies 4 • computers and visual research • 1969
Exhibition • Zagreb 401

•4
•5
•1
Robert Mallary Robert Mallary
Charles Csuri TRAN2
QUAD i l l
Sine Curve Man Computer graphic drawings From the series TRAN 2
1967 IBM 1130, plotter
Computer-designed sculpture
Computer-processed drawing
0'iginal program by Michael Mallary 1969
Copy of an ink on paper drawing Produced ai University of
Plywood laminate
25.4 x 21.2 cm Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Height: 84 cm
Estate of Robert Mallary
IBM 1130, plotter
• 2
Original program by Michael Mallary
Charles Csuri Produced at University of
Landscape Massachusetts Amherst, MA
1968 Estate of Robert Mallary
Computer-processed drawing
Copy of an ink on paper drawing
"On the basis of an input of four profiles, and using seg­
Editorial note: QUAD is the name of
25.3 x 20.1 cm
a subroutine of the program TRAN2. ments from four ellipses, the computer has filled out each
The subroutines allowed the of 48 contour 'slices' and assembled them on a common
• 1-2
IBM 7094. drum plotter
generation of a certain kind of vertical axis. It has then subjected them to a series of trans­
Programmed in collaboration with Jame sculptural form for which all the cross- formation procedures resulting in three variations on the
Produced at Ohio State University
sections, at all levels along the vertical
same input [...]."
axis, could be specified as perfect
Archive MSU Zagreb
circles, ellipses, super-ellipses, or as [Robert Mallary in: tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija
ovals of various kinds. QUAD suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.]
•3
calculated contour sections based on
Charles Csuri quadrants from four different ellipses
Numeric Milling
and was used in our first series of
1968 TRAN2 sculptures, QUAD I, QUAD II,
Computer-generated sculpture
and QUAD III. The prints of the
Wood computer-generated slice contours
33 x 56 x 22 cm d miHing
were used as patterns to cut the
IBM 7094, a 3-axis computer-co Mi||er
plywood. Each layer was cut out by
Provrammed in collaboration wi
hand, then the layers were stacked and
glued together. Finally, the wood
layers were finished with a sander to
produce a polished surface.
 403

Participants in the Exhibition

Vincenzo Accame • Marc Adrian • Getulio Alviani • Carlo Belloli

• Max Bense • Julien Blaine • Jean-Francois Bory • Paolo Boschi •
Claus Bremer • Augusto de Campos • Cant • Caruso • Luigi Ferro
• Heinz Gappmayr • Pierre Gamier • Iztok Geister Plamen • Jochen
Gerz • Mathias Goeritz • Eugen Gomringer • Matjaz Hanzek •
Jih'Kolar • Ferdinand Kriwet • Nasko Kriznar • Edoardo Landi
• Arrigo Lora-Totino • Edward Lucie-Smith • Mangelos (Dimitrije
Basicevic) • Milenko Matanovic • Hansjorg Mayer • Jean-Claude
Moineau • Edwin Morgan • Maurizio Nannucci • Seiichi Niikuni •
Eduard Ovcacek • Claudio Parmiggiani • Michele Perfetti • Marko
Pogacnik • Gerald Rocher • Dieter Roth • Sarenco • Paolo Scheggi
• Wolfgang Schmidt • Gianni Emilio Simonetti • Carlo Alberto
Sitta • Adriano Spatola • BiljanaTomic • Timm Ulrichs • Franco
Vaccari • Vallari

Zelimir Koscevic

..
Typoezija
Zelimir Koscevic studied art history and ethnology at the
University of Zagreb. From 1965 to 1966 he worked for the
d r Muzej za umjetnost i obrt [Museum for Arts and Crafts],
and in 1966 he became director of the Galerija Student­
skog centra [Students' Center Gallery]. Together with
Zeljka Corak and Biljana Tomic, Koscevic conceived and
organized for this gallery the exhibition typoezija [Typo­
etry].

[Originally published in tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija

suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, i97°> n - P-l

Typoezija [typoetry]: visual research based on the primary el­

ement of visual (concrete) poetry.
Typoezija seeks to realize the visual poetic value of every­
thing that can be identified with the basic structural element
of visual (concrete) poetry. Unlike the intentionally formed
word, this basic structural element, the letter (typos), does
not possess a meaning of its own.
tendencije 4. typoezija The practical aim of this exhibition is to extract from vi­
sual (concrete) poetry the part of visual research based on the
tendencies 4. typoezija [Typoetry] meaning of the letter, independent or embedded in a compo­
sition and not on the meaning of words or sentences formed
May 6-24,1969 to establish a certain (literary) link between the meaning of
er 'ia Studentskog centra, Zagreb words and sentences and their carrier form.
MaV 6-24,1969 Typoezija foregrounds the letter ^- a self-contained sign,
Exhibition
"the minimal degree of organization.
Exhibiiion f
dencije 4. typoezija / tendencies 4. typoezija (Typoetry] In creating the term typoezija, we want to give a more pre-
Galerija Studentskog centra [Students' Center Gallery], Zagreb cise definition of something that is not only "visualized po­
etry," but also something that excludes all visual forms bur-
dened by verbal meaning.
 405

r
*
B £

i
5

fakers at the Symposium • 1

Vera Horvat-Pintaric, Umberto Eco, Martin

^'dAlslcbcn IdeJ • Art Research Center (Nancy Stephens and Thomas Kranipen, [-), Karl C.erstner, and Matko Mestrovic
(first row, from left)
•Stephens) lus> • B°z° BeklYU (rs/hr)1 • Renzo Beltrame(lT)
• 2
tendencije4- "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" it] Bent^a" ,GBl * Vadimir Bonafic [yu (HR)| • Silvio Ceccato
Martin Krampen
Frank a'demar Cordeir° [it/br] • Umberto Eco [it) • Herbert W. • 3
(arsi e'°Ei * Gr*?°GamU'in ,YU<HR)| * Kar'Gerstner [ch] * Alfred GraBl
tendencies 4. "Computers and Visual Research" Grgo Gamulin
* IosefHlavacek |cs(CZ)) • Vera Horvat-Pintaric • 4
Krai/'' " Boris Kelemen Iyu(hr)) • Zelimir Koscevic [yu(hr)| • Martin Karl Gerstner
May 5-6,1969 ?denb$ ' ^ " Leonardo M° s s ° [ix] • Vjenceslav Richter [yu (HR)| •
•5
Jonathan Benthall
Tezak v(JICrn')er^'VU(HR)' * 'OSe^Hermann Stiegler [ATI • Bozo
• •6
Waldemar Cordeiro
Symposium •7
rit'en Contributions
Silvio Ceccato
Marc Adri, •8
a"lAT' * FnederNakelDE/CA]
Radnicko sveuciliste Mosa Pijade [Workers' University Mosa Pijade], Zagreb Vladimir Bonacic
• 9
This lisi Josef Hermann Stiegler
mpiled from a u d i o r e c o r d i n g s i n t h e A r c h i v e M S U Z a g r e b .
 Horvat-Pintaric • Today's Research 407

Vera Horvat-Pintaric
Today's Research and Tomorrow's Society

Vera Horvat-Pintaric graduated in art history and classi­ ciety from real problems of today makes it impossible for us
cal archaeology in 1951 and received her doctoral degree to envisage the problems of the near future in an appropri­
in 1959 for her dissertation on the Italian Baroque sculp­ ate, or just a more appropriate way, because it is completely
tor Francesco Robba. As of 1951, Horvat-Pintaric was asso­ clear that correct prognosis and programming of our future
ciate professor at the department of art history at the Phil­ depends on a correct approach to current problems. In non-
osophical Faculty of the University of Zagreb. She edited socialist societies, these questions are very much discussed;
two double issues of the journal bit international: bit inter­ moreover, political scientists and sociologists (and not only
national5/6. the word image, poesie concrete (1969) and bit in­ cyberneticians) point to crucial transformations that will
ternational 8/9. television today (1972). soon take place in all areas of life, in all aspects of man's ac­
The text published here is the written version of the tivity, in his work and creative actions, in his moral norms
lecture Horvat-Pintaric gave at the symposium "Kompju- and social conduct. "This is not a conventional revolution­
teri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and Visual Re­ ary era: we are entering a new, metamorphic phase of human
search," May 5-6,1969, Zagreb. history. The world is at the threshold of changes which will
Radnicko sveuciliste Mosa Pijade, Zagre
influence history and mankind in a much more dramatic way
May 5-6,1969
(Originally published as "O istrazivanjima u danasnjici i o than the French or the October revolutions,'" as an Amer­
Symposium tendencije 4. "Kompjuten :' u
drustvu sutrasnjice" /"Todays Research and Tomorrow's ican political scientist and sociologist recently pointed out
istrazivanja"/ tendencies 4. "Computer* an. when speaking of the great transformations at every level of
Society," in: bit international 7, Boris Kelemen and Rados-
Research"
lav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, pp. life in the new technotronic age that has already begun.
10-18.) One can hardly say that, in this country, there has been
enough active awareness of these dramatic transformations,
It is my intention to accentuate two points which cannot, and equally, one cannot say that such awareness has been
11 °P'n'°n, be avoided any longer, especially not at the 'programmed" into our vision of the future, at least not in
s-mP°sium 'Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Comput- many important areas of social life. The detachment from ac­
rs anc* tual and crucial problems of today causes the lack of efficient
^'sual Research," since an entire array of problems
are ^ing addressed at this symposium, which were never future-oriented development projects and programs. Thus,
ouched on before in this country. My first point concerns for example, here we are not investing sufficiently in devel­
JosefHlavaiek
oping a critical theory of society founded on the premises
•6 e ro e and the position of the new scientific research in our
Alfred GraGI Clety. dictated by scientific and technological revolutionization of
and my second point deals with the relationship be-
the world. No one has yet asked the question as to cybernet­
Jon Brees Thogmartin and Nancy Sctpl** Particular fields of scientific activity in our society. 1
ics and socialism, or the question of Marxist theory in the
Art Research Center (ARC) er it necessary to raise these questions because, as its
•8 light of the development of new information sciences and
c V Car^' S^0WS' our society's
quite unprepared to ac-
Bozo Tezak techniques. The debates about humanity and socialism and
• 9 ibo c^ve'°P» and use all methods and inventions brought
its failures have a point of departure that dodges such ques­
Bozo Bek 1 y the rapid development of technology and science,
• 10 tions and not infrequently the problem of techmzation and
Zdenko Sternberg
caused^50man^' not so marginal fields, crucial changes
scientization is approached in an entirely wrong manner and
und 1 SUC^ ^eve'°Pments are entirely neglected or mis-
Boris Kelemen and Kurd Aisled"
in the name of traditional ideological standpoints and ideas,
ist socSt0°d- ^ S^0U^ not f°r8et fhat we live in a social-
which today have lost their applicability and effectiveness.
^ns Haks,h.adofthe libr^of.he.n:- to dea!0^-' W^'C^ as ^et ^as not recognized, let alone tried
cnA misunderstandings take place in our society
Art History of Utrecht Un.ve« J- ,- marv ' ^ ' Certa'n fundamental problems that are of pri-
of Compos 68. Arthur Veen J roe lrnP°rtance for its future. The detachment of our so­

Jan Baptist Bedaux (from W


tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
and in the interrelationship of various scientific activities
and disciplines. This is caused by the misunderstanding of
the role of the so-called humanities in contemporary soci­
ety, because research in these disciplines does not show di­
rect social usefulness and immediate applicability in prac­
tice. Proof of this attitude is the fact that this symposium was
denied any financial support on the pretext that its orienta­
tion, as well as that of the group by which it was organized, is
too avant-garde. 2 It is paradoxical that, in our society, on the
one hand efforts are being made at economizing of processes
and procedures by introducing computers into administra­
tion, organization, commerce, economy, and industry, and
on the other hand, the endeavor to engage with the problems
of computers and visual research is judged as unsuitable for
the requirements of our society. This view is being success­
fully propagated by newspapers in screaming headlines tell­
ing us that "electronics charges us for rubbish," while on the
other hand, they are very careful not to publish a single line
on the symposium now taking place, let alone mention any­
thing about its significance, as happened last year.
However, such an attitude of society towards new orienta­
tions in scientific research is a consequence of another occur­
rence, which should not be avoided any longer. Fact is, namely,
that the authors of the "theses" on excessive avant-gardism, or
even snobbism on the part of the Galerija suvremene umjet-
nosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art], can be found among the
humanities intelligentsia, and that successful promotion of
these "theses" among prominent representatives of our cul­
ture also influences the behavior of society, especially among
those of its representatives on whom the financing of such re­
search depends, which also means its further destiny in this
environment.
In this respect, I would like to stress the fact that we have
not yet become aware of the problems arising as a conse­
quence of the schism between the humanist and technical
intelligentsia, between humanist and technical disciplines,
between the two cultures: philosophical, literary, and artistic
on the one side, and scientific and technical on the other. If
we truly want our society to conceive new scientific research
and technology, that is, make them efficient, then our pri­
mary task is to consider the reasons why they are not being
accepted, and to point out negative consequences resulting
from such a state of things.
1° x 959» in his essay The Two Cultures and the Scientific
Revolution i C. P. Snow initiated discussion of this problem
in Britain, and the essay also gave rise to many provocative
and polemic writings in the countries where it was subse­
quently published (America, Italy, France, Western Germany,
etc.). The paradoxes described by Snow, resulting from the
schism between the two cultures and two classes of intelli­
gentsia, are also present in our society, and it is almost cer­
tain that the publication of this work would also cause sim­
ilar fierce polemics here. Snow is rightfully worried by the
fact - present also in our society - that science and technol­
ogy, which are increasingly transforming the world, ha\ c
been excluded from humanist culture.
In the everyday reality of our society we are confronted
with the conceited "superiority" of the representatives of tra­
ditional humanist culture whenever we try to introduce ne*
scientific methods or new research techniques, and in even
attempt to stress the role of scientific and technological inno­
vations within the framework of the so-called humanists
ences or disciplines encompassing different areas of culture
creation. Occasional endeavors in the direction of introduc­
ing exact, logical, rational, and analytic approaches to the
problems of creative work are a target of mockery-to which
the daily press and some periodicals tend very much-be
cause pseudoscientific, mythical, idolatrous, and irrational
notions of such problems are deeply rooted among us here.
For the same reasons, in the socialist society we have a po­
larization between so-called elite and mass culture, between
the "elite" consumers of "highbrow" art and the massion
sumers of kitsch, because mass (visual) culture has been ta,
itly pushed to the backrooms of our culture.
The disturbing thing is that such views are being passed
on to younger generations, to future experts and resear^
who - apart from a few exceptions - because of the bunk
of traditional humanist culture do not accept the redirect
ing to new problems and new research techniques.
In a recently published book entitled Falscl' Profwi
Uber das Versagen unserer Gesellschaft in der Gegenwurt u
der Zukunft und was eigentlich geschehen mufite [Program*
Falsely. About Our Society's Failure in the Present w of the New Tendencies movement and about its impact on
Respect to the Future and What Actually Shoul e ^
the German cyberneticist Karl Steinbuchconsiders.je
es and possible consequences of the misprogramm
gentsia and incorrectly programmed German sc , ^
ing out the dangers resulting from the gap etW< * ^ pertaining to the entire field of design are at the same time
cultures. In Steinbuch's opinion, one of the m a '"
ot }*
the failure of German society today and in its re a
future is not the shortage of financial means o ^ ^ ^
veloped organization, but its spiritual tra mo | ation torr-
tems of thinking, which are inadequate in t ei
jansar
ality and applied at all levels of society rom ? nts j a
representatives of the traditional humanis ^^
broad circles of civil society. Steinbuch atta
tfr:r
mently the so-called Hinterwelt [backwor ]
weltlers, "backworldsmen" (the representati in­
disciplines and culture, according to w r | ( j san dth US1 '
and practical life belong to two different ^ jnt0 .K"
vide the entire culture into two demarcat .^n,
ity whose aim is practical usefulness, t a s any pra c;
the activity of intellectual culture thnt exc [ a cade"
"This Hinterwelt and the Kathedermorde
assassins] who program it - and who remain beyond the
reach of criticism - despise everything taking place in the real
world of today, in the Vorderwelt [frontworld]. Highlighting
the catastrophic consequences of such models of thinking
that are separated from reality, Steinbuch emphasizes that
the humanist notion should today assume its original mean­
ing, one that includes a spiritual attitude whose highest aim
is man in this world, in the Vorderwelt. Quite correctly, he in­
sists that in the contemporary transformation processes tak­
ing place through science and technology, the role and the
responsibility of the humanist intelligentsia and the human­
ities increasingly acquire importance because society lacks a
code of rules that regulates thinking and conduct in a man­
ner appropriate to its present and future problems.
It should be borne in mind that we have our own Hinter­
welt and Hinterweltlers, who educate and "program" young
generations, which also means that their influence hinders
or slows down the processes of change, both in the system
of thought and the system of values practiced in our society
today. Writing about the possibility of outlining positive al­
ternatives for the future and about the importance of realiz­
ing correct decisions based on the available prediction tech­
niques provided by cybernetics, Steinbuch says that the most
important task of sociology today, on the basis of technical
analyses and prospects for the future, is probably the devel­
opment of concrete social Utopias open to criticism, some
kind of future Politeia: "The fascination with President Mao
Tse Tung's words in our society can at least partly be ex­
plained by the fact that what is offered there is exactly that
kind of concrete piece of social Utopia, open to criticism, and
clearly distinguished from non-concrete guiding images of
society in common use here." 6
An interest in Maoism and the fascination with symbols of
ethical integrity - like Che Guevara - exist in our society as
Ue 'l'
^ u t l ^ e reasons for these phenomena have not yet been
examined. It is symptomatic, however, that the still tabooed
thesis about "permanent revolution," present in certain cir-
cles of critically disposed intelligentsia -which undoubtedly
^ cultural questions. The best indicators of such a state of af­
means a positive provocative challenge to stagnant situa-
"° n s ~ ^ a s a starting point that excludes the idea of perma­
nent re\olution taking place in the contemporary world of
C| ence
and technology. Dissent and protests, whose centers
t.
are 1 e universities, are undoubtedly useful and necessary to
ociety, but unfortunately, they do not show such futur-
g'cal alternatives and stimulating "concrete social Utopias
P n to criticism based on the cognizance of transformation
^ o r ^ S S e S ^ v v h' c h science and technology are changing the
(l ,^ o r theY postulate the destruction of traditional
^ [ anc ^ v a ' u e systems that these processes require.
abov° nC ° ^ e m a ' n r e a s °ns for the situation mentioned
cr eates' S ^ kUr(*en t r a ditionaI
humanist culture, which
s a detachment from present-day reality, on the other
•
Horvat-Pintaric • Today's Research 409
hand, the representatives of scientific and technological in­
telligentsia are carriers of obsolete spiritual and philosoph­
ical outlooks, so that Steinbuch accuses them of intellectual
domestication and attributes to them the responsibility for
the erroneous development of the Hinterwelt. He censures
them in particular for their opinion that adaptation to the
forms of thinking and conduct is optimal in the given form.
This point of view originates in the thoughtless transfer of
the technical states-of-the-art and systems into the field of
social life. "We should learn from history," says Steinbuch,
"that the thinking man's first duty is not adaptation but con­
trol. Adaptation psychosis or, historically speaking, fellow-
traveling, is the cause of the greatest failure of our society,
since man is not a tiny wheel but restlessness itself, and sci­
entific and technological intelligentsia cannot be a stupidly
loyal executive force to every political power." 7
The danger of estrangement from reality, the current and
fundamental problem of our society, appears also among
those rare members of the humanist intelligentsia who are
trying to do away with the traditional system of thought and
traditional research techniques and who advocate overcom­
ing the gap between the two cultures and the two still demar­
cated scientific activities. But if we want to make new scien­
tific discoveries, new scientific and research techniques truly
effective in our society, then we have to undertake maximum
modification of our own standpoints, that is, we have to ori­
ent our projects and direct our research towards concrete so­
cial reality, at the same time rendering open "critical con­
sciousness" operational.
In his introductory paper at last year's symposium, Abra­
ham A. Moles spoke too benevolently about the importance
the field of design here. He was also very optimistic about
our future. However, we are very much aware of the general
design situation in our society. We have, for example, not yet
reached sufficient awareness of the fact that the issues ap­
fundamental social, political, ideological, moral, and general
fairs are the isolated and mostly fruitless endeavors of indi­
viduals or small groups towards adopting such attitudes and
solving at least some of the numerous open questions that
abound in our society in this respect. We should not avoid
the fact - including during the present onset of the discus­
sion on computers and visual research - that in this coun­
try there are towns and newly built city areas as unwirthch
[inhospitable] as the ones described by Alexander Mitscher-
lich 8 - that our urban environment and its artificial landscape
are not only unplanned and uncontrolled, but obsolescent
and alienated; that unauthorized building, a "habitat at a low
civilization level, is on the increase; that manufacturing of
objects for everyday use shows very slow improvement and
410 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
even that mainly under the pressure of commercial necessity,
that is, market economy; that in the area of visual communi­
cation anti-systems are at work, and that the realm of mass
visual culture is governed by profit and not by cultural or eth­
ical parameters.
It is my opinion that such a meeting, organized thanks to
the extremely useful initiative of the Galerija suvremene um-
jetnosti, which for the first time in our country has brought
together experts from different fields of science with similar
inclinations and endeavors, presently offers the best possible
opportunity for initiating discussions and interdisciplinary
research that would be directly relevant to our social reality.
Ignoring the urgency of such a defined starting point means
surrender to an entirely abstract Utopia. It also seems to me
that if we do not highlight the destructiveness of the existing
"psychological barriers," if we do not analyze the reasons why
our society refuses new scientific initiatives, if we do not at­
tempt to show the new horizons opened by new science disci­
plines and new scholarly techniques in and for socialism, in
very fundamental, but yet untouched problem areas, the fate
of present efforts will be equal to that of the New Tendencies
movement.
For this reason I propose a critical reconsideration and eval­
uation of the present symposium's program, our views and di­
rections of research, and a more precise delineation - within
the general framework of the topic "computers and visual re­
search" - of those groups of problems and sub-problems that
arise out of our present-day, immediate, and concrete reality,
because our future depends on their solution as well.
1 Editorial note: Zbigniew Brzeziriski,"America in the Technotronic Era," in:
Encounter, January 1968, pp. 16f.
2 Editorial note: In November 1968 the Galerije grada Zagreba [Galleries of
t h e C i t y o f Z a g r e b ] s u b m i t t e d a n a p p l i c a t i o n f o r financial
t e n d e n c i j e 4 ." K o m p j u t e r i i v i z u e l n a i s t r a z i v a n j a " / t e n d e n c i e s 4 ." C o m p u t e r s
and Visual Research" to the Secretariat for Culture, Education, and Physical
Culture of t h e Socialist Republic of Croatia, Commission for Cultural
Relations with Foreign Countries. The sum requested was 60,000 novi dinar,
then 4,800 US dollars. The letter of June 16, 1969, informing the Galerije
grada Zagreba that the application had been rejected, did not give any
reasons for the decision. See: Galerije grada Zagreba (Bozo Bek), letter to
the Secretariat for Culture, Education, and Physical Culture of the Socialist
Republic of Croatia, Commission for Cultural Relations with Foreign
Countries, November 20, 1968. Socialist Republic of Croatia, Commission of
the Executive Council of Parliament for Cultural Relations with Foreign Coun­
tries, letter to Galerije grada Zagreba, June 16, 1969, Archive MSU Zagreb.
3 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h i s t e x t , o r i g i n a l l y i n C r o a t i a n a n d p u b l i s h e d i n bit
international 7, cites the original title of Snow's lecture "The Two Cultures
and the Scientific Revolution," which has also been published in book form.
The English translation published in bit international 7 gives the title of the
revised version, published in 1963, The Two Cultures. And a Second Look.
See: C. P. Snow, The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. The Rede
Lecture 1959, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1959. C. P. Snow, The
Two Cultures. And a Second Look. An Expanded Version of The Two Cultures and
the Scientific Revolution, New American Library, New York, 1963.
4 K a r l S t e i n b u c h , Falsch programmiert. Ober das Versagen unserer Gesellschaft in
er Gegenwart und vor der Zukunft und was eigentlich geschehen mtifite,
Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1968.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : K a r l S t e i n b u c h , b o r n 1917 i n C a n n s t a t t , Germany, died
2005 in Ettlingen, Germany, was a German pioneer of computer science
Steinbuch was a physicist, and after World War II he first worked as
a development engineer for Standard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL), where he
d i r e c t e d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e f i r s t E u r o p e a n fully transistorized
computer system (ER 56). In 1958, he became a professor at the Technische
Hochschule [Technical University] Karlsruhe, where he established the
Institut fur Nachrichtenverarbeitung [Institute of Information Processinz
Steinbuch's greatest achievement was the development of his Lernmatrn
viable artificial neural networks. With his books, such as
one of the first
Automat und Mensch. Ober menschliche und maschinelle Intel/yen: [Machine
and Man. On the Intelligence of Humans and Machines] (1961), he
contributed significantly to the spread and popularization ofcyberneti
Germany. Steinbuch also coined the term Informatik, which in Gertnan both
covers the field of computer science and information systems. See: Karl
Steinbuch and Uwe Piske, "Learning Matrices and Their Applications '
IEEE Transactions on Electronic Computers, vol. EC-12, no. 4, December I's),
pp. 846-862. Karl Steinbuch, "Informatik. Automatische
Informationsverarbeitung," in: SEG-Nachrichten, 4, 1957, pp. 171-176.
Editorial note: Here, Karl Steinbuch borrows a term of Friedrich
Nietzsche's, see chapter 67 in Friedrich Nietzsche, Samtliche Werkt, KM,
vol. 4. Also sprach Zarathustra. Ein Buch furAlle und Keinen, Deutscher
T a s c h e n b u c h - V e r l a g , M u n i c h , d e G r u y t e r , B e r l i n , New York, 1980.
Editorial note: Steinbuch 1968, p. 150; translated from the German
Editorial note: Ibid, p. 26; translated from the German.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : S e e : A l e x a n d e r M i t s c h e r l i c h , Die Unwirtlichkeit unstrer
S t a d t e . A n s t i f t u n g z u m Unfrieden, S u h r k a m p , F r a n k f u r t a m Main, 196?
support to mount
Martin Krampen
Psychological Aspects of Man-Computer Relations
The German psychologist and communication theorist
Martin Krampen studied theology, psychology, and art his­
tory in Tubingen and Heidelberg. In 1950, he went to Rome
to do research on his dissertation in art history. There he
met Piero Dorazio and the artists of the cooperative gal­
lery Age d'Or, which was founded by Dorazio. Two years
later Krampen moved to Florence, began to study painting
at the Accademia di Belle Arti [Academy of Fine Arts], and
together with Paola Mazzetti he opened the Galleria d'arte
contemporanea [Gallery of Contemporary Art]. In a let­
ter from Max Bill, whose works he wanted to show in the
gallery, he learned of the founding of the Hochschule fur
Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of Design] (HfG). Krampen
moved back to Germany in autumn 1953 to study at the
HfG, finishing with a diploma in visual communication.
In 1959, Krampen began to study psychology and com­
munication science in the USA at Michigan State Univer­
sity, East Lansing. After he earned his Ph.D. in 1962, he
began teaching at the Carnegie Institute of Technology
m Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before moving to the Uni­
versity of Waterloo and the University of Toronto. At
Waterloo, from 1966 he created computer graphics him­
self, and together with Maurice Constant, he also orga­
nized the groundbreaking symposium "Computers in De-
s'gn a n ^ Communication" in June 1966.* In the same year,
Krampen returned to Germany and organized an exhi­
bition of computer graphics by himself, by Frieder Nake,
a"d
Michael Noll with the title Programmierter Zufall.
Cwputergrafik [Programmed Chance. Computer Graph-
M, which opened in spring 1967; first in the Galerie im
ause Behr [Gallery at the Behr House] in Stuttgart, and
1 en in the studio f in Ulm. From January 1968 until its
I 05ln § in autumn 1968 Krampen taught as a permanent
" r e r l n s o c ' a l psychology and communication science
at ( he Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm (HfG).
e text published here is a slightly abridged version
ramPens
t lecture at the symposium "Kompjuteri i vi-
e n a istrazivanja"/"Computers and Visual Research,"
ay 5 ~6, 1969, Zagreb.
Krampen • Psychological Aspects
[Originally published as "Psiholoski aspekti odnosa izme-
du covjeka i kompjutera" / "Psychological Aspects of Man-
Computer Relations," in: bit international 7, Boris Kelemen
and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb,
1971, pp. 35-47-]
This paper argues that there can be more fruitful and pro­
found ways to predict, control, and explain what happens
between man and computer, operator and equipment, than
have been proposed thus far in the discipline of "human fac­
tors" or ergonomics. This new point of view requires a revi­
sion of the human factors model of the man machine system,
where the operator is regarded as a component of an overall
system which can be more or less mechanically defined. In­
stead, it is proposed to adapt, for purposes of discovery, some
concepts of psychological field theory and acts with respect
to other centers of perception and action as these are repre­
sented in the operator's own psychological field.
The contention is, then, that human factors engineering
has neglected the deeper implications of the fact that man's
phenomenological world is a field "populated" with more
or less active and capricious entities, some of them people,
some of them objects. Hence, the human factors specialist no
longer avoids being a social psychologist in a broad and per­
haps very speculative way. Man needs to achieve the stabil­
ity of his world by discovering invariant relationships, causes,
and effects in the psychological field. Therefore, he perceives
either himself or other "persons" as the causes of change in
the field He explains the causations of other persons by at­
tributing motives and intentions to them, often in analogy to
his own motives and intentions. Some anthropological data
suggest that the concept of "person" is not limited to the hu­
man class, but that animals or objects may possess "person
qualities in that they are perceived as origins and causes of
changes in the field, as endowed with a power of their own.
While anthropological data must be understood ir'relation
to the particular culture in which they originate, this broad
concept of person as "action center" may turn out to be a
cultural universal. Informal observations in our culture, of
 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Krampen • Psychological Aspects

operators and people faced with more or less sophisticated

equipment, seem to suggest that these machines are per­
ceived and treated as autonomous action centers, that is, as
personalized foci of activity. The student of man-machine re­
lations might, therefore, gain some new and important data
if he borrows the right analogies and concepts from the area
of interpersonal relations and person perception. That such
data will have implications for the design of sophisticated
equipment and robots geared to interaction with humans is
to be expected.
During World War II, the development of computers was
speeded up for defense reasons. For instance, it became nec­
essary to predict from radar data the altitude and anticipated
position of an airplane flying at a certain speed, and to calcu­
late the ballistic curve of the anti-aircraft projectile in such
a way that the predicted position of the airplane and the ex­
plosion point of the projectile coincided. This meant a quan­
tity of complex calculations which could be handled best by
a computer. In practice, the gun had to be pointed towards a
position where the aircraft had not yet arrived. The impor­
tant link in this system of sensing the airplane by radar, cal­
physical field theory was proposed and elaborated mainly by
Kurt Lewin.4 It amounts to viewing any psychological event
as occurring in a psychological field that is part of a dynamic
totality of interacting psychological forces. [...]
Naive Analysis of Interpersonal Perception and Action
Since the content of the psychological field is always made
up of people and objects, never of objects alone, the division
between general and social psychology becomes, to a certain
extent, meaningless. Psychology is always social psychology
since the psychological field of man is never free from past,
present, and anticipated relationships with people.5
input output What is the difference between people and objects? People
primanje rezultati
are generally seen as centers of action, or causes of change in
the field. In order to obtain causal stability in his psycholog­
ical world, man has to connect events with sources produc­
ing these events. If the source of an event is thus identified, it
is generally endowed with an intention to produce the event;
or one says that the source was forced into doing something
it did not intend to do. Man also stabilizes his world by ask­
ing "why" a source may have intended to cause an event. The
dichotomy. Stones, for example, belong to the class of "an­
imate" nouns. Hallowell once asked an old Ojibwa: "Are all
the stones we see about us here alive?" The old man reflected
for a long while and answered: "No! But some are.""
There is evidence that personification of objects is not
limited to a few primitive cultures, but that it may be univer­
sal. Everything which is mobile, capricious, unpredictable,
responsive, origin of actions, locus of intrinsic power can as­
sume a highly significant, threatening, or rewarding charac­
ter in the psychological field, whether it be human, animal,
or object. It is to this class of source phenomena that man
tends to attach person characteristics. If somebody asked the
question "Are all machines we see about us persons?" a wise
answer would probably be: "No! But some are."
How different are man and machine? Stressing the simi­
larities between man and machine, Norbert Wiener argues
in his God & Golem, Inc. (1946) that the basic human capabili­
ties, learning and self-reproduction, can be duplicated in so­
phisticated equipment.
There are enough examples in everyday life which indi­
cate that people interact with machines in a quasi-human

culating its future position, integrating this calculation with naive answer is that it wanted to do it for its own pleasure, fashion. Machines are talked to, are listened to, are caressed

the ballistic curve, and pointing the gun in the right direc­ or that it identified with more general ethical principles ac­ or kicked. In his analysis of revenge as a typical event in inter­

tion, were the radar operators and gunners, who had a task cording to which one "ought" to act in a certain way and not personal relations, Fritz Heider writes: "If the target [of emo­

which amounted to tracking the present and future position
oi the airplane on the basis of instrument readings. Hence,
it is not surprising that the key position of these operators
in the radar-computer-gun system became of interest to re­
searchers. The 'human error," which could easily be intro­
duced into the otherwise perfectly mechanical system, was
costly and sometimes deadly, and had to be reduced. "Hu­
in another. In short, man attains the relatively invariant as­ tional expression] is an object, one can also assume a phys­
pects of personal relationships by attributing changes in the iognomic perception in which things are endowed with a
field to the action of people whose intentions can be inferred tendency toward self-preservation and self-activation. One
from or explained by their own intentions or other forces in can act for a thing by taking care of it, cleaning it, keeping it
(meters etc.) controls
the environment. Intentions are either inferred or read off in good shape, and repairing it; or one can act against a thing
oiitavanje komande
(metriitd.)
from bodily or facial cues.6 Man just seems unable to func- by destroying it, breaking it, or making it dirty. [...] Each thing
machine
fion in a situation like the Queens croquet ground in Alice's tends to be as good and a perfect as possible, and the mean­
strol

man factors engineering" and computers have, therefore, to
a certain degree developed in parallel.
Man in these so-called "man-machine systems" was pri­
marily an instrument reader and crank or knob-turner since
perception in such a situation seems to be reduced to a direct
visual contact with dials, and action to the pressing of but­
tons. At the same time, the legibility of dials and the shape of
buttons, knobs, and handles became of great importance. Of
course, it was realized that man was in himself a "feedback
system, and that he was, therefore, better placed into some
positions of the system than into others. However, the typical
diagram of the man-machine system was composed of:
1. The machine, exhibition displays and controls, accepting
inputs and producing outputs;
Fig. 2
versions of this basic diagram (fig. 2) that incorporate
cept of feedback to a high degree.2 However, it seems
man-machine systems diagrams of the tradition*1
factors origin can be reduced to stimulus-respon.e
ory. [...] While S-R theory has produced useful resu ts^-
man factors engineering, as well as in psuhoKv
ing in general, it leaves certain deeper questions (
To summarize the criticism of the traditiona
tors approach, one could say that the old aPProa ^ ^ ^.
concerned with the peripheral input and oU'P^
man operator, whereas it is now proposed to
on the central perceptual result and the centra ^
of action. This new approach suggests a man ^ ^ ^
Ventures in Wonderland.7 ing of breaking a thing is acting against this tendency. [...] a
hard, resistant object is more suitable for the expression of
What Is a Person? counteraggression than is a soft, yielding object. This is so be­
Whether man sees only people as sources of environmen­ cause the resistance of the object represents its opposition to
^
tal changes is another question. To the child and to people p's attack against its intrinsic tendencies. [...] Pounding one's
: ^
|n other cultures, animals or things often appear responsi- fist on the table is a representation or image, as it were, of
^or changes in the field.8 Solomon Asch9 points out that what the person has just experienced, namely an action ob­
I eople and things are similar in many respects: In daily lan- structed by an obstacle.
On a broad popular level, the present-day Luddites, most
-uage we use the same term to describe physical, as well as
vociferous among the representatives of arts and humani ties,
I }chological qualities. A man can be said to be "hard," just
^ build their speculations around the popular fear that the
( ' ta')'e can be said to be "hard." While both are totally dif-
machine will take over." This expression reveals clearly that
ent' '^c 'nteraction with both can contain similar expen­
. machines altogether are endowed with the intention of in­
ds. such as running with one's own action into a blocking
. stac e which requires a great deal of force to be removed. vading our life and, especially, taking over our jobs.
..
0^ ^'owe"10 rePorts that in the thinking of the Applications of Interpersonal Psychology in Research and
[|ie " 'ans' t^e category ofpersons does not overlap with
n

2. man, facing the displays with his receptors (e.g., eyes, ears), tionship model which is based on psycho c- Design
jects '^0ry °fpeople: These Indians conceive of person-ob-
which send messages to his central nervous system, which in rather than on S-R theory. ^ ^m From the line of arguments proposed here it results that the
lan ° not 'n a dogmatic, animistic way. In Ojibwa
turn sends messages to his effectors (e.g., hands, feet), con­ Field theory derives its name from 1 e^_
C|erk M<v engineer of man-machine systems can learn a great deal
' Hi iluf l n°UnS 'nt0 two classes distinguished by differ-
tacting the controls of the machine (fig. i). such great physicists as Heinnch Hertz, am^ ^... from the psychology of interpersonal relations. A whole new
spond a3 SU eS' ^ese classes refer to objects which corre-
The displays were said to produce stimuli to which the op­ well, and Michael Faraday introduced un g ^^ aPproximateIyt0 our program of research and applications could be derived if the
Western "animate" / "inanimate"
erator responded.' There are similar, but more sophisticated
 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
available knowledge about human interactions were exam­
ined, and those observations were sifted out that seem to be
promising hypotheses on the more general level of man-ob­
ject relations. The goal of creating a relationship of "conver­
sational" character between a designer and a device accept­
ing visual input and producing visual output has already
been reached. It would be interesting to study the implica­
tions of this situation for the designer and to work on the
perfection of the "conversational mode." In her studies of
sociable interaction, Jeanne Watson 1 3 isolated three partic­
ular types of face-to-face communication between humans,
which she defines as work-oriented, familial, and sociable
interactions. It would seem that the description of work-ori­
ented communication should apply to man-machine conver­
sation as well. Work-oriented conversation focuses on the
job to be done; familial interaction revolves around routine
events and problems of everyday life; sociable talk is con­
cerned with the more specialized, non-routine concerns of
the participating individual.
The style of the conversational mode between man and
machine should, therefore, emphasize expressions referring
to the making of progress in the task at hand, to the comple­
tion of subtasks, and to moving on to the next job. It should
include expressions of reinforcement for productive and
competent performance of the operator.
See: Martin Krampen and Peter Seitz (eds.), Design and Planning 2. Computers
in Design and Communication, Hastings House, New York, 1967.
1 See: H. P. Birmingham and F. V. Taylor,"A Design Philosophy for Man-
Machine Control Systems," in: Proceedings of the IRE, vol. 42, no. 12, 1954,
pp. 1748-1758.
2 See: Everett L. Thomas,"A Model of Man Applied to Design," in:
Martin Krampen (ed.). Design and Planning, Hastings House, New York, 1965,
pp. 19-23.
3 See: Morton Deutsch,"Field Theory in Social Psychology," in: Gardner
Lindzey (ed.). Handbook of Social Psychology, vol. 1, Addison-Wesley
Publishing Co., Reading, MA, pp. 181 f.
4 See: Kurt Lewin, Field Theory in Social Science. Selected Theoretical Papers,
Dorwin Cartwright (ed.). Harper Torchbooks, New York, 1964.
5 See: David Krech and Richard S. Crutchfield, Theory and Problems of Social
Psychology, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1948, p. 8.
6 See: Jerome S. Bruner and Renato Tagiuri,"The Perception of People," in:
Gardner Lindzey (ed.), Handbook of Social Psychology, vol. 2, Addison-Wesley
Publishing Co., Reading, MA, 1954, pp. 634-654.
7 See: Martin Gardner (ed.), The Annotated Alice. Alices's Adventures in
Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Penguin Books Ltd.,
Harmondsworth, 1965, pp. 111-117.
8 See: Fritz Heider, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, John Wiley &
Sons, New York, 1958, p. 57.
9 See: Solomon E. Asch, The Metaphor. A Psychological Inquiry," in: Renato
Tagiuri and Luigi Petrullo (eds.), Person Perception and Interpersonal Behavior,
Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA 1958, pp. 86-94.
10 See: A. Irving Hallowell,"Ojibwa Metaphysics of Being and Perception of
Persons," in: Renato Tagiuri and Luigi Petrullo 1958, pp. 63-85.
11 Ibid, p. 65.
12 Heider 1958, p. 271.
13 See: Jeanne Watson, "A Formal Analysis of Sociable Interaction," in:
Soaometry, vol. 21, no. 4, December 1958, pp. 269-280.
Solomon E. Asch,"The Metaphor. A Psychological Inquiry," in: RenatoTag ,
and Luigi Petrullo (eds.), Person Perception and Interpersonal Behavior,
Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA 1958, pp. 86-94.
S. Howard Bart ley,"Some Facts and Concepts Regarding the NeurophtM
of the Optic Pathway," in: A.M.A. Archives of Ophthalmology, 60,1958.
pp. 775-791.
Giinter Baumgartner and Pavlos Hakas, in: "Reaktionen einzelner Opticus
neurone und corticaler Nervenzellen der Katze im Hell-Dunkel Grenr
(Simultankontrast)," proceedings of the 25th Congress of the German
Physiological Society, Bad Nauheim, 1959, n. p.; translated from theGi--.
H. P. Birmingham and F. V. Taylor,"A Design Philosophy for Man-Machine
Control Systems," in: Proceedings of the I.R.E., vol. 42, no. 12, 1954, pp
1748-1758.
Jerome S. Bruner and Renato Tagiuri,"The Perception of People," in: Ganin,
Lindzey (ed.), Handbook of Social Psychology, vol. 2, Addison-Weslev
Publishing Co., Reading, MA, 1954, pp. 634-654.
Joan H. Criswell,"The Psychologist as Perceiver," in: Renato Tagiuri and I u,
Petrullo 1958, pp. 95-109.
Morton Deutsch, "Field Theory in Social Psychology," in: Gardner Lindi.
Handbook of Social Psychology, vol. 1, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co
Reading, MA, pp. 181-222.
Martin Gardner (ed.), The Annotated Alice. Alices's Adventures in WonderlmJ
Through the Looking Glass, Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth, 1965
James J. Gibson, The Perception of the Visual World, Houghton Mifflin, Bo- -
1950.
A. Irving Hallowell,"Ojibwa Metaphysics of Being and Perception of Per-
Renato Tagiuri and Luigi Petrullo 1958, pp. 63-85.
Fritz Heider, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, John Wiley fc Sons V
York, 1958.
Fritz Heider, On Perception and Event Structure, and the Psychological
Selected Papers, Psychological Issues, vol. 1, no. 3, monograph 3,
International Universities Press, New York, 1959.
Julian Hochberg,"The Psychophysics of Pictorial Perception,"in: Audi.' low
Communication Review, vol. 10, no. 5, 1962, pp. 22-54.
David Krech and Richard S. Crutchfield, Theory and Problems of Social
Psychology, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1948.
Kurt Lewin, Field Theory in Social Science. Selected Theoretical Papers, Don.
C a r t w r i g h t (ed.). Harper Torchbooks, New York, 1964.
Robert B. MacLeod,"The Phenomenological Approach to Social
Psychological Review, 54, 1947, pp. 193-210.
Richard S. Rudner, Philosophy of Social Science, Prentice-Hall. Eng
NJ, 1966. . ..
Everett L. Thomas, "A Model of Man Applied to Design, in.
(ed.), Design and Planning, Hastings House, New York, 1965. PP
Jeanne Watson,"A Formal Analysis of Sociable Interaction, in.
vol. 21, no. 4, December 1958, pp. 269-280.
Norbert Wiener, God & Golem, Inc. A Comment on Certain Points
Impinges on Religion, The MIT Press, Cambridge. MA. I 6
Eco • [Untitled] 415
Umberto Eco
[Untitled]
The semiotician and philosopher Umberto Eco, who had is accompanying the New Tendencies art exhibition, to ask
studied philosophy and literature at the University of Tu­ them, "What is the relationship of your art and your research
rin, was employed by the Italian television (RAI) in Milan with the needs of the masses at large?"
as an editor for cultural programs. In 1959 he left RAI and The people sitting around the symposium table and the
started to work as editor of non-fiction at Bompiani pub­ artists are often unsure about how to respond. Nor are the
lishers in Milan. In that period he did not only prepare students usually able to give an immediate answer, because
» his book Opera aperta [Open Work] and his text on "Arte the history of this century offers us two possible answers: two
Programmata," both published in 1962, but also a publi­ in capitalist countries and two in socialist countries - always
cation of great importance in Italy for the information the same two in both places, not four different answers. The
11 about the possibilities of computers in relation to the arts first answer is a matter of persevering with aesthetic research
(Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 1962. Le applicazioni dei cal- which, to begin with, questions the systems of the expecta­
colatori elettronici alle scienze morali e alia letteratura, Bom­ tions of their own audience; in other words, of linguistic re­
piani, Milan, 1961). search in which each message provokes a discussion about a
In parallel to his writing and editorial work, he taught society's codes. This, in current terminology, is called avant-
at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, University of garde art, experimental art, art that is also linked to the per­
Turin, Faculty of Architecture, University of Florence and ception of contemporary science. Avant-garde art in capital­
" the Faculty of Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano ist countries initially emerged as a form of discussion, of
[Polytechnical University of Milan]. In 1969 he served as protest against prevailing cultural values, and for a long time
a member of the jury for the competition "Kompjuteri i seemed to be revolutionary art.
w,-;
^ ^
v buelnaistrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research." The fact that these days students come and ask avant-
^
The text published here is a transcript of an audio re­ garde artists "What is your relationship with the reality of so­
ciety as a whole?" and that many artists or theoreticians like
cording of Eco's lecture at the symposium "Kompjuteri i
vyhertCgb^
vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research." us have no complete answer, indicates that the revolution­
ary curve of avant-garde art may possibly be on a downward
would like to follow up Miljenko Horvat's talk, which raised trend. The second answer, in a capitalist country, is the one
MUcstions prefiguring the problems of a socialist society. we are offered not by avant-garde art but by the mass media,
ever' one by mass communications, which is basically dedicated to the
should beware, because the same questions
principal desires of the masses. In other words, it provides
Ife a'S0 ra'sed in other countries where they produce simi-
a r "' s e s - people with exactly what they want and expect. Do you want
For the issue raised by Horvat - the possible fusion
to sleep? I'll give you sleep. Do you want to move your arms
^' u ' n v o cultures and the future of aesthetic research based
and legs? I'll give you rhythm. Do you want to be happy? I 11
cr awareness of what is taking place in science today
tell you fairy tales. Basically, the mass media try to satisfy the
'ion n-)13"1 ^°'nt tUmec^ 'nt0 a second issue: an examina-
needs of the masses instead of discussing existing social and
h fi . e r e ' a t '°nship between these two research domains,
e (s cultural codes; they pay tribute to those codes without help­
of science and aesthetics, in relation to what is ac-
ing anyone to question their own systems of expectations.
InfiV"-' ^ 3 C e o u r o w n t'" 1 6 8 -
In socialist countries, we have the so-called avant-garde
ln so-called protest era, which is also a time
studies - experiments performed under the same conditions
denl " VU ^ ^ c *' s c u s s ' o n > a group of students may sud-
as those currently prevailing in capitalist countries - and we
e xhibifi t e r r U P t 3 m e e t i n g s c i e n bsts,
or art critics, or artists
n g in a group show, like the symposium here which
have an answer comparable to that of the mass media which
416 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
has sometimes been called Socialist realism or other names.
This consists in forms of messages that do not question the
codes. Would you like a portrait in which you can recognize
an historical character? If he had a moustache, he will have
a moustache. If that moustache contained one hundred and
twenty-five thousand hairs, then there will be that number
of hairs; if you want to experience emotions, we will provide
them for you; if you want to feel proud, then we will make
you feel proud.
As you can see, there are two sorts of answers. We are all
quite convinced that any response that addresses the existing
systems of expectations without upsetting the order of social
and cultural codes is not an answer directed towards the fu­
ture. For a long time we were convinced that the answer pro­
vided by avant-garde art was the one that looked to the fu­
ture. I am inclined to think that this is still true to a certain
degree. Especially since we have to realize, and do so con­
stantly these days, that the future is never squarely in front of
us. It is always just a little off to the side.
The future of alchemists was focused on finding a way
to make gold, but the real future of alchemy was chemis­
try, which doesn't make gold but does make various alloys.
Christopher Columbus' future was to discover the Indies,
but his real future was just a little bit off to the side. The fu­
ture of humans flying in the air seemed to be the discovery
of something lighter than air, and for years work was con­
centrated on airships; yet, the future was off to the side: the
discovery of something heavier than air, the airplane. And,
as they made progress, little by little, once they understood
that the future lay in the airplane, they then discovered that
something heavier than air, with its propellers, was not ad­
equate to reach the moon. What was needed was a rocket,
something that had been used by Chinese and Indian troops
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries against the Mon­
golian horsemen and as fireworks at local fairs: once again
the future stood next door (a cote).
Therefore, our task is always to detect whether or not
what we are making is an airship, and if by chance we still
need to discover the airplane.
There are two exhibitions taking place here today: one
experimental art, the art of the New Tendencies, and one o!
products of electronic computing devices. We are waiting
and when I say that we are waiting, I fully assume my resp> -
sibilities as a critic and theoretician of art who has support
these ideas for a long time and, in large part, still believes
them - for the experiments by artists who are inventing
bile machines, ambiguous shapes, maneuverable and mu
pie works, who are marching towards the future in the sen-
that they attract a growing audience to converse active!',
a work of art and, therefore, to discuss, together with the art
ist, its expectation systems; and we are also waiting, perhat
for the electronic computers to replace the artist in pre
ing us with textures, with much more elaborate and
tive aesthetic structures.
Nevertheless, it is possible that these two hopes we ^
for the future will both turn out to be deception
once again, the future will be next door (a cote). 1
plain what I mean: personally, I believe that the open -
in aesthetics performed with electronic devices,c0
are enormously valuable, but not for the future
are enormously valuable for understanding 1
o fp e r c e p t i o n , f o re x a m p l e , a n d here Irefer ac
stimulating things that Martin Krampen to
iments are enormously valuable for understa
ture of representational signs, the struCtUre ^^Sance"'
Over the past century, all semiotics, from ^^^ a-
Peirce onwards, has continued to speak o
alog signs that reproduce the appearances
tuitive way. It is only now, with the experun ^^
on computers, that we begin to un ers|
iconic sign has a discrete digital nature o
fore, that our whole concept of what is in
ural, and similar to reality is beginning
and restructuring, and that the exploratio
brains will facilitate a much better an
ing of the infinite combinatory possi 1''
thetic structures. The object that a com
not yet differ, in terms of its relationship
from the Mona Lisa, the Sistine Chapel, or even an avant-
garde work of art: it remains an object which, if considered
an aesthetic object, is to be admired by the public. In other
words, the computer's result offers us another strange au­
thoritarian relationship, and for this reason, someone - no
matter whether this was a person or a machine - has ques­
tioned the existing codes, no matter whether by means of an
intuitive act or by calculating a series of algorithms.
The result of this questioning of the system of expecta­
tions is now finished and is being presented to the public.
Unfortunately, the same thing also happens with the op­
erations of experimental art that has undoubtedly made
enormous efforts over the past few decades to achieve a new
concept of the work of art - not as an absolute object, for­
ever defined, to be religiously admired but, to the contrary,
one that has tried to offer us ambiguous mobile objects pos­
sibly requiring the active intervention of the observer. Yet in
'hese objects, too, the ones we can call the new tendencies of
contemporary art, an aspect I shall call authoritarian still lin­
gers on: no process in progress is handed to us, but a process
whose conditions are all already defined.
^ faced with the victory of that principle of delegating which,
Therefore, when students come and ask us what will con-
e ^
emporarv art or scientific research related to art answer in
. . .
fder to provide a fuller participation of society as a whole
, s!nl- n'he artistic experience, we always have trouble responding
cause we realize that the answer can no longer be the old
13 ectic between avant-garde art and mass communications,
'ween abstraction and Socialist realism, but it seems there
reajjt> inan
°PPortunity to invent the public's participation in
^ authtoritarian relationship has been shattered.
°rget that this authoritarian relationship exists in a
ownand,tb"
de C r^§urat've arts ar|d architecture to a greater
^^ ,
^8 e' an in the other arts or other experience: the fact is
,1 ln(j
CLUra^e0US as l^e d'scussion may be, it is still always
. " 1 en imposed by a specialist who then ends it and of-
unjer. Wlw °wn audience.
por p0tent!'; ates su^ °
S pera such a popular art form and one that cre-
ter gives us •' at |east.
lntense emotional participation of mass audiences,
^ p,. n certain countries? Think about that for a minute.
Eco • [Untitled]
Because, for better or worse, we all know how to sing, and
everyone, sooner or later, has tried to see how high or low
on the scales he/she can sing: "I can't go any higher than a
high C." And it is precisely for this reason that anyone is able
to understand why an artist sings, and why he/she sings bet­
ter or, in some cases, worse. Just think of what it's like in the
kitchen: all of us know how to fry an egg in butter, all you
do is put some butter in a frying pan, swish it around, then
break the egg, and add a little bit of salt... We all know how
to cook a steak. Yet this doesn't stop us from spending a bit
more on going someplace where there's a person who knows
how to fry a wonderful egg or who prepares a special steak.
Likewise, we all know how to dance, and it is precisely be­
cause of this that we particularly admire a ballerina; each of
us knows how to walk, and that's why Emil Zatopek walks
better than we do.
The realm of the figurative arts and architecture in general
is the only one in which certain specialists are tasked with
the accomplishment of certain acts that we don't know how
to do and cannot do. On the one hand, we find ourselves con­
fronted with the mutilation of our bodies, and on the other,
these days, is questioned by the new reality of constituted as­
semblies. And this is where the crisis of the artist's relation­
ship with the society of his time arises, because if the artist
questions certain cultural codes with a work of experimen­
tal art, he knows full well that these are still, in a capitalist so­
ciety, class codes and that, in any case, in a socialist society
these are the codes of the elite. It is a very small audience that
is familiar with the laws of the formal systems that are ques­
tioned by the most elaborate ingenuity of kinetic machines.
The other answer would then be: we should speak in a
way that everyone can understand, and that leads us to the
typical TV theme song or the celebrative painting. There is
no change in the authoritarian relationship.
The authoritarian relationship would change only if re­
searchers and artists were suddenly to reconfigure their ac­
tivities for a certain number of years and, instead of creat­
ing objects, began to promote active participation. Mind you,
418 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
there are two categories of people in our society who have
the possibility to manipulate materials: children and prison­
ers. There are children, especially of rich parents, who do not
only read Walt Disney books but also experience formal ma­
nipulations with precious materials, perhaps following the
instructions of famous American pedagogues like Rhoda
Kellogg; and there are prisoners who, with plenty of time
on their hands, make tiny model Mercedes or Citroen cars
or the Leaning Tower of Pisa out of the soft bits inside their
bread rolls.
This so fundamental activity of humankind, which in its
entirety constructs objects, in the same way that all human
beings engage in dancing, marching, singing, or cooking,
does not exist in contemporary society. Due to this lack of
participation of the body, an enormous opportunity for lib­
eration does not exist; therefore, neither does an opportunity
to participate actively in discussion of the existing cultural
codes. For this reason, I am thinking that activities like the
New Tendencies and computer shows ought not to focus on
exhibitions anymore in the future, but should be directed to­
ward training programs that call upon artists and research­
ers to promote collective activities involving participation.
Prise de la parole, speaking out, is the planetary problem to­
day - no one waits anymore for the union leader to decide
what one is to do in the factory, but instead, one's destiny is
discussed by assemblies in various countries in the same way
that discussions are held at the universities.
1 he artists duty is perhaps that of bringing together ever
gieater masses of people who are like-minded to discuss the
formal destiny of certain materials, which means inventing
new images, new relationships with things, really placing
oneself in an experimental situation. There is nothing more
experimental than a child beginning to discover what he can
do with a pencil or a piece of chalk. Yet, in our contempo­
rary society adults don't have this possibility, which children
may still have, and I think that it is the duty of artists to give
it back to them.
Just think, for one hundred years architects invented mar­
velous Utopias to oblige people to be happier, and were rel­
atively unsuccessful at it. The problem of architects tod,,
should be less that of offering us spaces and, instead, more
about forcing people to discuss and invent their own spa,.
Therefore, the request 1 would make to encourage dis,-
sion with regard to the New Tendencies that are really in
with the future and, therefore, not in a straight line but in
ambiguous, diagonal, and contradictory line, like those c r
ality and history; and the research studies I would undert >
would be to plan processes instead of results. These wou
no longer be finished processes that are offered as modeN
possible processes and, therefore, as results, but new par
patory situations in which each person goes forward .1
cusses; where neither the artist nor his admirer km •
will happen, except with regard to the authoritative a
ship between the two of them which is becoming bor
I said earlier, there will always be those v\ ho know lieiv
an egg better than others, but the heart of the matur
everyone knows how to do it.
What I would like for the next New Tendencies;is no-
have to look at and turn my eyes towards the
middle of rooms or to admire objects, or to make i,
movements on aesthetically pleasing buttons not ^
moved from the technological buttons mentions
Krampen, but to be involved in what we wou j"
happening; not a playful happening but a cntica ^ w ...
in which each person says what they want,
it like that, the next symposium would real
remarkable.
Thank you.
Karl Gerstner
Producing Art with the Computer
The Swiss artist and designer Karl Gerstner, who exhib­
ited in the very first New Tendencies exhibition in 1961,
served on the jury for the competition "Kompjuteri i vizu-
elna istrazivanja"/ "Computers and Visual Research." In
his introduction to the catalog of tendencije 4 / tendencies 4,
Radoslav Putar assigned an important role to Gerstner in
re developing the idea of "programming" art which, accord­
ing to Putar, led to the idea to integrate the computer in
the program of the New Tendencies. In 1963 Gerstner had
published the book Programme entwerfen [Designing Pro­
grams].
The text reprinted here is the written version of the lec­
ture Gerstner gave at the symposium "Kompjuteri i vizu-
elna istrazivanja"/"Computers and Visual Research," May
5-6, 1969, Zagreb.
[Originally published as "Producirati umjetnost kompju-
terom /"Mit dem Computer Kunst produzieren," in: bit
international 7, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.),
Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, pp. 149-154; trans­
lated from the German.]
Lie first film of the Lumiere brothers goes like this: A train
m ° Ves d i a 8 o n a Ily into the picture. People disembark, and
01 e r s get on board. The train leaves. End of film.
L e him was a worldwide sensation the first time it was
o^n. The sensational aspect was the new medium itself,
n o t S o m u c h what someone had done with it. (Would
o
J °t the millions of amateurs think of filming such a scene
a) • Only Andy Warhol, perhaps, for whom other criteria
a * decisive, though...)
forreah ^ ' t r y i " 8 l ° S 3 y W i t ^ *S 3 m e c * i u m
1 . a r t l s t ' c intentions, and so is the computer. How-
ever
^ un 'he medium of film, the effects of the medium of
puter are not direct. The possibilities it contains, it
Th n e°rr f f e r U P ° f i t S O W n a C C O r d
know 0^ a r C m a n ^ e x a m pl e s
of computer art, but I do not
a S| ngle one that is only realizable with a computer
Gerstner • Producing Art
and with nothing else - not a single one that reveals a new vi­
sion, a new experience. I have never consumed a work cre­
ated on a computer spontaneously, but always via the detour
of the intellect. This means: curiosity about the fact that a
work was actually created with the help of a computer - and
how - was always greater than what the work evoked.
The results that astonished me the most were when the
computer created new works following known patterns. I am
thinking of Bach fugues, which were not actually composed
by Bach, but by a computer using Markov chains.
Without doubt it is fascinating to have a computer cal­
culate all the musical compositions, which Bach could have
composed. As an artist, though, I am far more interested in
something else. I see the computer as an instrument, as a
tool to produce art. No more, no less. With a computer, I can
increase my work in the relation of 1 :2 or i:n. n might stand
for 1:1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 . That is, a computer is an instrument with
any number of random intricacies. That is to say, there is a
threshold where quantity turns into quality. Here, a new di­
mension of art emerges, which would not be possible or con­
ceivable without computers.
Since the beginning, I have - perhaps not with the nec­
essary intensity, but at least with great interest - kept my­
self up to date about the problems of potential computer art.
The experiences I have gathered and the conclusions I have
drawn from them refer for the most part to the constraints
rather than to the possibilities. I would like to discuss this,
because it is primarily an issue of communication to go be­
yond these limits.
The requisite technology is lacking.
A discrepancy exists between the possibilities of program­
ming and the possibilities of realizing the program. With re­
gard to the machine, I am able to program without any lim­
its and complexly, but what I can realize is only limited and
incomplete. I can remember visiting Frieder Nake (a pioneer
of computer graphics, whom I admire a lot) in the computer
center [of the Technical University] in Stuttgart. For the first
time I had the possibility of watching (speechlessly) how
420 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969

Hyde/Brnthall/Meuger • Zagreb Manifeiti

simple graphite pencils on simple plotters drew pictures,
which were programmed on punch cards, indescribably
, '-,uwon. • """ensiom
slowly on paper. Nobody experiences the world
What good is it to me to develop programs, which I can­ the one side, and color on the otherT^ f0rmson

not realize? research, and even less theories fouL^' thereishard|yan?

The funds are lacking.
Efficient means of realizing could doubtlessly be devel­
oped. What the sound generator is for the composer, an
electronic color generator could be for the artist. This de­
vice would be able to produce physically any color shade
(by means of additively mixing three base colors). The tech­
nological prerequisites are provided by color television; the
carrier would therefore be the TV screen. To explore these
possibilities would require relatively large investments. And
Gordon Hyde, Jonathan Benthall, and Gustav Metzger
relation between color and form Wu °n ",abou,,,lecw-
Zagreb Manifesto
their interrelationships are more complex.
But is that any reason not to analyze them?
To be brief: It seems as though these days, working with a
computer is only fruitful to a certain extent. Because thecn
teria that are essential for this work are lacking.
Working with a computer today can actually only mean: The manifesto reprinted here was co-authored by three information. These evolving techniques will respond to an
to arrive at new criteria through the constraints of the no> members of the London Computer Arts Society, a society infinite variety of events, transform them, and offer creative

what company or which institution would provide these for medium. For the artist, who is not as interested in the mi thai was founded in 1968 "to promote the creative use of outputs inaccessible to present art. These advances include

such a vague goal.
There are no appropriate materials.
The production of computer art based on color television
may be expensive, but it is possible and limits the possibili­
ties of the medium of the computer to the possibilities of the
dium as in the effect that can be achieved with this medium
this is hard to come to terms with. And that is the mam irea
son why to this day I have preferred to program "by an i»
Max Bense calls it) rather than through an
PUten"
. r, I am not satisfied with working
Another reason is that I eds of thoUSands of perm"
computers in (he arts."* Gordon Hyde had been involved
in cybernetics since the early 1950s, and he developed a
concept for a new kind of computer, which was never ac­
tually built. Jonathan Benthall, who had studied English
wit t f "
language and literature at the University of Cambridge,
wrote a monthly column entitled "Technology and Art"
^or ihe journal Studio International. Gustav Metzger, who
the use of computers not only for processing inputs into new
forms, but also for optimizing the creative potential .it the
man-machine interface. This interface is perhaps the least
satisfactory aspect of present-day computers, because of the
rigid mathematical constraints imposed, the design of the in
ternal logic of the machines, and the inadequacy of existing
programming languages for handling information in open

medium of television. with random generators. Hu had siudied art at the Cambridge School of Art, developed systems. A great deal of computer art embodies the limita­
ontajn less density than
in the early 1960s the concept of "Auto-destructive art," tions of existing techniques. The aesthetic demands of artists
Instead of physical colors, chemical ones could be used tations achieved by randomness c stem.' havenonfl
and in the autumn of 1966 he organized "DIAS," the "De­ necessarily lead them to seek an alliance with the most ad­
more universally. However, this causes problems that will two permutations created throug shovv me a way h°w 'J'
traction in Art Symposium,"at the London Africa Centre, vanced research in natural and artificial intelligence.
hardly be solved satisfactorily in the coming decades. Satis­ found anyone who has been a syStems.which
n April 1969 Metzger became the editor of PAGE, the bul- Artists are increasingly striving to relate their work and
factorily means: with the precision that is inherent to com­ use devices for .he permutation of ope that of the technologists to the current unprecedented crisis
etin of the London Computer Arts Society.
puters. Our knowledge of the materials - the pigments and system generators. hese rese^ •he manifesto was read at the symposium "Kompju- in society. Some artists are responding by utilizing their ex­
the binding agents - remains ridiculously primitive to this Ien ' vhuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and Visual Re­ perience of science and technology to try and resolve urgent
• n mv°ne vv"h 3 Hirecti°nan<i
day. With reference to colorfastness to light, to take just one search. May 5-6,1969, Zagreb, by Jonathan Benthall. social problems. Others, researching in cybernetics and the
I do not wish to disil'usl° (() s0me
eXtent ~ * —- «kept'

neurosciences, are exploring new ideas about the interaction

example, we have hardly progressed farther than Leonardo tions, but instead provide ^ n0t
eXfre^ r in [he l'oir
I of the human being with the environment. Others again are
finally published as "Zagrebacki manifest"/"Zagreb
da Vinci. What good is the finest coordination to me, if in goal for future develop1111^^ caUSe of > **
because
nl

•utesto, in: bit international 7, Boris Kelemen and Ra- identifying their work with a concept of ecology which in­
certain color sequences some tones, and additionally in dif­ comments in spite of. 'nl1 10 CO®'''
!i Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, cludes the entire technological environment that man has
ferent degrees, fade after a short time? The chemical colors puter future of art. the °PP°" -orienc
rtuni eS
C-^' imposed on nature. There are creative people in science who
ful f°r expefl PP-jf-l
do not only vary in their colorfastness to light, they also vary And, finally, I am Srate^ in gather ^jn, 0fview-
n feel that the man-machine problem lies at the heart of mak­
in their purity. Certain pigments, such as yellow, are purer Zagreb, because I shall a^^
ise my P° ing the computer the servant of man and nature. Such peo­
•1 rhe initiative of the organizers of the international
than others, such as purple. (There is a large range of colors, P°sium Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" /"Comput- ple welcome the insight of the artist in this context, lest we
and have the opportu'11^
^ ' ^lsua' Research" and its related exhibition, Zagreb, lose sight of humanity and beauty.
which cannot even be chemically reproduced yet.) I would
need pigments at my disposal, which are absolutely light- "9- I he Computer Arts Society has been formed
"n on '!"s year, and its aims are "to promote the cre-
fast, absolutely pure, and homogeneously mixable, as well as 1 Editorial note: See: Ma" he''1, ^ See: "Computer An. Society." in: Evenf One. exhib. C..Compute, An.
TeX,a •lt. °' comPu,ers in the arts and to encourage the in-
binding agents, which do not change the pigments and can Allgemeine Texttheorie u'"1
Society. London. 1969. n. p.
ange ot information in this area." It is now evident that,
be applied to all the materials that are used.
f meets science and technology, the computer and
If I do not wish to wait for these problems to be solved - • !ls< iplines provide a nexus.
and cannot wait: How can I today exploit the possibilities of ede that the next twenty years could be spent by
computers at least to some extent? exploring and assimilating the potential of existing
'nd their peripherals. Some artists, however, are
Intellectual criteria are lacking. • .tad' which are opening up in the applica-
anced techniques for organizing and transforming
The composer is not master of all, but certainly of the
main parameters of his metier: amplitude, frequency, tone
color, entry, length of the sounds. For visual artists, not even
such parameters are fixed: There is no conceptual distinc­
tion between colors (which, in turn, form a complex of differ-
tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Gustav Metzger
[Untitled]
Gustav Metzger was born in 1926 to Polish-Jewish par­
ents in Nuremberg, Germany, and came to Britain in 1939
through the Refugee Children's Movement. Metzger, who
studied art at the Cambridge School of Art and at Bor­
ough Polytechnic in London, published the first of three
manifestos on Auto-destructive art in 1959. This art, which
automatically destroys itself within a certain period of
time, was Metzger's critique of the self-destructive po­
tential of industrial societies. Metzger was an active sup­
porter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
The possibility of creating artworks with the aid of
computers whose operations are programmed and in­
clude self-regulation was mentioned by Gustav Metzger
already in his manifesto of 1961, Auto-Destructive Art, Ma­
chine Art, Auto-Creative Art. Early on, Metzger joined the
Computer Arts Society, which was founded in 1968 in
London, and became the first editor of the Society's bulle­
tin PAGE, that was launched in April 1969.
The text published here Metzger submitted for the
symposium "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Com­
puters and Visual Research," May 5-6, 1969, Zagreb, al­
though the audiotapes of the conference in the archives of
the MSU do not contain a recording of this lecture.
[Originally published in bit international 7, Boris Kelemen
and Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb,
I97L pp. 26-33.]
German people are still being asked the question: "What did
you do when the Nazis built the concentration camps?" The
usual answer was: "They never told us. We didn't know."
I was sitting in a cinema this January watching a news-
reel. After the water sports, there was an item on Phantom
jets. These are among the fastest planes in the Royal Air Force,
equipped with nuclear missiles. The commentary ended:
About fourty percent of the equipment is British - and almost
everything is done by computers." It is almost impossible to
read the British national press without coming across refer­
ences to computers used for military purposes, or used for
the control of human beings. We know. But what are u-edoint
about it?
The first large electronic computers, the ENIAC and ED
VAC, were developed under the pressure of the Second
World War. "It is said that the complex calculations needec
to show whether a hydrogen bomb was possible tool. - >
months on an electronic computer. Without the computt
the calculations might never have been made.1 Let ussvwu 1
our attention to an area that is of particular interest to
symposium - computers and graphics. "The first display
vices were special-purpose types primarily provided fc
military."2 As you will know, the first prizewinners in the no*
annual computer art contest held by Computers and Au'
tion were from a U.S. ballistic group.3 There is little U
that in computer art, the true avant-garde is the militar
the application of new techniques to war is ancient
and the use of counting basic to civilization and the
nance of masses. But there are fundamental differe
tween present technologies and previous ones,
globe could be wiped out by nuclear, biologica
weapons. The counting of the past has become s
thanks to computers - that we face the most tota 1 ull,al,
tern of all time. . If man extends or replicates his being via technology and
Science and technology, combined wit s°cl j^
tions, are at present so powerful that it is
people to envisage any major change in t is 0 ^
tion. But sudden changes are to be expecte . - ^
responsible. Many civilizations have cru* Jhefe hundr^
Such a process can now be seen in the U. "w^ o((!,e pr­
of thousands of young people are dropping ° fferr
tion that they are expected to hold in societ^ countries. ^
scale, this process can be seen in many ot j,ei„ierr
course, there are very many other in icatio
collapse of contemporary societies. ^ techn^
There is a movement that is active in a ^ , usually have to finance
advanced countries. It operates on a vane nev>spaper
that of the lady who writes to her loCa
cinher^
plaining about the increasing volume ^^ stopP^e
ttio r\rr\fpc«r»r who takes part in a
protest against government misuse of science and technol­
ogy (United States, March 4, 1969). This movement is par­
ticularly strong among the young. Permit me to quote the
three opening paragraphs of a recent article by the educa­
tion correspondent of The Times: "Science in schools was col­
lapsing and shrivelling at its roots, Dr. H. G. Judge, Princi­
pal of Banbury School, Oxfordshire, said in a Royal Society
of Arts lecture last night. He said he was convinced that un­
less the nation was prepared to act, science teaching in most
schools would cease within ten years. As evidence of the
'sharp, alarming, and accelerating' drift away from science in
the sixth form, Dr. Judge quoted statistics showing that the
number of sixth form students reading science dropped from
32,700 to 31,700 between 1962 and 1967, while the number in
the non-science group doubled from 38,300 to 76,100. One
reason for the decline, Dr. Judge suggested, was that the
moral image of science had been dimmed and dented in re­
cent years. Although the bomb had lost its obsessive fasci­
nation, a rich and carelessly thought-out multitude of juve­
nile suspicions flourished towards a scientific culture which
appeared to approve of such matters as the barbarousness
of much industrial civilization, the callous destruction of the
environment, the hypocrisy of'big business,' and the imper­
sonality of the computer."4
The movement to which I have referred is not an organ­
ised one, but in a few years' time, when various strands are
coordinated, this movement that rejects the dangerous parts
ot our science and technology could become very powerful.
The analogies that are continually being made between
•fie human mind and organisms on the one hand and com­
puters on the other need to be scrutinized with care, since
permit insights into attitudes towards man and mech­
anism. Some revel in the notion that man is no more than
1 mach'ne
comparable to the still crude computers of the
present. Others envisage the creation of computers that will
if not surpass, man's capacities.
science, then we can expect to find not only his mind and
0 y> ut also his emotions in these extensions. The step-by-
steP unraveling of the stages that have led man to his present
, catastrophic) position is probably the most important work
* ln§ °n at present. There is nothing "pure" about pure sci-
e>11
is choked with man's problems and conditioned by
1 ety Begin by analyzing some of the statements of nu-
P ysicists: those who reveled in the work of creating
U °mk' ar,d those who stepped back in distress. An intel-
been'v ana^r'Ca' ^'story sc'ence and technology has not
written; a]| we far are catajogS( wit}1 varyjng de-
SQ
•he illu aCCUrac^ on details. Until recently, men lived with
abilities5100 ^ Cou^ 8° on refin'ng knowledge and
longer t' ^ Stan<^ at crunch point where there is no
l|me to resolve the accumulated errors that have re­
Metzger • [Untitled]
sulted from shelved responsibility. Of any new development,
whether it is in science, the arts, or in other fields, we must
first ask the question: Does this aid or hinder survival; not
ask is this brilliant or beautiful?
It is no use having a simplicist approach and say: Let us
abolish this terrible technology. We get nowhere by the mere
smashing of computer installations. The tragedy of the hip­
pies, the yippies, the "love generation," and of many rebelling
students lies in their attitude that in order to return to nature,
it is sufficient to abandon the Western way of life. The aim
may be a kind of return to nature, but clearly this will not
be achieved by us except through fanatical, sustained efforts
within existing knowledge, which cannot be transcended un­
less mastered. In fact, what is needed is a more refined, pen­
etrative understanding of science and technology than is de­
manded of current practitioners.
The aims of the movement with which I identify are sim­
ply described. In the long term they are to create a series of
revolutions within science and technology in order to arrive
at new bases for manipulating matter, which will cut out the
enormous waste of raw materials and the enormous plants at
present employed in production. Technologies must be cre­
ated that do not result in the damaging and poisoning of men,
animals, and plants; that do not foul rivers, lakes, and the sea
with chemical and thermal discharge. We fight for man; in
doing so, we shall find ourselves engaged in a fight against
men. The people in power, who personally benefit from the
present chaos - whether it is in terms of money or prestige -
are not prepared to step down without some kind of a fight.
Neither the art world nor society has woken up to the fact
that the artist engaged in technological art is performing a
role which is new in a quantitative and a qualitative sense.
The information explosion, which is creating such difficul­
ties in science and in other spheres, has impacted on the
art world and is responsible to an extent for the emergence
of technological art. Envisage a flood of sardines against a
beach: everybody lends a hand. One does not need special
training to be of use. This is very much the situation via in­
formation; in the current profusion, any step to assimilate
information is of value to society. Through his theories and
works the artist integrates information on new techniques in
science and technology; he functions as a processor and dis­
tributor of information. This activity also includes other ar­
eas of life, including politics, economics, psychology, history,
etc. Here, as in other phases of his work, the artist is making
unique and valuable contributions, but in contrast with sci­
entists and technicians who are given superb facilities and
enormous sums, the artists get little credit for this work and
it themselves. This is an intolerable
"'Tcukmire is the utilization of existing forces. This is clearly
seen in Egyptian monumental sculpture. In the project Five
424 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Metzger • [Untitled]

Screens with Computer 1am concerned with tremendous power
allied to the most delicate control; this, you will agree, is a dis­
tinguishing mark of much of today's techniques.
The sculpture should ideally be part of the original de­
sign for a new area. It should be sited as a central concourse
between three very large blocks of flats, housing more than
ten thousand people, preferably in the country. The sculp­
ture is to be regarded as a focal point of the community. From
the windows of the flats, people will get views of the screens
and their elements in flight. The site of the sculpture will
be surrounded by a plate-glass wall or a wall made of com­
pressed air, for instance, in order to keep people out whilst
ejections are taking place or are due.
When no ejections can take place, the entire area will be
opened up; people will walk across the site, children can play
among the fallen elements or try to climb the screens.
On some holidays or special occasions, the screens will be
programmed to have a particular interesting sequence of ejec­
tions. Hundreds of carefully designed ejections could occur
in the space of a few minutes. Comparable visual experiences
are fireworks, a number of divers diving off boards at various
1 heights at staggered intervals, or masses of birds in motion.
Attached to the control room housing the computer, there
will be a viewing area where people will be able to watch
the technicians at work through glass windows. The view­
no • 2 ing area will serve as the information center on the sculpture.
SK2M Gustav Metzger, Beverly Rowe
It will give everyone the opportunity to establish the kind of
Design study for Five Screens With Compute
contact that they may want to have with the technical and
March 1969
Computer-generated graphics aesthetic factors of the sculpture. Here, people will be able
Print toobtain literature on the project and on the techniques em­
CDC 6600, line printer
••
Programmed by Beverly Rowe
ployed. Descriptive diagrams will be on the walls; the overall
•••••••••••••• •••••••••••••
Produced at the computer center, Untvew program will be displayed; photographs of earlier stages of
ma an I naiiiniiiiiiliiiiiim
of London 'he sculpture will be on view. People will be in a position to
Nw^Mnmitwmtiin—
mspect the day-by-day printout, as well as the drawings that
I............. I'llLIHUimi'lHI,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,. . u'" record
•vaaiiifiiianii.
the transformations of the screens.
The sculpture will have a unique relation to the com­
""*** " 1 "MMIW< "55 percent of the [1,200 steel]element*» munity. A child born in the first year of the sculpture's exis-
u mi•caivuits«
• ifiaw—••ipiil
^-"••••••aaaaaaaaaaaBiaa.
••laaaaaaaaaiaiia,
be ejected on a predetermined 'ence will grow up with it, and by the time it is ten years old
The rest (including theentire screen ^ _
•——aaaaiaaaaaa, md the sculpture has disappeared), the child should have a
••••aaaaaaaaBBiafii. ejected in a 'random' manner,
•^•ifaimBiiaiiBBi• jjOod ins'ght into its general principles. A child born in the
BB8BBBBBlBI|lBa.MM* ejections will be sparked 0 >1
•BIBiaaflllBltlBB..,,,J
BBBtfllBBlBB......
)ear of the activity of the sculpture will have some di-
iiiiiianii,M(M or electric light, or by the assen-s^^
ect experience, which can be supplemented by verbal ac-
above a critical number m the
screen.'Random'ejections (.. I unts and by reference to literature and documentation.
up. A decision could be reached at the original design stage,
or it could be left open and made in consultation with the oc­
cupants of the flats after the ten-year period. Evidently, the
sculpture will have more integral and stimulating connec­
tions with the community than many other forms of monu­
mental sculpture.
The design and construction of this project will depend on
the cooperative effort of specialists and industrial organiza­
tions, with the artist acting as the chief designer and coordina­
tor; his function could be compared to that of an architect. He
will need to understand all the basic techniques used in the
project. The design and production of such a work presents
numerous difficulties. It relates to current techniques, but
also makes new demands that may be hard to meet. The so­
lution of these problems may well lead to inventions, or the
further application of the techniques developed for the sculp­
ture. Some of the expenditure can be absorbed in this way.
It is a sad mistake (one that is often made in the art world,
as well as outside it) to envisage the artist as a parasite, ex­
ploiting the technical advances of others. From experience, I
can say that quite often, the artist wants to do things that are
more advanced than existing techniques permit. The commu­
nication barrier that is sometimes encountered between the
artist and the technician or scientist may arise because the lat­
ter are unable, or refuse, to follow the advanced ideas of the
artist; all too often a remark to the effect that the artist's idea is
impossible is made to hide an embarrassment at being caught
with one's pants down.
The computer used to run the sculpture can also be used
for various tasks connected with the functioning of the flats.
By means of telephone connections, it can be used as the lo­
cal reference library by the inhabitants of the flats. It can also
work on outside jobs.
Clearly a great deal more can be said about this idea in
terms of the artist, the work, and their interaction with so­
ciety. I am confident that you will go on strengthening your
mental picture without my prompting.
Author's note: A number of topics raised here are also discussed in my article
"Automata in History," in: Studio International, Part 1. London, March 1969, pp.
.07-109 which includes a bibliography. For the theoretical background to my
work, see my pamphlet Auto-Destructive Art. A Talk at the Architectural Assoc,at,on,
Destruction/Creation, London, 1965.

nated with the overall program- e will die during the existence of the sculpture. People 1 James Gerald Crowther, Discoveries and Inventions of the 20'" Century,

M„tvnescriPt,Archi"MS expected to change their attitude and response to the

e Routledge & Kegan Paul. London, 1966, p. 68
^ac. ^ " pture in the course of its existence. Events in the life of
2 Computer News, St. Helier, Jersey, vol. 12, no. 11. November 1968 p.3
3 Editorial note: With Splatter Pattern and Stamed Glass Window, the U.S. Army
aa's and families will become linked with the activ- Ballistic Research Laboratories in Aberdeen, Maryland, won the firs.
^ e screens. At the conclusion of its activity, there will and the second prizes of the firs. Computer Art Contest announced by the
journal Computers and Automation in February 1963, published in August
pace,trn^ area among the flats. What will happen to this
the same year.
ing :,hneVltabl> S°me people wi" feeI re8ret at the pass~
A The Times, London, March 6, 1969, p. 2.
come 6 ^0rk Space could remain empty, it could be-

a P'ayground, another kind of sculpture could be set

 t e n d e n c i e s 4 • S y m p o s i u m • 1969
Mosso • Computers and Human Research 427

Leonardo and Laura Mosso

Computers and Human Research: Programming
and Self-Management of Form

After finishing his studies at the Politecnico [Polytechnic
University] in Turin the architect Leonardo Mosso was em­
ployed at the architecture firm of his father Nicola Mosso
for four years before moving to Helsinki, where he worked
in the studio of Alvar Aalto until 1958. In 1961, Mosso be­
came a professor at the Politecnico in Turin.
The text published here was written by Mosso and his
wife, the architect Laura Castagno with who he had been
working since 1963, and recited by Mosso at the symposium
"Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and Vi­
sual Research," May 5-6,1969, Zagreb. It was not published
in bit international 7, but survived as a manuscript.
not only the management of visual and aesthetic issues,
but primarily and in the more general sense,
the constructive management of form and architecture in
the human environment.
1.2 with regard to speculative thought,
philosophy has situated man as the creator of forms
and, overcoming the antithesis of form and content,
has spoken of aesthetics as formativity,
as well as of the concept of form as organism
and of the entirety of human activity as an active forma­
tive process.1

[Archive Laura Castagno and Leonardo Mosso, Istituto along this line of thought, the thesis we put forward
Alvar Aalto di Torino, Museo dell'architettura e delle arti is one of self-management of form
applicate, Pino Torinese] and of architecture as collective self-managed form
and, at the same time, of self-management of research,
'• premise in other words, about the personal and societal ends and
11 'his talk is intended to be a contribution means to carry it out.
10 the issues raised by the theme of the symposium
computers and visual research," self-management of form, therefore,
in'he sense of an integrated multidisciplinary research in the global sense of self-management of status
study and of personal and societal freedom
at the level of both regional and global communities;
on 'he human use of computers and of other visual
research tools. and as a challenge to any kind of tyranny
whether localized or centralized.
from this angle, the problems of vision
i regret therefore that umberto eco is no longer present,
and of the electronic processing of information
since some of the aspects of our thesis
• 1 * 2 • 4 j* °u't'not considered as ends in themselves
•3
Gustav Metzger may perhaps constitute an initial answer
Gustav Metzger, UI P'aced within a structural body of relationships
Gustav Metzger to the issues he has raised in his intervention.
Design study for f'1* 1 "
Richard J. Stibbs D e s i g n s t u d y f o r Five Screens ' at a'so delude questions of form,
With Computer
D e s i g n s t u d y f o r Five Screens With Computer With Computer UI a^ove all the general and basic questions of human
1969
March 1969 1969 operations: in the annotated glossary, listed in note 2,
Computer-generate
Photocopy of a plotter drawing Ink, paper
Print chitectural research, research into information, moving down a chain process,
Ink on paper 1 6 . 5 x 3 1 . 2 c m ( i m a g e : 20.5 x 15.2 c m )
15.1 x 21.9 c,n ,53. from the meaning of human research
-"""iSSSlC
18 x 24 cm Archive MSU Zagreb h jntific research, and political research.
HTAN, plotter to that of personal and collective self-managed form,
Programmed by with W3nt t0 COns'^er a" tf'ese research operations
Programmed in FORTRAN 66 by Anthony W. the meaning of historical level has been defined as
N u t b o u r n e , R i c h a r d J. S t i b b s regard to the problematic of them operating
Centro de Arte > constructively "dynamic actuality and totality of knowledge, ^
Produced at Centre for Land Use and Built
Buenos Aires, 1971. •- P- that is, of formative information for the actuality of form
Form Studies, University of Cambridge, UK irere b) constructive we mean
428 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Mosso • Computers and Human Research 429

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Leonardo Mosso, Laura Mosso

Leonardo Mosso konlinuitat [Continuity!
Testimonianza [Testimonyl
Project for a programmable town territory
Office building for the Chamber of Depute
1968/1969
Rome 1966/1967
Project for a competition

Plan and computer model

"This study deals with the problem of pro­
grammed architecture aided by computer

"This work represents a second endeacor technology as an integrated system of relations

research the formation of architectonic r between linguistic structures as they occur in

the complex ecological and eco-social system:
urbanistic organisms conceived as comp <
- life/architecture and man/environment -
dynamic structural models; the anaiw-
namely, as hypothesis of a general program­
control of their variables and unvarying p
ming for the auto-programming of the human
is possible in accordance with a systetna'K
being."
constantly verifiable programming 0 in
and exterior spaces in their infinitely fei [Leonardo Mosso in: Programmierte Architektur,
alternatives. This is obtained by wayo Umbro Apollonio and Carlo Belloni (eds.),
undeviating relation of intermediary Studio di Informazione Estetica, Turin, Vanni
between the program and the cons Scheiwiller, Milan, 1969: P- 69. translated from
denceofthe architectural organism.

[Leonardo Mosso in:

UmbroApollonio and Carta ^
Studio di Informazione Es
Scheiwiller, Milan, 1969. P-4':ira

the German.]
430 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Mosso • Computers and Human Research

in taking parallel but opposite approaches, where the presence of structure as a "system of tram can no longer exist in isolation and independently from polytechnic, turin, printed course notes duplicated by the author, 1967, published
logical-deductive as the first and operative as the second, formations in abridged form in th e papers of the international congress on religion,
each other
it is now possible to identify the logical and procedural architecture and the visual arts, new york, 1967, and in the book: I'insegnamento
and possibilities,"4 which can generate an infinite but must be seen as elements dell a r c h i l e t t u r a n e l b i e n n i o propedeutico, by massimo nunziata, naples, published by
movement number of messages, ofa permanent and continuous revision of all fields of the istituto di architettura e rilievo dei monumenti, 1967.

that leads, in one direction, from the actuality of form removes the contradiction between collective self- research,
• umbro apollonio a n d carlo belloli, leonardo mosso.
p r o g r a m m i e r t e a r c h i t e k t u r , studio di informazione estetica, turin and vanni
to the structure of self-managed form and, in the other managed form visual, architectural, scientific, information-related, and
scheiwiller, milan. 1969, which includes the "manifesto of direct architecture" and
direction, and personal self-managed form, political. s o m e examples of structural planning a n d of our programmed architecture.
from the programming of the structure of form because the individual operation thus acquires • laura a n d leonardo mosso,"strukturelle planung, programmierte architektur
und selbstverwaltung d e r form," in th e catalog of the dreilanderbiennale
to the actuality of form the philosophical and operative dimension of choral more explicitly, this program of concrete Utopia means "architektur und freiheit," trigon 69, graz, 1969.
collaboration that no acceptable, • laura a n d leonardo mosso,"conception fondamentale de la cite-territoire
programinee,"in: I'architecture d ' a u j o u r d ' h u i , 148, february/march 1970, pp. 20f.
actuality of form in a process that transcends it; and therefore new and non-distorted,
•• dynamism of form a process which is, on the other hand, determined in its approach to any of these issues can exist in particular, o n th e issues o f language in architecture, cf.:
••• structure of form every aspect unless all the others are also considered at the same time. • laura a n d leonardo mosso,"architettura programmata e linguaggio,"in: la sfida
e l e t t r o n i c a , realtd e prospettive dell'uso d e l c o m p u t e r in a r c h i t e t t u r a , massimo foti and
•••• programming of form's structure by direct and constant management on the pan of each
mario zaffagnini (eds.), bologna trade fair authority and italian prefabrication
self-management of form individual.5 in this operative scheme association, bologna, pp. 130-137, 1969; also published under th e title:
of universal integrated research and of progressive and "architecture programmee et langage," in: I'architecture d'aujourd'hui, 1970, pp. 18f.

from • to logical deductive process in the current complex climate in the field oflandplanmri permanent revolution
2 a n n o t a t e d glossary
from to • operative process the hypothesis of self-management of form inevitably for the constant expansion of personal and societal
freedom: computers a n d visual research as human research
implies
cybernetics a s human use of computers
here, form's actuality, as described in the glossary, the use of computers for residents to exercise direct h u m a n use of computers a s direct, personal, and collective management of
the new architecture becomes information a n d data
is seen as its own potential dynamic control
direct self-managed architecture visual research a s research into h u m a n operations
to give at each given moment a historically congruent over land and cities.
visual research a s communication of human operations
and homogeneous answer
the new vision becomes h u m a n research a s research into issues
to the questions set by the context of the ecological and but it is essential that the study of the models simulating
the visual tool of direct, non-distorted information h u m a n research a s non-dogmatic research
eco-social system; social, economic, urban, and wider territorial dy nan
h u m a n research a s constructive research
and of integrated self-managed research
but in order for form to be actual, is made available as an information service h u m a n research a s scientific research

it needs to be dynamic: to aid decision-making by the community

we proceed, therefore, from the attribute of form'sactuality
to the attribute of form's dynamism.
and dynamism of form requires the latter to be
able to change at any given moment,
that is, to give a different formal answer.
so, since ecological and eco-social reality is in constant flux,
it is necessary to arrive at a dynamic form
capable of keeping up with such a reality.
and not as a consultative tool to the powers that I >t
in other words, the management of cybernetic tool-
must be removed from the experts who today act a
consultants to power
(political, economic, bureaucratic, or military)
and are on the way to becoming the new powert e
and must be transferred as a structural sen ice t
available to people as an aid to achie\e their r
determination:
because a science of planning, which opt rat
the new science becomes scientific research as concrete non-predetermined research
scientific research as light (beacon in the dark) over the unknown
critical non-dogmatic self-managed research
constructive research a s research towards a human
the new information becomes a n d democratic management of form
h u m a n a n d democratic management of form
universal direct non-distorted information
^ a s self-management of form
through theuseandcontrolofcomputers by thecommunity
self-management of form a s personal
and collective management of the ends and the means
the new politics become
a s well a s of th e qualifying knowledge towards their self-management
direct democracy.
knowledge a s formative information at a historical level
a n d therefore programmed and qualifying towards the self-management of form

this implies the need for form to have a structure,
in other words, it is necessary to be able to identify a
programmed structure
which enables all possible forms to exist
like today's, in a political condition of top
determination,
and therefore unable to offer the elements n
to give decisional power to all citizens,
1
historical level a s dynamic actuality and totality of knowledge
wilS 'hanks primarily ,0 lui8i pareyson- a n d therefore of formative information towards actuality ol form
r *" IS book on aesthetics and the theory of formativity
published in b o l o g n a b y z a n i c h e l l i i n 1960.
actuality of form a s its own potential
depth exploration of these concepts , 0 give a t any given moment a n historical answer both congruent and

can in fact become a formidable means

oth 'n theory and in practice, homogeneous .
within the laws of a particular logical system:
,0 th e questions set by th e context of th e ecolog.c and eco-soc.al system
/ C e " f u r l h e r ed by some of our own work:
that is, the alternating of all forms, each compatible with - the most nefarious ever invented by man s actuality of form a s removal of th e dichotomy
andthe C U ' a r ° U r S l U C '' e S ° n a r c ' 1 ' , e c , u r e a s behavior
and corresponding to a particular of total enslavement of the human comm between architectural event a n d external reality
plant/ reSeSrCtl stut'ies o n architectural linguistics and o n structural
historical moment and set of social requirements. both J"®' a r r i e < ^ o u t by leonardo mosso between 1961 a n d 1970
2. in a similar perspective of procedural res th e definition is a quotation from jean piaget
of .h • " J ' " ' h e a r c h i , e c , u r a l research course
Jnd els/her/arCh',eCtUre " P ^ ^ h n i c .
at the end of this process for a specific structural study o f a collective self-managed form,
of vision
___ ..1 « a hndv of individual self-managed forms,
which at its origin assumes the concept of form as organism of architecture
' le/'ald ^ ,He f°"°WinS tex,s:
and that of organism as form's structure, of science
'documentid 0SS° le°r'a ^e' m °delli di comportamento
form inevitably becomes amenable to self-management of information ' n : n'cfrca, Ur()l
Una r'Cercaarchitettonica programmata,"
"ura, didattica, riforma, school of architecture of th e
and, therefore, it assumes the nature of self-managed form of politics
both at personal and collective levels:
432 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Kurd Alsleben
The Philosophy of Visual Research
The artist Kurd Alsleben studied at the Staatliche Akade-
mie der Bildenden Kiinste Karlsruhe [Karlsruhe State Aca­
demy of Art and Design]. At this period he also attended
guest lectures held by Max Bense at the Technische Hoch-
schule [Technical University] Karlsruhe. From 1956 to the
mid-1960s Alsleben worked in one of Germany's first bu­
reaus for the planning and work organization of open-
plan offices, founded by Eberhard and Wolfgang Schnelle.
Alsleben played a decisive role in reorienting the bureau's
methods on cybernetic models. In December i960, to­
gether with Cord Passow, Alsleben generated six draw­
ings on an analog computer of the DESY [German Elec­
tron Synchrotron] in Hamburg two of which he exhibited
at the tendencije 4 / tendencies 4 exhibitions. In 1962 he pub­
lished Aesthetische Redundanz. Abhandlungen iiber die artis-
tischen Mittel der bildenden Kunst [Aesthetic Redundancy.
Essays on the Artistic Means in Fine Art] with a foreword
by Abraham A. Moles, a book that further popularized in­
formation aesthetics among artists. From 1965 to 1968 Als­
leben was a visiting lecturer at the Hochschule fiir Gestal-
tung Ulm [Ulm School of Design] (HfG) where he taught
structure theory and Boolean algebra.
This text is a revised version of part of the lecture that
Kurd Alsleben held at the symposium "Kompjuteri i vi-
zuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research,"
May 5-6,1969, Zagreb.
[Originally published as "O filozofiji vizuelnog istrazivan­
ja"/"Zur Philosophic der visuellen Forschung," in: bit in­
ternational 7, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar (eds.),
Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, pp. 5-10; translated
from the German.]
The term visual research" was included in both the title of
our symposium last August and in the title of this sympo­
sium. Nonetheless, the present symposium is organized by
the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contempo­
rary Art], = an art museum, and it is linked with art exhibi­
tions and an art competition.
These three factors lend the word "research" an unusi;
meaning. The symposium is clearly not simply an inten: •
ciplinary dialog, for then the title would mention the wot:
"art" and "science." (The word "computer" in the title of our
symposium should be ignored for the time being: it indicate
a third area, "technology.")
To explore the unusual meaning of the word resear
here, I pose three questions:
1. Is "visual research" a synonym for "visual art ? No,
is not the case. "Research" is one of sciences basic a
it doesn't appear in the arts. Fine arts academic in •
Germany, for example, do not receive research grar
from the federal government. Since the eighteen^
tury at the latest, we have considered "art and sue
to be different categories.
Now, however, we can ask whether these categoric
effective; thus the second question is:
2. Is "visual research" a metaphor for visual art.
aphor in the sense that Abraham A. Moes cc
stresses when arguing for an aesthetic lanpuap ^ ^
ristic purposes. Is the word "visual researc t ^
lating metaphor (for supporting a certa.n aspe
art)?
It might also be that we are simply
meaning of the word research here, w 11c
0f "visual art*?
3. Is "visual research" the contemporary torn
Such transformations of a discipline arc well
ample, the transformation of logic into ogi ^ f.
ers of logistics were not philosophers. S
fVjsU»
lish an analogy between the trans orm< 0fthisp°i
r position of art and science. The anomaly of "visual research"
and logic, then it would even match in ter ^ absolutelySSU1Tle ^°r
.. at
Since Georg Klaus' now poses the question of a logics
based in philosophy (in contrast to logistics), we have to ask
analogously: does "visual research" replace "visual art," or
does it simply put one of its aspects in a position of domi­
nance, thereby leaving behind a noticeable void? The answer
to my first question is "no." The second and third questions
both deal with scientization. In the second, scientization is
a developmental possibility for "visual art": in the third it is
its redemption. (We can deal with the second question in the
context of the third.) To determine whether the third ques­
tion is a sensible one, we must consider what "visual research"
can optimally be. By "optimally," we mean that a possible void,
= a remnant of "visual art," is minimized. Thus, we ask about
the possible object,
the possible methods, and
'he possible goals of "visual research."
1 'ts °^ect W'H naturally be a different one than that of
perception psychology and perception physiology. Vi­
sual perception patterns could be the object of "visual re­
search, or, more precisely: the experienced perception
patterns of the visual space of sensation. (Here we differ­
entiate between visual reception and visual perception,
whose content can also be ideas.)
The social function of research is constituted by the de­
piction of the object of research. For a great deal of re­
match, the methods of formulating these depictions are
ase on symbols. But icons are also common, in geogra-
P A' for example. Among the formulations, one must also
^ l|nt Claude E. Shannon's or Heinz Bielowski's "mouse"2
n°t
only their schematic diagrams. Yes, today, one
W°"
^ave t0 8° so far as to say that scientific lectures
lat! °Ut m°^e'S or s^^es are rare. The methods of formu-
n should be appropriate for the object of research.
t'me ke'n& tb'at lhere is. in principle,
V n« difficulty in assessing pictures, sculptures, or
Alsleben • Philosophy of Visual Research 433
arrangements of light, of movement, of environment, or even
actions as formulations of research results. Naturally, that
would require the possession of exact knowledge about the
formulation possibilities. This is what a science of "sensifica-
tion" works on.3 According to my deliberations, aesthetics, or
information aesthetics as a "theory of the beautiful," might
have a function in this comparable to the function that logic
or logistics has for rational method.
Introspection and the use of computers are also among
the general methods of "visual research." I do not have to
elaborate on this point in any greater detail here.
3. The goal of "visual research" is dependent on measures of
social value that are themselves not objects of "visual re­
search." This point contains one difference between "vi­
sual research" and "visual art." The goal of "visual art" is
both to discover and to establish measures of value; this
means provoking perception patterns (even if it means
provoking perceptual freedom, such as herman de vries
does). Perception precedes reflection on standards of
value.
As a consequence of this, "visual research" cannot be the mod­
ern form of "visual art." However, we are in no way forced to
limit the term "research" to its meaning within the natural
sciences as we have done until now. What philosophers do is
also called "research." The goal of philosophy is the same as
the goal of art in that both set standards of value.
In this sense, we can revoke the cited difference between
"visual art" and "visual research," and, at the same time, we
can more completely align our very specially defined object
of "visual research" with that of art. We extend it to the total­
ity to "the whole world and the position of humankind in it."
That means that we equate the subjects of art and philosophy.
Now we are able to state: "visual research" is the modern
form of "visual art." Modernity consists in revoking the op­
vT *.i A\(Vm-c%r\rc* Kpfwppn art and
434 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
fruit in other disciplines, in which it is already rudimentarily
present (compare the increase in the number of visual depic­
tions in the sciences that has occurred in our era).
What remains are a flaw and a problem.
At this point in our deliberations, the attribute "visual"
still indicates only the methods. It no longer indicates, as
in the first deliberations, the methods and, at the same time,
the object of "visual research." Therefore, other than by con­
vention, the name "visual research" does not clearly desig­
nate a separate discipline. That is the flaw.
The problem poses the following question: Should we an­
swer question two - whether "visual research" is a stimulat­
ing metaphor - affirmatively? That means: do we have strate­
gic reasons for preserving a protected area of "visual art" for
visual methods?
We turn our thoughts to this issue for the following rea­
son: the visual method has not been explicitly worked out,
although computers already play a role in it (the works by
Vladimir Bonacic or visual electronic data processing). Will
it be able to develop and assert itself alongside the control­
ling power of the rational method? Certainly it will receive
support since the removal of the opposition of art and sci­
ence does away with the unfortunate opinion that the sen­
sual, = aesthetic knowledge, is an inferior form of knowl­
edge. But the problem remains: how is it possible to avoid a
suppression of visuality because of the fact that it is more or
less unknown by the prevailing powers? (A prognosis made
about a senseless person does not have to be senseless.)
In the rational disciplines, visuality is present only at a
rudimentary level. What is true of mathematics also applies
to visuality: no simple, direct path leads to it. I quote a very
well-known contemporary artist: "I never read, I just look at
pictures."
Social awareness recognizes that a surplus redundancy
of verbal formulations is necessary for us to lead our lives.
The same applies to calculative formulations (for example, in
technology or commerce).
Can our current social awareness be made to recognize
that sensual, = aesthetic formulations, are just as necessary;
and that only the best means are good enough for this (tha:
is, the computer)?
And now I ask once again: Is the best strategy today tour
derstand artworks as the formulation of research?
I believe so, and 1 believe that that is precisely what this
symposium is attempting to do.
1 Editorial note: Georg Klaus (1912-1974) studied mathematics and
education at the University of )ena where he did his doctorate in II "4
Max Bense; his Ph.D. thesis was titled "Die erkenntistheoretische Isom
phierelation" [Epistemological Isomorphy Relation). From 1950 W
was professor of dialectical and historical materialism at |ena, in I
was appointed professor of logic and epistemology at Btrlin H
University. Klaus exerted a decisive influence on the introduct o:
cybernetics in East Germany (GDR) in various ways, including,
such as Kybernetik in philosophischer Sichl [Cybernetics from a
Perspective) (1961) and Kybernetik und Gesellschaft (Cybernetics an
Society) (1964). . .
2 Editorial note: At the cybernetics conference of the )osiah
Foundation in March 1951, Claude E. Shannon, one of t e^
information theory, presented his "Maze Solving Mac in-.
device to explore artificial learning. It consisted of a m.^n'
controlled by a relay circuit that enabled it to move aroun
maze of twenty-five squares. The mouse named TheseM ^,i.f
search through the corridors until it found the targe'. " .
Shannon,"Presentation of a Maze Solving Machine, m.
Margaret Mead, and Hans-Lukas Teuber (eds.), Cy e _nslclionsot "
and Feedback Mechanisms in Biological and Social Systems,
Eighth Conference, March 1951, Josiah Macy, )r. o"n
1952, pp. 169-181. shannon, but in'•*U"
Heinz Bielowski did not construct a mouse It e „ in the confrontation with spatio-temporally structured stim­
1950s, at the suggestion of Heinz Zemanek, a pioM« fjjr Njfdfrfr.M-
logy in Austria, Bielowski reconstructed at t e ns Techni5Ch<
technik [Institute of Low-frequency Engineering!a bernei,c
schule Wien [Technical University Vienna] one o
that had been built by the American neuropil) sio
William Grey Walter in 1948/1949. means!"*"*'1
3 Editorial note: Sensifikatorik is a neologism w ic ^A|sltbr
cepts and render them amenable to the se"s"'
ber|egung«
razmisljanja uz algoritmtfko senzificiranje Boris
algorithmischen Sensifizieren, tn: bit interna i )96g pp.«-
Radoslav Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, •
Franke • Social Aspects 435
Herbert W. Franke
Social Aspects of Computer Art
The Austrian physicist, artist and novelist Herbert W. being tackled, and on the other only a scientifically based
Franke studied physics, mathematics, and chemistry at theory can provide the quantitative basis that makes techni-
the University of Vienna and wrote his doctoral disser­ zation efficient.
tation on electron optics in 1950. In 1951 he had moved to The innovations both in the practice and theory of art may
Germany, as he was hired by Siemens in Erlangen, Ger­ also lead to transformations in the social sphere; they could
many for its advertising and press department. During change the professional image of the artist and the behavior
this period, he began to create electronic graphics by ma­ of the audience. The utilization of computers and scientific-
nipulating a cathode-ray oscilloscope to produce images aesthetic research demand high levels of investment both of
of oscillations which he then photographed. In 1957, he resources and of time. Hence, we must question whether the
published Kunst und Konstruktion. Physik und Mathematik effort is worth it - whether or not the newly developed pos­
als fotografisches Experiment (Art and Construction. Phys­ sibilities of computer art are of value and their social impli­
ics and Mathematics as a Photographic Experiment], and cations desirable.
from then onward worked as a freelance author. Up to
2
1969. Franke not only wrote texts on the aesthetics of sci­
kj
entific and technological images, but also several science- In order to assess the social ramifications, a conceptual model
fiction novels. is required that is capable of describing the correlation be­
tween object and subject - in this instance, between work of
The text published here is a transcript of the lecture
, • art and human being. Now that the primary role of informa­
gi\en by Herbert W. Franke at the symposium "Kompju-
.
tion processing in the brain has been recognized, one can ex­
teri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and Visual Re­
pect results from information aesthetics, represented by Max
^ search," May 5-6, 1969, Zagreb.
Bense, and as elaborated in an exact mathematical system by
[Originally published as "Drustveni aspekti kompjuter- Siegfried Maser. 1 To establish the connection with human
vonfiV.,r
beings, an informational psychology approach is required,
^ ske umjetnosti"/"Gesellschaftliche Aspekte der Compu-
which we owe to Abraham A. Moles and Helmar Frank.
terkunst, in: bit international 7, Boris Kelemen and Rado-
^ ^
s 'av On the basis of cybernetic descriptive forms, it should be
Putar (eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, pp.
'9-26; translated from the German.] possible to account for rationally all those effects that occur
1
uli - including the effects of works of art. However, if one
H*'
er the last few years, an entirely new situation has arisen seeks to establish a connection with the traditional concept
t^
^ .
l n 'he field of art: of art, because this concept is not clearly determined, one ar­
The utilization of data-processing machines to design rives at different results depending on the view taken. Not­
3eSt e t i c s t r u ctures has resulted in mechanization and
withstanding, it is possible to compare the likely variations
2 ^ u t o m a t ion of art production. through the effects they exert on people.
,ruW
Kelen,'- c 'entific
Here, the view represented by Frank will be considered,
basis of artistic processes has been developed
whereby the work of art is measured in terms of "aesthetic-
y a pplying cybernetics and information theory.
information. Aesthetic information is defined as residual in­
These formation, as described by Georg Nees in bit international 2;
other tU° ^ e V e '°P m e n t s are not independent of one an-
as the information that is left over once one has subtracted
'rend " 0 0 6 S '^ e c o m P u t e r ' z a t ' o n
^ a s brought with it a
the semantic, the pragmatic, or the pedagogic information.
Iovv ards mathematicization of the problems currently
 t e n d e n c i e s 4 • S y m p o s i u m • 1969
Here, a somewhat different perspective will be put for­
ward: what is decisive for the aesthetic properties is not the
"aesthetic" information, but rather the fulfillment or non-ful­
fillment of certain informational and psychological qualities
termed conditions of optimization. If these latter are fulfilled,
then the best conditions exist for the success of the apper­
ception process, and a high aesthetic value is ascribed to the
object.
In the case of objects containing little semantic or prag­
matic information, this model agrees with the model pro­
posed by Frank: the "residual information" then becomes the
total information. In more general cases certain differences
result; thus, to test optimization conditions, the entire sub­
jective information is consulted, and not just the "aesthetic"
residue, which is difficult to split off, and which compared to
the main part appears like a kind of decoration.
In principle, programs for computer art can be conceived in
such a way that they fulfill informational psychology condi­
tions for optimum perception. Difficulties may emerge, how­
ever, in identifying subjective information. In this case - as
in conventional art production - the artist begins to carry
out tests on himself to see whether or not the apperception
has succeeded, and this method, which gradually leads to
optimum results providing the artist is capable of a certain
amount of self-criticism, will indeed be sufficient for the req­
uisite exactitude.
The problematic, and thus the artist's actual achievement,
only commences if one understands the conditions of opti­
mization as necessary, but not adequate preconditions, and
in addition demands that the work of art should provoke an
enduring and ever-renewing interest. But this cannot hap­
pen by increasing the complexity and thus the information,
for if this were the case the processes of perception would
not lead to success. In fact, one should resort to one's expe­
rience with cognitive processes; that is, one should take into
account the modalities of how human beings proceed when
they are required to perceive complex patterns. For this, they
employ heuristic methods, for example:
1. In searching for known structural laws.
2. In successive singling out of specific aspects.
3- In developing classes of forms on the basis of similarities.
4- In arbitrarily selecting reference points.
It is these behavioral patterns that an audience demonstrates
when viewing pictures, listening to music, reading poetry,
and so on, and that the artist draws on by posing appercep­
tive problems to an audience via his work of art. In order to
achieve an enduring effect, the artist applies methods that
are comparable to strategies; for example:
1. I he use of hierarchically dependent categories ofsigr,
on each level (for example, the syntactic and the sema-
tic) the reduction of information can be performed se|.
rately.
2. The reduction of information is achieved in several i
many as possible) ways.
3. Recourse to microstructures in which again a reduction
information is possible.
4. Suggesting connotations and associations, activating
emotions.
The processes which are thus activated in the audience h
l o n g t o t h e p r o c e s s e s o f p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g ; n a m e l y , t o th<
sphere of faculties to which humankind owes to its preeir
inent position among living creatures. Art that induces sue
processes has considerable significance in society: it activate-
intellectual powers which under the shield of civilization a:
only seldom demanded of a significant number of peopu
and are beginning to atrophy.
This idea of art lacks several aspects that are often consul
ered important by traditional notions of art.
1. Expression. If expression is understood as a message
which is not achieved through verbal channels, espec
everyday language, then a problem ofcommunicatu
ists which should be handled applying the resourt
information pedagogy.2 Modern audiovisual possi
of presentation are capable of finding solutions w '
not necessarily belong to the domain ot art
portant and substantial this problem may be.
common basis insofar as all didactic
satisfy the conditions of optimization deve c}
mation psychology. fivheldto
2. Emotion. The activation of emotions is frequen ^
be the essential task of art. To achieve t is, °
more primitive psychological or even c emi
suffice, thus this designation appears
reveling in feelings may be pleasant, excii
stimulating, it is more in accord with kitsc
the social usefulness of such art is
make people attentive but instead anest etiz
It has been suggested that the opinion exprf:
tion is subjective. Obviously, it wou
cybernetic theory of art to the p r o p o s i t i o n
contradicted here.
demand a great deal of the artists. The way in which the
artist solves the problem of captivating a viewer or listener
he doesn't know for extended periods of time depends on
his abilities to solve problems for which no deductive solu­
tion procedures are prescribed. Here, too, it is again heuris­
tic principles which the artist follows. His solutions require
the application of creative fantasy - they are based on infor­
mation-generating processes related to scientific discover­
ies and technical inventions. Thus, artistic activity is also the
training of abilities which are very useful in society.
Hence, art may be seen as a creative game between artist
and audience. The artist invents visual, auditory, or semantic
structures, which the audience is required to decipher. The
audience's feedback spurs the artist to produce further crea­
tions. Only if this cycle of communication functions does art
attain its full social function.
These considerations result in demands on the art market
- it should serve to make accessible the aesthetic-appercep-
tive processes for as many people as possible. Some art forms
common today lead in precisely the opposite direction: the
cult of the unique, museum art, the modalities of trade. Re­
markably, computer art contains the inherent possibility of
breaking the mold of traditionally handed-down forms.
Initially, computer art is practised much like classical art. It
is produced in single pieces - possibly as a drawing and not
in a technique that is accessible to reproduction - before it
then lands on an exhibition wall. In reality, the artwork of
computer an is the program, which frequently - for exam­
ple, through the inclusion of random numbers - is capable of
howe
the most diverse realizations. Forms of representation would
be worthwhile striving for, which are far more inspiring than
structur<j ...
the finished picture - for example, the projection on a screen.
This type of output is currently still connected with tech­
nical difficulties. However, according to the prognosis of
many experts, once output devices are more widespread, and
^ Max Bense,
households are linked to central processing units via their
^
television screens in the way they are now equipped with
question ^^
Ie ephones, then nothing more will stand in the way of the
. 1959
screen presentation of computer graphics. Today, this possi-
^^
J.''7St'" aPPears Utopian, and yet one should be mindful
ou t
^elopments to which computer art can lead in due
e
course.
I art'cu'ar attention should be paid to computers capa-
'^^a
f0rm °')erat'n8 'n dialog mode,3 which enables entirely new
e ^ [v - to
mS °f artistic expression, in that it permits the audience
abi"
tei7.ene 'n t'1e aesthetic structure. Programs are conceiv-
jheruj resPon(* to any external impulse with changes,
know CS are prescribed in the program, but are not
0f
n t0 tJle observer or listener. Many additional forms
1 Practices will likely result almost of their own accord
Franke • Social Aspects 437
- the visual improvisation controlled by the computer, pre­
sented by experts, or through interchanges with the audi­
ence. In these art forms, the distinction between artists and
audience is suspended, as is desirable. In contrast to the hap­
pening, which mainly involves destructive elements, highly
complex structures of order are also accessible through the
logical capacity of the computer.
Today, it is not yet possible to proceed directly to forms of
computer art that are adequate to the medium, but one
should still keep in mind that computer art is more than just
another of the many short-lived, fashionable trends in con­
temporary art: it not only opens up a unique diversity of new
static and temporally variable aesthetic structures, computer
art also possesses the potential for groundbreaking develop­
ment within itself that can endow this art form with the val­
ues that will give it a meaningful function within technolo-
gized society.
1 Editorial note: Siegfried Maser, born in Stuttgart in 1938, studied
philosophy, mathematics, and physics; he completed his Ph.D. in 1965
with Max Bense on Gottlob Frege. From 1965 to 1968, he was assistant to
Bense and received his post-doctoral degree in 1968 with a dissertation
on "numerical aesthetics." See: Siegfried Maser, Numerische Asthetik. Neue
mathematische Verfahren zur guantitativen Beschreibung und Bewertung
dsthetischer Zustdnde, Klamer, Stuttgart, 1968.
2 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : I n t h e 1 9 6 0 s , t h e t e r m Informationspddagogik [ i n f o r m a t i o n
pedagogy) referred to a branch of pedagogy that utilized the findings
a n d m e t h o d s o f i n f o r m a t i o n t h e o r y a n d cybernetics.T h e principal pro­
ponents in Germany were Helmar Frank and Felix von Cube. See: Helmar
Frank, Kyhernetische Grundlagen der Pddagogik, Agis, Baden-Baden, 1962.
Felix von Cube, Kyhernetische Grundlagen des Lernens und Lehrens, Klett,
Stuttgart, 1965.
3 Editorial note: Herbert W. Franke emphasizes the "dialog capability" in
contradistinction to the batch processing of the mainframe computers
in the early days of electronic computing. Programs and data input were
punched onto punch cards, the punch cards were placed in a pile (hatch)
and processed consecutively; the operator had no opportunity to intervene
in the process.
Aesthetica l-IV, A g i s , S t u t t g a r t , K r e f e l d , B a d e n - B a d e n , 1 9 5 4 , 1 9 5 6 ,
1958,1960. , , .
H e l m a r F r a n k . Grundlagenprobleme der Informationsdsthetik und erste Anwendung
aufdie mime pure, P h . D . t h e s i s , T e c h n i s c h e H o c h s c h u l e S t u t t g a r t , S t u t t g a r t ,
H e r b e r t W . F r a n k e , " E i n k y b e r n e . i s c h e s M o d e i l d e r K r e a t i v i t a t , " i n . Grundlagen-
studien aus Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft, 9, 1968, pp. 85-88.
H e r b e r t W . F r a n k e . ' K r e a t i v i t a t u n d a s t h e t i s c h e K o m m u n . k a t . o n , i n : bxakte
H e r b e r t W F r a n k e , Phdnomen Kunst. Die naturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der
Aslhetik, M o o s , M u n i c h , 1 9 6 7 . , ..
Siegfried Maser,"Ober eine mogliche Prazisierung der Beschreibung
i i s t h e t i s c h e r Z u s t a n d e , " i n : Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und Geistes­
wissenschaft, 8, 1967, pp. 101-113.
A b r a h a m A . M o l e s , Theorie de Information et perception esthiUgue, F l a m m a r . o n ,
Georg Ne'es/ K o m p j u t e r s k a graflka i vi.u.L.a kompLksnoa.-rCompu.a.gr.phik
° 8 . ....... L:. ? Rons Ke emen and
438 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Josef Hlavacek
On the Interpretation of Programmed Art
The Czech art historian Josef Hlavacek studied aesthetics
and art history at the Charles University in Prague. In the
1960s, he helped to establish the Friends of Art Club, the
Film Club, and the People's University in Louny. Theoret­
ically he investigated the possibilities of applying socio­
logical methods to aesthetics. From 1968 he worked at the
Philosophical Institute of the Czechoslovakian Academy
of Sciences in Prague, until he was dismissed for political
reasons in 1970.
The text published here is a transcript of the lecture
held by Josef Hlavacek at the symposium "Kompjuteri i
vizuelna istrazivanja'7 "Computers and Visual Research,"
May 5-6,1969, Zagreb.
[Originally published as "O interpretaciji programirane
umjetnosti'TAbout the Interpretation of Programmed Art,"
in: bit international 7, Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar
(eds.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1971, pp. 67-74.]
In this paper I shall mention some facts that will lead us to
the interpretation of programmed art from points of view
which transcend information theory and information aes­
thetics. By programmed art, I mean plastic works that ar­
range plastic elements on a plane or in space according to a
chosen program (the realization, which may be, but need not
be the work of the computer) - plastic elements, the nature
and genesis of which are mostly geometrical.
It is a paradox that information aesthetics, with all its sci­
entific apparatus, its emphasis on probability, combinatorial
dealing with material, etc., is on one level a program aesthet­
ics , that is, an ideology of a certain artistic trend (not only in
plastic arts but even in some kinds of so-called artificial poetry
and prose) and from this perspective, it must be the subject of
inquiry of general or scientific aesthetics; in contrast to pro­
gram aesthetics, general aesthetics does not try to defend cer­
tain artistic trends, but looks for objective inquiry into them.
Here lie the roots of the first misunderstanding: to a consid­
erable extent, information aesthetics both gives birth to the
w ork of art and attempts to be its complete interpretation.
On an everyday level, information aesthetics behaves an
logically to other approaches emanating from "non-aesthen,
positions, such as sociology of art, art psychology, semanv
and so on. Most of these positions have only just made a fir-
move into the area of art, and that is why in many cases the
only "translate" traditional aesthetic concepts into their ov»:
languages. In other cases they show little respect for the spe
cificity of such scientific subjects as art, and only in some r<
spects do they elaborate the methodological processes r
respond not only to the specific character of the scient
discipline, but also to the specific character of art as tta
ject of the science, thus opening new horizons.
The translation of traditional aesthetic problems into the
language of information theory is a self-evident necessin
ought to be followed by new or newer solutions to the q-
tions being asked. This would justify the translation, but«»
still not so in many cases. Let us consider a few examf
Max Bense's theory of texts 2 , we find a contradiction en*
meaning and information (we shall return to thi
later), which is an expression of the well-known conn
tion between originality and style. In HelmarFra , ^
"Kybernetika a estetika" [Cybernetics and Aesthetics^ ^
thor states two conclusions after statistical in^ir\ '
of Victor Vasarely's pictures: 1) that the sign wit a ^^
of 37 percent will be considered more scarce1 ^ as'c
scarce but more striking one; however, 0.633is
of the golden mean known long ago as the r e a |
tions; 2) there is Gustav Theodor Fechn ers we
ciple of the aesthetic threshold, defined in a ^.
manner (see: Vorschule der Aesthetik [Pre- c ,[hein!]
ics], 1876)4 and formulated thus: the capaC1:
f ,hemr
must not be lower or higher than the capai ^ tributions - are information and thus the factor that makes a
ory. In his paper "Informacni estetika n istic ^' C t U r e ~ J'
ics] 5 , Karl vom Rath also proceeds in an a ^ -
tries to solve the relations between art an
information theory (and on the basis 0 e y al hem.
work Die mathematische Theorie der Spie e Qnce ^
Theory of Games], Bonn, 1963)'- H o w e v e l r ' ^ i n a*"
thp tprmc of information theory are acting
scene from an old play: we are continually asked to measure
the real situation against the envisaged situation to exclude
disturbing elements from the process of transmitting and re­
ceiving; for example, with the help of questionnaires formu­
lated with the assistance of sociologists and psychologists;
and we are told about the rules of the game that ought to
be known to both players (in which modern art disturbs the
game because it conceals the rules among other things). The
proposed solutions do not even stem from information the­
ory as much as from the traditional notions of social psychol­
ogy-
These are cases in which the use of the promising pro­
cesses of information theory has not gone beyond merely
changing the names of old problems. A more serious situa­
tion arises in cases where the use of informational principles
does not respect the specific character of art and where, in or­
der to fully maintain the scientific method brought in from
another area, art becomes distorted. Such is the case, for in­
stance, with Helmar Frank who, after the statistical inquiry
into Victor Vasarely's picture mentioned above, concluded
that this work contains redundant elements, that is, elements
repeated in abundance that weaken the information. This
conclusion could only be valid in this case if the work had
been created as an artwork illustrating the theory of informa­
tion; however, because at that time Vasarely did not consider
the possibility of programming his works, we are faced with
a misunderstanding. This is one of the cases where informa­
tion theory will act as program aesthetics, even when the pro­
gram of the work being studied is clearly different. A similar
conception of plastic arts is exhibited by Bense when he tries
10 push his thesis that the bearers of the aesthetic are the ma­
terial elements, and that through their statistical and topo-
logical analysis we can arrive at an "aesthetic measure." This
l s w hy
Bense proposes to understand the picture in such a
convenient manner - as the articulated and arranged mul­
titude of elements: "The simplest method to achieve this
clearly consists in laying a fine uniform grid (raster) over the
picture, thereby dividing its plane into a number of square
^ orms /shapes,
the elements of the grid, which can be
. der to be perceptible; the carrier of the aesthetic state also
counted as elements of the picture [...]."' This is a proposi-
"° n t ' l a t ' s c ' e arly influenced by the statistical requirements
, up the way for structuralism as represented, for example, by
enses theory and perhaps responds to some contempo-
*") principles of composition; however, if we consider art
a historical whole, it is a completely unrealizable prop-
J'ion. Bense, too, knew this when he added this caveat in
^appendix: "[...] provided that they (the basic elements
can b e assigned convenient character-
indeed ^ Connect'on w'lh l^e
partial picture that they
contain. Historicity and a certain static demand of
Bens" 131 ' 00 t ^ e ° r y are a^so apparent in the sections where
com 6 ' n e S t 0 U S C ^ e o r 8 e David Birkhoff's propositions for
u t l n g aesthetic measures 8 in which patterns are substi­
Hlavafek • Interpretation of Programmed Art 439
tuted by non-exact and clearly sociohistorically determined
(and thus variable) quantities, for example, the presence or
absence of symmetry, balance, and so on.
It seems that the first action of information theory in the
field of art resembles the problems that occurred during the
collision between so-called experimental and psychological
aesthetics at the turn of the twentieth century. At that time,
one part was substituted for the whole in the search for mea­
surable and rational (according to sciences) data to describe
the work of art and its organism: from notions about the par­
tial, material arrangement of a work they would achieve a
more complete and exact notion. This vivisection did not
succeed. If information theory were to stop at topological
and statistical computation, it would meet the same fate.
Fortunately, however, it allows itself a broader perspective; it
requests the collaboration of other sciences on the problems
raised by its call for a more rounded concept that philosophi­
cally directed aesthetics can help to piece together.
This fact can be seen, for instance, in the problem of the
relation between information and meaning. The contradic­
tion of these terms is expressed by Bense thus: "[...] referring
to the information content as meaning, for example, is ex­
cluded from the beginning. For in order for a sign to acquire
a certain meaning, a contrary requirement must be met: the
sign has to occur at a certain higher frequency." 9 The scarcer
the sign is, the more it is asserted; the more improbable the
information is, the higher the quantity of it will be. A closer
scrutiny shows, of course, that taken to its extreme, the di­
rection of this problem leads to realities that lie completely
outside of the area of art; towards works that are completely
determined semantically and without any information (in­
novation), and towards works with a purely innovative char­
acter and without any meaning, which are therefore incom­
prehensible because not determined by even the tiniest bit of
convention. And here even Bense narrowed down the accu­
racy of his original point of view (we can see how the subject
influenced the method): by saying that "every piece of aes­
thetic information necessarily contains a certain amount of
semantic information in order to exist and particularly in or­
carries the semantic parts of the information," 1 0 Bense opens
Umberto Eco." For Eco, semantic and redundant elements
are style and therefore the social factor; the innovations, spe­
cific characteristics of the individual style - the artist's con­
work individual. Eco's solution, partially directly preempted
by Bense's text theory, sets information aesthetics against
the broader framework of socio-scientific disciplines, among
which sociology and social psychology are the most relevant
in this context. Specifically, these sciences make it possible to
include semantically and numerically described "aesthetic
 t e n d e n c i e s 4 • S y m p o s i u m • 1969
states" in the process of socialization (i.e., in the situation
where a structure with an expressive element of informa­
tion and, therefore, innovation changes into a structure full
of overwhelming redundancy, into a structure that is more or
less conventional) and thereby give the inquiry into informa­
tion aesthetics the necessary dynamics, in the sense of the
historical continuity of art as a whole. In this context we are
able to evaluate the other challenges that information aes­
thetics has brought along as well, namely, the invention of
the element of probability in the possible functions of work,
which Eco develops more accurately and more completely.
I had to introduce this somewhat broad discussion of
some of the views of information aesthetics in order to turn
to some topical questions connected to the role and meaning
of computers in creating programmed art, and to make room
for the broader interpretation of this art.
It may be because of the character of information aes­
thetics - its orientation towards the numerical facts and its
search for the "aesthetic measure" (i.e., something objective
and therefore seemingly valid "forever") - that the presence
of the computer in the creative process is often emphasized
too much. It is as if the computer symbolizes that incorrupt­
ible fidelity to order, which is the heritage of the first gener­
ation of pioneers in geometrical art. When we look at this
problem soberly, we find that the computer is a simple part
ol modern technology, and technology is the source of tools
both for science and for art in every historical period. So it
was in the Renaissance - here we can draw a comparison
with the contemporary revolution in the use of the computer,
and, first of all, a comparison between computing methods
and the principles of linear perspective. Zdenek Sykora said
on this subject: "The computer operates in my work like any
other tool, but it is of course limited in function. When I de­
cided to give numerical signs to plastic elements, then to or­
ganize and compute them in that manner, the effect was to
transfer them into the plastic signs again, and thus using a
computer was a logical consequence. Besides, I think that
the use of computing (for a compositional net, or for perspec­
tive) has been very well known from our ancient past and is
nothing new. Computing would be also possible without the
computer - we have done it on a small experimental scale
- but on a larger scale it would not be viable because of the
time factor: it is the speed of the machine that is of use here.
Did the typewriter eliminate the human element from liter­
ature? The computer is made by man, and its task is to mul­
tiply mans possibilities."12 There are also other documented
instances of advantage being taken of contemporary technol-
°gy. CASSA, for example, creates teams of scientists and art­
ists who utilize a range of apparatus, from lasers to micro­
scopes with television monitors.13 Even if technology had
not always created one of the closest connections between
art and society throughout history, there would be noth­
ing remarkable in the fact that computers are an eve ,,
part of the creative process. On the contrary, it is one more
challenge to leave the narrow field of information theon:
which we are bound by the system of these computers. V
isn't it the system of these machines, which count with cor
binatorial iterations and statistical principles, that predo
tines them to serve artists who wish to create work that is •
impersonalized as possible and that embodies to thegri.i:, -
degree the idea of an extrapersonal order, which stems as
result from the character of the organized plastic materu
it really possible to construe, as Helmar Frank presuppose
a "mathematical model of the artist or of the man whop-,-
ceives art, and to abstract from these as from the psycholog
cally characterized systems"14? In other words: Is then,it./
of art, which is co-created by computers, of a kind that differ-
from art created in past historical periods, such that heretr
objective - the order - represented by an in essence imp-.'
sonalized computer completely excludes the subjective elt
ment, which the Romantic theories of art (but not only tho^
considered as maybe not the alpha and omega, but as thee-
sential part of the creation and the perception of works ofar'
The question thus formulated leads to the problem ol
cision - whether this is decision in the creative process or
the process of perceiving art. With Bense and Eco we
found that there exists an infinite multitude of possib
both in the realization and in the perception of the work.
lian Wise15, for example, creates structures from svste
cally arranged and repeated units. In her report, she
acterizes herself as one of those artists who start tr
principles of structure, but not entirely. The svsteni.:
Wise, offers some - if not a range of- possibibfes; an ^
she has to decide, she chooses the most suitable,
approach can be seen in Sykora: to him, the compu^
offers (on the basis of some rules chosen and a ra
ements to choose from) some variations from w ic
lects one or two (see, for example, his interview in
prdce).16 And here we must ask: What influences! e
in favor of one or the other from the rangei o
that the system offers? And furthermore: W hat
the choice of the system itself? r rhe order •
The decision in favor of this or that orm o ^^
never "hit" upon; on the contrary, it is in u ^ ^
thing unknown that we cannot desertbe m a .
than by the traditional term "sub/eCtlVe'
' eorIhoseoi '•
cal system of a personality conditioning t ^ ^^ .
reactions to external motives, or by the s^
e^r in
tions in which the personality is situate •
can it be explained only in terms of in orn.r0f,* -
If we now turn to the situation of the o ^ ^ ^
created in such a manner, the necessity °.r heuc
approach will be substantiated. In the beg ^.
is in the same situation as the artist: the view
termines which one among the possibilities offered for de­
coding the work is chosen; the viewer is also influenced by
psychological and sociological factors. However, the more
contemporary the sociological bounds were at the origin of
the work, the more they condition even the viewers point of
view; For in the work of art, the beholder not only confronts
the multitude of possible meanings from which he should
choose; insofar as he wants to respond to the work most ad­
equately, he must start from the contemporary literature of
art, and adjust his judgments according to the flood of theo­
retical, popular, and other texts, which go hand in hand with
modern art and supply meaning that the layman would not
be able to read in the picture at first sight. In this respect, the
rate of "Kommentarliteratur"17 is even equivalent to infor­
mation aesthetics itself, and in this, I find a further proof of
the basic thesis of this paper: that programmed art can be
interpreted complexly in this way only if we transcend in­
formation aesthetics, and look to other socio-scientific dis­
ciplines. The meaning of the structures of programmed art,
too-for instance, Sykora's - mostly transcends purely com­
binatorial intentions, whether the author wants it to or not.
I believe that these structures are the model of objective re­
ality in all its layers, from the physical and biological sphere
to the social one, and that programmed art can reach this
model just by working with the "pure" reactions of its basic
elements - points, lines, planes, volumes, and colors - and
with the help of contemporary technology, including com­
puters. If we say that art is a model, we use a scientific term,
and indeed, we often find analogies with the latest scientific
inventions (nucleic acids are programmed in the same man­
ner as many contemporary works of art). However, this is not
'mitation; it is merely a surprisingly analogous effect in two
areas of human activity. There is not space here to develop
'bis observation any further, but this opinion resolutely ex-
^^
dudes those concepts of programmed art which compre­
hend it either as a metaphor of the contemporary endeavor
n science and technology or as artists expressing their re­
^
sponse to the "new nature" - the nature of modern civiliza-
_ Editorial Note: The Centre for Advanced Study of Science in Art (CASS )
"on - and in this way enable us to understand it as a mere
lm"ation °f modern approaches to science. In reality, pro-
afammed art is congenial to science, but this congeniality
Pr'ngs from the autonomous means of the area of art.
'US'3 few words in conclusion: Programmed art - as far as
oug t not to be interpreted metaphorically and as it ought
e 'nterPreted in all its human and therefore historical
nn-0ns" must be investigated with the help of an entire
co
no ­ P ex of exact and social sciences; only the sum of these
deecTh' C3n ^r0l*Uce a relatively undistorted picture. In-
thetics 'S COnCe'5t can be^P t0 make a real science out of aes-
lcs> and then even information aesthetics will assume its
for t' ^,ace"^bomas Munro18 has reserved adequate space
e ^'sc'pline called the "morphology of art."
Hlavafek • Interpretation of Programmed Art 441
1 Editorial note: On the tape recording of his lecture, Hlavafek emphasizes
that he is not referring to "programmed aesthetics," but to "program aesthetics."
2 S e e : M a x B e n s e , Teorie Textu, O d e o n , P r a g u e , 1 9 6 7 .
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T r a n s l a t e d b y B o h u m i l a G r o g e r o v a a n d J o s e f H i r s a l ; first
published as Theorie der Texte. Eine Einfuhrung in neuere Auffassungen und
Methoden, K i e p e n h e u e r & W i t s c h , C o l o g n e , B e r l i n , 1 9 6 2 .
3 Helmar Frank,"Kybernetika a estetika," in: Jin Zeman, Edvard Arturovif
A r a b - O g l y , a n d A r n o S t K o l m a n , Kybernetika ve spoleienskych vidach, NCSAV,
Prague, 1965, pp. 219-241.
Editorial note: First published as "Kybernetik und Asthetik," in: Helmar
F r a n k , Kybernetische Analysen subjektiver Sachverhalte, S c h n e l l e , Q u i c k b o r n ,
1964, pp. 9-42.
Helmar Gunter Frank (born in 1933 in Waiblingen, Germany) is a
mathematician, pedagogist, and communication cybernetist, who, after
Bense and Moles, decisively influenced the development of information
aesthetics. Frank received his doctorate in 1959 from the Technische
Hochschule [Technical University] Stuttgart; his doctoral thesis under
Bense was titled "Grundlagenprobleme der Informationsasthetik und erste
Anwendung auf die mime pure" [Basic Problems of Information Aesthetics
and First Application to Mime Pure]. In his thesis, Frank discussed the
aesthetics of Bense and Moles to propose a third "information-psycholo­
gical" model, which added to the theory of signs, information theory,
and experimental psychology a fourth foundation of aesthetics: the theory
of abstract automata. From 1961 to 1963, he was a member of the research
group on "learning automata" at the Technische Hochschule [Technical
University] Karlsruhe. In 1963, he was appointed professor of information
science (later cybernetics) at the Piidagogische Hochschule [College of
Education] Berlin and established the Institute of Cybernetics. He was
cofounder of the journal Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und Geistes-
wissenschaften [ B a s i c R e s e a r c h i n C y b e r n e t i c s a n d t h e H u m a n i t i e s ] , w h i c h
commenced publication in 1960.
4 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : G u s t a v T h e o d o r F e c h n e r , Vorschule der Aesthetik, B r e i t k o p f
und Hartel, Leipzig, 1876.
5 J i n 5 e t l i k , " K a r l v o m R a t h : I n f o r m a f n i e s t e t i k a , " i n : Vytvarne umeni 4 / 6 8 ,
p. 203.
6 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : R u d o l f V o g e l s a n g , Die mathematische Theorie der Spiele,
F. D u m m l e r s V e r l a g , B o n n , 1 9 6 3 .
7 B e n s e 1 9 6 7 , p . 4 3 . E d i t o r i a l n o t e : B e n s e 1 9 6 2 , p . 49.; t r a n s l a t e d f r o m t h e G e r m a n .
8 Editorial note: See: George David Birkhoff,"Quelques elements mathema-
tiques de Fart," in: Atti del Congresso Internazionale dei Matematici, Bologna,
3 - 1 0 Settembre 1928, v o l . 1 , N i c o l a Z a n i c h e l l i , B o l o g n a , 1 9 2 9 , p p . 3 1 5 - 3 3 3 .
See this volume, p. 225, footnote 4.
9 B e n s e 1 9 6 7 . p . 1 6 . E d i t o r i a l n o t e : B e n s e 1962, p . 1 8 ; t r a n s l a t e d f r o m t h e G e r m a n .
10 Ibid., pp. 50f. Editorial note: Bense 1962, p. 58; translated from the German.
11 S e e - J u l i e S t f p a n k o v a , " O t e v r e n e d i l o , " i n : Orientace,
3, 1968.
12 Josef Hlavafek,"Otazky p r o Z d e n k a S y k o r u , " i n : Vytvarne umim, 3 , 1 9 6 8 ,
,3 See:'josef Hlavafek,"CASSA," in: Vytvarni umini, 3, 1968, p. 148.
was a London-based project founded by the philanthropist Erica Marx
(1909-1969) and the artist Marcello Salvador! (1928-2002). CASSA was
intended as a meeting place for scientists and artists, with a focus on
introducing an ecological understanding of the environment tntogeneral
education. See: Marcello Salvadori."CASSA. Fundamental Research at the
Centre for Advanced Study of Science in Art," in: Studio International.
International Journal of Modern Art, 1 7 3 , J u n e 1 9 6 7 , p p . 3 0 6 - 3 0 8 .
15 S e e : ^ J o s e " ° H ^ a v £ f e k , " F r a n k M a l i n a v y d a v a f a s o p i s , " Vytvarne umini, 6 , 1 9 6 8 ,
16 ^ V l a d i m i r B u r d a , " P r a z s k y p o d c h o d , " i n : Vytvarnd prdce 22/23. 1 9 6 8 , p . 1 2 .
15 A r n o l d G e h l e n , Zeit-Bilder, A . h e n a u m , F r a n k f u r t , B o n n . I 9 6 0 , e s p . c h a p t e r
S e e • ' r h o m a s M u n i r o "Toward Science in Aesthetics. Selected Essays, L i b e r a l A r t s
,8
P r e s s , N e w York, . 9 5 6 , e s p . c h a p t e r V , " T h e M o r p h o l o g y o f A r , a s a B r a n c h
of Aesthetics."
442 tendencies 4 • Symposium • 1969
Rice • ARC Cybernetics Proposal 443

slowing down or ruining plan(s) as a whole. Awareness also do use

means continuing ability to determine relevancy of each part, is use yielding our goals.

Gary Rice each effort, even throughout many, many changes as our sys­
tem of exploration progresses.
Questions -

For ARC: Cybernetics Proposal j. Feedback -

Is it better to start work just wherever we happen to presently
find ourselves - intellectually/artistically?
Holistic gestaltic understanding of our goals, systemic efforts,
and plans can subliminally color our work, thought, and Or
growth by feedback via knowing what lies ahead, as well as chart the field as it is
interrelations of each effort and plan towards our common as a whole
goals. as parts - related
as history
4. Self-Evaluation - as future
In 1966, a group of artists, designers, architects, philoso­ All these advantages mean we can stop systematically to eval­ as human race (needs, wants)
phers, and programmers based in Kansas City, Missouri, uate ourselves and how we are doing at any point of our pro­ relate where you stand to this
founded the Art Research Center (ARC), an informal as­ gression.
sociation dedicated to neo-constructivist art. The group • retenMiisMfcii Programming for our group meaning systematic clarifica­ Decide for yourself, what is the most valuable thing/idea/act
emerged from an artists cooperative gallery, the New tion of self-created gestalts, via graphic modeling, either 2- or you can give/create/discover/make from your position and re­
Center U.S. Art. The ARC founding members were John F. 3-D, or multimedia. lation to that field.
I
Abbick, Harold Chase, Norton Nelkin, Philip J. van Voorst, Disadvantages? Plan most promising way to use your present resources to:
ART RESEARCH CENTER
David R. Garrison, Joseph Ziegler, Jon Brees Thogmartin,
I. Too much time and effort could be spent on paperwork, 1. Immediately further your contribution(s);
Nancy A. Stephens, and Thomas Michael Stephens. Later
modeling, and amorphous planning about undefinables 2. strengthen your chances to make more and better contri­
members of the ARC included Gary Rice and Peter Clapp.
such as "beauty." butions in future or through effects on others; keep plan
At the symposium "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja'7
• •; Answer: the act of "modeling" or charting could be art it- simple and explicit and comprehensive and able to grow
"Computers and Visual Research" in May 1969, the artists
•!" sell, certainly, it could be rewarding in itself, is it really waste with you.
Nancy A. Stephens and Thomas Michael Stephens read
ot time or effort if we can come closer and closer to defining
out the following text, which had been written by the art­
exactly what we want, and why leave to chance planning for Come alive, join the planning generation!
ist and programmer Gary Rice. The flowchart reproduced
achieving our goals?
here, which was drawn on the blackboard by the architect Conclusion -
and designer Jon Brees Thogmartin during the presenta­
2-Wont this approach mechanize artwork, squelch intuition, I'm in favor of this approach and see major strengths, in sum­
tion, had been authored by Thomas Michael and Nancy etc? mary, as: you can quickly review them as a whole, dynamic
Stephens, the philosopher Norton Nelkin, and Thogmar­
Answer: no. It will ensure a frame to work within, that system as you grow -
tin himself. Stephens introduced the lecture with the fol­
frames dimensions and nature will be explicit both in terms
lowing sentence: "Our group wishes to present a proposal 1. Then aware when changes are needed.
°f what is known and what is not known, intuition will still
by one of our members (a programmer) - not for making uork, 2. Aware where change needed.
but more accurately and powerfully because it will be
artworks by computer nor as aesthetic theory, but as an ktter informed. 3. Know before changing how change will affect your other
example suggesting programming of group activity." present stances and assets into future realities.
The approach need not be any more mechanical than any goals/plans in general.
The text published here is a transcript of the lecture Advantages? other tool used to create: 4. Less chance of continual work on parts no longer relevant
given by ARC at the symposium "Computers and Visual to your goals.
Research," May 5-6,1969, Zagreb. 1. Grasp - 5. Know where and when others' help is relevant/needed.
paints and brushes
May allow both ourselves and outside Person' chisel
[Originally published in ARC, 7,1970; audio recordings Ar­ grasp not only individual goals, but how, w en, ^^ light and sound It is growth intended!
chive MSU Zagreb.] goals are synergetically related and autocata ':on w-illaeee water Producing
ing. Hopefully, understanding and provided - etc.!
Cybernetic - Steering, Control This is only a beginning for these efforts for us, but they may
erate due to the commonly understooc
Norbert Wieners dream: cybernetics for the people. Groups, the flowchart. The question really is: offer a vital example for others - the first step toward pro­
persons cybernetically joined in synergistic fusion, efforts Arewe mechanical? gramming group activity: our relational chart.
rhythmically related towards common goals. 2. Define Critical Points - eSpla
niI'°*
° real|y have intuition to start with?
Our group s abilities need to fulfill Wiener's dream, we are Show up fields or activities needing the ^ March 1969
unsatisfied. . A.ll.r ,1 nrtprstood ~ nOt )
'S not what are we using - it is: what -
Why not programmatic explorations: flow-chart graphic have goals
and/01 3-D models of goals and steps of plans to develop
 445

i bonsiepe maldon&do
'era hor\at pintaric mestrovic
kritovac radoslav p u t a r
claude schnaidt

bktbhtbb'b •bit- international br. no 4 1969

Sadriaj Table of Contents

3 Malko MeUrovii Matko MeUrovii

U point Ulmu Homage to Ulm

9 Tomm Maldonado Tomas Maldonado

Je li Bauhaus aktuelan? Is the Bauhaus Relevent Today?

19 Tomas Maldonado Tomas Maldonado

Kako se boriti protiv How to Fight Complacency in
samozadovoljstva u izobrazbi Design Education?
dizajnera?
bit international 4 . dizajn 29 Tomat Maldonado i Gui
Bonsiepe
Tomas Maldonado and Gui Bonsiepe
Science and Design
Znanost i dizajn
51 Gui Bonsiepe _ .... Gui Bonsiepe .
bit international 4. design Edukacija za vizuelni dizain Education for Visual Design
Claude Schnaidt _
61 Claude Schnaidt
Arhitektura i politiiko Arhitecture and Political
angaiiranje Commitment

1969 75 Gui Bonsiepe Gui Bonsiepe

Commentary on the Situation of
,
Komentar o poloiaju HtO
the HfG
bit international 4. design
83 Radoslav Putar Radoslav Putar
Product Design in Yugoslav 1969
Dizajn proizvoda u ___
jugoslavenskoj induitriji Industry
Magazine cover and contents
Magazine 93 Vera Horvat-Pintaric
Vera Horvat-Pintaril
On Visual Communications in Edited by Matko Mestrovic
O vizualnim komunikacijama
u Jugojlaviji Yugoslavia
Archive MSU Zagreb
Fedor Kritovac
103 Fedor Kritovac Design without Feed-Bacz
Dizajn bez fced-backa

109 Vijeati News

Izdavai / Publisher

Galerije grada Zagreba

Zagreb
Katarinin trg 2
446 bit international 4 • 1969
Maldonado/Bonsiepe • Science and Design 447

Tomas Maldonado and Gui Bonsiepe

Science and Design
This text is a shortened version of the contribution by
Tomas Maldonado and Gui Bonsiepe in bit international 4,
which was originally published in 1964 in ulm, the jour­
nal of the Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of
[Originally published as "Znanost i dizajnTScienee a-:
Design," in: bit international4, Matko Mestrovic (ed.),G;
rije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1969, pp. 29-51. First publish-
in: ulm,10/11, May 1964, pp. 10-29.]
The Limits of Mathematical Techniques
Methods are determined by goals. Expressed in psychologi­
cal terms: method is part of goal-directed behavior; method
is pan of behavior directed towards the solution of problems.
In solving problems one can employ various methods. If one
solves problems methodically, the approach is controlled or
planned. This rational factor occasioned Jeremy Bentham to
define such an approach as the implementation of what one
might term "tactic faculty"; or, according to Justus Buchler's
definition, method is "the strategic dissemination of pru­
dence."1 Imagination is the dialectic counterpart of method -
ysis and matrix analysis, together with linear programming,
can be applied to the solution of design problems. But in de­
sign the same applies as elsewhere: which methods are ade­
quate for which aims? There are frequently "good" problems
which are approached with "bad" methods, and inversely
"bad" problems approached with "good" methods.5 The qual­
ity of the questions and the quality of the methods must be
correlated.

Design] (HfG). At that time Maldonado had just become the rational application of definite techniques within the in­

director of the school, and Gui Bonsiepe was teaching in Not everything attributed to the Hochschule fiir Gestaluini ventive process. "Invention, free of regulatory restraints on

the department of product design. Ulm [Ulm School of Design] (HfG) can be legitimate;, en imagination, is flexible. Method [...] introduces fixity."2 In

Born in 1922 in Buenos Aires, Maldonado studied at the
Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredon
[Prilidiano Pueyrredon National School of Fine Arts] in
Buenos Aires. In 1945 and 1946 he co-founded the groups
Arte Concreto-Invencion and Madi before moving to Eu­
rope in 1948. There he met the "Schweizer Konkrete," a
group of Swiss concrete artists that included Max Bill.
A few years later Bill invited Maldonado to teach at the
Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm, which was founded in
1951. Maldonado moved to Germany in 1954 and taught in
various capacities at the Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm,
as well as heading the institution as director from 1964
to 1966. In 1967, Maldonado moved to Milan; he taught at
the department of philosophy and literature at the Uni­
versity of Bologna and at the School of Architecture in
Princeton.
Gui Bonsiepe, born in 1934 in Gliicksburg, Germany,
studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule Miin-
chen [Technical University Munich] and graphic arts at
the Akademie der Bildenden Kiinste Miinchen [Academy
of fine Arts Munich]. In 1955, Bonsiepe began to study at
the Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm. After the foundation
course he studied in the information department, a de­
partment specializing in design theory and design jour­
nalism. Bonsiepe received his diploma in 1959 and then
taught product design and visual communications at the
HfG until it was closed down. In 1968, a UN development
aid project took him to Chile, where three years later he
joined the British founder of management cybernetics,
Stafford Beer, on "Project Cybersyn," an attempt to install
a computer-controlled system to plan and control Chiles
tered in its credit and debit ledger sheets of achievemr
and failings. Nevertheless, both fact and fiction surround
HfG at one point; namely, the interest in design meth
ogy, as well as the interest in a relationship between scier
and design.
The HfG does in fact deserve its reputation of being w
bastion of methodolatry. A signal characteristic ot
riculum manifests itself in the emphasis placed on
ing both scientific knowledge and scientific method
design process. This rigor is reflected in the varying
ions about the HfG, which has earned it supporter,
ponents. Some, who are inclined from the start to 1^
science and scientific thought, consider the Lin
nothing more than a new variant ot the furor teutonic*
scrupulous, humorless, niggardly, obstinate. One
the HfG a more or less successful model of a
ence and design. Hence, on the one hand, t e
odology - or what is held to be the Ulm met 0 ^
given rise to resistance, which even rem orces ^ _
attitude towards design. On the other han , it
about an altogether indiscriminate, an
hope in design under the aegis of science. ^ ;-
The following notes attempt to shed som ^ ^
range of problems indicated in the tit e. , ,
than cursory notes gathered by the aut 0^^ assim: .-
observations, in discussions, and in a.cr ^jjocia •'
of relevant writings. In this article, method'1:
chology, two factors which ,nfluenCe
0n that ih'r
have intentionally been omitted or neraIIv acc<T';
portance of these disciplines for design IS ^ for product
and undisDuted nowadays. The same app
other words, the function of a method consists in the regu­
lation of unbridled imagination, in its guidance into definite
avenues, and in the obtaining of a result in this manner. John
Chris Jones argued similarly, saying that method is a means
of arbitrating in the conflict between logical analysis and cre­
ative thinking.3 Method operates in the range of possibilities
that lie between random success and rational determination.
According to customary opinion, a method is the more scien-
tific, the more that chance can be eliminated - the more that
success can be predicted. Methods in science are directed to­
wards two goals: first, the discovery of truth - how are true
statements obtained (speculation, hypothesis, experiment)?
And second, the checking of their truth value - how does
one assure oneself of the correctness of the statements (log­
ical compatibility, verification)? These methods are charac­
"Bad" method for "good" problems and "good" method for "bad" problems
terized by the following features: they are quasi-general (i. e.,
the) refer to more than one case), and they are intersubjec-
^ tlNe '' e'' they can be repeated by several subjects).
The ensemble of methods employed in designing prod-
UCts''^e'r systematic arrangement, is called the methodol-
°gy of product design. This term should not imply the as­
sumption, although the appearance might suggest it, that
is, or can be, a uniform general design methodology:
1 °U^ nothing further need be done than develop a de-
gn methodology from scientific methodology - which has
e "ot been defined despite the efforts of the "Unity of Sci-
maf ?0Vement" this array of methods, some mathe-
ste
03 Procedures have attracted particular attention. They
ics- fr°m t'le domain of finite mathemat-
P"se th 'S ^ranC^ mathematics
that does not presup-
sets e/erm Continuity nor limit transitions nor infinite
Complicated and complex (Abraham A. Moles)
e treatment of problems.4 It seems that vector anal­

. J •,..#V»<~tnrinP'.
economy, which was commissioned by Salvador Allende.*
448 bit international 4 • 1969
In the preface to an article by Abraham A. Moles dealing
with the structural and functional complexity of products,6 a
pluralistic methodology for design was envisaged.
Insofar as there are various degrees of complexity, ap­
propriate methods must be assigned to them in order to
deal with the problems occurring at the various levels. To
approach the design of cutlery or cooking utensils or a ra­
dio cabinet with an arsenal of techniques derived from op­
erations research is both uneconomical and inappropriate.
However, there are cases on the boundary between product
design and far-reaching product planning. If it confuses the
issue to assume that a technique like linear programming
may be employed without modification in the design or re­
design of products, then the usefulness of this discipline is
quite out of the question in the development of new prod­
ucts within the framework of a definite company policy; and,
finally, product design is also included in this new develop­
ment.7 Moreover, system theory and theory of control could
be useful lor a designer in combination with mathemati­
cal logic as a general background for the understanding of
a machine theory. Information theory may furnish the de­
signer with a vocabulary of terms to analyze and to quantify
the structural relationships of products. According to expe­
rience gathered hitherto, the following mathematical disci­
plines may be considered useful for the product designer in
his practical design activities: 1) theory of combinations (for
modular systems and problems of dimensional coordina­
tion); 2) group theory (in the form of symmetry theory for the
construction of grids and three-dimensional lattices); 3) the­
ory of curves (for the mathematical treatment of transitions
and transformations); 4) polyhedral geometry (for the con­
struction of regular, semi-regular, and irregular bodies); and
5) topology. [...]
Design - A Negligible Quantity?
Like all human activities intended to integrate various special
disciplines, the specific activity of design must defend itself
against each of these disciplines if, and for the reason that
each wants to dispute the legitimacy of design and expose
it as superfluous. In its earliest form, the conflict was fought
out between the designer and the engineer, whether he were
engineering designer or production engineer. This point has
already been discussed in detail so often that it is not worth­
while taking it up here. On the other hand, it is worthwhile
to discuss briefly the critical remarks which have recently
been advanced against design by advocates of mathematical
methods. According to them, the design of a product scarcely
differs from the design of a system, whatever its type: in
cases, the prime task is the solution of a problem or c
plex of problems. Once all the variables that enter into-
solution of a problem have been summarized, a matherr
cal formulation would be sufficient, whereby all the de:.:
data or determinative data would be covered. This v,
then permit an optimal rational decision divorced fro-
imponderabilia of the subject. Although the existeno
specific area is admitted, which cannot be so readily redut
to the form of determinative data, this area - the design,
area - is said to be so small that one may consider it a negli;
ble quantity. (That this total technical rationality is oni.
expression of particularized reason will be dealt with fir
The thesis of continuous mathematical structuring of a ce
sion space for a design means nothing less than that a
sign problems can be solved algorithmically; that is, b
ploying a mathematical or logical construction that acts a-
program or as an instruction manual.8
Such algorithms would have to be established will
aid of the following mathematical disciplines that \ar
case to case: combinatorial analysis, theory ot gam. -
of information, mathematical logic, switching algebra,
programming, system theory, theory of queues, and cc
natorial topology. As has already been mentioned, sorm
these techniques certainly possess an instrunn
for the solution of complex design problems. But
if they are not practiced in the sense of a scienti c pan^
but simply from the aspect of their instrument.!. ^
mathematical disciplines mentioned should no' u
erroneous conclusion that creative thought an
both the fields of science and design can be t0" ^ .
to algorithms. For it is wrong to attempt to simu
tionship of the designer to the problems facmg
model in the form of a simply determined sw^ ^
after all, the process discussed here - as in1 e ^ ^
and inventive human behavior - can, if at a , • js(K
lated with models on the level of complex
terns.9 Here, the possibility to quantify an ^ -
problems in order to optimize or suboptimiz ^
these problems within a definite scheme is n
f ackled, like, for example, design aesthetics. At this mo-
relativism implied here of the mathematics ^^ ^
decision theory, in conjunction with es °^niar2; •
those who behave in a rationalistic manner ^ of science as did early experimental psychology - a program
tic belief. However, as Serge Chermaye
definitely not the alternative to reducing . ^^
ematics. In the statement "There is no ma
lation of color, anymore than there is m
numbers,"10 he succinctly expresses only the plain state of
affairs that everything moves in the field of sober feasibility.
Systematic Method the Easy Way
Many advocates of scientific design do actually suggest the
application of scientific disciplines in solving design prob­
lems. In addition, there are theorists who understand scien­
tific design in a really wholesale sense. They equate science
and scientific procedures with a prescientific rationalism -
a kind of observance of Cartesian methodology, of rules for
the guidance of the intellect, which has resigned from Car­
tesian doubt. The advocates of this systematic method rely
predominantly on the modern heuristic methods of George
Polya, explained in his book How to Solve It". This heuris­
tic method deals with the solution of problems, and particu­
larly with the thought processes, which in this operation may
be employed in exemplary manner. In a series of papers en­
titled "Systematic Method for Designers,"12 L. Bruce Archer
has given examples of Polya's modernized heuristic method.
The results of this systematic method for designers operate
as yet within a modest framework.
They remain on the level of reducing the design process
to a scheme, that is, a linear sequence of steps, partly in a
feedback relation, starting with the gathering of required
data and proceeding to the final communication of the de­
sign. These schemes indicate what each designer does in any
case' and
^ows already about his activities. Hence, Polya's
'mentions are led in another direction, since only the se­
quence of the steps in solving design problems is stated, but
n°t
the methods to be employed. Perhaps these schemes
have a didactic value; but the systematic method is charac-
terized in that it suffers from an excess of system and a lack
°f method. The examples cited to illustrate the efficiency of
'o systematic method remain within the frame of protocol
method of stating facts, which are so self-evident that one
gains the impression that the whole matter is being system-
ea"y stre,ched.
As long as the argument runs on an ab-
r science which wants to quantify mental processes.'
'mct level, the comprehensive check lists, seemingly leaving
J*n mg out, behave as paragons of rationalism. The matter
. tions, experimental psychology was compelled to pose from
°mes self-revealing, however, when concrete problems
the entire systematic method becomes remarkably
winded and lags behind reality. This may be attributed
l^at no Previous efforts were made to define the
ir d'" 'C 3S^ectS' furthermore, in agreement with idealistic
lion
aesthet'cs are considered the "theory of the percep-
eautiful." In a concrete situation, questions of de­
Maldonado/Bonsiepe • Science and Design 449
sign aesthetics are left to intuition. "In the majority of cases
it is far quicker and more appropriate to handle the whole
aesthetic side of design by intuition, provided there is an ad­
equate body of prior experience to base it upon."13 This is
truly not a very glamorous end for a rather presumptuous ap­
proach to a systematic method for designers. One misses the
target if one remains true to rationalism only insofar as one is
occupied with entelechies and avoids their profanation. In a
precarious manner, this position calls to mind the social sci­
entists about whom C. Wright Mills writes: "They are fully ra­
tional, but they refuse to reason."14
Fechner and the Consequences
It is often maintained that the origin of experimental psy­
chology dates from the morning of October 22, 1850 when
Gustav Theodor Fechner suddenly realized that "the in­
crease of the mental intensity of a sensation is proportion­
ate to the relation of the increase of the vital force."15 In this
"sudden enlightenment" lies the thought underlying his Ele-
mente der Psychophysik [Elements of Psychophysics] ( i 8 6 0 )
which, although it was not the first, was the most effective
contribution in providing psychology with a modern scien­
tific basis. One must stress, however, that Fechner was an
excellent naturalist but not an avowed scientist, at least not
according to the customary modern definition. He was oc­
cupied with many side interests - philosophy, mysticism, po­
etry, and humor - and it is not certain whether these side ac­
tivities were actually the main activities in his own eyes. It
is very difficult to ascertain to which Fechner attached most
value: his experimental work or his philosophical and mys­
tical speculations.16 It is obvious that experimental psychol­
ogy - assuming Fechner to be its founder, and not Johannes
Miiller, Ernst Heinrich Weber, or Wilhelm Wundt - had no
satisfactory scientific origin. One can object, of course, that
none of the sciences are able to present a satisfactory origin^
But in respect to experimental psychology, this "original sin-
intensified the already prevailing resistance to this "so-called
In order to counter the effect of such detrimental condi­
the outset as the most scientific of all sciences. For this rea­
son no nineteenth-century scientific discipline adopted with
so few reservations the then scarcely differentiated program
which suffered from the influence of a doctrinal mechanistic
mode of thought. In the interim, the progress of the sciences
450 bit international 4 • 1969
program of its validity. Yet, experimental psychology still hes­
itates to separate itself from all of the points of the old pro­
gram. This is evident in the case of ergonomics, the branch
of applied psychology dealing with the study of human-ma­
chine systems. Prejudices that originate from the first pro­
gram continue to persist in this discipline. Franklin V. Taylor
writes on this subject: "Although psychologists have become
more scientific in their instrumental procedures, using better
and better research tools and employing statistics of ever-in-
creasing power, they are still working with pretty much the
same old types of syntactically impoverished concepts."17
If one points out to the ergonomist that there are factors
in human-machine systems, which, although they can be
precisely evaluated, cannot be precisely verified and com­
puted, he takes cover behind the argument that non-verifi­
able and non-computable factors cannot be the subject of
his investigations. There are many who go so far as to main­
tain that only one-dimensional problems, or problems that
can be solved by linear or scalar means, are scientific prob­
lems. Evidently, they ignore what has long been practiced in
the natural sciences (physics, astronomy, biology): the accep­
tance of the multidimensional nature of scientific problems
and the use of non-scalar mathematics.18
It would be a prejudiced simplification to accuse all the
opponents of this belated cult, practiced by some ergono-
mists, of metaphysical, idealistic, mystic, or simply romantic
tendencies. To stress the complexity of systems where man
constitutes an important component - as in the human-ma­
chine systems, for example - can no longer constitute the fa­
vorite and exclusive subject of the opponents of empirical
sciences. Surely, there are qualified ergonomists who draw
attention to this complexity and to the dangers of underes­
timating this complexity. Alphonse Chapanis writes: "A cou­
ple of hundred years ago it was the vogue to say that man is
nothing more than a system of complicated levers and pneu­
matic tubes (the nerves and blood vessels) which carry ener­
gizing liquids. Fifteen or so years ago, it was popular to say
that man is nothing but a servo. Now it is the thing to say that
man is nothing but an information-handling channel. Call
man a machine if you will, but do not underestimate him
when you experiment on him. He is a non-linear machine;
a machine that is programmed with a tape you cannot find;
a machine that continually changes its program without tell­
ing you; a machine that seems to be especially subject to the
perturbations of random noise; a machine that thinks, has
attitudes, and emotions; a machine that may try to deceive
you in your attempts to find out what makes him function, an
effort in which, unfortunately, he is sometimes successful"
The trend towards simplification with which Chapanis de,
here and against which he warns may be explained in pr
by the special nature of investigations to which ergonomi-
devoted themselves in latter years. They were primarii\
vestigating control systems where man operated under <\
tremely unfavorable circumstances to the limit of his ser
sorimotor capabilities, that is, in the critical zone "at whi
human performance deteriorated to an unacceptable
gree."20 These were investigations of exceptional machine-
offensive weapons or defensive weapons - and of their r
less exceptional operators, the soldiers. Because ergonom,
has specialized to such a great extent in the solution of err
cal problems in military equipment, it is sometimes die-
to distinguish between ergonomics and military psyche -
"Machines cannot fight alone" was the slogan of the moder
ergonomist. The central subject of this discipline was,
still is today, to adapt weapons to the soldier, and, vers < ! '
- despite all that ergonomists proclaim -to adapt the v
to the weapons.21
Without doubt, the empirical data obtained from
gations of military equipment possess a prototype
all fields, and even for such fields which are complex
moved from military equipment. On the other han
stant occupation with such issues has no doubt a
a certain one-sidedness in the ergonomist - that [
tendency towards a too abstract version of the human ^
tor. In military equipment, the human component t
ponent "H," as the ergonomist says22 - had of neces
separated from its daily reality, its specific, socia,
and cultural coordinates. This course is re(lu'^ _ ^
estsofthe efficiency of the system, of which I *<>
The Two-Sided Commission
[...] In our society, neither the world ot
easily penetrated nor, in many cases, pro u ^ I, See- An°9 Sf' ^ '2' "°'
influences this world of merchandise. De ^ ^^ _
n0[COn--
favorable circumstances, one thing tnltrg
the function of the product designer s ou
designing products according to an out 1 ^ ^ produc
still the custom in our free economy. Instea.^en*11*
signer should be the one who contri iut ^ ^ Stevens "tf '
demand; otherwise, he will only be a 1 e ^^ „
nate role and preserve the existing Pr ^ should*<*
perficial modification. The pro uc t• c disquil 1
sider his function to keep quiet, but to pro
• See: Catalina Ossa and Enrique Rivera, Cybersyn. Sinergia cibernetica
1970-1973. Multinode Metagame, 2002, Ocho Libros, Santiago, Chile, 2008.
Eden Medina, "Designing Freedom, Regulating a Nation. Socialist Cybernetics
in Allende's Chile," in: Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 38, no. 3, August
2006, pp. 571-606. Stafford Beer, Raul Espejo, Mario Grandi, and Hermann
Schwember, II progetto Cybersyn. Cibernetica per la democrazia, Fiorella De
Cindio and Giorgio De Michelis (eds.), Clup-Clued, Milan, 1980. Raul Espejo,
"Complexity and Change. Reflections upon the Cybernetic Intervention in
Chile, 1970-1973," in: Systemic Practice and Action Research, vol. 3, no. 3, March
1990, pp. 303-313.
1 Justus Buchler, The Concept of Method, Columbia University Press, New York,
London, 1961, n. p.
2 Ibid, n. p.
3 See: John Chris Jones, "A Method of Systematic Design," in: John Chris Jones
and Denis G. Thornley (eds.), Conference on Design Methods, Pergamon Press,
Oxford, 1963, pp. 53-73.
3 See: John G. Kemeny, J. Laurie Snell, and Gerald L. Thompson, Introduction to
Finite Mathematics, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1957.
5 See: Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon, "Computer Simulation of Human
Thinking," in: Science, vol. 134, no. 3495, 1961, pp. 2011-2017.
6 See:Tomas Maldonado, "Vorbemerkung zu 'Produkte: Ihre funktionelle und
strukturelle Komplexitat,'" in: ulm, 6, 1962, pp. 3f.
' See: Martin K. Starr, Product Design and Decision Theory, Prentice-Hall,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1963.
8 See: Georg Klaus, Kybernetik in philosophischer Sicht, Dietz, Berlin, 1961.
' See: Stafford Beer, Kybernetik und Management, S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main,
1962.
111 Serge Chermayeff, "The Designer's Dilemma," in: Edward J. Zagorski (ed.),
Serge Chermayeff Heinz von Foersfer, Ralph Caplan, Sibyl Moholy-Nagy. A Panel
Discussion, Industrial Design Education Association, Chicago, 1962, n. p.
11 Editorial note: George Polya, How to Solve It. A New Aspect of Mathematical
Method, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1945.
L. Bruce Archer."Systematic Method for Designers," in: Design, 172, 174, 176,
179,1963, n. p.
Editorial note: Jon Turner, "The Process of Systems Design. Some Problems,
^
nnciples, and Perspectives," NYU Working Paper No. IS-85-101, New York
University, New York, December 1985, available online at: http://archive.nyu.
u ^ 'bi,s,reani/2451/14531/3/IS-85-l01.pdf.txt, 12/10/2009.
"ght Mills, Power, Politics and People. The Collected Essays of C. Wright
15 Ku d 0Xf°rd Un'Versi,y Press' New York> I963-
rLaBwitz, Gustav Theodor Fechner, Frommann, Stuttgart, 1902; translated
from the German.
" Frankl'"16'"' Wun<'1' ^den u"d Aufsatze, Kroner, Leipzig, 1913.
p !" Y" Yay'or- "Psychology and the Design of Machines," in: American
5' May 1957, pp" 249~258-
Harper^0' ^ap°P°rt' ®Pera,'onal Philosophy. Integrating Knowledge and Action,
P onst Chapanis, Research Techniques in Human Engineering, Johns Hopkins
r«s, Baltimore, MD, 1959.
a-1
lu jack W n i «
(eds) H Un 3') ^'0',*''ec'lan'cs'" 'n: Douglas H. Fryer and Edwin R. Henry
pp jn ""^bookof^ppHed Psychology, vol. 1, Rinehart, New York, 1950,
Pau' M. Fitts, Henry A. Imus, and Stanley Smith
Human En Uman Engineerinf>in 'he National Defense," in: Paul M. Fitts (ed.),
Ml 1959 'Weer'n9 Concepts and Theory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
"59 n p 0 ^ Tayl°r' Equalizing the System for Component 'H,'" in: Fitts,
 453

INTERNATIONAL

oslikovljena the word

rijeC image

konkretna po6sie
poezija concrete

max bense branimir donat

• • /

tomaz brejc vera horvat-pintaric

zeljko bujas siegfried j. schrnidt

bi-febitbL'fe
•bit- international br. no 5-6 1969

Table of Contents
Sadriaj

Vera Horvat-Pintarii
3 Vera Horvat-Pintarii
The Word-Image
Oslikovljena rijei

Branimir Donat
71 Branimir Donat
Po&ie concrete — cosmogonie
Konkretna poezija — poetska
po^tique de Tire technologique
kozmogonija tehnolofke ere

bit international5/6. oslikovljena rijec. konkretna poezija 89 Max Bense

Max Bense
Konkrete Poesie
Konkretna poezija

Tomai Brejc
bit international 5/6. the word image, poesie concrete 101 Tomai Brejc
Skupina OHO i topografska
La compagnie OHO et la poesie
topographique en Slovenie
poezija u Sloveniji

1969 117 Siegfried J. Schmidt

Siegfried ]. Schmidt
Computopoeme
Computopocma
bit international 5/6. the word image.
Zeljko Bujas
133 Zeljko Bujas
First Croatian Literary poesie concrete
Prve kompjuterske analize
Texts Computer-Processed
hrvatskih knjiievnih tekstova 1969
Magazine Magazine cover and contents
Edited by Vera Horvat-Pintaric
Archive MSU Zagreb

Izdavai/Publischcr
Galerije grada Zagrcba
Zagreb
Katarinin trg 2
454 h'1 international 5/6 • 1969
Zeljko Bujas
First Croatian Literary Texts Computer-Processed
The linguist and literary scholar Zeljko Bujas studied En­
glish language and literature and Russian at the Univer­
sity of Zagreb. He started teaching at the department of
English in 1954 and gained his Ph.D. in linguistics in 1965.
When Bujas conducted experiments in computer process­
ing of Croatian literary texts at the University of Texas
at Austin in 1968, he also initiated a project in computer-
aided language analysis at the Institute of Linguistics at
University of Zagreb and developed a method of comput­
er-based contrastive analysis of Serbo-Croatian and En­
glish handling a 1,300.000-word corpus with the aid of an
IBM 360/30 Computer.*
[Originally published as "Prve kompjuterske analize hrvat-
skih knjizevnih" / "First Croatian Literary Texts Comput­
er-Processed," in: bit international5/6, Vera Horvat-Pintaric
(ed.), Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1969, p. 133-138; trans­
lated from the Croatian.l
Last May (1968), in the tropical humidity of Austin, the
sprawling capital of Texas, the largest computer (CDC 6600)
on the University of Texas campus found itself processing
what for it was very unusual material.
Almost noiselessly, with mind-defying speed, imagina­
tive words, spanning four hundred years of Croatian liter­
ature, streamed from a magnetic tape into grey electronic
blocks. Poor Susanna" was stalked "by two greybeards in di­
abolic league, each suffused by lustful passion." Against a
background of tapestry-like knightly exploits and hunting
scenes of baroque luxury, "the hot-tempered stripling, young
Emperor Osman" was raising "an army against the accursed
Poles. Filip Latinovicz, that "Westernized, excited fool, over­
strung and decadent' was returning to "muddy pastoral, bo­
vine Kostanjevo." Whirling, fragmented, forced through
thousands of electronic mazes, assembled and dismembered
in the computer memory, Marko Marulic's, Ivan Gundulic's,
and Miroslav Krleza's1 words finally poured out, in a light­
ning-speed output flow, from the "electronic brain," restruc-
tured into the strict form of computer concordances.
This semi-historical Texan event - genesis of the I
computational analyses of any Croatian language tev •
must now be abandoned, under the eternal dictate of I ~
ited space, with its attractive sentimental potentialities or
partly exhausted. Let us, then, adapt to the more sober:::
of the hospitable pages of bit.
First of all, what is a concordance?
The photographic reproduction of a few lines from
computer concordance of the epic poem Osman (whole
cordance = 55,400 lines) shows us that the term indicate^
total vocabulary of a text, with every word of it (includint a.
its repetitions, oblique forms, and derivations) prtvr c
alphabetical order within a limited context and profit
a precise location marker. Thus, this small sample 0,
informs us that Gundulic used the words bratrnd inep.
and bratuceda2 (niece), that he used them four time
man, and that he used them in the following lines
tos): 172 (3), 773 (")> 280 (I2)>and 333 M-
No particular imagination is required to rea \n
vantages for textual analysis and research wor
that such specifically organized texts (concordance
Definitive confirmation of the presence or (equa _
tant) absence of a certain word, name, grammat ^
stylistic element is now a matter of seconds c r
most diversified, complex, and ample compara ^ ^
logical procedures for grammatical or st^'is111.1
require only an hour or two. Painless an ex '
mentation and effortless verification of*01"
provide speedy confirmation, or give rise tc
which can all very rapidly develop into a m°re^_
dation or the definitive refutation of entire
ram give5uS': "
A simple exchange of the computer progr
the same text, equally easily and rapid >. t e ^ ^ ^
or backward, concordance, with every
ized (and presented within its context v\ it
now, however, from right to left. Here 1
the reverse concordance of the long Poe™ ( £ven [h -
Marulic (the full concordance has 5.333
limited, sample (part of a list of wore s e
Bujas • Literary Texts 455
0? #1*0 1 OSZLA TV0R8E HUDE2 201272 ZA UTVRDIT SF VIK CARICA.2 201282 RRATJU 81 TI BEZ M1LOSTI2 .201292 POOAVILA 1 P0KLALA.2 2013
0? 0Z?0 PRIJECYA PUTA2 202152 DA RASTRIJFRISZ I OBORISZI/ 202162 A ZA BRATJU NAJPOSLIJE2 202172 HEDZU MUDRIJEM RIJECY Jp TAKA2 2
09 0200 PLACTU* CVILE. 202282 NJEKA CZACZKA DRAGA SVOGA. 202292 NJEKA BRATJU MILU. A NIK.A 202302 UZDISZUCZI LJUBLJENOGA 202312 'Z
]5 0*00 A I7VIRE /0*7|/ SAMO IZ TOGA KALNA BLATAl 204722 TI OH NJEGDA BRATJU TVOJU 204732 TUDZU U JARMU HLADNO GLEDJj
15 0*00 GLEOA. 204742 NIT !H BRANI
- - KAO -
SVOJU 204752
-• TRIJEBI
-- JE BRANIT BRATJU OD BIJEDA.
—- 204762
- PACVE NI TO NE DOPUSTI '°*77/ BRA
17 0600 CZE U NASZOJ RUCI STATI 206782 ZA OPETA BEZ MILOSTI .20679A I BRATJU MU SWU POKLATIS /0680/ TI SLOBODI CARA SVECA, 20681
1"
... 0100 STAROS OQI OSTAJU. 201062 A SVUO SESTRE NEUDANE 201072 MRTVU BRATJU NARICAJU. /010B/ NEVJESTE SU UDOV1CEI 201092 PLACYU
20 0*00 STUPI /04332 CAR 00 SVIJFTA NA PRISTOLJE 204342 OA POO SABLJU BRATJU SKIIPI /04352 I POOAVI I POKOLJE. 204362 NU VLAS BOZ
15 0*00 RAlJU 00 BIJEDA. 204762 PACYE NI TO NE DOPUSTI 204772 BRAT DA BRATOM SVOJIH TE ZOVEI 204782 ALI OO OGNJA SV0JLH.NF. *5
1* 0900 E STRASZAN ZATVOR KRUZZI. /0960/ A JUZUF SE 1 MUJAGA 209612 S RRATSKIJEH MRTAV RUKA" OBALII '0962/ CYIJEM U SUJEPOJ SP
07 0300 HUD! UZROCYI 20370/ KAD ZET SVEKRU. OTAC SINU. /O^Tl/ A BRAT BRATU PROTIV SKOCYI. /0372/ NJIMA NIJEDNA VLAS POD NEBI 20
20 0000 HMATUt 200412 PRVORODNO OIJETE SVOJEI 2004Z2 MENI. MENI. A NE BRATU /00A3/ CARSTVO OO OCA OSTALO JE."200,(,^1 „„„? cj
03 01 BO U GLEOA I 20170/ FRANACYKOGA IMASZ KRALJA /0171/ I SZPANJSKOGA BRATUCYEDA, /0172/ KOGA CARSTVU INDIJE SADA '0173/ NOVE SV
11 0700 . 2LO0E PUNA. 20771/ RI NEPRAVO UGRABLJENA• 207722 OO GUSTAVA BRATUCYEDA 20773/ SZTO TI SE OTE. POOZ OTIMA I 207742 SVA
1? 0300 PRO NJE JED1ND 203312 DA NE BUOE POGlNUTI. 20332/ MOJA LIJEPA BRATUCYEDA 203332 OD MILOSTI SUZE LWAt 203342 U SUZZANSTV
12 0200 VOJ NJE ZLED1 202782 I OOBRZO DA SLOBOOU 202792 DUNDU I MOJOJ BRATUCYEDI. 202802 ALI ZA MIR NJE LJEPOTE 202812 NIJE SLOB
07 0200
1* 0200
0D KOJIH SE PRIPOVIJEDA 202072 DA U NEBO VRH IM TICYE. 202082
02502 GDJE SU. DOK SE USPOKOJI. 20251/ KA CZESZ NA NJU ZBACAT
BROA PRIKLONA I iNIZOCI'02092 •"J"' 1°™FJJfyckyTVO SA
BROA7 202522 I AKO ^ 1 ALI OPROSTI 202532 TVE VI fESZTVO SA
17 0600 AVI. 206**2 00 NEPRAVAO C1CZ PRIKORA. 206452 CYIJEM TE PLESZE BRECYE OHOLO. /06462 ZAMNJELO JE POLJE I MRA. 206472 IJ
13 0200 202352 MIR U LESZKE KRUNE IS7TE. 20236/ NA Gt AVI MU JE TESZKO BREMEI 20237/ ZB«JENJE. ZA UTECZ HUDZE SZTETE, 20 2 P I
01 0300 U0ES. VASZA SRECZAI 202922 CAR LESANORO PRIMOGUCZI2 202932 U BREMENA SV*"^H LJCTA.2 202942 MLAD KO* I JA V J J C I
IT 0100 RA. 20123/ A T! SLUZZISZ NJE SEBARSTVO. 2012*2 OTVORI OCVI ZA BREMENAI 201W2 ER. AKO IM MUOE S OVA. 2 12 Q gJ
17 0200 OST6NE DROBNIH PTICA. 20284/ MNOGE ZGOOE NOVE BISZE 202852 U BREMENA PREONJIM LJETA 202862 KOJE OD SEBE
10 0500 TV0RENA. 20598/ PENJIMO SE VISZE GOI JE. /0599/ NE GUBIMO MAN BREMENA I '• /»°W 2D08B2 I TAKO MU DANC
1* 0000 JIGE. /00R5/ KE KALDEJSKI JEZIK SAZOA. 200862 PROGONITI LJUTE BRIGE 20087/ N*HOD,JASZE R*°°f cr KSZ7£ ZDVORA 203052 StAVN
05 0.00 T.SUCZA SE 20003/ VOJSKE DIZZE PUT ZAPAOA. 2000*2 NA UZNOSIT BRIJEG UZIOE 200052 ^ PA E B J «
0* 0200 VA. 20240/ PAZ! ONAMO GDI UTOCYILO /02412 K TRETJEMU SE POLJE BRIJEGUI /02422 NJESTO °NO OAN JE svJjet, 20710/ NIJ
09 0700 0707/ PR1JE SF. ZZELJNOJ NAGLEDAT11 207082 KOGA NI DUG PUT. NI BRIJEME. '°™9/ 'N*j!^BR!JEME GU8T. SRECZU IZGO
7 0*00 PRIJEKA SLUT A 20*332 CARSKU GLAVU VISZNJI UKLON1 ! 20434/ TKO Lif GOFCZU IZGONU /04362 NU SZTO JE CARU VIDJET
17
17
0*00 U VISZNJI UKLDNII 20*342 TKO BRIJFME 1SZTE. VF.CZE PUTA 204352 BRIJEME GUBI. SRECZU IZGONI.. 20
0600 572 OD SNA K1 TE SAO PRITISZTEI 206582 SKOCYI. OSVETII SAO JE BRIJEMF•
,SZTE. /06602 VOJSKA
.poNAKO SU OBA SMIONI /04472 I POZZUD
* 0*00 HRL|. 20***2 BR1TKE S*BLJE PODR1JESZE ONI 204452 U JFDNO ISTO BRIJEME TADA. 204462 ^ONAKO SU^OB^SMIONI 2^^
g
10 S iX 1 /t3'i0/ NEPR1JATELJU MUDU f KIETU 203912 VRMA DOCZI SAD JE BoR ZELENI. JOHA BIJELA. 202502 D1V
07 llll H 00L,, /0"7/ * TIH WJfTRIC ZG*R CELI VA. 202482 RUOI JA«N. BR1*5" IROK.I.' '"492 BO 2L guASOVITI NU PISO"CI 202
07 0260 DA U NEBO VRH IM TICYE. 202082 BRDA PRIKLONA I NIZOCI 202092 BRIJEZI SU OVO SVFKOLWO, OTVORIT." 20548/ UTOLIKO DO
1 III" "E /05<,5/ BILUJESZ SE'RAZGOVORIT. 205462 SAD I U KE HOCZ' INO BRIME /05472 urpoZZNJENA. 203302 ZZITN1 JEM KL
3
7
0300 2 MNOZZ PAKLJENIJfH HIIDIJFH CYETA. 203282 TAKO U ZZETVE 7RELE
OZOO 7*1 202882 MNOGE TOPRV JOSZ CZE 1ZITI 20289/ U OVO NASZE SADA
BRIME '"292 LIJEPA BJ'V
BRIME ^290/ OD KIM ZA IZGLE
202912 NAKON N
/04742 I POD CARSTVOM
0*00 20*712 VECZE UNAPRID S TOGA UZROKA. 204722 A UTO CZE DONIJFT BR ME 204732 ZGOOU DA SVAK^UKROTI^^ ^
9 Ml 'r /053?/ TC" S LJEPOIE KOJOM SJASZE 205332 POTURCYI GA U ISTO BRIME /0."5 ' u TRUOU? 201202 DA SE ODMETNIJEH. VIDI. SME
* , UPU M,'0U• /01"" H,SLI NE OSTAJE. 201192 JOSZ SE BRI«. JOSZ JE U TRUD • ' K0JJ CAH SE DHUG1 ZVATI 2075
' lJFDNE VECZ NF TRP1. 207*72 A ZZFLJENJE ME SE PUNI. 207482 NE BRINI SE1 VOJNU TVOMU. f TRU0E# /00082 MOGUCZ
0? , 5/ ' " 0R,JEH SE Kl SRf: BUD,: • /0006/ BFZBRiZZNIJFH DA SE BRINU i
' jJN CYKI.2 /03072 I CZESEL-BASZ POLUVJERNI.
11
« 3
J ERANACYKI ,2 /03052 SZPANJSKA KRUNA. LEH CYEMERNI ,2 203062 1
CV1T KI NOSI. /0380/ VITO KOPJE NJE JE IGLA. 203812 A VRfTENfi
BR'TANSKI MACY
BR TKA SABLJA
poMOCZ SE CARU OIGLA 20383/ DA PO
203822 NA IPOMOCZ/ KRALJEV,CZ JE PRIHRABRENI
09 l-ll GLAV0M Znv UTECYE. /0348/ VITO KOPJE. SZTIT PERENI. 203492 SABLJA. DESN ^ AH0 NA NJ 0BRCZE. 205522 ALI
t J? RF* "ZIBA 20549/ NA ROJNICU CYIM NASRCZE. . 205502 ISPOn SABLJE BRITKE UHIRA 205512 /0263/ t KOPJACYE SVI IMAJU. 202
18 80JN1CIM PLASIM OVIM 202612 VOLINSKI SE O'NO STAJUI 202622 VUCYCE POD L^^ /04452 U JEONO ISTO BRIJEME T
9 "JEONO NA NJ PR1TEC7I 20**32 NARIPISZE SKLADNl I HRLI. 20444/ BRITKE SABLJE POO 205322 TISKA JEOAN PROCZ DRUGOM
05 SK0LICT*K VI IE? BIJESNI. 205302 A UZDIGNUT LAft'AT DRZZI /°5312 «R|JBE SABLJE v PUCYE. 202042 NE USTAVLJA SE. BO-CY
5 0200 AL, CYIM IM BUF I TUCYE. 202022 IZNENATKE SREO ZAMAHA 202032 BR TK '• °^ijA ^JM/ KIM IZVRSNOS-1STOK OAVA. 203872 A
1 ' " /0384/ SVE DRAG KAMI, RISER. ZLATO. 203852 JOSZ fRIDEST1 BRJTRJUEH SAB J ZzivOTE. 204802 SVACYIJA SABLJA NA
U 0*00 5TRANI SREO TJESKOTE. 204782 VITIJFM K DP JEM SRCA 8IJE- 204792 BRI TK I JEM MACYEM ZZNJE ZZIVU
Extract from normal concordance ofO.man (1621-1638) by Ivan Gundnlif
j,v.
. v.
Scholarly tasks which we have, resignedly, never tackled be­
' 0 demonstrate how efficient this type of concordance is
cause of the overwhelming text or material can now be em­
. 3 survey
of words with the same ending (suffix). The ad-
barked on with confidence - and completed. One scholarly
^ntages offered by such concordances are most obvious for
span of life can now give birth to dozens of completed ma­
morphological research and compilation of rhyming dictio-
jor projects, as against the present one dozen completed and
ries' 's easy> however, to imagine their benefits for solv-
gproblems in syntax, word formation, etc. partly completed efforts.
Computers, then, present themselves to us in a new light
mon8 other possibilities for the use of computer con-
ra­ c
- as a guarantee for creative work, as long-awaited rescuers
^r;- ^ ances us auxiliary tools, we shall only mention dictio-
:„c.ii z-nmnilatorv preliminaries, from grueling and
v ^analyses of frequencies, and editing of texts,
j role f' C ''sted lhus far make obvious the possible
... .. ' °mputers in raising man's capacity for research work.
 bit international 5/6 • 1969
Computers, in one word, have made the scene as unique hu-
manizers and research stimulators. Newspaper catch-phrases,
or pseudo-academic platitudes about "the machine which
has enslaved man," largely resulting from inadequate infor­
mation, cannot (particularly the latter) be taken in the future
for anything but instinctively ill-disposed attitudes.
What has to be done to obtain the concordance of a work?
Not much:
1. Copy the text (on to punched cards or paper tape).
2. Correct the text copied.
3. Record it on the magnetic tape.
4. Let the computer "read" the magnetic tape under the
commands of a concordancing program.
5. Print out the results of computer analysis (on the com­
puter printer).
How long does all this take for the full text of an average-
length novel (100,000 words, or the same number of con­
cordance lines)? - Two to three months at most.3
How much would such a concordance cost? - About
10,000 dinars.
In Texas (in the course of five months) the present author
prepared the following concordances:4
1. Susanna (M. Marulic), 5,333 (running) words.
Susanna (reverse).
Osman (I. Gundulic), 55,400 words.
Povratak Filipa Latinovicza (M. Krleza), 65,159 words.
• Fhe Return of Philip Latinovicz (translation of 4. into En-
glish), 75,957.
The benefits from a series of concordances of literary (and
other) texts important for Croatian culture are, we hope, self-
evident. For the preparation of computer concordances of
t e major works of Croatian literature written in Dubrovnik
and Dalmatia, a period of not more than three to four years
(and some 500,000 dinars) would be needed. Excuses that all
is is still distant from Yugoslavia do not apply any longer.
Art and Computers 71
Zagreb already has two (soon to grow to four) compiler'
1971
(IBM 360) sufficiently large to make concordances.
Physically already in town, the computer seems still Jf-v
portas in the minds of most Zagreb scholars. Nowadays
when even the most distant mountain villages of Croatia are
adopting motor saws as a modern tool for their needs, it»
high time for us to emerge from our scholarly seclusion, anc
open our minds to the new aids offered by our times. E"pe
cially since they do not jeopardize our "humanistic pr. . e,
but, on the contrary, considerably increase our humanistic
creative potential.
See: teIjko Bujas, "Computers in the Yugoslav Serbo-Croat Engli^
trastive Analysis Project," in: Proceedings of the 1969 Conference o» ^
tional Linguistics, S5ng Saby, Sweden, 1969, Association for Compu
Linguistics, Morristown, NJ, 1969, pp. 1-9.
(/sforiM od
1 Marko Marulic
IVIdlUIIL (1450-1524), "Father of
— Croatian Literature
IVldIKU fnilfitf
Suzane is among his works). Ivan Gundulic (1589-1638:, ea i *
seventeenth-century writer (author of Osman). Miroslav k ^ ^ ^
tint*
author of the novel Povratale Filipa Latinovicza (19321, is' eS
writer in Croatia. ,(sia
2 For practical reasons, computers normally print out their ^
The spelling BRATUCYED (A) instead of the normal B .
to the fact that the American computer had no slugs wit ^ ^ ,0 XJu
d i a c r i t i c -topped letters. A s a consequence, the presen , ..
use of transliteration through two-letter combinations
= D, SZ = S, ZZ = 2 ) . (kevpu**»
3 Of this period 95 percent is taken up by the preparator) ^ ;!ue,
and correcting the copy). The computer itself does nc Jflj *
couple of hours to prepare (alphabetize) the concor a ^ ,i
to print it out (at the rate of 1,000 lines per minute
partly be carried out simultaneously. [HeLine"
4 Free of charge - thanks to the understanding sho"n direct '
Texas authorities, p a r t i c u l a r l y b y Professor W. . e
Linguistics Research Center.
 459

Participants in the Colloquy "Umjetnost i

kompjuteri 71" / "Art and Computers 71"

Vojin Bakic [ Y U ( H R ) ] • Dimitrije BaSi£evic

|YU (HR)| • Bozo Bek IYU (HR)I • Jonathan
Benthall |GB) • Vladimir Bonacic [YU (HR)1
• Florentino Briones | E S | • Fanie Dupre
(Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes,
GAIV)|FR] • Jacques Dupre (GA1V) |FR|
• Herbert W. Franke | D E ) • Jean-Claude
Halgand (GAIV) |FR] • Herve Huitric (GAIV)
IFR1 • Hiroshi Kawano |JP| • Boris Kelemen
IY u (HR )I • Fedor Kritovac | Y U ( H R ) | • Jean-
Claude Marquette (GAIV) |FR| • Matko
Mestrovic |YU (HR)| • Francois Molnar
IHU/FRI • Frieder Nake IDE/CAI1 • Lev V.
Nusberg | s u <RU)| • Radoslav Putar |YU <HR)|
• Srboljub Stojanovic | Y U ( H R / R S ) | •
Edward Zajec I IT)

Participants in the Accompanying Exhibi­

tion at the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti2

Fanie Dupre ( G A I V ) [ F R | • Jacques Dupre

(GAIV) |FR| • Jean-Claude Halgand
(GAIV)|FR] • Herve Huitric (GAIV) |FR|
• Jean-Claude Marquette (GAIV) | F R ) •
Edward Zajec |IT]

E d i t o r i a l n o t e : F r i e d e r N a k e a n d Lev V.
Nusberg did not participate in person: they sent
their contributions to the organizers of the
colloquy.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h i s i s a list o f t h e a r t i s t s w h o s e
works were recognizable on the photographs of
t h e e x h i b i t i o n . A s t h e r e i s n o list o f t h e a r t i s t s
w h o e x h i b i t e d a m o n g t h e d o c u m e n t s h e l d in
the archive of the MSU Zagreb, presumably the
list g i v e n h e r e i s i n c o m p l e t e a n d f u r t h e r a r t i s t s
took part in the exhibition.

Umjetnost i kompjuteri 71" / "Art and Computers 71"

Radnicko sveuciliste Mosa Pijade, Zagreb
June 26-27,1971 June 26-27,1971

Colloquy
"Umjetnost i kompjuteri 71"/"Art and Computers 71
Colloquy

Radnicko sveuciliste Mosa Pijade [Workers' University Mosa Pijade], Zagreb H i r o s h i K a w a n o a n d A b r a h a m A. M o l e s ( f r o m left)
Archive MSU Zagreb
• 2
V l a d i m i r B o n a i t f a n d B o i o Bek ( f r o m l e f t )
Archive MSU Zagreb
460 Art and C o m p u t e r s 71 • Colloquy • 1971
Bozo Bek and Herbert W. Franke
Works by Groupe Art et Informal")"' J
shown at the exhibition a^d^r .
"Umjetnost i kotnpjuteri 7
Herbert W. Franke (front)
Jonathan Benthall
The Computer as a Medium
Jonathan Benthall s t u d i e d E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e a n d l i t e r a ­
ture at the University o f C a m b r i d g e . I n 1964, h e a c c e p t e d
a position at International T u t o r M a c h i n e s , a c o m p a n y
which developed e l e c t r o - m e c h a n i c a l t e a c h i n g d e v i c e s . A
year later, Benthall m o v e d t o I B M , w h e r e h e w o r k e d a s
a systems engineer for three years. He left IBM in 1968,
and then worked until 1970 a s a n a n a l y s t i n a n i n v e s t m e n t
trust management c o m p a n y . D u r i n g t h e s e y e a r s h i s i n ­
terest in contemporary a r t grew, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n h i g h - t e c h
art that used c o m p u t e r s a n d h o l o g r a p h y . B e n t h a l l j o i n e d
the Computer Arts Society, a n d i n 1969 h e b e g a n w r i t i n g
a monthly column a b o u t t e c h n o l o g y a n d a r t f o r t h e m a g ­
azine Studio International. In 1971, h e s t a r t e d t o w o r k f o r
the London Institute o f C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t s ( I C A ) a s o r ­
ganizer of the lectures p r o g r a m . B e n t h a l l a l s o o r g a n i z e d
a lecture series on a n t h r o p o l o g y - r e l a t e d t o p i c s , a n d i n t h e
following years focused exclusively o n a n t h r o p o l o g y . I n
'974. he became director o f t h e Royal A n t h r o p o l o g i c a l I n ­
stitute in London.
[Lecture given at t h e c o l l o q u y " U m j e t n o s t i k o m p j u t e r i
7' I Art and C o m p u t e r s 71," J u n e 26-27, I97'» Z a g r e b , t r a n ­
script from an a u d i o r e c o r d i n g , A r c h i v e M S U Z a g r e b . )
' s ^ a " l I T t 0 be as brief a s p o s s i b l e a n d n o t r e c a p i t u l a t e a n y
P°int that has already b e e n m a d e . I s h a l l s u m m a r i z e a c h a p -
U ^rom a book that I a m just c o m p l e t i n g o n s c i e n c e a n d
technology in art today, w h e n I d e a l w i t h t h e s t u d y o f m e -
' a " ' n I ^ 0 > Marshall M c L u h a n p r o p o s e d a p r o g r a m o f m e -
13 studies for secondary e d u c a t i o n . A l t h o u g h M c L u h a n ' s
, 3 iled
theories about m e d i a h a v e b e e n s e v e r e l y a t t a c k e d
e n t 'v, he has certainly c o n v e n e d a d e b a t e a b o u t t h e e f -
'0 c o r n r r iunication technologies or media on our percep-
fined a n < ^ ' ^ ' S C'e^>ate n o w n e e < k to he followed up and re-
• McLuhan's mistake w a s a t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e t e r m i n i s m .
^ actually believes, it s e e m s , t h a t t e c h n o l o g i e s d e t e r m i n e
0 •^ m wh'ch society c h a n g e s . I t h i n k t h a t m e d i a t e c h n o l -
ciap neet*t0 ^ S t U c ^' e ( * a s soc»al institutions - media are so-
nstitutions - a n d t h e r e f o r e , w e m u s t s t u d y t h e m i n a n
Benthall • Computer as a Medium
integrated way, including social, technical, economic, and
aesthetic aspects.
I have a chapter in my book on photography, which was
o f c o u r s e i n v e n t e d i n a b o u t 1840: " P h o t o g r a p h y a s a M o d e l
or Case Study for Media Studies." The influence of photog­
raphy on art is very well known. I think one can trace back
the idea of selection in art to photography perhaps, because
photography made people realize that art was not necessar­
ily t h e m a n i p u l a t i o n o f a p l a s t i c s u b s t a n c e l i k e p a i n t o r m a t e ­
r i a l s o f a n y k i n d . It i s a n a c t o f s e l e c t i o n , y o u p r e s s t h e s h u t t e r .
Also the introduction of random elements, of unpredictable
elements into the photograph which were yet somehow part
of the artist's product. This was very influential in the history
o f a r t . P h o t o g r a p h y b e c a m e a b i g i n d u s t r y . It i s s t i l l a n i n d u s ­
try, a n e v e n l a r g e r o n e t h a n b e f o r e . P h o t o g r a p h y b e c a m e a
hobby, a big amateur hobby, practiced by everybody photo­
graphing their families, their friends, and so on, and a kind
of ritual. And also there are certain technical developments
in photography: the invention of color photography, cellu­
l o i d film, w h i c h w a s i n v e n t e d i n a b o u t 1880. T h i s a l s o w a s i n ­
fluential.
New technologies I think separate into two groups: the
unimportant ones and the radically new ones - from my
point of view of studying media. The unimportant technol­
ogies are those like neon lights, anodized aluminum, acrylic
paints Plexiglas, plastics: all these new technologies, which
from the point of view of art and aesthetics are quickly ab­
sorbed into an artists personal style. There is an enormous
exhibition in Los Angeles at the moment called Art and Tech-
noloqu' which is largely devoted to well-known American
artists using technologies in this way and adapting them to
their well-known styles. Artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Robert
Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and their satellites. But there
is another category of radically new technologies, and I think
t h e r e a r e t w o w h i c h c a n b e r e l a t e d t o e a c h o t h e r : o n e o f lthem
is the computer, the other is laser holography, which be­
lieve will be an extremely important medium or technology.
Holography has been rather slow in effect to become Indus-
r Ufo TViptp a r p still HO
462 Art and Computers 71 • Colloquy • 1971
major industrial applications of laser holography, although
the laser was invented in 1963 and the theoretical founda­
tions of holography wave front reconstruction were laid in
about 1947.
You must all know the three-dimensional photographs
that can be created with holography. I think that these three-
dimensional effects are by-products of a far more important
property - that of interference patterning - and holography
is a visual model for the way in which order emerges from
the totality of physical interactions. It is therefore very im­
portant as a visual model for modern physics and perception
theory. In fact it could be said that holography is as impor­
tant a medium as the lens, which was invented by the ancient
Greeks. However, we are talking here about the computer as
a medium. What holography and the computer have in com­
mon is that they exercise very strong constraints on the art­
ist who wants to use them. It's very hard for the artist to do
anything original with them now at all since the easy things
have been done.
In this talk 1 want briefly to consider the social and eco­
nomic implications of the computer, as well as its aesthetic
aspects. As I said, we must try and look at this medium from
an integrated point of view. I think we can understand the
computer better if we look at it as an anomaly in society. Pho-
tography in the nineteenth century was an anomaly. It was
something which didn't fit into the existing pattern. Certainly
as regards art. It satisfied certain criteria by which art was
judged, for instance, it was true to life, a photograph depicted
reality, but it did not satisfy others. How did artists respond to
photography? They could say it was not art. They could say
photography had nothing to do with art; or they could use
photography to mimic established academic, artistic styles,
or, certain artists practiced photography furtively in a clan­
destine way without explaining to people what they were do­
ing. They were ashamed of using photography in their work.
But others very gradually began to exploit the specific prop­
erties and constraints of photography, and this had an enor­
mous effect on our perception and on art. I think we can look
at the computer in a similar way. A lot of the emotion that
the computer has stimulated - enthusiasm, hope, suspicion,
hatred — has been due to its anomalous position. On the one
hand, the big computer manufacturers like IBM have spent
vast sums on training courses, sales literature, films, and so
on, designed to reassure their potential customers and us­
ers, who are all straightforward, practical people, that the
computer is just a tool like the typewriter. Adages abound
like You can only get out of the computer what the program­
mer puts into it," and another expression that is very pope!
is "Garbage in, garbage out": you put rubbish into the cor
puter, you get rubbish out. This reduces the layman's fear
the electronic brain, as they used to be called, and make- -
user, the businessman, realize the necessity in any com} .
installation for competent programmers and operator-
the eyes of many users of the computer - and we are a
ers of the computer in a sense; we are all plugged intotheb.
institutions that use computers - the computer has beer -..
cessfully fixed in this menial passive role, but thecompt'r
obstinate affinities with human mental processes keep:
bing up, and this is hardly surprising as the analogy ben->
human thinking and machine logic is not a fanciful accrc
to the folklore of computers, but has always been present
computer theory since before World War II. Thecomp,
emerged directly from speculation into human intelligeri
and the theory of automata. It is obviously necessan 1
elude the whole history of cybernetics and artificial inte
gence in the study of computing, even though I think
of the claims made for cybernetics and artificial inn I -
were overstated. There is now a marked retrenchnunt
claims made by cyberneticians and artificial intelligf
searchers for the analogies between mechanical s\su
biological or social systems.
Many biologists, neurophysiologists, and socia *
have resisted these claims recently, but if there has
development which has done most to halt or turn in
direction the progress of cybernetics, since
it has probably been the new linguistics. Noam
others have shown that human language, and a
processes that may be dependent on it, arc co [
yond the capabilities of present computer tec ™ '
technology of automatic language translation.
much was once heard, has had to go back to sq
ural language may be the key to the understan ^^
intelligence and creativity. I should say t at
who believe that, eventually, the computer
process natural language, but it is rather a
tion at the moment. c0mpu
ierr
To carry on with my argument that t e^ ^.. ..
anomalous entity: On the one wing cert'
a b o u t t h ec o m p u t e ri n d u s t r y i n t h eW r e
some extent a colony of America; I gat e jncea
of the computer that in Yugoslavia you ar
the machines are American) - the comf
pected by its stockholders to maintain an
of about 30 percent. That is 3° Percent 1
until the recent recession. Therefore, it is in the interests of
the industry to protect the public from any disquieting spec­
ulation about the true nature of its mechanical slaves. The
computer industry wants the computer to remain a tool, to
bethought of as a tool. Not surprisingly, there have flared up
fantasies which have been exploited by science fiction writ­
ers about the day when machines rise up and claim their
rights. On the other hand, though, there are those who are
fascinated by this machine, which is an extension not like
other technology of human sensorimotor functions - that
is functions for sensing and manipulating the environment
- but an extension of the human brain itself. The posing of
riddles like "Can machines be creative?" or "Are computers
merely tools?" is a complete waste of time, and many miles of
print have been devoted to them. The answers are buried in
the vocabulary used to phrase "the riddles." We can only de-
line what it means to be creative in terms of what a machine
is not capable of doing. I won't expand on this point, which
is rather a point of vocabulary I think. But the concept of a
tool is completely dependent on the attitude of the observer
or user. Men are often treated as tools by the corporation that
employs them or which sacks them, which dismisses them to
rent a computer to do their jobs. But a man who is treated as
i! 'ool by his employer is not necessarily treated as a tool by
his wife and family. An accountant or a doctor uses a com­
pter as a tool to help him at his work. If you actually work
en
"iih a computer you come in practice as a kind of equal in a
forking relationship. It is idiosyncratic and obstinate and lit­
N,or'1
eral-minded, but not without a dry wit, which is often cele-
1n
Jrated 'n computer jokes. A British social anthropologist,
^ one's way of life. The motorcar industry is as entrenched as
hry Douglas, has written: "If there is no joke in the social
Picture,no other joking can appear."3 The essence of most
. in roads and engineering plans. The computer industry, be­
mPUIer jokes is that wherever we choose to assign the com-
^^
puter in a social hierarchy, as slave or oracle or working part-
anornalous nature will assert itself. In the trade, com­
pters are often referred to as brutes or beasts or animals;
^^
1 e operating systems, the software which controls the
,JPU'er' 's bought of as consisting of a number of concep-
^ 0 Cla s or bureaucrats giving and taking instructions,
nput output supervisor, the queuing manager, the exec-
" Ue- the editor, etc.
^j^-e '
"('tho ! h°pe '^at 've established that the computer can
h e- -
t
are its"^ ' °^aS 3 me<^um'an information technology. What
as a S proPerties? I think the computer is best seen
if*
manextens'on certain functions which the hu-
.ibi*
Verv J
3'"Can manage, but less efficiently. If asked to define
^ a; < * e ) what the computer's most distinctive ability is, I
Benthall • Computer a s a Medium
would simply say that it can keep its place. If we are read­
ing a book and we want to keep our place, we dog-ear a page
or we make a little note on the margin. The computer keeps
its place by means of thousands of electronic flags which tell
it what to do next. This is really the essential property that
the computer has. Of course the computer can work very fast,
but so can we in a different way, so can the human brain. And
in terms of input/output, the human brain is far more ca­
pable than the computer. What the computer can do better
than the human brain is maintain accurately a great number
of subtotals, cross-references, indexes, and tabulations, and
this can be summed up as keeping its place.
A measure of the computer's economic importance is the
disrupting effect of technical change within the industry. The
computer industry is often thought of as "new and radical.
It's true that it employs a great deal of thrusting, dynamic,
young men, but its present economic situation is very sim­
ilar to that of the motorcar industry in America and in Eu­
rope, and the technical innovations have a wide-ranging eco­
nomic impact. IBM, after some very unhappy experiences in
overreaching itself, in trying to be too ambitious during the
1960s, now keeps very careful control of the pacing of its tech­
nical innovations. Probably indeed IBM suppresses most of
its research because it is commercially non-viable, it would
make a loss. They protect their customers from disruption in
order to secure continuing profitability for themselves. The
smaller competitors, the smaller companies, have to devote
most of their efforts to developing products which are com­
patible with IBM's. Like the motorcar industry, the computer
industry is heavily committed to locking itself into every­
it is, because society has made a massive capital investment
cause almost every economic or social transaction one can
think of, from buying a pack of frozen vegetables to getting
married, now becomes a piece of information for a computer
system So we are all plugged into the computer industry like
electrical appliances are plugged into the national electnc-
network. Therefore, computer professionals are in a po-
shion of great latent economic and political power There-
ore for the most part they are politically extremely sluggish
and'unimaginative and seldom aware of this power.Airline
pilots have demonstrated the power of the small body of in-
dispensable experts to bring a worldwide organization to a
complete standstill by going on strike. Computer program­
mers and operations managers, presumably, because they
me h -_u tit's verv easv to change jobs),
464 Art and Computers 71 • Colloquy • 197'
have tended to form no trade unions or comparable pressure
groups, and this may be one reason why they haven't devel­
oped this sense of power. Some of them, however, have de­
veloped a sense of responsibility, although they haven't real­
ized the power that could go with this responsibility. Gustav
Metzger, who is one of the very best artists working with com­
puters in London, has written very well in PAGE (the bulle­
tin which he edits) of the "social responsibility of the com­
puter professional."4 This concern has grown up very much
in America over the last five or six years. It has focused on
the use of the computer in war technologies. The computer,
like other American technologies, has been very prominent
in the war in Vietnam, and the whole expansion of the com­
puter industry since World War II has been to a great extent
due to military expansion. Also this sense of responsibility
has focused on the use of data banks by institutions to moni­
tor the private lives of individuals.
What I am trying to say is that when an artist decides to
use a computer, even as a toy, he is in fact using a communi­
cation medium with a short, but very rich history and a very
complicated social context, which cannot but affect his out­
put. I just have to add in parenthesis that I don't like at all this
model of art as a kind of game. It can help to say that there
is something in common between art and a game, just to say
there is something in common between art and the dream
- some people say "Art is like a dream" - but I would like to
quote from the French critic jean Clay, who I think writes
very well on this. He says: "The infantilization of the artist
and the spectator is one of the ways in which the bourgeoi­
sie reduces art to a marginal and inconsequential position
in society." I have mentioned that at one extreme the public
regards the computer as a tool, but other people regard the
computer as a potential rival to human supremacy.
Art, being always a multifarious and irrepressible phenom­
enon, might be expected to express all these gradations of hu­
man attitudes towards the computer. And this is in fact the
case. I don't need to tell you, because you know just as well as
I do, all the work that has been done with computer art over
the last few years. As with photography, a number of artists
have aped, have mimicked conventional art forms; Lloyd Q.
Sumner, the American artist, has produced a kind of domes­
tic or consumer art - Christmas cards, New Year calendars -
by using a computer. California Computer Products has pro­
duced art for the boardroom with gilt frames. There is no
need to be severe on these artists. Both are using the new
medium to produce rather conventional artifacts, but the ef­
fort is still significant. Similarly, photography was used in the
nineteenth century to imitate all established genres of p •
ing and engraving, but the effect of these on an and on ; •
ception was very considerable.
More interesting I think is the parallel between theev
imental use of photography in the nineteenth century
experimental computer graphics. In the nineteenth cer .
there was considerable experiment with distortion-
photographs with lenses. It was a favorite Victorian past
Similarly, there was more serious work done by the e\?
imental photographers Edward Muybridge and Etirr
Jules Marey. Muybridge was a very great artist, 1 think
can see him as a very great artist with hindsight. Itwa-
you will remember who showed people how the horst.
lops, that the horse does not have its legs in the rocking horse
position when it gallops, but in fact the horses legs are b - •
led underneath it. And this had an enormous immedia
feet on artists' use of instantaneous photography. I think
there is quite a parallel here between the kind of cor
graphics produced, for instance, by the Computet
nique Group5 from Japan, such as Return to a Square,"hn
is a well-known one; the metamorphosis from a si|u.: re
lady, which is very ingenious and certainly uses thb
property of the computer to keep its place, to keeptr.u
huge number of branching routines without getting t
els of branching confused, as we humans tend todo.
I don't want to detain you by talking ab°ut int0^
aesthetics, the attempt to apply computer mode
ics. I'm extremely skeptical about this whole ent rp^
think it is lacking completely an explanatory powt
nature of art and perceptual experience in8enera ,
completely unfalsifiable; I wouldnt be ab c 11 I
evidence that would falsify or refute this model o
I don't think that it is helpful or valuable to ra*
about art, such as you see on the blackboar , w ^
suited to showing how the running of an e
tion is monitored, for instance. And I thin t ^ nia Th'CeiN','1'n 'eat^'ng technological and industrial corporations in Califor-
ing in this field should remember the ate ^ w||jch
guage translation and programmed instruc
very fashionable modes of inquiry a out ^ ' Editori'
and resulted in a great waste of people s ^^ -
same time I must say that I respect tie n(j\l.
Professor Kenneth C. Knowlton, Frie er
Bonacic from Zagreb are doing, bccause s(Udie
this field has value and deserves to be sen ^ ,
I have a few slides. I was going to t ^ you "
some work that has been done in Amen ,
here, particularly
Kovo hpard much about
Benthall • Computer as a Medium
Seek that was made by the Architecture Machine Group at Institute ofTechnology (MIT) who belonged to the Architecture Machine
Group (precursor to the MIT Media Lab), a research group directed
the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) by Nicholas
by Nicholas Negroponte and Leon B. Groisser. The computer-controlled
Negroponte, which uses a colony of animals. In fact, they are robotic environment was shown at the exhibition Software. Information
gerbils, I don't know how to translate that, but gerbils are a Technology: Its New Meaning for Art, curated by Jack Burnham for the Jewish
Museum, New York, where it ran from September 16 to November 8, 1970,
kind of rodent, rather like rats, and there is a colony of these,
and from December 16, 1970 to February 14,1971 at the Smithsonian
which are living in a computer-controlled environment.6 So Institution, Washington, D.C.
it's a kind of analogy for the relationship between technol­
ogy and the social environment. Perhaps later if there is time
in the colloquy I might say a few words about this. I think
it's probably the most successful work of computer art that I
know. It isn't a scientific model, it isn't a scientific experiment,
it is a work of art, I think. It functions more like a joke or met­
aphor or poetic conceit than a scientific experiment, and it is
interesting.
To conclude, the computer and allied devices will cer­
tainly continue to be used in art and to produce very signifi­
cant results. Really radical developments will now be rather
slower in coming. I think that rather a dead end has been
reached in computer graphics, for instance, and I hope that
one of the functions of this colloquy will be to go to certain
fundamentals of theory about the possibility of extending
*ork in this direction. What 1 have tried to say is that the
constraints of working with the computer so dominate any­
thing that has done with it that they actually appear to op­
pose the advances of the artist. But for this reason, the com­
puter is an extremely important information medium. It is as
f.
if'he computer was some creature of great sexual attractive-
ness' ^ut 'ts actual anatomy remains elusive, frigid, and is as
yet unexplored. Thank you.
itorial note: Jonathan Benthall's book Science and Technology in Art Today
-^ ^ published by Thames & Hudson, London, in 1972.
. .... ^ lorial note: The exhibition Art and Technology ran from May 11 to
_ "71 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It showed the
Maur'S° ' 6 A" and Tec^nolo8y Program that the museum's senior curator
, resid"* rUChman 'laci initiaIed in 1967 with the aim of placing artists in
Fahl 6 Par"Cipa,in8ar,is,s were James Lee Byars, Jean Dupuy, Oyvind
Li h r°m'.^ewton Harrison, Robert Irwin, R. B. Kitaj, Rockne Krebs, Roy
JesseR h'n ^e^er<*' Glaes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg,
^ ^'C'lart' ^erra' Tony Smith, Andy Warhol, and Robert Whitman.
v
Factors i IT ^ouF>'as'"The Social Control of Cognition. Some
Iq,4 " ° e Perception," in: Man, New Series, vol. 3, no. 3, September
p. 366.
and was i "°-te' 'S ^u"e,'n 'J16 London Computer Arts Society
r<launTeTiTo04bliShed fr°m Apr'' '969 '° SUmmer l985' W3S
-
in 1967alIts0te The CompuIerTechn'que Group (CTG) was founded in Tokyo
^nianaka mem',crs were Haruki Tsuchiya, Masao Komura, Kunio
' Editorial Un'C'1'ro ^Lizaki, Makoto Ohtake, Koji Fujino, and Fujio Niwa.
'e. Seek was created in 1969/1970 by students at the Massachusetts
466 Art and Computers 71 • Colloquy • 1971
Frieder Nake
There Should Be No Computer Art
Frieder Nake created his first computer graphics in 1963
at the computer center of the Technische Hochschule
[Technical University] Stuttgart while he was still an un­
dergraduate mathematics student. In the following years,
his work was widely exhibited all over Europe. In 1968, af­
ter his Ph.D. on probability theory in 1967 and at the in­
vitation of Leslie Mezei, he went to the University of To­
ronto as a postdoctoral fellow. In 1970, Frieder Nake took
up a position as assistant professor at the Department of
Computer Science of the University of British Columbia
in Vancouver.
Nake did not attend the conference "Umjetnost i kom-
pjuteri 71"/"Art and Computers 71" in person; Jonathan
Benthall held the lecture which is reprinted here. The
text was published in October 1971 in PAGE, the bulletin of
the Computer Arts Society.
[Originally published in PAGE, 18, October 1971, pp. if.;
lecture given at the colloquy "Umjetnost i kompjuteri 71"/
"Art and Computers 71," June 26-27,I97L Zagreb, transcript
from an audio recording, Archive MSU Zagreb.]
Soon after the advent of computers it became clear that
there was a great potential application for them in the area
of artistic creation. Before i960, digital computers helped to
produce poetic texts and music; analog computers (or just
oscilloscopes) generated drawings of sets of mathematical
curves and representations of oscillations.1 However, it was
only when the first exhibitions of computer-generated pic­
tures were held (1965)2 that the wider public took notice of
this threat, as some said, or progress, as others viewed it. The
threat and the progress was the utilization of an extremely
complicated, sophisticated, expensive, and rational machine
in the arts, that is, in one of the last refuges of the irrational,
as some believe. And it took a further three years before
there was a spectacular breakthrough effected by two big in­
ternational exhibitions of "computer art" (Cybernetic Seren­
dipity, London, 1968, and kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja /
computers and visual research, Zagreb, 1969).
Since then, there has been serious ongoing debate in "
art world about the consequences and implications of ti <
of computers. Art magazines are full of articles, exhibinr
are held everywhere, seminars are offered by an sch >
books are published, portfolios are sold. Computer con'
ences have their computer art sections, computer jourr
publish technical papers. Computer scientists are fla
by the little public successes they have and amused In­
terest that artists generate. Artists surrender to the pro­
of the new technique or laugh at the results, and an
iated by the attitude of scientists when they attempt
municate with them.
Debate centers around the question Is it art or
The discussion is heated, often extremely ignorant
ased, shows virtually no progress, and is highl\ repu
though information about the few interesting new
and the little knowledge of computers that one nte
published several years ago.3 . bain-
I was involved in this development from its u
ning (1964). I found the way the art scene reacted«<>
creations interesting, pleasing, and stupi . sta * and beautiful objects by computers. We should be interested
that I was no longer going to take part in any ex 1
I find it easy to admit that computer art 1
ute to the advancement of art, if we judge a va
comparing the computer's products to a ex
art. In other words, the repertoire of resuts 0
havior has not been changed by the use 0 co
point of view, namely that of art history,
against "computer art" by many art critics.) ^ .
There is no doubt in my mind, on ^ ^
interesting new methods have been isc ^^
be of some significance for the creative* ^ ^ („
methodology, but certainly influenced 3>
thorough understanding of "computer a ^ the
tirely new relationship between t e ere , forar*'ir
tion: Max Bense uses the term "art as a nu
context
'ntext. prsoninthearl
The dominant and most important per ^ ^ ^
tnrlav i« the art dealer. He determines wl <
what will not. It is the art dealer who actually creates a new
style, not the artist. Progress in the world of pictures is the
same today as in the world of fashionable clothes and cars:
each fall, the public is presented with a new fashion, artifi­
cially (sic!) created almost a year before in the centers (Paris
and London for clothes, Detroit for cars, New York for pic­
tures). Differences from one year to the next are rarely ever
substantial; in the majority of cases they are superficial and
geared to the salesmen's requests and analysis of the market.
It seems to me that "computer art" is nothing more than
one of the latest of these fashions: emerging from some ac­
cident, blossoming for a while, subject matter for shallow
philosophical" reasoning based on prejudice and misunder­
standing as well as euphoric overestimation, vanishing into
nowhere to make way for the next fashion. The big machin­
ery, still shrouded in mystical clouds, is used to frighten art-
sts and to convince the public that its products are good and
beautiful. Quite frankly, I find this use of the computer ri­
diculous.
In many publications on "computer art" we read com­
plaints that real" artists do not have access to computers be­
muse of the prohibitive cost of the machines, and because of
•e artists lack of knowledge of programming. We also read
^ a film is interesting because of its content; the interest in the
at we could obtain really interesting and new results if art-
^ content is enhanced by an aesthetically satisfying presenta­
'SIS ^ opportunity (money) to realize their ideas using
a computer, perhaps aided by programmers and mathema­
(Th . ticians.7
^^
^ the same time, artists have become aware of the role
e>
play in providing aesthetic justification of and for bour-
^ ls society. Some reject the system of prizes and awards,
P1 >g international exhibitions, organize themselves in
^peratives in order to be independent of the galleries, or
live in ^^ an environment that people can
an <"
techno^^ Stfange r^at' 'n l^'s situation, outsiders from
Irv to<s°^ S^°U^ ^e§in t0 move into the world of art and
n, s
3Ve 11 w'lh new methods of creation, old results, and
and ' f e n e n n § t 0 t h e g i v e n " , a w s o f t h e m a r k e t " i n a n a i v e
§ orant manner. The fact that they use new methods
Nake • There Should Be No Computer Art
makes them blind to the fact that they actually perpetuate a
situation which has become intolerable for many artists.
Computers ought not to be used for the creation of an­
other art fashion.
Questions like "Is a computer creative?" or "Is a computer
an artist?" or the like should not be deemed serious ques­
tions, period. In the light of the problems we are facing at the
end of the twentieth century, those are irrelevant questions.
Computers can and should be used in art to draw atten­
tion to new circumstances and connections and to forget "art."
There is no need for the production of more works of art,
particularly no need for "computer art." Art (better: the aes­
thetic object) comes afterwards (but it does come). Aesthetic
information as such is interesting only for the rich and the
ruling. For the others (and they are in the majority) it comes
"with." Namely, with other information.
Thus, the interest in computers and art should be to in­
vestigate aesthetic information as part of the investigation of
communication. This investigation should be directed by the
needs of the people.
We should not be interested in producing some more nice
in producing a film on, say, the distribution of wealth. Such
tion. That is, the role of the computer in the production and
presentation of semantic information, which is accompanied
by sufficient aesthetic information, is meaningful; the role of
the computer in the production of aesthetic information per
se and for the making of profit is dangerous and senseless. (It
is interesting to notice in this context that Helmar Frank, af­
ter a successful beginning in information aesthetics, gave up
and concentrated more and more on problems of education
and psychology.)
To reiterate the argument: I don't see a task for the com­
puter as a source of pictures for galleries. I do see a task for
the computer as a convenient and important tool in the inves­
tigation of visual (and other) aesthetic phenomena as part of
our daily experience. As concrete projects to be investigated
 Art and Computers 71 • Colloquy • I971

bit international 7
1971
I propose: Max Bense,"Cartesianische Aufklarung iiber Kunst - Computerals
kreativer Partner," in: Mitteilungen des Instilulsfur moderne Kunst Vumferj.
1. The study of the alienation of the artist from his product

bit international 8/9

2/3, May 1971.
which is caused by technology in general and by comput­ In some places, this is being attempted by universities and companu- lot

ers in particular (the distance between the artist and his example, at the University of Madrid, Mathematisch Centrum (AnuterdM
Ohio State University, University of Toronto, IBM (the Whitneysi. and
work increases) 8 . What are the good, what are the bad ef­
others. Companies, of course, see the potential advertising power
fects of the division of labor taking place in art?
2. Investigation of the repertoires of signs used by individ­
Editorial note: From 1968 to 1973, the computer center of the Univenm
of Madrid organized a seminar on "Generacion Automatics de Fortra-
Plasticas" [Automatic Generation of Artistic Forms], which wasan
1972
ual artists and styles in the past and present. Such rep­
interdisciplinary project involving mathematicians, architects,and

ertoires have been described occasionally, but not rigor­ including painters and sculptors. Leo J. M. Geurts and Lambert Meerten

ously enough. The emphasis of such a project should be conducted aesthetic experiments in the visual arts and musii at the ^
Mathematisch Centrum [Mathematical Center], Amsterdam. At Ohio
to describe those repertoires (and their various levels) in a University, the artist Charles Csuri established his own researc te
way suitable for an application of information aesthetics. dedicated t o t h e development of the computer as an artistic too,

3. Design and performance of experiments to test the signif­ Mezei at the University of Toronto, who already in 1964 was pro •
application of computer technology in the arts, brought Fri
icance of aesthetic measures defined so far; perhaps new
his institute as a fellow in 1968. IBM supported the work of t e 1

definition of such measures. John Whitney from 1966 to 1969 with a fellowship as artist in rest
4. Investigation of the importance of aesthetic information Ibid.

in various areas (education, propaganda, environments of

work and living). This work would have to be based on a
rigorous numerical definition of "aesthetic information."

1 See, for example: Herbert W. Franke, Compulergraphik - Computerkunst,

Bruckmann, Munich, 1971. Frieder Nake,"Erzeugung asthetischer Objekte
mit Rechenanlagen," in: Rul Gunzenhauser (ed.), Nicht-numerische Info-
rmationsverarbeitung. Beitrage zur Behandlung nicht-numerischer Probleme mit
Hilfe von Digitalrechenanlagen, Springer, Vienna, New York, 1968, pp.
456-472. Giinter Pfeiffer,"Kunst und Computer," in: Magazin Kunst. Das
aktuelle Kunstmagazin, vol. 10, no. 39, 1970, pp. 1883-1901.
2 Editorial note: Works by Georg Nees were presented in February 1965
within the framework of Max Bense's "Asthetisches Colloquium" [Colloquy
on Aesthetics] at the Institute for Philosophy and Theory of Science at the
lechnische Hochschule [Technical University] Stuttgart. The exhibition of
works by two researchers from the Bell Telephone Laboratories, Beta Julesz
and A. Michael Noll, opened at the New York Howard Wise Gallery in
April the same year.
3 See, for example: Martin Krampen and Peter Seitz (eds.), Design and
I lanning 2: Computers in Design and Communication, Hastings House, New
York, 1967. For a recent survey including a bibliography, see: Sally Yeates
Sedelow, "The Computer in the Humanities and Fine Arts," in: ACM
Computing Surveys, vol. 2, no. 2, 1970, pp. 89-110.
4 Frieder Nake,"Statement," in: PAGE, 8, 1970.
5 See: Jeremy Benthall, "Technology and Art 15. Computer Graphics at
Brunei," in: Studio International, vol. 197, no. 293, June 1970, pp. 247f.
 471

hit 7
dijalog dialog
sa strojem with the machine
uredili/edited by
boris kelemen & radoslav putar
INTERNATIONAL

dijalog dialogue
sa strojem with t h e m a c h i n e

wr nrkan Marl m. frank* rakart mallary

M JiUa karl ginlaar Inlla main
j*I baptv! ArJnx jnuf Uar.!.k pilar matxjar
rrra barrat pnrtanr fatnr amrhjarri
paJan Mr f.uirr aaka
una ilmwm brntii iaairr
Ark, a. martin kaampan Iran kami ralkar

Letle Mttei

bitbitbit
15 Uiln Metei
Slulajnoat u korepjutertkoj Randomnen in Computer
grafici Graphics
95 Hirodh Keveno Hirotbt Keweno
Mrcoda mop kompjuterike Method of My Computer Art

105 Pel" Milo/evM Peter MilotevU

III Cberlei A. Cum Cberlet A. Ctmri
jedna tehnika komptutenkog A Technique for Computer
akulpciranja Sculpture
•b.«. w » 7 |97l
119 Robert Mellery Robert Mellery
TRAN 2 - program TRAN 2 — a Computer Graphic.
kompjutenke grafike za Program to Generate Sculpture
Sadrfaj jenrriranjc ikulpture
129 Vledimir BonslU VUdwur BonolU
5 Gordo* Hyde Umictnoat kao funkcija Art a. Function of Subject,
lubjrkta. f BMlip ' rremena Cognition, and Time
lomolkm BentheL
V tfflljff 143 COMPOS 68 COMPOS 68
Zagreb Man.Into /. B BrJuux /. B. Btdemx
5 Kerd Aldeben KmU Al.leben ] CI«MI J. Clemtmenn
O (ilaroTi|i Zur PhiloaopKie I A V,en
Definicije
149 Kerl Gerttmr Kerl Geritner
II Vrr, Hon* hmtenc Product rati umjctnoat Mit dem Computer Kunst
produzieren
i odndtvu ntralnjK*
155 Fneder Soke Frieder Neke
It Herbert W Etombe Herbert W. E'mbe Klaaifikacija kompiutenke Eine Klasifiiicrung der Computer
Druhvmi upakn kompiutrnkc grafike -Graphik
16) Mere Adruut Merc Adrum
27 Cm urn, Mrtiger Sjnpot Syspot
Referat bet naiiora o mm
55 Msnm Krempen
Piiholoik. aiprki.
izmfafeejaka ,
49 Can Warn, Walker Eva* Hsttu Welker
Toward a Nr. Ran. for Aetthet*
TWy
59 fned* HJ,* Jnedrr Make
0 inetn.j. fii«,kr informacija On (be Ineerwon of Information
bit international 7. dijalog sa strojem Jowf HUvdlth
Irdaeai/Publither
Galerije grada Zagreba
75 K-rd d/drfe* 41000 Zagreb
bit international 7. dialogue with the machine Franko *B'1 °kEUT Katarinin trg 2

•1,3-4
Magazine • 2

»Z7,imlldial°9uewi,h,he dialog with the machine

"71 Book cover, h.rdcover vecion of .he m.garine M Mrrn.tional 7

cover and contents Edited by Boris Kelemen and Radoslav Putar

^"rd by Boris Kelemen Archive MSU Zagreb
,nd Radoslav Pmar
Archive MSU Zagreb T h e a r t i c l e s in t h e s e i s s u e s o f H i international t h a t d o c u m e n t t h e
1 urn "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja"/"Computers and
symposium P . . 407-443. this volume.
 473

international no. 8/9

televizija i kultura televizija

jezik televizije
eksperimenti danas
television and culture
the language of television
television
experiments today
v.agnetti g.colombo v.horvat-pintaric a.moles
llaiexanco g.dorftes m.krampen e.i.palmer
r.barilli u.eco j.s.margolies p schaetfer
g.bettetini a.y.gibbon jr m.meStrovid I Skarid

bUb
120 Samoa/ Y Gibbon, It. Samual Y. Gibbon, it.
Edward L. Palmar Edward L. Palmar
Slrategije I tehnlke Strategies and Techniques

140 ho &kari6 ho Skarid

Televizija Telovlalon
od slntetifikog Oovora from speechifying
do rargovora to speech

international na8/9
200 Ranato BarlUI Ranato BarlUI
Video-recording Video-recording
u Bolognl a Bologna
Tabte Of Contents 223 Vtcanro Agnattl Vlcanzo Agnattl
Gianni Colombo
Gianni Colombo
Vobulazione
Vobulact|a e biloqunza neg
la I prow I bilokvenci|a neg
chrfltttoie s J. L Alazanco
228 J. L Aiatanco Plan for the Automatic
t Abraham A. Plan za automatsku
Televizija generation
proizvodnju
of en endless Film
boskonadnog films

••trtl.vsn,# tetewzije
Gianlranco Battatinl
231 Qlantranco Baltallnl
Techniche e llnguaggio
Tehnlke l jezik
delta registrations TV
TV snimenja

Ugne d un# recherche

latraltvanja TV porute semio«O0>Que ***

bit international 8/9. televizija danas: televizija i kultura -

121 Matt0 UattrovC

jezik televizije - eksperimenti

bit international 8/9. television today: television and culture -

the language of television — experiments

bit international 8/9. television today:
1972 television and culture - the language

of television - experiments

1972
Magazine cover and contents
Magazine Edited by Vera Horvat-Pintaric

Archive MSU Zagreb

 bit international 8/9 • 1972

televizija television
danas today tendencies 5
uredila/edited by 1973
vera horvat-pintaric

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galerije grada zagreba. zagreb

"This volume was produced as a result of the intention to encourage

television today
1972
Book cover, hardcover version
of the magazine bit international 8/9
Edited by Vera Horvat-Pintaric
scientific research on television, today the most important social medium
in our environment. The collaboration of professionals in many areas
was very valuable to us; this primarily applies to researchers involved in
TV production, sociologists, psychologists, linguists, and theoreticians
of visual art. [...] Conceived by the end of 1969 and completed by the
beginning of 1971, because of great difficulties in the publishing process
they [the papers] are only now being presented to the public."

[Vera Horvat-Pintaric in: bit international 8/9, Vera Horvat-Pintaric (ed.),

Galerije grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1972, n. p.]
 477

tendencije 5
galerija galerija
suvremene umjetnosti suvremene umjetnosti

tendencije 5 tendencies 5

M
konstruktivna
vizuelna istrazivanja
kompjuterska
vizuelna istrazivanja
konceptualna
umjetnost

tehniCki muzej
zagreb
savska 18
1.6-1.7.1973

tendencije 5. konstruktivna vizuelna istrazivanja.

kompjuterska vizuelna istrazivanja. konceptualna umjetnost

tendencies 5. constructive visual research,

computer visual research, conceptual art

June 1 - July 1,1973

•
Exhibition
Exhibition catalog tendencije 5/tendencies 5

1973
Tehnicki muzej [Technical Museum] Zagreb Design: Ivan Picelj
MSU Zagreb
Organized by the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb,
•2
Galerije grada Zagreba [Galleries of the City of Zagreb], and Tehnicki muzej Poster tendencije 5 /tendencies 5
[Technical Museum] Zagreb 1973
Design: Ivan Picelj
MSU Zagreb
478 tendencies 5 • 1973 Exhibition • Zagreb 479

Participants in the Exhibition

Section konstruktivna vizueltia istrazivanja / constructive visual research

ARC - Art Research Center (Lawrence Alton, Robert Blackman, Steven Conard, Nancy A.
S t e p h e n s , T h o m a s M i c h a e l S t e p h e n s , J o n B r e e sT h o g m a r t i n , ) |ALL u s l • Vojin Bakic [YU (HR)] t-5
an international event
• Milan Dobes I C S ( S K ) ] • Juraj Dobrovic [Y U ( H R ) ] • Julije Knifer ( Y U ( H R ) 1 • Julio Le Pare
conetructive — computer — conceptual visual research
[AR/FR] • Enzo Mari [IT] • Almir Mavignier |BR/DE1 • Francois Morellet |FR] • Koloman
Novak [YU(HR/RS>] • Lev V. Nusberg | s u (RU)] • Ivan Picelj [YU (HR)| • Zoran Radovic[YU (RS)| programme

• Vjenceslav Richter [Y U ( H R ) [ • Jesus Rafael Soto [V E / F R [ • Aleksandar Srnec [ Y U ( H R ) ] conditions of participation

• Miroslav Sutej |Y U ( H R ) [ • Victor Vasarely [F R [

Section kompjuterska vizuelna istrazivanja /computer visual research

t-5

Jose Luis Alexanco [ E S J • ARC - Art Research Center (Harold Chase, David R. Garrison,
•t-5*. an international event sponsored by the Zagreb Gallery of Contemporary Art, continues the tradition of the
Thomas Michael Stephens, Joseph Ziegler) [ALL usl • Manuel Barbadillo [ES| • Oskar years 1961—1970. when the events in the same field included -nt- (new trends) and -t-4«.

Beckmann (ars intermedia) [ATI • Otto Beckmann (ars intermedia) [AT] • Vladimir Bonacic The organizers of this event suggest that the main theme this year should be:

[YU (HR)| • CAYC - Centro de Arte y Comunicacion (Luis Fernando Benedit, Antonio Berni,
Ernesto Deira, Eduardo Mac Entyre, Mario Marino, Rogelio Polesello, Osvaldo Romberg,
M i g u e l A n g e l Vidal) [ALL AR)1 • W a l d e m a r C o r d e i r o [IT/BR1 • G e r a r d o Delgado [ESL •
Fanie Dupre (Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes, GAIV) [F R | • Jacques Dupre (GA1V)
[FR] • Winfried Fischer |DE] • Herbert W. Franke [DE[ • Jose Luis Gomez Perales [ESI •
Jean-Claude Halgand (GAIV) [FR] • Grace C. Hertlein [usl • Miljenko Horvat [YU (HR)/CA)
• Herve Huitric(GAIV) [F R ] • Sture Johannesson and Sten Kallin [S E | • Hans Kohler [ D E ]
• Auro Lecci [IT| • Jean-Claude Marquette (GAIV) [F R | • MBB Computer Graphics
( F r a n k Bottger, Winfried Fischer, Sylvia Roubaud and Gerold Weiss, Rolf Wolk |ALL DE[, Aron
Warszawski [IL/DE]) • Tomislav Mikulic |YU (HR)[ • Manfred Mohr [DE/FR[ • Monique
Nahas(GAIV) |FR| • Georg Nees [DE[ • Sergej Pavlin [YU (SI)] • Manuel Quejido [ES|
• Ludwig Rase [D E | • Edvard Ravnikar | Y U ( S D I • Lillian F. Schwartz [ U S I • Ana and Javier
Segui'lESl • Soledad Sevilla [ES| • John Whitney [us] • Jose Maria Yturralde [ESl • Edward
•The Rational and the Irrational in Visual Research Today-
Explanation: In modern art. which still goes under the name of art but which Is Increasingly often labelled visual
research, there are two distinctly different approaches: rational and Irrational. In constructive research and In computer-
assisted research, we normally expect the rational element to dominate. In conceptual art the emphasis is often on
the Irrational. Even though the two areas of research can not be defined as exclusive respresentatlves of the rational
or Irrational approach, and even though the rational and the Irrational are not always mutually exclusive in art, we
believe that there exists an objective and general need for clarification and critical evaluation of the two basic forms
of thinking, particularly In relation to their inescapable social Implications.
The organizers of -t-5. will therefore Invite representatives of constructive visual research, representatives of computer
art and those of conceptual art to confront their views by presenting their works and, In particular, by taking part In
a special event designated as the -match of ideas- The match of ideas will form the central part of -t-5- and will
be presented as an open public debate.
Programme:
1. Pre-publication of contributions to the -match of ideas- (by May 15. 1973)
2. International exhibition of projects and examples of visual research to be held June 1 -30, 1973 (a catalogue will
also be published):

Zajec[iT| • Vilko Ziljak [YU (HR)] • Anton Zottl [DE[ (a) constructive research
(b) computer research
(c) conceptual research
Section konceptualna umjetnost /conceptual art 3. Match of Idea. - a public debate of views expressed In pre-published texts. .0 be held on June 2. .973:

(a) confrontation of views

Anonymous Collective (Gabor Attalai, Imre Bak, Andras Baranyay, Tibor Csiky, Miklos Erdely,
(b) formulation of conclusions
Tibor Gayor, Gyula Gulyas, Istvan Haraszty, Tamas Hencze, Gyorgy Jovanovics, Ilona Keserii, 4. Publication of proceeding of the public debate (summaries of views and attitudes) by September 30. .973

Laszlo Lakner, Peter Legendy, Janos Major, Dora Maurer, Gyula Pauer, Tamas Szentjoby,
Conditions of participation:
Endre Tot, Peter Turk) |ALL HU] • Giovanni Anselmo |IT[ • John Baldessari [US] • Angelo . ih ei««. Mr the match of ideas should be sent to the organizers not later than
1. Applications and summary contributions for the maicn
Bozzolla [IT/ GB] • Daniel Buren [FR] • Giuseppe Chiari [IT] • Radomir Damnjanovic-
March 1. 1973.
Damnjan [YU (BA)] • Antonio Dias [BR/IT] • Braco Dimitrijevic [YU (HR)] • NusaandSreco 2. Texts of contributions to be sent not later than March 30. 1973.

Dragan [YU <SD] • Barry Flanagan |GB| • Galerija Studentskog centra (Students' Center 3. Texts should not exceed five typewritten pages (with double spacing).

4 Texts in one of the following languages can be received: English. French. German. Serbo-Croatian.
Gallery] (Zelimir Koscevic) [YU <HR)]« Gilbert & George [c,B] • Douglas Huebler [us]
I The Gallery of Contemporary Art In Zagreb Is entitled .0 publish the texts sen, for this even, without the payment
• Laszlo Kerekes [Y U ( R S ) ] • Jannis Kounellis [G R / I T [ • John Latham [ G B | • Sol LeWitt [us]
„ » tt. «hort.) ^^ m m ^ „
• Slavko Matkovic [Y U ( R S ) ] • Giulio Paolini [I T ] • Giuseppe Penone [I T ] • Marko Pogacnik 6. The organizers reserve the right to eon me
[YU (SI)] • Reiner Ruthenbeck [DE] • Howard Selina [GB] • Ilija Soskic [YU(RS-KM)] •
. — > — • » « » > » • -* • " 7 7 . 7 ™ ;
Laszlo Szalma [ Y U ( R S ) | • Balint Szombathy [Y U ( R S ) 1 • Goran Trbuljak [Y U ( H R ) |
8. Conditions of participation in the exhibition will be stated In the invitations

1 In other publications these artists are presented as the Grupo de Arte y Cibern6tica Buenos Aires.
The group was established by Jorge Glusberg, the founder of the Centro de Arte y ''•5 An international event.
Comunicacion [Center for Art and Communication] (CAYC) in Buenos Aires.
480 t e n d e n c i e s 5 • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 481

• 1
Barson, Sir Ris, [ - ] , a n d Zagreb b y V i c t o r V a s a r e l y
Tehnicki muzej Zagreb a n d P r o b a b i l i t y d u n o i r egal a u b l a n c n ° 4 [ P r o b a b i l i t y
At the exhibition opening: Giulio C•"K'^
June 1 - July i, 1973 conversation with Waldemar Corde.ro of Black Being Equal to White, No. 4) and Series

GF.EI6 -S by Vladimir Bonactc^or - ^. ^ . 14 -No.2 by Julio Le Pare (from left)

I n s t a l l a t i o n v i e w s tendencije 5 . konstruktivna vizuelna istrazivanja. Computer Graphics. 4 frames sup'** • 2
kornpjuterska vizuelna istrazivanja. konceptualna umjetnost / Cube, Computed Patchwork 01, Computed Patchwork
tendencies 5. constructive visual research, computer visual research, 02. and Horloge [Clock] by Herve Huitric and
conceptual art Monique Nahas, computer graphics by Tomislav
M i k u l i c , G r o u n d Plan a n d S e c t i o n by E d v a r d R a v n i k a r .
fcitX Linear Complementary Order and Parallel
Complementary Order by Sergej Pavlin, and
GF. E(16,0) -NS by Vladimir Bonacic (from left)

• 3 ,
53" 49' N 1°34' W (Leeds) b y H o w a r d S e l i n a , august

b y B a r r y F l a n a g a n . Jedna od najnovijih slika [ O n e

of the Most Recent Paintings] by Braco Dimitrijevtc,
O n e S e c o n d D r a w i n g b y J o h n L a t h a m ( f r o m left), a n d

five paintings by Daniel Buren

tendencies 5 • 1973
Radoslav Putar
t-5
The art historian and art critic Radoslav Putar graduated
from the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb in 1949 and
taught there as assistant lecturer from 1951 to 1961. In 1962
he became curator of the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt [Mu­
seum for Arts and Crafts] in Zagreb. He left the museum
in 1964 to head the information department of the Cen-
tar za industrijsko oblikovanje [Center for Industrial De­
sign] (CIO), but returned already one year later. In 1972 he
was appointed director of the Galerije suvremene grada
Zagreba [Galleries of the City of Zagreb], which comprised
the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contempo­
rary Art], the Galerija primitivne umjetnosti [Gallery of
Primitive Art], a few smaller collections, and the Centar za
fotografiju, film i televiziju [Center for Photography, Film,
and Television] (CEFFT), which he founded in 1973. In 1972
Putar started to edit the journal of photography Spot.
[Originally published in tendencije 5, exhib. cat., Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1973, n. p.]
In organizing this event under the title of "Tendencies,"
which was used previously, we were motivated by entirely dif­
ferent considerations than those that led us to organize ear­
lier events under this title. The exhibitions that will be held,
the debates that will be conducted, and the publications that
will be produced will provide us with a dynamic survey of the
accumulated experience and help us to spot the problem*
which have emerged, evaluate certain endeavors, assess in:
vidual and general trends in the works, and the position
artists-explorers, as well as the environments in which thi
live and work. The results of the analyses of exhibitions.
outcome of debates, and the contents of publications will
hope, be used as a reliable basis for new efforts, because
issues raised at the first "New Tendencies" have not bee-
solved and have not disappeared; they are now posed inar
increasingly serious and fateful manner.
The title of the debate will be "The Rational and lrratior
in Visual Research." This is a working title and should be
garded as tentative. In our proposal the rational and
tional do not have the connotation of terms which
exclude one another, they do not denote extreme po
of a certain method, and least of all are the) priruip
posing each other, like "good" and evil in mam
myths. The organizers of the t-5 event do not want m
under the proposed title to be "academic or ape it
the contrary, they want it to bring forth clear \ po ar
titudes. In this way we hope that the direct en ang
frontation of ideas will enable us to reach cert*|
sions that cannot be arrived at through iscuss
traditional kind. Namely, we are convince t a
not limit oneself solely to the confrontation of en
in an nnen debate through competitionand.hr -
rect confrontation of different positions, we can expect to ar­
rive at new values and ideas. We also hope that by a succinct
and disciplined style of debate, without epic descriptions of
abstract notions and representative or authoritative declara­
tions, we will be able to reduce significantly the danger of the
domination of personal interests.
This exhibition, in which investigators in the field of con­
structive visual programs will be taking part, will show
whether these fields have been exhausted or whether a suf­
ficient number of current tasks still remains to be accom­
plished; and also whether there is a real general public need
tor the solution of these and similar tasks or whether com­
mercial demands reflect only an illusion that there is a need
tor efforts of this kind. If a phylogenetic link is found to ex­
ist between constructivist research and visual research by
means of computers, and if the previously unclear assump-
'ion is confirmed that the ideas of the New Tendencies are be-
mg pursued (at least in their particular implications) within
'he systems of ideas that have developed with the use of com­
puters, then this might be an acknowledgment of our concept
of the t-5 event.
The section of the exhibition devoted to visual research
; means computers will likely show that there is no cri-
^ ine, understand, and evaluate them. In our commitments,
S'S °f motivation and method in this field, only critical situ-
ter.
' °ns 'n re'ation to such research, because what early rep-
_
^n'atives of the New Tendencies said about "art" and the
Putar • t-5
social position and the tasks of artists-investigators, has now
unexpectedly surfaced in visual research by means of ma­
chines in a more pronounced form. The exhibition of com-
puterists will probably be further occasion to reexamine the
problems which have sprung up after the dissemination of
views based on information theory.
The exhibition of works representative of "conceptual art"
(or research) should not be diametrically opposed to con­
structivism and to computer research before the debate even
begins. One should not forget that the interpretations and
fundamental statements made by a number of represent­
atives of conceptual research largely coincide with at least
some of the statements and programs of representatives of
constructivism. Nor should one think that the methods of
conceptualists can always be reduced to such data processing
in which there is no rational control over the process. (Are all
the stages in the computer research process entirely ration­
ally controlled?) As in the case of constructivists and comput-
erists, we find in examples of conceptual research that the fi­
nal consequences, and even the initial assumptions, are not
always acceptable to everyone. These assumptions do, how­
ever, exist. And, as they have emerged without a reason, but
have their origins and impact, it is sufficient for us to exam­
this stands out as a necessity.
tendencies 5 • constructive visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb

w* I here are four kinds of behavior an artist can

w
adopt, when he wants to use his technical
abilities so as to contribute to the class struggle.
%
WH
I. He can put the results of his research for
idiom into action, but on two conditions:
first, that he is coherent with what his defi­
nition implies; second, that he finds effective
correspondents within his own class.
II. He can celebrate the revolution by means of
objects produced using idioms already well-
known in traditional art forms.
III. He can plan objects that have a concrete
bearing on specific moments of the class
struggle.
IV. He can mediate his own technical

MMyyji conscience.
The hammer and sickle symbol certainly
does not enable my work to be taken as an
example of the first kind of behavior, but since

ZZZ2
I have used or examined it occasionally it does
become an example, at least in part of the
second, the third, and the fourth kinds.
The spreading of these exemplifications has

•i n a i a l l l l l l brought up the problem of the medium to be

used and hence the final form.

>\%%%%m++++4 [...] My lines of research concern the 'per­

ceptual ambiguity of internal tridimensional

\\\%+m+++4 space' and the 'analogy between the serial

structuralizations of natural phenomena and

444 the programming of perceptual phenomena.'

A new research hypothesis may perhaps be

%\\%m+4 4444444 added to this and it is what is implicit in this

and other recent works."

{44444* [Enzo Mari.'The Hammer and Sickle,"

44444*41
typescript, 9 pages, Archive MSU Zagreb]

44444
444441
\s\\\ 444
\w%% \^444 • 1

i^BB Enzo Mari

Fake e martello [Sickle and Hammer]
1954
Silk screen print, paper
69.8 x 59.44 cm

• 2
Enzo Mari
Fake e martello [Sickle and Hammer]
Victor Vasarely
1972
Barson 168 photographed variations
1967
Lithography, paper
Collage, masonite, wood
250 x 250 cm
MSU Zagreb
486 tendencies 5 • constructive visual research • 1973

Exhibition • Zagreb

Koloman Novak
Kinematiiki objekt [Cinematic Object]
1973
Metal, Plexiglas, electric motor,
electric bulbs
0 50 cm

• 4 * 5
Koloman Novak
KinematiUki objekt [Cinematic Object]
— Description and instruction
1973
Ink, paper
Archive MSU Zagreb

- -1

r p K Z i » i *

• 4
"ttWW-WSKMENSKI PRIKAZ RfcPOTW-'A- Time-space depiction of the repertoire:
1
Visual representation:
Resultant A: Static perception at 16

PROSTORNO VREMENSKA PERCEPCUA Resultant B: Perceived in motion from El to

E8 at 8 "
Resultant C: Perceived in motion from E8 to
USUWI:
I oaEKAI PERCEPCIJE-KINEMATICAN El at 8"
ZPERCIPIJENT U KRETANJU Present

KINEMATKW PROGRAM : Future

Past

IS10VREMENA PR0JEKCL1A NA 8 EKRANA

Space-time perception
Conditions:
Object of perception - kinematic
Perception in motion
Kinematic program:
STARTNE P0ZICUE REPERTQARA
Simultaneous projection on 8 screens

Starting positions of the repertoire:

, 3 5 7 9 11 « 15

L"Ai B B-

,
• e USEE" !^r*Nju 00 e' 00
^RCIPIRANOU KREtMJj 00 E8 00
eb ZA
El
8-
ZA 8"

• 1 • 2
Dvizenije Dvizenije
Entrance hall, pavilion 2, Soviet section at the Kinetic Garden
international exhibition Electro 72, Sokolniki Culture Installation view, international exhibition Electro

and Exhibition Center, Moscow Sokolniki Culture and Exhibition Center, Mosco»
1972 1972 5
Photograph Photograph
Archive MSU Zagreb Archive MSU Zagreb
488 tendencies 5 • c o m p u t e r visual research • 1973
Boris Kelemen
Computer Visual Research
The art historian Boris Kelemen completed his studies in
art history at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University
of Zagreb worked as curator of the Galerija Benko Horvat
[Benko Horvat Gallery], from 1956 on and in 1965 he took
over the management of the Galerija primitivne umjet-
nosti [Gallery of Primitive Art] in Zagreb. Kelemen con­
tributed significantly to the conception and preparation
of the exhibitions and colloquy within tendencije 4 / ten­
dencies 4.
[Originally published in tendencije 5, exhib. cat., Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1973, n. p.]
The international colloquy and exhibition "Kompjuteri i vi-
zuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research" in
1968 marked the beginning of the event t-4 (tendencije 4 / ten­
dencies 4). This event, which lasted for a year, highlighted the
problems of the phenomenon known today as "computer art,"
and proposed a discussion on the relationship and possible
links between constructivist aspirations on the visual level -
which have become known since 1961 as New Tendencies (in
the USA the name of Op art coined later is more familiar)1
and visual research by means of the computer. However justi­
fied and logical it may have been, the discussion did not pro­
vide the anticipated results. The reasons for this are partly of
a generation nature, and undoubtedly the laws of consumer
society also played a considerable role. The review bit inter­
national covered these events in the theoretical field, and
some of the discussions did raise new questions.
That is why on June 26 and 27,1971, the Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb, organized
another international symposium on art and compuieru
During the symposium, direct experience, obtained through
research in laboratories and institutes, was presented. Som
scientists elaborated their views on fundamental ideas in r
field of art and computers, while a group of scholars tror
Paris, Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes [Vincenm -
Art and Informatics Group] (GAIV), presented in their p
pers and at a special exhibition the results of their explo
tions in the field of color. This gathering made a series of r<v
ommendations which should be utilized during the eve
(tendencije 5 / tendencies 5) in 1973. These recommemh
concern different kinds of activities of museums and-
leries, and in addition, a series of titles to be dealt
formulated. Of these recommendations two should recen
particular attention. Dr. Herbert W. Franke suggested
special consideration should be given to exploring e,
sibility of using computers for creating didactic an
tional methods, of applying computers for the design >
sumer goods, and for constructing scientific aest ct
experiences with computers should be used for organu ^
man's leisure time and designing objects lor isT
- Jonathan Benthall, on the other hand, suggestec c
the relation between Conceptual art and computer
It should be pointed out that all the participants s
importance of the necessary sociological imp tea . v
one hand, and on the other, of building scienti
which includes criticism of information aest etics
Therefore, the organizers of the alternation^ ^
have suggested that this time the main thesis e
and Irrational in Visual Research Todav, v*' efS)WF>
tion assigned to visual research by means c
a selection of artists, represented by several works, should
raise questions and provide solutions which fall within the ba­
sic thesis of the event. Thus, a number of experts have been in­
vited to select artists whose works will be shown at the exhibi­
tion on computer research.
Dr. Herbert W. Franke has proposed the following artists:
Charles Csuri (USA), Winfried Fischer (Federal Republic of
Germany), Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires (Ar­
gentina), Grace C. Hertlein (USA), Hiroshi Kawano (Japan),
Kenneth C. Knowlton (USA), Auro Lecci (Italy), Maughan S.
Mason (USA), Manfred Mohr (France), Frieder Nake (Federal
Republic of Germany), Georg Nees (Federal Republic of Ger­
many), B. K. Shan (USA), Edward Zajec (Italy). Johannes van
derWolk has proposed representatives of the Netherlands
Teo Geurts, Lambert Meertens, Peter Struycken, Stanley
Brouwn), and Florentino Briones suggested representatives
trom Spain,and Alan Sutcliffe representatives from the Com­
puter Ans Society of London.
The Galerija suvremene umjetnosti has, in addition, pro­
posed the following artists:Otto Beckmann (Vienna, Austria);
Uadimir Bonacic (Zagreb, Yugoslavia; Jerusalem, Israel);
_ sveudiliSte Mosa Pijade [Mosa Pijade Workers' University], Zagreb.
Waldemar Cordeiro (Brazil); Cygra 4 (Cybernetic Graphics
^
Animation Group)3, a group from Canada; Herbert W.
ranke, Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes (GAIV), a
^ 4
group from Paris; Miljenko Horvat (Canada); Peter Milojevic
anada); Sergej Pavlin (Yugoslavia); and Zdenek Sykora
•Czechoslovakia).
Besides these, a number of artists have sent in works on
61r°Wn 'n'tiative. However, owing to the fact that visual re-
s w a s held • »
^c ) means of computers is developing very rapidly to-
a number of artists are presently working on other
Kelemen • Computer Visual Research
problems, this exhibition will not show everything that has
been achieved in that field since 1965, when the first exhibi­
tions of works produced by means of digital computers were
held. In the same way it will not cover spatial computer re­
search, nor the work done in the field in Great Britain and
known as "events," nor works produced by means of analog
computers or lasers.4 Therefore, this exhibition sets out to
show, through a limited number of artists and limited sub­
ject matter, the present situation in visual research by means
of computers.
Here we would like to thank all those who have made it
possible for the exhibition to be held.
1 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : In a report in Time Magazine prior to th e exhibition The
Responsive Eye at th e Museum of Modern Art in New York (February 23
- April 25 1965) Jon Borgzinner introduced the term "Op art. I hirty-three
artists a n d artists' groups who exhibited in th e New York show had already
shown their work within th e framework of New Tendencies.
See- Ion Borgzinner,"Op Art. Pictures that Attack th e Eye," in: Time Magaune,
October 23, 1964, pp. 78-86. William C. Seitz <ed.). The Responsive Eye,
e x h i b cat., T h e Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1965.
2 Colloquy "Umjetnost i kompjuteri 71"/"Art and Computers 7.," Radnicko
3 Editorial n o t e : T h e Cybernetic Graphics and Animation Group was
f o u n d e d in Montreal by Gilles Gheerbrant, Serge Poulard Max.me Renard,
a n d Claude Schneegans in 1971. See: Radical Software v o l 1, n o 4, p 22.
E d i t o r i a l n o t e : In th e context of his "Asthetisches Colloquium [Colloquy
Aesthetics! held a . th e Technical University of Stuttgart from February
M m . p r e s e n t e d computer gr.phics h y G e o * N e e , The
u ' I Wise Gallery New York, showed computer graphics by Bela Julesz
"°dT M U h ^Srom April 6-24, .965. In M.rch .964. theBriti.h
Computer Art, ^ . e ^ U e d „ £ £ ^ ^ £ £ 5
c o v e r l n g.b r o a d t „ g e of disciplines, including th e
computer-rel
and diinCC.
490 tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 491

Edward Zajec Georg Nees

T.V.C. 31445 (The Cube: Theme and Variations 3144: Plistikl [Sculpture l|
1972 1966
Computer-generated drawing Computer-designed relief
Ink, paper Silk screen after a photograph of a milled aluminum plate
25.7 x 30.2 cm 64 * 64 cm
IBM 7044, 563 CalComp plotter Siemens 2002, Siemens 4004, milling machine
Programmed by E. Z. and Matja Hmeljak Programmed in ALGOL, EXAPT-1
Produced at the computer center, University of Trie- Produced at Siemens, Erlangen
MSU Zagreb MSU Zagreb

dward Zajec g.w

V.C. 82854 (The Cube: Theme and J'!J-
72
Slik screen
jmputer-generated drawing

k, paper ^•7*45.7 cm

x 30 cm ; D C l B e n s o n flatbed plot
M 7044, 563 CalComp plotter
.rTmmed in FORTRAN iv
o g r a m m e d by E. Z . and Matja Hmel,^ on (

oduced at the computer center,

492 tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 493

Grace C. Hertlein
The Field
Anton Zottl 1970
Colour Composition Computer-generated picture
1972 Paper, ink, Rapidograph brushes and pens
Computer-generated drawing IBM 1620, CalComp digital plotter
70 x 69.6 cm P r o g r a m m e d i n FORT RA N
Siemens 305, CalComp plotter Produced at California State University. Ch.co
Programmed in FORTRAN
Produced at Siemens, Munich
MSU Zagreb
494 tendencies 5 • c o m p u t e r visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 495

In the course of the material development of

my work, I typified motion in a fragment of a
human figure changing postures, lying within
a space limited by real or suggested coordi­
nates serving as reference lines or planes for
the perception of change. Every element, taken
as a module, could be connected with others
of the same family, resulting in stories whose
meaning depended on the internal relation­
ships of the entire group.
[...] This work consists of an irregular form
contained in an imaginary cube measuring
15 x 15 x 15 cm, and defined by 20 level curves
lying 8 mm apart. The groupings are formed
from four perfectly equal modules obtained by
cutting this form vertically with a prism having
a base measuring 7.5 cm square, so that, when
grouped together, they form a 15 x 15 x 15 cube
again.
Working with these level curves demanded
that they be analyzed as a cubic matrix of zeros
and ones (space and mass), which could be
submitted to various operations for the purpose
of producing transformations having features
determining one or several types of develop­
ment of the given form."

[Jose Luis Alexanco, "Plan for the Automatic

Generation of an Endless Film," in: bit interna­
tional 8/9, Vera Horvat-Pintaric (ed.), Galerije
grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1972, p. 227.]

Jose Luis Alexanco

Mouvnt XX
*
1972
15 x 15 cm
Handcrafted sculpture based o n a computer-
generated design
Methacrylate
IBM 360, IBM 1130 / IBM 2250 display unit,
CalComp plotter
Programmed in FOR TRAN by J. L. A.
in collaboration with Miguel Garcia Ferrandez

®K#L
Produced at th e computer center, University

of Madrid

• 5
Jose Luis Alexanco
Movimiento Transformable [Transformable Movement]
Example for th e adjustment of surfaces
1973
Computer-generated design
Computer print, cardboard
17.5 x 17.4 cm
IBM 360, IBM 1130 / IBM 2250 display unit,

•3 CalComp plotter
• 2 Programmed in FORTRAN by J. L. A.
Ana and Javier Segui Manuel Quejido
Soledad Sevilla in collaboration with Miguel Garcia Ferrandez
Secuencias [Sequences!
computer art. conditional growing Untitled : •* Produced at the computer center. University
1972 1968-1972
1971 of Madrid
Computer-generated c ra»
Computer-generated design Engraved Plexiglas after computer-generated drawing Archive MSU Zagreb
Silk screen after c o m p u t e r print, edition of 25 copies Ink, paper
48 x 48 cm
IBM computer - ^ iand
n-
70 cm x 92.5 cm (image: 54 x 75 cm) IBM 7090
IBM computer Programmed by M-Q. _
Programmed by S. S., Isidro Ramos, and R. Ramirez
Produced a t . he compu.^
Produced a t the computer center, University of Madrid Produced a t t he computer center, University of Madrid
Collection Fernando Carbon-
Ana und Javier Segui Museo Nacional Centro d e Arte Reina Sofia
496 tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 497

Jose Maria Yturralde

Figura imposible (amarillo violeta)
[Impossible Figure (Yellow-Violet))

1972
Computer-generated design

Silk screen

81x61 cm
IBM 7090/IBM 1401, Benson plotter
Programmed in FORTRAN IV by J. M. Y.,

Isidro Ramos, and Guillermo Searle

Produced at the computer center,

University of Madrid

ZKM Collection

Manuel Barbadillo
Gerardo Delgado M/en

Estructuras con curvas. M001I 1973

[Structures with Curves. Mobile] ^puter-generateddesi,
1970/1972 Sllks«een after compute!
Computer-generated design * 65.8 cm
Printed paper •1'^rammed in FORTRAf
50 x 50 cm 'duced at the computer
Un"«ity of Madrid
IBM computer
Produced at t h e computer center. Z^M Collection
University of Madrid
498 tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 499

• " . s. ' V .. .•

"La conjuration par le rire"

(Incentation by Laughter]

O irriez, les rieurs!

O eclairez, rieurs!
Qui riez de rires, qui riaillez riassement
Eclairez souriamment!
O surraillerie irrianie - rire des sourieui
O derie riolemment - rire des railleui na
Rillesse, rillesse,
Irrie, irraille, rirettes, rirettes.
Rirotteurs, rirotteurs!
O irriez, les rieurs!
0 eclairez, rieurs!

Editorial note: Jean-Claude Marquette
encoded the single letters of'Laconjurat
par le rire"-the French translation 0 the
poem 3*KA*MUT CMIX»M (Zakliatie saw
[ I n c e n t a t i o n by Laughterl by Viktor
Khlebnikov - into a binary sequence
and ones. Marquette applied a 6-buc r
The letter "A," for example correspon f-
"010001," the letter "B" to •°'00")-
0 and 1 were then replaced bi a >01
and several superimposed letters'
This black-and-white computer pn«<
as the model .0 produce a cardboard •
which was used to paint the pa"'r
4
Editorial note: Two methods were applied to
visualize the color fields and transitions calculated
•
by the computer. One method was to produce
computer prints with the different colors marked by
letters: "R" for red, "V" for green, "B" for blue, "J" for
yellow,"N" for black, and an empty space for white.
These fields were then colored by hand.
The second method used punch cards as stencils.
The calculated distributions of color dots were not
printed, but punched as a pattern into computer
punch cards. For every basic color a series of stencils
with specific frequencies and distributions was
produced. Colorless punch cards were glued on a

onp.pe,Th,pitr^^ wooden carrier, the colors were added by hand using

the stencils.

•4
•2 Monique Nahas
Jean-Claude Marquette Jean-Claude Halgand plan 2
Hommage a Khlebnikov [Homage to Khlebnikov] Surf III 1973
"r,c"rds. paint, wood
1972/1974 1972 Paper, gouache, wood
fns, 30 x 30
Computer-generated designs Computer-generated design "M 1,30 '"30cme«h 54 x 54 cm
Silk screen on cardboard Computer print, hand colored IBM 1130
63.8 x 47.8 cm each 40 x 50 cm Produced at University of Paris VIII
IBM 360/25, printer IBM 1130/C1I 510 Private collection
Produced at University of Paris VIII Produced at University of Paris VIII
Collection of the artist
tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 501

• 1
Antonio Berni
Untitled
1969
Computer-processed drawing
Silk screen, paper, mounted on board
36.0 x 70.0 cm

• 2
Eduardo Mac Entyre
Untitled
1969
Computer-generated drawing
Screenprint, paper, mounted on board
31.8 x 45.9 cm

• 3
Osvaldo Romberg
Untitled
Miguel Angel Vidal Mario Marino 1969
Untitled Maternidad [Motherhood] Computer-generated drawing
1969 1970 Silk screen, paper, mounted on board
Computer-generated drawing Computer-processed drawing 34.5 x 52.5 cm
Screenprint, paper, mounted on board Ink, paper
53.9 x 41.2 cm IBM 1130, IBM 1627 plotter • 1-3
IBM 1130, IBM 1627 plotter Produced at the computer center, IBM 1130, IBM 1627 plotter
Escuela Tecnica ORT, Buenos Aires Produced at the computer center,
Produced at the computer center,
Escuela Tecnica ORT, Buenos Aires
Escuela Tecnica ORT, Buenos Aires Mario Marino
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
502 tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973

Lillian F. Schwartz
Olympiad
1971
Silk screen based on a frame from
the Film Olympiad (1971)
35.2 x 55.6 cm
IBM 360/50, Stromberg-Carlson
S-C 4020 microfilm recorder
Software by Kenneth C. Knowlton
Lillian F. Schwartz Collection,
The Ohio State University Libraries

Waldemar Cordeiro
Sture Johannesson jjjfc&wl [People, Degree 1]
Computer Paragraph
1972/1973 ^Puter-processed photograph
Computer print
Computer-generated drawing
6J-5'
30.5 cm
Silk screen
PDMi
70 x 100 cm
^mmed in collaboration
IBM 1130, CalComp plotter
''hRaul Fernando Dada and
Programmed by Sten Kallin
1 Soar«Sobrinho
Private collection
;^^althecompuiercemeri

CoOectk, e Ar'eS da UnicamP-

c Brazil
"on Family Cordeiro
504 t e n d e n c i e s 5 • c o m p u t e r v i s u a l r e s e a r c h • 1973 Exhibition • Zagreb 505

Ludwig Rase, Georg Nees

Cubo-Octaeder
1971
Computer-aided design
69.7 x 69.9 cm
Siemens 4004
Produced at Siemens, Munich
MSU Zagreb

Edvard Ravnikar
• 2 Site-Plan (program "super")
"A study of color-emotional and .
Miljenko Horvat Sergej Pavlin 1971
ceptions - an analysis °f -over
'^ Pen, indian ink, tracing paper
Conversation CI Aesthetic Theory of Colors - Parallel
1973 Complementary Order and empirical results, whic av aff... 70 x 100 cm
and modified to the theoretical co P ., IBM 1130, Benson 220 plotter
Computer-generated drawing 1973
P r o g r a m m e d i n F O R T R A N b y E . R.,
Silk screen Computer-generated drawing tors ofthe program which aremo
Andrej Kmet, and Tomaz Ptsanski
33 x 101.5 cm Ink, paper order in a circle but rather in a hne^ P r o d u c e d a t 1BT T r b o v l j e , Y u g o s l a v i a /
CDC 1700 58.4 x 80.3 cm
resulting from uniformed prog ^ Slovenia
Programmed by M. H. and Serge CDC Cyber 72, Houston Instruments
Edvard Ravnikar
Poulard (system author) plotter [Sergej Pavlin in: 1
Produced at the computer center, Programmed by Borut Dobovisek
University of Montreal and Zdene Briska
MSU Zagreb Produced at the Faculty of
Architecture, University of Ljubljana
tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 507

» # <$
m ®to
m # e ©<® o
'3 # * m <® t

"Syntax-based picture program ARCLINK

The development of syntax-based descriptive schemata that make the

interpretation and a7d"n

recendy assumed a position of vast impure

,a„ce in the context M of the prag-

The work th« am pre ^ app|icalions „f syntax-based
ma„c requirements th ^ character, the ARCLINK pto-
devices. Green Its ess y .g (he genera.
•3
• 1 • 2
Joseph Ziegler, Auro Lecci
Tomislav Mikulic Joseph Ziegler, Arclink
Harold Chase
LINED Thomas Michael Stephens 1970-1972 embedded in the reiated grammar^^ whjch
Box Plot Photographs
1973 Pascal's Limecon Between 1969 and 147J The grammar generates p pictures. The prim-
Computer-generated drawing Between 1969 and 1973 7 Pans, 10.5. 12.5 cm each
Computer-genera,e
CDC 3600 are primitive structural^ lr„s that are
Ballpoint pen, paper Computer-generated drawings
Ink on paper
28 x 21 cm Heliography ,8x24c ™ Produced at the computer center. moneanothe,
IBM 1130, IBM 1627 plotter University of Pisa
5 parts, 34 x 34 cm each
Programmed in FORTRAN Hewlett-Packard 9100/9125, plotter Archive MSU Zagreb ^Auro Lecci in: tendencije 5. exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnostt,
Produced at the Faculty of Electrical Programmed by J. Z.
Engineering, University of Zagreb Zagreb, 1973- n- P-'
Tomislav Mikulic
508 tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973 Exhibition

0
• 1
Vilko Ziljak
Ki 297
1972

• 2
"First, a black-and-white photograph of Albert Einstein was r Vilko Ziljak
into a blue grid pattern with 64 * 64 fields. The image!"» °""® n(Jeve|. Ki 298
Herbert W. Franke 1972
on paper tape, was loaded into the Bildspeicher N, w ic 3
A G.
Portrat Albert Einstein [Portrait Albert Einstein)
oped by Hans-Jurgen van Kranenbrock and Helmut Schenk of
1973 • 3
Computer-transformed photographic scan Erlangen, and was subjected to various ^ncco^^ ^ „ Vilko Ziljak
Color photographs extensive adjustment calculation, spreading -nd ended in Ki 299, Simulacija prelaza
50 x 30 cm each forth. This led to increasing abstraction and simplification [Simulation of Discontinuity)
Bildspeicher N
complete dissolution of the content ot the image. ne umjet- 1972
Produced at Siemens, Erlangen
[Herbert W. Franke in: tendencije 5,exhib. cat., Galeri|a suv <•
Herbert W. Franke • 1-3
nosti, Zagreb, 1973. n. p.] Computer-generated images
Computer prints, ink, paper
60.9 x 42 cm
Editorial note: The "Bildspeicher N" [ I m a g e Memory N] wasa^i^ u„r
IBM 1130, line printer
Programmed in FORTRAN
used in the field of diagnostic nuclear medicine imaging. naUtion
Produced at Industropro)ekt, Zagreb
the scanner, the Scintimat 2. This device detected and reco ^ ^ Bi|dspeichet
by radiopharmaceuticals which had been taken by 1 e p MSU Zagreb
proCessing P1"'1

eo„„.c.,d ,0 the .canner, it «

 Exhibition • Zagreb 511
tendencies 5 • computer visual research • 1973

'

•
c.
•
n-•
ur

•1 • 2 • 1-4
'0l>»Whitney
Sylvia Roubaud Aron Warszawski Computer-generated drawings

Explosion geordneter Strukturen II / Kreisscharen I Silk screen "71

Explosion of Ordered Structures II Edition MBB Computer Graphics
[Families of Circles I]
1972 1972 34 x 34 cm ^rg-ted movie
IBM 360/50, Kingmatic plotter ,l|ro
U|!hr!;
C°'0r' S0Und; black-and-white recording from computer screen, color added
•3 • 4 Programmed in FORT RAN IV ^min Pr'n,er> stills from a digital copy
Produced at MBB | Messerschmitt-
Rolf Wolk Frank Bottger Mil
Bolkow-Blohm, Munich
Elemente unter Perspektiven II / Interpolation und Rotation ^"cedat IBM d"'0 S°'er' sona,a* P'ayed by Dolores Stevens
Elements Subjected to Perspectives II MSU Zagreb ArC|,i»eZKM | Kari°d h" D'Splay Center NYC and California 'ns«i,ule of Technology
[Interpolation and Rotation)
1972 1972

tendencies 5 • conceptual art • 1973
Marijan Susovski
Conceptual Art
Marijan Susovski studied art history and English at the
University of Zagreb from 1962 to 1968. In 1972 he be­
came curator of the Gradska galerija suvremene umjet-
nosti [Municipal Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb
and was part of the organization committee and executive
committee for tendencije 5 / tendencies 5.
[Originally published in tendencije 5, exhib. cat., Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1973, n. p.]
When in 1963 the attempt was made in the catalog of nove ten­
dencije 2 [New Tendencies 2] to define the situation in the field
of visual arts, it was stressed that "matter is by no means any
longer the bearer of particular descriptive values, and its dis­
tinctive features are no longer appropriate to carry the main
or one of the main themes of the work; this is why colors have
finally faded away. The charm of accidental occurrences in
the course of executing a work is no longer desirable and has
ceded its place to maximum technical perfection and preci­
sion; therefore, execution itself is no longer in the hands of
the creator of the idea or the design of the work, but is re­
alized by specialists in workshops or factories."1 Let us pre­
sume that at that time we were still exclusively involved in
the material and visual sphere; so with these words we tried
to define the orientation of the followers of the New Tenden­
cies and certain new factors were delineated, which, within
a year, brought about a new situation that did not fall within
the ambit of the New Tendencies: the work of art no longer
carries descriptive or any other kind of similar value; it no
longer carries a theme; rather, primary importance •
tached to the idea or to the design. This post-object, th
post-visual view addresses only one side of the am- -
ative process - the formation of the idea - while the '<
nical execution has been entirely set aside and the ir
inary conceptual realization takes place in the reu
the message. Thus, the material objectivization of the*. '•
has been abolished, and so we can no longer speak ofi-
sual aesthetic qualities; however, frequently language it-
becomes the material of art. Because an accompanying
planation of the usefulness of the work is included as an r-
tegral part of its value, Conceptual art rejects all poss.b
of further critical evaluation of the work and reexamine
self; through such meta-linguistic investigations 11 exp
art as such. By isolating art from the material object ar,
adopting the conceptual language ot science pat
of mathematics - art strives to overcome the bourn aru-
have been erected between science and art. Actus v t
appearance of the visual in the field of art corre
controlling of non-perceptive, that is, thought pr e­
science, so that some conceptual artists see an n<
an idea, but also as knowledge. By passing from pure
aspects of the work to its cognitive aspects, am
ing the same importance to them as that a,,<" 1
tific disciplines, Conceptual art has set out to fuU
of art theory. However, in the same way that p ^ ^
aries between scientific disciplines art 1 ur
aries between art, linguistics, and phi ost | . ^ eseforvarious
CrAm Artp Povera onwards, atten \
Susovski • Conceptual Art
made to imbue reality in its entirety with the value of art, and section exhibiting canvases, which tries to establish to what
to propagate the notion of art over the entire space, over the extent the idea-concept can be relevant for the perception of
totality of life - life is an. an is life. The works of concep- art and for its revelational character, regardless of the means
ualist artists are devoid of mythical and symbolic elements; by which the idea-concept is communicated. The New Ten­
hey do not seek and do not offer explanations extrinsic to dencies, like Conceptual art, have often stated that "the no­
hose contained in the works - the message is the work it- tion of art will have to undergo a thorough change and be
elf. There is now the chance to achieve the well-known as­ eradicated as such,"2 that art will necessarily have to undergo
piration to have the audience panicipate in the creation of a scientization, and that the question of its purposefulness will
work ofart or in its enhancement. The conceptual work/idea have to be raised. Therefore, it should be established to what
extent other common factors exist or not, and how positive or
an further develop in the consciousness of the recipient on
he basis of individual prior experience, memories, imagina- negative the separation between the concept and the product,
between the creative artist and the implementer can be, in all
°n, and personal intellectual capabilities. Through perccp-
°n of this kind, regardless of whether a real or conceptually fields of art in which such a separation occurs.
listing object is involved, the perception of reality and the
nvironment, which we tend to notice less and less in our ev-
F d i t o r i a l no.e: Rado.l.v Putar. "Untitled." in: nave tendencije 2 exhib cat..
eryday life, can become more focused and richer in contrast.
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 1963. n. p, translated from the
' hen, in talking about Conceptual art, we refer to the work,
are actually referring to the idea, whose form of presen- EdkorUI note; M..ko "Uncled.- to,
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti. Zagreb. 1963. n. p, translated from the
a,'°nfrom the aesthetic point of view is not crucial, but, be-
Croatian.
^ause it is essential the idea is communicated as a message,
has to be materialized in some way. The materials used by
'nceptual artists range from the most traditional - canvas
0 'he most recent: Xerox photocopies and videotapes. Due
t0 their anti-material, anti-visual attitudes and anti-commer-
^1J1 aspirations, from the outset conceptual artists radically
enounced traditional means of expression and communica-
^ |10". However, certain artists have now gone back to some of
reasons (the most important being commer-
^ considerations), therefore this exhibition begins with a
 Exhibition • Zagreb

w,rformrfR>n Q>oup

•5 r

•4 Radomir Damnjanovic-Damnjan
• J
•1 • 2
Radomir Damnjanovic-Damnjan grupa dezinformacija - c3
John Latham Jannis Kounellis
Braco Dimitrijevic grupa dezinformacija - c2 [Group of Misinformation - c3]
One Second Drawing Untitled
Jedna od najnovijih slika [Group of Misinformation - c2) 1972
1973 1971
[One of the Most Recent Paintings] 1972 Ink,paper
Canvas Oil, canvas
1972 Ink, paper 70 x 100 cm
83 x 37 cm 200 x 300 cm „m,ntofls- Radomir Damnjanovic-Damnjan
Enamel, canvas, price: 601,000 US$ 70 x 100 cm
I n s t a l l a t i o n view, c e l l i s t p l a y i n g: • « ^
1 20 x 160 cm Radomir Damnjanovic-Damnjan
Bachs Passion according to St. 1° ' ^^ Mod(m
Private collection
painting of musical notes, per or
Art Agency Naples, Italy, 1971
tendencies 5 • conceptual art • 1973

•1
Miklos Erdely
Untitled
TKK 9 U S 3 T I 0 K 3 1973
From the book by Anonymous

Collective, 1973
toy Paper in plastic pocket
Endre T6t 30 x 20 cm
MSU Zagreb

I. Why 6 e l i f e eo aaoodoo&e ?
II. Why do 66 oo6d 06a6 death do s o edovaod ooooed ? •2

III. Why 00 0 0 6 6 6 p o e a d t Z i o 6<*o6 l o v e o r o a a d i a a o o j a e i ? Miklos Erdely

IV. Why do are 6660k 6fte6 a r t coo oorpaoas eoooydhdag ? Untitled
V. Why do ore 6 0 0 6 6 6 a 6 O 0 0 , 6 0 0 6 s c i e n c e .xoooo oe 60997 1973
VI. Why do 6 f e o f dodaort 60a« God oaooe ? From the book by Anonymous
VII. Why do oe oooooe 609 oaoooaaaag everything ? Collective, 1973
VIII. Why do e r e erooO 0 6 0 O n o t h i n g 0000a a o o o o o a 0 0 0 9 0 6 ? Paper in plastic pocket
IX. Ooo 00 00 0000 0000 0000000 00000 000000 0 000000 ?
30 x 20 cm
X. Why do 1 aek questions ? MSU Zagreb

• 3

Endre Tot J°^n ®a'dessari

Untitled ZwWma"u>'»
1973

3 Collective, 1973
Color photos rank
>cm
*5*56.5, Pap6r

Paper in plastic pocket

MSU Za
20 x 30 cm
MSU Zagreb
518 tendencies 5 • conceptual art • 1973
Exhibition • Zagreb 519

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Telegram
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6 *[*>/{ Oi Hioifi MSU Zagreb

1 ar still ailva
on ka*ara •

col yrfjMJoo

Vol prodmotoi^2l
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Diagnota

Prezime I ime: Trbuljak Goran

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1 Trbuljak ~~ a f c i I am still alive (31.05.1973)
arski test vidnog polj' u*ietmU 1 am s t i u alive in J '
«£/g£j ' Telegram
iscrtao plavom i crvenom
on kawara • 15.3 x 20.8 cm
1 dezurni bolniCar u srpnj",9/
MSU Zagreb

Test of the Artist's Field of

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 Contributor* to the Proceedings

Iacques ArveiHer (Croupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes, GAIV) |F R ] • Oskar Beckmann

(ars int e r m e d i a ) ! A T I • L a s / 1 6 B e k e | H U ] • V l a d i m i r B o n a c i c | Y U ( H R ) / I L ] • J i i r g e n C l a u s | D E ]
• Waldemar Cordeim I I T /BR) • Braco Dimitrijevic |Y U ( B A ) | • Milan Dobes les ( S K ) | • Jacques
Dupre(GAIV') IFk • Herbert W. Franke |DE| • David Garrison [CB| • Patrick Greussay (GAIV)
:F R| • Grace C. Hertlein |us| • Herve Huitric(GAIV) [F R | • Zelimir Koscevic |Y U ( H R )] • Fedor
Kritovac |YU <HR>I • EnzoMariliTl • Jean-Claude Marquette (GAIV) [FR) • Slavko Matkovic
| T U <HR>| • P e t e r Milojevitf IYU ( R S ) / C A ) • A b r a h a m A . M o l e s [FR] • F r a n c o i s Morellet |FR| •
Monique Nahas(GAIV) |FR| • Frieder Nake |DE] • Pierre-Louis Neumann (GAIV) [FR) • LevV.
Nusberg si RU)| • Z o r a n R a d o v i c |YU (RS)| • L u d w i g R a s e IDE] • A n a a n d Javier S e g u i [ESL
• Thomas Michael Stephens(Art Research Center) |us| • Balint Szombathy [H U | • John
Whitney | u s | • Edward Zajec IIT|

Participant* of the Conference'

Giulio Carlo Argan I I T I • Celestin Badibanga Ne Mwine [CDl • Laszlo Beke [HUl • Rene
Be r g e r I C M l • W a l d e m a r C o r d e i r o | I T / B R | • N e n a D i m i t r i j e v i c [ v u ( H R ) 1 • S r e c o D r a g a n [ Y U ( S I ) ]
• Herbert W.Fran ke DB| • Herve Huitric (GAIV) ( F R ) • Zelimir KoScevic [Y U ( H R )1 • Fedor
Kritovac |YU (HR)| • Jean - C l a u d e M a r q u e t t e (GAIV) |FR| • Peter Milojevic [YU <RS) / CA| •
Abraham A. Moles IFRI • Frieder Nake It,El • Radoslav Putar (YU <HR)| • Ronald B. de Sousa
ICA/UKI • Irina Suhotic |YU «RS)| • Biljana Tomic |YU (RS)1

I Edi.ori.l An ind,, de .he con,em, of .he lo„ .udio.ape, of .he .ympo.ium li,., .he
following people as having contributed to the discussion.

tendencije 5. "Racionalno i iracionalno u vizualnim istrazivanjima danas

tendencies5. "The Rational and Irrational in Visual Research Today. Match ofldeas

June 2,1973

Symposium within the framework of the congress of AICA (International Association of Art Critics)

Hotel Esplanade, Zagreb

 tendencies 5 • Symposium • 1973
Oskar Beckmann
Computer Art and the Construction of
an Art Computer in Terms of Experimental
Computer Science
Oskar Beckmann studied telecommunications at the
Technische Hochschule Wien [Technical University Vi­
enna] from i960 to 1966. In 1966, his father, the artist Otto
Beckmann, and the engineer Alfred GraBl had begun to
experiment with a random noise generator - a Markov
processor - which controlled a sound converter or an os­
cilloscope, and had founded the group ars intermedia of
which his son Oskar also became a member. Oskar Beck­
mann had the idea to construct a special computer for his
father. After one year of development the first prototype
of the "Ateliercomputer" [Studio Computer] - named
a.i.70 (from ars intermedia) - was up and running in June
1970. By building their own digital-analog hybrid com­
puter Oskar and Otto Beckmann sought to preserve their
independence from companies and universities and to
have a computer at their disposal which enabled real­
time interaction.
The paper reprinted here was submitted by Oskar
Beckmann for the tendencije 5 / tendencies 5 symposium
"Racionalno i iracionalno u vizualnim istrazivanjima da-
nas'7"The Rational and Irrational in Visual Research To­
day. Match of Ideas."
[tendencije 5 / tendencies 5, 'The Rational and Irrational in
Visual Research Today. Match of Ideas," Galerija suvreme-
ne umjetnosti, Zagreb, June 2, 1973, conference proceed­
ings, n. p.]
With the appearance of a new study discipline at universities,
that of information science, computer art has also become
the object of systems-theoretical investigation. These studies
do not treat the problems of aesthetics, but rather attempt, in
the strict sense of informatics, to arrive at statements about
the essence of calculating systems, to clarify the interrela­
tions between man and computer, and to establish secure
foundations within the boundaries of the framing concept of
artificial intelligence." It is precisely the creative programs,
which constitute a transition point from the numerical cal­
culus of purely linear programs to a system of free parame­
ters and random decisions, that offer the best opportunity for
studying that which is both intelligible and artistic.
In this context, the construction of special computers, con­
ceived exclusively to perform artistic tasks (art computers), is
of major importance. They will provide a unique experimen­
tal basis and a broad testing ground for studying various
problems of computer science and model theory.
One thing we learned was that with purely deterministic
programs only patterns of a low order can be obtained.1 One
obtains artistically useful results only by using programs
with greater degrees of stochastic freedom and with feedback
in real time. The general direction proceeds from determin­
istic programs via stochastic programs to artificial-intelligi­
ble encodings and associative programs. Thus, commercialb
available calculating systems and the usual programming
languages (which were developed for entirely different pur
poses) do not appear to be optimally suited to computer art.
The breakdown of information into millions of binaiy deci­
sions and the breakdown of processing sequences into the
minutest individual steps and complex loops can beadjuste
for normal computer applications by, on the one hand, a set.
fixed program and, on the other hand, by great spee a
precision; however, they remain alien to the s\stem of ring
areas, such as computer art. ,
Results in information science and the increase stu ^
the structure of human thought have confirmed this crt q
of existing computer systems also with respect to ot er
in a variety of ways.2 3
Construction of an Art Computer
This problematic of computer art has been a majc r
in the theoretical and empirical work of the lXlt gan(j
work group ars intermedia for some years. Between ^ • 2 • 3
1970, our first art computer was developed an c°n ^kmann Otto Beckmann, Oskar
Otto Beckmann, Oskar
the a.i.70; and in ,97,. aAjo/T. was developed and bud.,.«• Beckmann Beckmann
...."Pnccadei
Aichiieco ^UIer SculP'ure.
tended version of a studio computer. Current ^ js I97| nic Structures] Imaginare Architeklur
[Imaginary Architecture]
art computer whose structure and ancillary equ' ,^
1972
specially designed for architectural simulations 29.5 x 23.5 cm
and should be concluded this year (figs.I—3)- a.i. 70/71, oscilloscope
ZKM Collection
524 tendencies 5 • Symposium • 1973
The following concept formed the basis for the creation
of our own art computer as a testing ground and major tool
for our artistic work: The ancillary equipment and program­
ming structure of the computer should be suited to feedback
and program accessing in real time, and thus for realizing cy­
bernetic models and for simulations. If fast, extensive pro­
gram changes can be introduced during the workflow, then
it is possible to optimize programming according to a learn­
ing process.
To this end, we developed a special system organization
and a special computer language, which does not proceed
from rows of discrete commands, but rather describes and
manages sets. Elements of these sets can be the most diverse
visual elements, but also programming steps, subroutines.
This programming system describes in the form of "notation"
the content of the sets, the statistical laws for their temporal
representation, and their links and/or transformations with
each other.4 These operations can be carried out as deter­
mined associations, as correlation-like links, or as statistical
maps of the sets; they deserve particular attention because it
has turned out that certain link structures correspond to cer­
tain styles in the output images. Along with the system or­
ganization, the ancillary devices were designed in such a way
as to enable optimal man-machine interaction.
The construction of our art computer was motivated by
the desire to realize our theoretical approaches and the de­
sire for independence, whereby in all our efforts the evalu­
ation of the artistic quality of the results play a decisive role.
The technical effort was therefore carried only so far as ap­
peared necessary to ensure the computer's usefulness for ex­
perimental work on systems-theoretical or artistic projects.
On the Situation of Computer Art
Now that the initial enthusiasm has subsided in the area of
computer art, a reorientation appears to be needed - and it
appears all the more important the more computer art is to
play a role beyond its own, narrow special field in the cul­
tural and sociological sphere. The special situation of com­
puter art admits uneasiness from outside at many points: the
sensitive issue of the gap between the humanities and the
sciences, the demands of economic policy, the isolated posi­
tion not only of the artist, but also to some extent of the tech­
nician in society, and the infiltration of the functional and its
neo-Romantic overvaluation, the status symbol of which has
become the computer.
As an independent intellectual trend and as a creative dis­
cussion, however, computer art must include and bring to­
gether the following activities:
1) Coming to grips with new possibilities that make com­
puter systems and programming structures more adequate
to mans specific nature. Research in the area of experimental
and theoretical computer science. Creation of new program­
Zajec • Interactive Program Exhibit
ming languages and programming possibilities specifically
for computer art. Effective integration of human creators in
a cybernetic process involving man and computer. Improve­
ment of man-machine interaction. Program optimization Edward Zajec
through learning processes and simulations.
2) Analysis of the foundations of creative work and recog­ A Proposal for an Interactive Program Exhibit
nition processes. Elaboration of correlative and associative
models. Exploration of the art and communication model
from the perspective of communication theory. Exploration
of the network "creative artist - art recipient - information
carrier - joint entropy."
3) Creation of contact points and connection options be­
tween previously separate disciplines of art. Computer art as
multimedia art. Reordering of the idea and evaluation of an. Edward Zajec studied fine arts at the Cooper School of
23 S£M: tana m vibutiom
Setting new standards and values with reference to creative Art in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1959 to 1961. He returned to
!!• U »rtiiliM » • cut* II I prifiu allot aaaiaklaa il«kt kaalc (aquara)
activities in society. •lauti 111. M,!,. «»lc» an i, t,r. a»iatla« lata a riaal caapaaltlaa. Tka Europe and studied painting at the Akademija za likovno
pttliUijif tki aklti ilawi (firalaf tka fraatal alda af tka laba) latar-
!im, I":'r UU MT #f katkl tka aakalaa tka riaal caapaaltlaa. Tka
4) Development of a new style of work and of new possibil­ p * ™* « " HiMita la rifklataa ky ralaa aklak ala la ratala umetnost in oblikovanje [Academy of Fine Arts and De­
UlLn " J " "* aaafclaallaa, aad
ities for mutual understanding between representatives of sign] in Ljubljana. After his graduation in 1966, he ob­
^ "yuw t«iltar tka twilaklx if taa yrafraa ta kla UUaf altk tka
separated fields: humanities, art, and technology. Common aMlflcatliia: tained a graduate assistantship at Ohio University, Athens,
u i> at Mjlii filkatn. lull
objectives, terminology, and cross-fertilization as a sociologi­ USA, and in 1968 received his master's degree in painting.
•) «wt. Umata uaallM ky tka ayaalatar
cal model of great value. The same year he began experimenting with computers
The possibility of designing graphics by means of comput­ while teaching at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.
er systems was created primarily by the rise of new technolo­ In 1969, while remaining in Northfield, he accepted a posi­
« ftlti ilanti ••••.bin iceMKi ta
gies; computer art as a secondary creative act, as a conscious tion to teach painting at St. Olaf College, where he exhib­
bestowal of significance, is a humanistic determination ol ited his computer-generated graphics series RAM at the
and a critical coming to terms with our times. Flaten Gallery, the campus gallery. In 1970 he returned to
m?at 'UiUaif IT'T l* " 1,f»- " Trieste where he remained for the next ten years.
mi* ""
ntk *"
Sf! ,
u ktaaaau 1. •*tka**•(rite utar U. »• I, wirt
Zajec, who had participated in the conference "Umjet-
J1kaei
""•'I'ltl laaaabl,, nost i kompjuteri 71" "Art and Computers 71" two years pre­
1 Editorial note: With "deterministic program," Oskar Beckmann describe
an algorithm that does not allow any interference by the user during the I ky tki apaatatar.
• viously, also submitted a paper for the tendencije 51 tenden­
running of the program. Further differentiations quoted here are to be
cies 5 symposium "Racionalno i iracionalno u vizualnim
viewed as rather gradual. In the discussion about randomness, the c a
istic "greater degree of freedom of a stochastic nature is not preci istrazivanjima danas" / "The Rational and Irrational in Vi­
defined. With the expression "associative programs, he alludes to the po^ sual Research Today. Match of Ideas," which is reprinted
tial of the studio computer to generate the spatial coordinates of a
'••HIM aeciraiaf U tka ,r*lru.
three-dimensional object with three correlated parallel random prec< here.
•
2 See: Robert M. Fano,"On the Social Role Communication "•PMM It ;
of Computer
Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 60, no. 11, November 1972, pp. 1249-1.5- Itendencije 5/ tendencies 5, 'The Rational and Irrational in
3 See: ars intermedia. Werkbeitrdge zur Computerkunst, exhib. cat., uI "I!" U ,
t
o k*x •« laft. If tka ckaaaa
'• «"k am t, SiTiTSl/L1* (,r~ 1" 8> u b* Visual Research Today. Match of Ideas, Galerija suvreme-
Zentralsparkasse Wien, Vienna, 1971.
4 Editorial note: The term "notation" should not be confused »" a ^ ne umjetnosti, Zagreb, June 2, 1973, conference proceed-
programming language. With this Beckmann merely desert e
ings, n. p.]
written record, the settings made by the user in the course 0 t e ^
process, for example, the selection of the hard-wired functtc
s,r'tion for ik. -T ,) Basic Ideas and Procedure
settings, and connections. These notes were taken in orde
entative Proposal for an Interactive Program Exhibit"
this setting at a later point in time. allowed
• u- ntivp of an interactive exhibition set-up is to
The analog-digital computer developed by Oskar ec m
facdiwte'cornmunication by engaging the public in creative
feedback in real time. The system consisted of several modu e " ^
• • ofinn The advantages over a traditional
random processor, several digital, parallel running state k(.r wfre
arrangement
peripheral analog computer. A storage oscilloscope an s ^ <je_ending
hooked up as output media. The state processors e .1 cu ate
on the input data of the random generator and the pro a ^[dMtign ,0
can be summed up as follows:
entered by the user - the individual states that the userc j furl|,(t
image coordinates or pitch levels. Additionally, the *>sle_^
. napr limited to perception or contempla-
es». 0n«c°
ul,i
mathematical and geometric transformation of the r. jepjciion It of somebody elso's "creations," but is encouraged to use
select from overlapping, integration, variations o sym tnabled
with axonometry, and so on. Fast analog computer tec ^ a(jsand k"ot"
spontaneous interaction: the computer was operate y^^ onmow
The effects of what had been input was immediate y visi
 tendencies 5 • Symposium • 1973
a person can easily grasp the structure and organization of
the program, which can, in turn, be modified according to
different interpretations.
c) The predominance of the operative process over the fin­
ished object becomes self-evident.
Procedure:
The procedure is simple and consists in filling in one of the
prepared forms by indicating in the two appropriate boxes
the letters of the modes that have been chosen. This infor­
mation will be transmitted to the computer, which will, in
turn, present first a set of eight modules, and then the com­
pleted composition. For example, a person can assemble the
modules himself (indicating mode M), and can also form the
composition himself (indicating mode H), or he can use the
same modules to form a composition according to the pro­
gram (mode D), or at random (mode R), or any other combi­
nation of modes which might interest him. Thus, by compar­
ing the different results, a person becomes actively involved
in formulating different formal solutions on a given theme.
2) Exhibition Arrangement
Panel explaining the functioning of the program with rela­
tive illustrations. Possibly film (dynamic visual presentation
of the various element and module assembly modes).
3) Necessary Hardware
Terminal with printer, and possibly a screen monitor.
Interactive Potential of Computer-aided Visual Research
The dichotomy in current approaches to visual research may
not center solely on the rational versus irrational controversy,
but it is also reflected in the different types of interactions
which are being established with the public.
A spectator, situated in a perfectly engineered, computer-
controlled environment, and bombarded by a flow of unfa­
miliar stimuli, may very well resemble a laboratory rat, since
he is being merely acted upon, and reacts without knowing
Greussay • S Expressions
RATIICR CREustlAT
VINCENNES
Patrick Greussay
S Expressions
s - ivniiion
uj*u 1
CET ARTICLE (ST JH IROCAAPVC, C'UT A US$1 UNE DESCRIPTION,
CEST EAALEWNT UN ENSEMBLE O'AKOAITMMES.
C'ESTAUSSI O'UNE CUTAIHE "ACON UN OU MS MOOCLES.
IE IROCAAMME, OU SA MIRISIMTAT ION VISUCLLE EST UN
OKESVAILEl ('OBSERVE ETAIT UNI HINVSCUU NIECE ROUA PIANO,
('OBSERVABLE 1ST UN ENSEMBLE OS 'OANJLATIONS LlNBUISTlQUES.
SMI S'ASIT O'lM OU DC PLUS1EURS ALtOAlTHICS, ILS NE
what is really happening to him. This goes to show that the HOOJISINT IAS A PROIRIMEST PARLIR OE RESULTATS.ILS SONT.
ER MCKIHE. OAKS IMS NACMIP* IMtlNAItE. COMRM LI NODE LI.
Patrick Greussay, born 1944 in Paris, studied music and phi­
indiscriminate use of technology does not necessarily guar­ losophy at the Sorbonne in Paris from 1962 to 1965. From
EN IAIT, IN OAOINATEUI N'EST HEN 0*AUTRE QU'UN OIRPO-
antee a rational approach, as is quite evident from the present A
SITIF ENONCER OISONS A «£VE» OSS THEORIES
1969 to 1971 he taught at the University of Vincennes, now
state of affairs. On the other hand, in opposition to an exact University of Paris VIII. With Herve Huitric, Jean-Claude
experimental practice, a highly metaphorical articulation of Halgand, Francine and Jacques Dupre, and Jacques Arveil-
facts also does not guarantee aesthetic communication. The ler, Greussay was one of the founders of the Groupe Art et
simple reason for a long series of unsuccessful attempts to Informatique de Vincennes [Vincennes Art and Informat­
activate the spectator lies in the very negligence of the tact ics Group]. The group had already participated in the col­
that it is impossible to communicate in the absence of a com­ loquy "Umjetnost i kompjuteri 71"/"Art and Computers 71,"
mon code uniting the two poles. Interaction in this context which had taken place in Zagreb in 1971.
may simply mean an approach dealing with specific and lo- The document reprinted here was part of the confer­
catable problems (even if hypothetical in nature), which, be­ ence proceedings of the tendencije 5 / tendencies 5 sympo­
sides contemplation and reaction, would also incite compar sium "Racionalno i iracionalno u vizualnim istrazivanjima
ison, selection, and decision-making, or, in short, a creatiu danas" / "The Rational and Irrational in Visual Research
participation. Today. Match of Ideas.
It is with this view in mind that an appropriate answu
can be given to the very relevant and frequently posed que [.tendencije 5 / tendencies 5, 'The Rational and Irrational in
tion of what can be done with a computer that cannc t I Visual Research Today. Match of Ideas," Galerija suvreme-
W'lW ((
done without it. With a computer we can describe and con CCDOAR
ne umjetnosti, Zagreb, June 2, 1973. conference proceed-
(LAMBDA 0.)
municate the organization, structure, and dynamics ol (COM (CM L))» ings, n. p.; translated from the French.]
(CADAR
given message, leaving it open at the same time to differ (LAW A CO
«*• (COM L)»)
interpretations and modifications, or better, only w ith Catch
This article is a program, it is also a description, it is also a set
(LANE) A («E! RAT)
puter can we untie the constructive aspects of an idea ^ "«0e (L IS Bp pj x)
of algorithms.
its material features, and observe and articulate them in INITIALISATION » It is also in a certain way a model or several models.
tSfIL!AL (CONS (CONS NIL
through direct interaction. This is the most importan The program, or its visual representation is an observable-
,AT))
CWOTE (LAMBDA <L> the observed was a tiny piano piece, the observable is a set of
tribution, "the meaning" which the theory of in orm
CNOT CATOH (CAR L))>
and the use of computers have brought to aesthetics, (SET, L fcr° "ON,)>))>>
(SETQ OB RED "T'tt caLTf onem more algorithms, they do not, strictly
for semantics or to try and reduce aesthetics to in it ^
(HT9 .1 CCDR l»I 00IX LE I
speaking, produce results. They are. In the machme. In an
processing is, at least at this stage, somewhat far-feu m (NULL PR)
^CMTLBM),
only invites confusion and misunderstanding. efore,
c^°?,>;eTQ x "j» '"tn'fecLaTompu^Hs nothing but a disposit!/for formulating
By computer-aided visual research we C0U ' |at. rspffJi (CD*« PP) PR)
understand an activity which avails itself of som ^^ (Eft gft or, to put it differently, for dreaming theories.
est scientific and technological developments i ^ ^ ^
f ?so XPi)(5M
achieve aesthetic results; that is, results w IC ^men(0f
' )
rectly instrumental for an active and creative eng^ SEI
the awareness and sensitivity of the public at (m?)7 Cct*
tendencies 5 • Symposium • 1973

MATCHING REUSSI )

REALISATION GRAMMA!RE I
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tendencies 6
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1978
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(SETQ Z)
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Z)))))))))>
 alerija suvremene umjetnosti
f-6 = "Artand Society," Invitation
• June 1978

[Archive MSU Zagreb]

GALHUJA ArVKEMflVB CTHMWUeU

41000 ZAGREB / KATARININ TRC 2,

June 1978.

organising an international meetlt\q in Zagreb, acOordlng t6 the

forner initiative, under the titlet

t - « - ART AKD SOCIETY i October 13 end 14, 1978.

*e are inviting you to participate in this nee ting.

t - 6 will include i

I. a syeposlue with 4 thane• r A, B, C, and D, during 2 days.

II. a publication of statements end of suggestions for the
•yepoalue.

Explanationsi

I. Synpoalue will be held in the fore of open discussions on

four subjects: Participants in the Symposium

Vladimir Bonacic [ Y U ( H R ) ] • Ivan Cizmek

tendencije 6. "Umjetnost i drustvo"
tendencies 6. "Art and Society"
October 13-14,1978
A- Culture and changes in cont smiinrary societies
(Prooe»»«» which ere in course In oonteagmrary societies show-
lD9 • tendency of detaching theeeelves from the centre of
P°"er held by minorities. These processes have their origin
!»> the existing social relatione, they also influence the forms
of huean surroundings.)
B-
g«an aurroundlnoa
(Changes in aociatiea are manifested in cities - the critical
points - in the form of Increasing contrasts between the
centres and the outskirts. Para-urban phenomena occur, as well
M oontraata between "subculture" and the culture of the
'elite'.)
c" -reatlvlty and Personality
(The depth and the character of social changes are related to
• general revision of all production values and of the position
ot the subject within the sphere of creativity. This is
"fleeted in nearly all artistic and "antlartistlc" tendencies
[YU(HR)) • Slavko Dakic [YU (HR)1 • Radovan
D e l a l l e (YU (HR)] • Jerko D e n e g r i (YU (HR/RS)]
• Sreco Dragan ( Y U (Sl)l • Ivan Ladislav
G a l e t a (YU (HR)1 • Tomislav Gotovac [YU (HR)1
• ClaudioGuenzani (IT] • Hans Haacke
IDE] • Zeljko Jerman (YU (HR)1 • Boris
Kelemen [YU <hr>] • Stevan Knezevic (YU
( R S I ] • Zelimir Koscevic [ Y U ( H R ) 1 • Richard
Kriesche (ATI* Fedor Kritovac [YU (HR)] •
Iliopoulou1 • Ugo La Pietra [IT] • Jean-Claude
Marquette (GAIV)(FR1 • Davor Maticevic
(YU (HR)1 • Matko Mestrovic (YU(HR)I •
Antoaneta Pasinovic (YU(HR)l • Zoran Popovu
[YU (RS)1 • Potocka1 • Milan PreloglYU(HR)]
• Radoslav Putar |Y U ( H R ) ] • Mladen Stilinovic
[YU <HR)J • Josip Stosic (YU (HR)1 • Marijan
1
ciiiQnvski IYU (HR)I • Balint Szombathy (YU (RS)l

Symposium , Editorial note: These participants could not be

identified correctly from the archival documents.

Centar za kulturu i informacije [Center for

Culture and Information], Zagreb
532 t e n d e n c i e s 6 • S y m p o s i u m • 1978

D. Media and action

(Contemporary, new media, which have developed in the course

of civilization and with the aid of new technical achievements,

Appendix
offer new patterns for the activities of individuals, groups,
and social communities. These patterns are subject to constant
changes and are usually transformed into instruments for
attaining and retaining interesting positions.)

All the themes are interconnected ahd represent suggestions for

the written, spoken, and otherwise presented texts, communications,
or projects of the participants.

Suggestions for actions, exhibitions, and publications of the

authors are also considered as participation in the symposium.
The participants in the discussions will comment, select, and
propose to the Gallery projects for subsequent realization.

Discussions will bo translated into the English, Italian, German,

and Serbocroat languages. The Gallery is prepared to pay 200 dinars
per typed page (1800 signs) for texts accepted for publication.
Participation in the Symposium is free of charge. All registered
participants are entitled to taJe part in the discussions.

The Gallery will carry the costs for travel and accommodation only
for invited guests non-residents of Zagreb.

We request all participants to register until September 15, 1978.

If participants wish us to make hotel reservations for them,
please let us know so that we can make the neccessary arrangements.

Registration and informations GALERIJA SUVREMENF. UMJETNOSTI

Katarinin trg 2
41000 ZAGREB
YUGOSLAVIA

E d i t o r i a l n o t e : T h e s y m p o s i u m tendencije 6 " U m j e t n o s t i d r u s t v o /
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti tendencies 6. " A r t a n d S o c i e t y " a t t h e C e n t a r z a k u l t u r u i i n f o r m a c i j e
t-6 = " A r t a n d S o c i e t y , " i n v i t a t i o n [Center for Culture and Information], Zagreb, was organized by the
June 1978 Galerija suvremene umjetnosti (Gallery of Contemporary Art], Zagreb.
534 Appendix
Susann Scholl and Margit Rosen
The International Artists' Movement
New Tendencies in Zagreb
A Timeline
Summer i960
Almir Mavignier, a Brazilian artist living in Ulm, spends a
few days in Zagreb on his way from Venice, where he had
seen the Biennale, to Egypt. He stays with the painter Frano
Simunovic, who introduces him to Ivan Picelj. Picelj intro­
duces Mavignier to the art critic Matko Mestrovic. Picelj and
Mestrovic take Mavignier to a podium discussion at the Za­
greb art academy about the latest Venice Biennale. In the
course of this evening, Mavignier is asked if he has discov­
ered any hitherto unknown artistic movement there. He de­
nies and proposes to organize an exhibition which presents
his perspective on the current situation of contemporary art.
February 24,1961
Mavignier sends Mestrovic a list of artists for the projected
exhibition.1 The list consists of 27 artists from Germany, Italy,
France, Switzerland, Austria, and Brazil.
Mavignier draws on an extensive network, which he had
developed since his arrival in Europe in 1951. He had been a
friend of Francois Morellet, a co-founder of the Groupe de
Recherche d'Art Visuel [Visual Art Research Group] (GRAV),
since their encounter in Rio de Janeiro in 1950, and he had
been introduced to Piero Dorazio through Martin Krampen
in Rome around 1954. As of 1958, Mavignier exhibits with
ZERO, and as of 1959 with Azimut, through which he also
meets the Italian Gruppo N. Contact with the students of
Ernst Geitlinger's class at the Akademie der Bildenden Kiins-
te Munchen [Academy of Fine Arts Munich] is established
through Herbert Oehm, a student at the Hochschule fur Ge-
staltung Ulm [Ulm School of Design] (HfG), who had studied
under Geitlinger.
14 of the artists, including Mavignier, had participated in
the exhibition konkrete kunst [Concrete Art]2, which Mavig­
nier s teacher Max Bill had curated in Zurich in i960.
March 2,1961
Mestrovic, with whom Mavignier had discussed this idea,
succeeds in involving Bozo Bek, the director of the Gradska
galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Municipal Gallery of Con­
temporary Art], in the project. Mestrovic informs Mavignier:
"We agree to present an exhibition of the young international
vanguard and to entrust to you the choice of participants.1
April 19,1961
Bek sends a letter to Mavignier, in which he confirms the
agreement personally and defines the task in greater detail:
"Mr. A. Mavignier will bring together for this exhibition art­
ists, who in his opinion form an international group, and
who are distinguished by works of authenticity and evident
quality. The aim of the exhibition is to introduce to the Yu­
goslavian public the new problems which occupy the art
ists who represent today what could be called tomorrow tin
avant-garde."4
April 20,1961 .
Bek invites the artists to participate in the exhibition. He an
nounces the exhibition under the title Art Concret [ConcrtU
Art].
May 13,1961 t ,8,t e'dea comes up to establish the project in the form of
Mavignier suggests the title Avant-garde 1961 to Bozo
May/June 1961 , ^a.
The Gradska galerija suvremene umjetnosti is rename -
lerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery ot Conttmpor ry
It is now part of the Galerije grada Zagreba a Tend
the City of Zagreb. It also comprises the Galen,a pfl®»
umjetnosti [Gallery of Primitive Art], Galerija Ben 0
and Atelijer Mestrovic.
June 8,1961 pnt title ofthe
Bozo Bek suggests two alternatives to the curr ^ ^ ^
exhibition, Avant-garde, to Mestrovic, who 's «n .jished
time: "Kunstwerk for April and May (no. 10 n 1 _^n(jenzen'
an article by Alexander Leisberg entitled e w.j|| be repi*"
[New Tendencies]. It mentions the names t at"
exhibi-
sented in our exhibition as well. I suggest t w7
_ iM-... TnnrPOtS-
Scholl/Rosen • Timeline
Bek probably doesn't know that Alexander Leisberg is the April 4,1962
pseudonym of Klaus Jurgen-Fischer. In 1959, Jurgen-Fischer
GRAV group exhibition L'lnstabilite [Instability] in the Mai-
organized the exhibition Stringenz. Nuove tendenze tedesche
son des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The catalog contains the pro­
[New German Tendencies], in the Galleria Pagani del Grat- grammatic text Nouvelle Tendance" [New Tendency] and a
tacielo in Milan. In the article, Leisberg mentions the exhibi­
new list of representative artists. The following people were
tion itself only implicitly without indicating the title.8 added to the list that was sent in January: as "intern" of GRAV
[-] Durante, the Italian Ennio Chiggio, the Spanish group
July 5.1961 Equipo 57, and the Dutch ZERO artist Armando.13
In a letter addressed to Mestrovic, written in French, Mavig­
nier suggests replacing the title Avantgarde with Nouvelles May 1962
Directions [New Directions] or Nouvelles Tendances [New Exhibition arte programmata. arte cinetica, opere moltiplicate,
Tendencies].' In his essay "nove tendencije 1 - A Surprising opera aperta [Programmed Art. Kinetic Art, Multiplied Works,
Coincidence," published in the catalog tendencije 4, Mavig­ Open Work] in the offices of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele,
nier retrospectively explains this choice of title: "As the ex­ Milan. The works exhibited are by Gruppo T, Gruppo N,
hibition's title, I suggested 'Neue Tendenzen' [New Tenden­ Enzo Mari, and Bruno Munari. The exhibition then tours to
cies]. This title came from the exhibition Stringenz. Nuove Venice, Rome, and Diisseldorf; in Venice, Rome, and Diissel-
tendenze tedesche, which had taken place in 1959 at the Galle­ dorf also works by Getulio Alviani are presented. GRAV par­
ria Pagani."10 Mavignier had participated in this exhibition. ticipates only in the Venice and Rome venues.
August 3 -September 14,1961 November 1,1962
nove tendencije [New Tendencies] exhibition in the Gale­ Bek, Mestrovic and Putar send out a letter of invitation for
rija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb. The exhibition features artists to participate in the exhibition nove tendencije 2 which
eleven artists from Germany, eight from Italy, four from Swit­ was announced for May 1963.14
zerland, two from France, one from Argentina who lives in
France, one from Austria, and two from Yugoslavia. November 3,1962
The Brazilian artists suggested by Mavignier - Aluisio Meeting of the New Tendencies in the GRAV studio in Paris.
Canao, Lygia Clark, Waldemar Cordeiro, Lygia Pape, Ivan
erpa, and Franz Weissmann - are not represented. Also January 1963
an Bauermeister, Antonio Calderara, Yves Klein, Jesus Ra- During a meeting in Paris, it is decided to include the term
"research" in the title ofthe movement. It is now called Nou­
ae Soto, Jean Tinguely, and Mary Vieira are not included.
The poster and the catalog are designed by Ivan Picelj velle Tendance - recherche continuelle (New Tendency -
continuous research] (N.T.r.c.)." This new name is often un­
^ 0 will be responsible for the design of all forthcoming
derstood as the founding moment ofthe New Tendencies as
ewTendencies events in Zagreb. After the exhibition open-
an artists' movement." As the change in the name ,s not ac­
a biennale." cepted by everyone and the title does not generally become
established, it can also be seen as a further stage m the at­
January 19, ,96z tempt to form a homogeneous movement.
numbenC'13rt'St ®r°UP GRAV sends a first circular letter to a
whos;
ro New Tendencies artists. It contains a list of artists,
TiuTinters critical comments on abstract art at the VI, Con­
^ See" 3S con^orm'ng to tbe spirit of the New
gress ofthe National Youth of Yugoslav,a.
ipatjnencymovernent.u The list is different to the list of partic-
^nnio^Ch'StS'^e ex^'^'l'on nove tendencije: Marc Adrian,
(anuary/March ^ ^ ^^ ^ been a[ready jn.
Oehm ^ndreas Christen, Piero Manzoni, Herbert
°fthe nf ^arce' Wyss do not appear. New names are those IdTndinforms them about the cancellation ofthe exhibi-
brjno and
V members Horacio Garcia Rossi, Francisco So-
tion.18
^stsc" /Vara'" ®tber new additions are the Argentinean
Mirand ^ °S Cairo,i' HuS° R°dolfo Demarco, Hector Garcia
April 26,1963 exhibition Oltre la pittura. Oltre
Enzo M ^ ^U'S ^omasebo» and from Italy Gruppo T and
At the Galleria Ca , > fRpvond Painting.
from Mu1 ^ere's a'so Klaus Staudt of the Geitlinger class
'"
' I
n'ch and Dutch
- ZERO
- r- - T artists Henk -Peeters
MI HUiO 1 —— and
^"sama a°"|l0ven- GRAV also puts the Japanese artist Yayoi
'he American artist Richard Lippold on the list.
Appendix
Bussola in Turin. Together with numerous artists that were
exhibited in Zagreb, or listed by GRAV, now Dadamaino, Nar-
ciso Debourg, and Carlos Cruz-Diez also show their works.
May 25,1963
Bek, Mestrovic and Putar send out another letter of invita­
tion for artists to participate in the exhibition nove tendencije
2, now scheduled for August; "We are pleased to inform you
that we are again in condition to take up again the work to or­
ganize the exhibition Nouvelles tendances 11° that, as a result of
unexpected difficulties, has been postponed."19
June 1963
During the preparations for the nove tendencije 2 [New Ten­
dencies 2] exhibition, there is intense discussion of the works
by the ZERO artists: Giinther Uecker is requested by the
Croatian curators to send in works "that are conceived after
the manner of the N. T.," and that "are not of a neo-dadaist
character."20 herman de vries, who is associated with the
Dutch group Nul, is informed that his works are not accepted
for the 1963 exhibition: "The committee mentioned found
that the character of the works transcend by far the bounda­
ries of the N.T. program and requests you to not send off the
planned consignment."21
August 1 - September 15,1963
Exhibition nove tendencije 2 in the Galerija suvremene umjet-
nosti, Zagreb. On this occasion, the person responsible for fi­
nalizing the lists of artists is Matko Mestrovic. The exhibition
features 58 artists, twice as many as the first exhibition. More
Yugoslavian artists are now represented: in addition to Jul-
ije Knifer and Ivan Picelj, works by Vojin Bakic, Vlado Kristl,
Vjenceslav Richter, Aleksandar Srnec, and Miroslav Sutej
are presented.
After the opening, a meeting takes place at which ques­
tions concerning the goals and the organizational struc­
ture of the movement are discussed. The participants are
Getulio Alviani, Enrico Castellani, Gerhard von Graeven-
itz, Dieter Hacker, Enzo Mari, Henk Peeters, Ivan Picelj, and
Klaus Staudt, the representatives of GRAV Julio Le Pare and
Francois Morellet, of Gruppo N Alberto Biasi, Toni Costa,
Edoardo Landi, and Manfredo Massironi, and of Gruppo T
Giovanni Anceschi, Davide Boriani, Gianni Colombo, plus
the Croatian art critics Matko Mestrovic and Radoslav Putar.
Although there was not an official founding, the major­
ity of the people involved now views the New Tendencies as
a movement.22
August/September 1963
Soon after the meeting, three papers are sent off, which sum­
marize the results of the discussions: the Bulletin No. 1, the
document Nouvelle Tendance - recherche continuelle. Evolution
de sa composition [New Tendency - Continuous Research.
Evolution of Its Composition], and Proposition pour un re-
glement de la N.T. [Proposition for a Regulation for N.T.], au­
thored by Gerhard von Graevenitz.23
Apart from content and organizational aspects, the bulle­
tin also contains a list of sixteen artists, who were excluded
from the New Tendencies by a majority decision of the artists
and theorists who were present. Ultimately, the decisions are
not realized, though nine of these artists take part in the sub­
sequent exhibitions. The bulletin announces that as of now,
four coordinators will take care of a certain number of mem­
ber countries: von Graevenitz (Germany, England, Austria),
Le Pare (France, Netherlands, Spain), Mari (Italy and Swit­
zerland), and Mestrovic (Yugoslavia).24
September 2,1963
Also on behalf of Alviani, Castellani, Gruppo N, and Gruppo
T, Mari writes a letter to Le Pare, Mestrovic, and von Grae­
venitz in protest about the bulletin: "Even if what is writ­
ten in the material could seem to be the result of the joint
meetings in Zagreb, in reality the discussion was very hur­
ried. [...] In addition, the theoretical writings of a particular
group were imposed as a point of departure, and therefore
reflect the thoughts of everyone in a very incomplete way.
Mari demands the involvement of all members and groups
in a new discussion about the program and about the exdu
sion of artists.
September 3,1963
Le Pare informs the coordinators Mari, Mestrovic, and \on
Graevenitz that the New Tendencies have been invited by
Michel Fare, director of the Musee des Arts Decoratif
Paris, to host an exhibition: "[GRAV] succeeded in trans or
ming an invitation to the group [GRAV] into an in\itatic
N.T. - recherche continuelle."26
September 4,1963 .,
In a letter to Biasi, Chiggio, Landi, and Massironi, on ^
criticizes on behalf of Gruppo T the absence of a o
vote on the documents and the inordinate influence 0^
although he is mostly in agreement with the conten
September 18,1963
In a letter to Boriani and Gruppo T, Gruppo N a soe ^
the desire that the bulletin be correcte , nrs 0fthe
that its members agree with "the programmatic po ^ Eye'"37
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel and therefore |.~
favor of the publication."28
November 4,1963 . , MuSee des
The exhibition of the New Tendencies a ^
... . , • which was seeu>
Scholl/Rosen • Timeline
GRAV, necessitates that the arguments In* settled. On No­ June 20 - October 18, 1964
vember 4, 1963, GRAV sends a circular letter to all members
Alviani, Castellani, Mari, Gruppo N, and Gruppo T take
(also to those excluded from the movement and those inter­
part in the 32' Venice Biennale. In so doing, they exhibit in
ested in it) which declares the solution of the problems as a
the same institutional context from which Mavignier and
matter of urgency and convenes a general assembly.1* Mestrovic wanted to dissociate themselves three years previ­
ously by organizing the exhibition nove tendencije.
December 12,1963
As a reaction to the three documents, Mavignier sends an June 27 - October 5, 1964
open letter of protest via Bek "to the artists of the exhibition Some of the New Tendencies artists exhibit their work at
nove tendencije in Zagreb, to the an critics interested in this the documenta III in Kassel, which was curated by Arnold
movement, to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, for its informa­ Bode: Piero Dorazio, Karl Gerstner, Almir Mavignier; Heinz
tion": "We are at a decisive moment. If the N.T. [New Tenden­ Mack, Otto Piene, and Giinther Uecker; Julio Le Pare, Hora-
cies] are going to evolve in the direction of a syndicate.' as in cio Garcia Rossi, Francois Morellet, Francisco Sobrino, Joel
the Paris bulletin, I will be obliged to cease every form of col­ Stein, and Yvaral.
laboration with N.T.rx."**
Mavignier did not participate in the exhibitions Proposi­ July 1964 - July 1966
tions insuelles du mouirment international Nouirlle Tendance The touring exhibition Arte Programmata. Kinetic Art is pre­
[Visual Propositions of the International Movement New sented by the Smithsonian Institution at twelve institutions
Tendency] in Paris and nova tendena/a j (New Tendency 3] all over the USA.
in Zagreb.
November 1964
November/December 1963 The organization committee for nova tendencija 3 consists of
The artists who will participate in the exhibition at the Musee six Croatian members - the art historians Bozo Bek, Matko
des Arts Decoratifs are determined by ballot. All members MeStrovic, Zdenka Munk, Radoslav Putar, Boris Kelemen,
recehe a ballot paper based on the list of the Bulletin No. 1 by the artist Vjenceslav Richter - and the Italian artist Enzo
post. Artists who get less than thirteen votes are not automat­ Mari. For the next scheduled New Tendencies exhibition,
ically accepted, but have to be discussed." the organizers explicitly announce a theme and a competi­
tion for the first time. The announcement poses the question
December '4.1963 - January 15,1964 as to the effective dissemination of the results of artistic re­
search Mari, who formulates the announcement, treats the
"nova tendenza 2 [New Tendency 2), exhibition in the Fon-
subject under the aspect of the multiple." Within the New
az'one Querini Stampalia, Venice. The exhibition, which
Tendencies, this subject is not new. In the timeline of exhi­
'raveled to Venice at the initiative of Gruppo N, is augmented
bitions related or relevant to New Tendencies themes pub­
Wlt Hor'(s Andreas Christen and Walter Leblai
inc.
lished in the catalog, there are several references to Dame
January i7-,9,1964 Spoerri's Edition MAT (Multiplication d'Art Transformable)
eneral assembly of the New Tendencies in the M usee des which he founded in 1958.34
The theme of the competition is: "Project for the serial
'n Paris. The members designate Joel Stein
production of an example of research in visual percept,on.
«««*«•. between the New Tendencies and the mu-
Karl Gerstner is commissioned to work on the catalog.32
February 23 - Ap"'Art York, the exhibition
jn New
March
neu '3-May
"v 3,
J» ,964
1904
The L"e Eye. which is curated by William C. Seitz,
sche le"^enzen 'New Tendencies), exhibition in the Stadti- , __e 36 It provides the occasion to name a new
Morcb USeUni ^un'c'Pal Museum) Leverkusen Schloss °PenS f art a pre-report on the exhibition in Time magazine
sud I r°1Ck e*bibition nuova tendenza 2 from Venice is f^ctober .964 is "tied "Op Art. Pictures That Attack the
^'nhard"'^ WOr^S ^ P'ans"loacbim Bleckert and Ad
, 1 , nf the European artists, Seitz is ad-
• Tb '"wo people who know modern geometrical abstrac-
*!ri,,Hune,',*4 V' dThe New Tendencies very well: the artts, George
tion and the iNtw _ , f Pans who rep-
^"ce TvW'SUe"W mouifement international Nouvelle Een-
houvreP ' 't'°n ^us*e des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du
fbrtheV-"011 ^ Marsan' Paris- Included in the exhibition
fltTWX f> M • a. I • A
Appendix
had exhibited in the context of the New Tendencies.40 In the
exhibition catalog Seitz writes: "Many of the younger Euro­
pean artists in the exhibition have shown with the Nouvelle
Tendance [...] Although the members have no common pro­
gram they share a desire to sweep away the mystery and sa­
cred separateness that was the atmosphere of lyrical and ta-
chist abstract art, striving only to 'permit a confrontation
with visual situations.'"41
Some artists react skeptically to the public success of the
exhibition. "The Responsive Eye was a serious exhibition but
its qualities were obscured by an explosion of commercial­
ism, band-wagoning and hysterical sensationalism [...],"42
notes Bridget Riley in 1965.
August 13 - October 3,1965
nova tendencija 3, exhibition in the Galerija suvremene umjet-
nosti and the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt [Museum for Arts
and Crafts], Zagreb. This is the first exhibition that is not
put together by New Tendencies artists, but in Zagreb and
mostly by theorists.
Already in Italy the title of the exhibition used the singu­
lar, without explaining why it had been changed: nuova ten-
denza 2. The switch to the singular for the third exhibition in
Zagreb is explained in the exhibition catalog: "The singular
form of the name nova tendencija 3 has replaced the previous
plural form because of the striving towards the conceptual
concentration of intentions and common goals."43
Compared to the nove tendencije 2 exhibition, the number
of participants doubles again. For the first time, artists from
the USA and from Eastern European countries, from the So­
viet Union and Poland, also take part.
The exhibition presents optical and kinetic works, but
there are also works by seven artists, which stand out from
the geometrical-abstract canon of the New Tendencies with
figurative elements and organic forms.44
For the competition call for a project on the serial produc­
tion of an example of research in visual perception, 22 artists
and artist groups submit 29 contributions. The jury selects
the light object Un instrument visuel [A Visual Instrument]
(1965) by the French artist Michel Fadat.
August 18,1965
At the meeting in Brezovica after the opening of the exhibi­
tion, the crisis within the New Tendencies is discussed: the
points criticized are the repetitive approaches and the lack of
quality of the "research."45 Abraham A. Moles points out the
significance of information theory and the collaboration be­
tween artists and scientists.
December 1967
The minutes of a preparatory meeting for the next New Ten­
dencies exhibition in Zagreb shows that there is a re-orien­
tation of the New Tendencies: computer art is taken up as a
new theme, and physicists, mathematicians, and electronic
engineers are to be contacted.
April 1968
In Program Information i46, the organizers announce four ex­
hibitions for August 1968 under the title tendencije 41 tenden­
cies 4: a retrospective, an exhibition on computers and visual
research, a didactic exhibition about computer technology, a
conference about computers and visual research, and an ex­
hibition with literature on the subject.
Program Information 247 announces the event tendencies4-
now using the plural - and informs about the composition of
the organization committee: eight Croatian theorists, artists,
and scientists, and the French philosopher and physicist Ab­
raham A. Moles.
The organizers also announce that the first issue of the
magazine bit international will be published for the confer­
ence tendencije 4. "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja I tenden­
cies 4. "Computers and Visual Research."
June 1968
In Program Information 6 48, an expanded program is an
nounced: in August, a preparatory colloquy titled Kompju
teri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and Visual Research
will take place as first event of tendencies 4. The exhibitions
and the symposium are postponed until May 1969- 'n •Ul1'
tion to the retrospective, the exhibition tendencies 4 will now
show new works. First mention is made of the hosting ot
competition in the field of computers and visual research.
August 2-8,1968
Information exhibition accompanying the colloquy
pjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" / "Computers and V isua
search" in the Centar za kulturu i informacije [Center
Culture and Information], Zagreb.
August 3-4,1968
tendencije4- "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivan)a • err
"Computers and Visual Research," colloquy in the
kulturu i informacije.
The first issue of the magazine bit intemationa i-
lished.49 It is designed by Ivan Picelj.
August 4,1968 Catez the concept
At a meeting of the organization board -tra-ivmp
for the exhibition tendencije 4. kompjuteri 1 vizue nai ^
tendencies 4. computers and visual research an t e
competition is worked out.
November 1968 ... wjth a
Program Information 950 announces the ex 1
rospeuivc
singular again - under the Croatian name nova tendencija 4
[New Tendency 4].
Program Information to*' contains the public announce­
ment of the competition 'Kompjuteri i vizuelna istraiivanja"/
"Computers and Visual Research."
bit international 2 and bit international i are published."
January 10-12,1969
Information seminar on computers and sisu.il research in
the Centar za kulturu i informacije. Zagreb. An exhibition of
books on the subject accompanies the seminar.
May 5-June )o, 1969
tendencije 4. noir tendencije 4 / tendencies 4. new tendencies 4,
exhibition in the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt. It includes the
sections retrospektiva ntt-ntf / retrospective ntt-nt J and nt4 -
recentniprimjen vizuelnih istraiivan/a / nt4 recent examples of
visual research.
May5-August jo. 1969
tendencije 4. kompjuteri i vizuelna istraiivanja / tendencies 4.
computers and visual research, exhibition at the Galerije su-
vremene umjetnosti. Almost half of all of the contributions
are of North American origin. The majority of participants
are mathematicians, physicists, or engineers. Only Marc
Adrian, Waldemar Cordeiro. and Zden*k Syk ora had shown
«exhibitions of the New Tendencies before.
May 5-6,1969
1'
tcndencije4. Kompjuteri i vizuelna istraiivanja" / tendencies 4.
omputersand Visual Research," symposium at the Radni-
sveuffliSte MoSa Pijade (Workers' University MoSa Pi
c 0
WH Zagreb.
May 6-24,1969
.
bitie"C''e^ '1'^0e2''a ^ tendencies 4. typoezija (Typoetry), exhi-
n at the Galerija Studentskog centra (Student's Gallery
l ^ter], Zagreb.
August 30.1969
rinth''?18*'^ Plications and books related to tendencije
,ion 1 p mernaciona,na stalna izloiba publikacija (Interna-
ermanent Exhibition of Publications] (ISIP).
May 1969
fonh publishes the decision of the jury
s
taff of^e,i,ion "Computers and Visual Research.' I he
ret-
Bell Tel ^'°mPu,er Graphics and the scientists of the
P °ne Laboratories receive special mentions. The
Scholl/Rosen • Timeline
- —> "unaii, ivjgcuiei wiin
Gottfried Schlemmer and Horst Wegscheider, and the group
Compos 68.
1969
hit international 4. dizajn / design and bit international 5/6. osli-
kovljena rijeC. konkretna poezija / the word image, poesie concrete
are published.
September 15 - October 1,1969
Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja - izbor djela izfundusa Galerije
suvremene umjetnosti (Computers and Visual Research - Se­
lection of'Works from the Gallery of Contemporary Art Col­
lection], exhibition in the Likovna galerija Kulturnog centra
[Art Gallery of the Cultural Center] in Belgrade.
December 17,1970 - [-]
kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja [Computers and Visual Re­
search], exhibition at the Radnicko sveuciliste Mosa Pijade
organized by the Ruder Boskovic Institute and the Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti on the occasion ot the institute's twen­
tieth anniversary.
July 8, 1971- September 5,1971
Neue Tendenz. 10 Kunstleraus Zagreb, exhibition Burgermeister
Ludwig-Reichert-Haus Ludwigshafen.
The exhibition, curated by Boris Kelemen, would travel
to Stadtische Kunsthalle Recklinghausen and Stadtische Ga-
lerie Schloss Oberhausen.
It presents under the brand of the New Tendencies seven
Yugoslavian artists who participated in the New Tendencies,
as well as three artists who have not."
"Umjetnost Tkompjuteri 7." / "Art and Computers 7C collo­
quy at the Radnicko sveuciliSte Mosa Pijade, Zagreb. Accom
panying the colloquy is a presentation of works by partici­
pants of the conference in the Galerija suvremene umjetnost.,
tZZ'Zal ,dijaioc, sa strofem /dialogue unth ,he machine
is published.
1972 „ ,i c/q televizija danas: televizija i kultura - jezik
54° Appendix
March 17 - April 29 1973
De consequenties van de machine: Dertien Joegoslavische kunste-
naars [The Consequences of the Machine: Thirteen Yugoslav
Artists], exhibition at the Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen,
Rotterdam
The exhibition, curated by Dimitrije Basicevic, showed a
selection of Yugoslavian artists who, with one exception, had
exhibited within the New Tendencies context. It comprised
both work generated by computer and unrelated to it. 55
June 1 - July 1,1973
tendencije 5 / tendencies 5, exhibition at the Tehnicki muzej
[Technical Museum] Zagreb. The exhibition has three sec­
tions: konstruktivna vizuelna istrazivanja / constructive visual
research, kompjuterska vizuelna istrazivanja / computer visual
research, and konceptualna umjetnost /conceptual art. The over­
all theme is: "The Rational and the Irrational in Visual Re­
search.In the section constructive visual research, works by
Victor Vasarely and Jesus Rafael Soto are shown for the first
time. The two artists are considered as the founders of post­
war Kinetic art.
For the selection of the artists for the section computer vi­
sual research, the Galerija suvremene umjetnosti has Herbert
W. Franke as their advisor.
In the section conceptual art, protagonists from the USA and
Western Europe are presented together with a large number
of Yugoslav and Hungarian conceptual artists. The part of the
section, entitled Canvas is curated by Nena Dimitrijevic. A
significant number of the artists in the show were already ex­
hibited by Nena and Braco Dimitrijevic in the conceptual art
group exhibition At the Moment in Zagreb in 1971.56
In the tendencije 5 /tendencies 5 exhibition only fourteen of
the artists had participated in the exhibitions up to 1965.
August 8,1977
For September 26 through October 1,1977, the Galerije grada
Zagreba announces tendencije 6 /tendencies 6 (t-6). Under the
title "Umjetnost i drustvo" / "Art and Society," a symposium
and an exhibition are to take place. The symposium and
the exhibition will engage with the following subjects: "Cul­
ture and Changes in Contemporary Societies," "Human Sur­
roundings," "Creativity and Personality," and "Media and Ac­
tion." The event is postponed.
October 13-15,1978
tendencije 6. "Umjetnost i drustvo" / tendencies 6. "Art and
Society, conference in the Centar za kulturu i informac-
ije, Zagreb. The projected exhibition does not take place. It
is the last event that operates under the name of the New
Tendencies.
Scholl/Rosen • Timeline
27 See: Davide Boriani, letter to Alberto Biasi, Ennio Chiggio, Edoardo Landi,
and Manfredo Massironi, September 4, 1963, Archive Alberto Biasi, in:
1 See: Almir Mavignier, letter to Susann Scholl, December 2,2008. Zagreb; this volume, p. 368.
Hillings 2002. pp. 518-521.
2 konkrete kunst. 50 jahre entwicklung, exhib. cat., Helmhaus, Zurich, 1960. 54 Vojin Bakic, Juraj Dobrovic, Julije Knifer, Ivan Picelj, Vjenceslav Richter,
28 Gruppo N, letter to Davide Boriani and Gruppo T, September 18, 1963,
See: Almir Mavignier, letter to Matko Mestrovic, February 24,1961, Archive Aleksandar Srnec, Miroslav Sutej and Mladen Galic, Ante Kuduz, and Ljerka
MSU Zagreb; translated from the French; this volume, p. 59.
Archive Alberto Biasi, quoted after Hillings 2002, pp. 521.
Sibenik. Galic, Kuduz, and Sibenik never participated in any New Tendencies
29 See:GRAV, Communication et convocation d'assemblee generate concernant
3 Matko MeStrovic, Letter to Almir Mavignier, March 2,1961, Archive Almir exhibition. See: Neue Tendenz: 10 Kunstler aus Zagreb, exhib. cat Stadtische
la Nouvelle Tendance - recherche continueile, circular letter to all members Kunstsammlungen, Ludwigshafen 1971.
Mavignier. Translated from the Italian
of the New Tendencies, November 4, 1963, Archive MSU Zagreb.
4 See: Bozo Bek, letter to Almir Mavignier, April 19,1961, Archive Almir 55 The show exhibited: Vojin Bakic, Vladimir Bonacic, Radomir DamnjanoviZ-
Mavignier.
30 Almir Mavignier, open letter, December 12, 1963, Archive MSU Zagreb; Damnjan, Juraj Dobrovic, Julije Knifer, Vlado Kristl, Peter Milojevii,
translated from the French.
5 See: Bozo Bek, letter of invitation to the artists, April 20,1961, Archive Koloman Novak, Ivan Picelj, Zoran Radovic, Vjenceslav Richter, Aleksandar
31 See: Enzo Mari, letter to Gruppo N, Gruppo T, Getulio Al viani, Andreas Srnec, and Edward Zajec. See: De consequenties van de machine: dertien
MSU Zagreb.
Christen, and Karl Gerstner, January 7, 1964, Archive Alberto Biasi, quoted Joegoslavische kunstenaars, exhib. broch, Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen,
6 See: Almir Mavignier, letter to Bozo Bek, May 13, 1961, Archive MSU Zagreb.
7 Bozo Bek, letter to Matko Mestrovic, June 8,1961, Estate Boio Bek; translated
after Hillings 2002, p. 530; see also: untitled document (ballot) ("A renvoyer Rotterdam, 1971
parexpres au groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel"), n. d.. Archive Julio Le Pare. 56 On April 23, 1971, Nena and Braco Dimitrijevic organized the Conceptual art
from the Croatian. The document was discovered by Marija Gattin.
32 See: Karl Gerstner, "Exposition nouvelle tendance, musee des arts decoratifs. group At the Moment in the entrance hall of an apartment building at
8 See: Alexander Leisberg, "Neue Tendenzen", in: Das Kunstwerk 10/11, no. XIV,
Catalogue," letter to the members of the New Tendencies, n. d., Archive Frankopanska 2 in Zagreb. Artist as Giovanni Anselmo, Daniel Burcn, Victor
April/May 1961, pp. 3-34; Stringenz. Nuove tenderize tedesche, exhib. cat,
Galleria Pagani del Grattacielo, Milan, 1959.
MSU Zagreb. Burgin, Barry Flanagan, Douglas Huebler, Jannis Kounellis, John Latham, Sol
33 See: "Divulgation des exemplaires de recherches," typescript, November 1964, LeWitt, OHO Group, and Goran Trbuljak participated, and exhibited at
9 See: Almir Mavignier, letter to Matko Mestrovic, July 5,1961, Archive MSU
Archive MSU Zagreb; in: nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., international version, tendencije 5 later.
Zagreb; translated from the French.
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, pp. 5-9,
10 Almir Mavignier, "nove tendencije I - slucaj koji iznenaduje"/"neuetendenzeal
- ein iiberraschender zufall," in: tendencije 4, exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene
34 The Edition published in 1958 contained works by Yaacov Agam, Josef Albers,
Pol Bury, Marcel Duchamp, Karl Gerstner, Heinz Mack, Man Ray, Bruno
umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970, n. p.; translated from the German; this volume, p. J4-1
Munari, Dieter Roth, Jesus Rafael Soto, Jean Tinguely, and Victor Vasarely.
11 See: Jerko Denegri, "Die Bedingungen und Umstande, die den ersten
35 Divulgacija primjeraka istraiivanja," in: nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., Galerija
Ausstellungen der Nove Tendencije in Zagreb [1961-1963] vorausgingen. in
Peter Weibel and Margit Rosen (eds.), bit international. /Novel tendencije-
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb. 1965, p. 7; translation from the Croatian.
3' The next stations of the exhibition were the City Art Museum of St. Louis, MO
Computer und visuelle Forschung. Zagreb 1961-1973, exhib. brochure, Neue
(May 20-June 20,1965), the Seattle Art Museum, WA (July 15 - August 23,
Galerie Graz, 2007, ZKM | Karlsruhe, 2008, p. 15.
"65), the Pasadena Art Museum, CA (September 25 - November 7, 1965), and
12 See: Valerie L. Hillings, Experimental Artists'Groups in Europe, 1951-1968.
Abstraction, Interaction and Internationalism, Ph.D. thesis, New )ork Unbersitv
the Baltimore Museum ofArt.MD (December 14. 1965 - January 23. 1966).
1 Ion Borgzinner, "Op Art. Pictures That Attack the Eye," in: Time, October 23,
New York, NY, 2002, University Microfilms International. Ann Arbor, Ml,
"64, pp. 78-86.
2002, plate 4.1.
S<e.George Rickey, "The New Tendency (Nouvelle Tendance - Recherche
13 See: Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel, "Nouvelle Tendance,"in: Galerie
Denise Rene and GRAV (eds.), Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel, Pans 1962, M
Con,lnuclle),"in: The Art Journal, vol. 23, no. 4. 1964, pp. 272-279.
fe William C. Seitz, "Acknowledgments," in: William C. Seitz (ed.) The
exhib. brochure on the occasion of the exhibition L'lnstabilite, Maison de*
w "mive EUe- "hib. cat.. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1965, n. p.
Beaux-Arts, Paris, April 1962, n. p.
^r group Equipo 57 was just a single entry. In the case of the others, the
14 Bozo Bek, Matko Mestrovic, Radoslav Putar, Letter, November I, I""-'
Archive MSU Zagreb.
M'a °8 'lsle<1 ,he gr°ups under their names as well as the names of the
individual members.
15 See: Hillings 2002, p. 497. 41 s«'«z 1965, p. 41.
16 See: George Rickey, "The New Tendency (Nouvelle Tendance - Re>
^ get Riley, Perception Is the Medium," 1965, quoted after Dave Hickey,
Continue!le),"in: Art Journal, vol. 23, no. 4, 1964, p. 275; Valerie L. Hi 1 g
"Die Geografie der Zusammenarbeit," in: ZERO. Internationale Pen 116 ° Ste W'13t We Never Know" in Joe Houston (ed.). Optic Nerve.
OH exhib. cat., Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus,
Avantgarde der 50er/60er Jahre, exhib. cat., museum kunst palast, DUSM
Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern, 2006, p. 77. ^ . 43 n o , , , "PUbliSherS' L ° n d ° n ' N e w Y o r k - 2 0 0 7 • P" " •
17 Denegri 2008, p. 13, and Wounds. Between Democracy and ReJemrt: dencija 3, exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965,
Contemporary Art, exhib. cat., Moderna Museet, Stockholm. I" • P '
^translated from the Croatian.
liven 'Ulicd '^e Artists Dieter Roth und Henk Peeters, as well as the
18 Hillings 2002, p. 506, see a l s o M a t k o Mestrovic, Letter to )u 10
17, 1963, Archive Julio Le Pare, Cachan. ^ ^ Ivanho Par,'C'pan,s Waldemar Cordeiro, Tom Hudson, Edward Krasinski,
19 Bozo Bek, Matko MeStrovic, Radoslav Putar, Letter, Ma\ 23. 'wdenci' r'VU'Z'°' a"<' ^m"'0 Vedova; see: exhibits nos. 58-64, in: nova
MSU Zagreb, translated from the French. ^ 2agreb
45 Sfe' Mad/ eXb'b Ca'' Galeri'a suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, n. p.
20 Radoslav Putar, letter to Giinther Uecker, June 23, 1963, Aa t>tv~ Mstanl °M"'rov^and Radoslav Putar, "18. 8. 1965. u Brezoviciradni
Boris Kelemen, letter to Giinther Uecker, June 25, 1963, Arc "mietn U eSni'ta NT3"'n: nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., Galerija suvremene
translated from the German. Archjve MSU
44 SmmTlZa8reb' l965' PP" 161-165''this volume, pp. 229-233.
21 Radoslav Putar, letter to herman de vrtes on June z), Zagreh ,L °n '• ,e"dencija 4 (Tendency 4], April 1968, Archive MSU
Zagreb; translated from the German. . a||-jntenio
47 ( SV°IUme'P'34'
22 See: Manfredo Massironi, "Appunti critici sugli apporti teoni 1 ^ Zagreb" l^"m""on 2' ,e"dencija 4 [Tendency 4], April 1968, Archive MSU
delta Nuova tendenza dal 1959 al 1964," in: nova tendencyi.
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1965, p. 33. Zagreb '"^°r'nar'on 4- tendencija 4 [Tendency 4], June 1968, Archive MSU
23 Copied typescripts, Archive MSU Zagreb.
50 frojr
am /n°J" " w°uld appear on this date, but this cannot be verified.
Ced lhat
24 See: Hillings 2002, p. 516. Gerhard *>«
25 Enzo Mari, letter to Matko MeStrovic, Julio Le I arc, an ^^ Zagreb. 9' ,e"dencija 4 / tendencies 4, November 1968, Archive MSU
Graevenitz, September 2, 1963, Archive Julio Le Pare, a
Hillings 2002, p. 518, translated from the Italian. ^^ MSU^"- W' ,endencija 4 / tendencies 4, November 1968, Archive
26 Julio Le Pare, letter to Gerhard von Graevenitz, Enzo a . ^^^,,-1 52 EdiioriaTntL SV°,Ume'P-289-
Mestrovic, September 3, 1963, Archive Julio Le Pari, '969 seems^ 'e"er Pr°m b°r'S ^e'emen to Hiroshi Kawano dated January
(unitary 19^. '° 'nt''ca,e 'hat bit international 2 would not appear until
the French.
'SM' Archive Hiroshi Kawano at ZKM | Karlsruhe.
542 .6
Giuseppe Chiari
t-5 543
EnnioChiggio Gruppo N nt2 (nt2 IT) (NT FR)

/ / / /
Andren Christen nt2 ! nt2 IT nt DE NT FR
Participants in the A*
A
.£ f.J? larmili Cihinkovi
t-4 '69
5? -t / / / /
New Tendencies Exhibitions .0- >x V « Boris Ciblovski
t-4 '69
Miro A. Cime rmin

/
t-4 '69 t-5
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nt3 t-6
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t-4 '69
John F. Abbick ARC t-4 '69 Inge Claus |an»en
nt3 t-4 '69
Marc Adrian nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3 t-4 '68 t-4 '69 leroen Clausman Compos oS
t-4 '69
Vladimir Akulinin Dvizenije (nt3) Gianni Colombo GruppoT nt2 nt2 IT NT FR nt3 t-4 '69
Jose Luis Alexanco t-5 Compos 61
t-4 '69
Kurd Alsleben t-4 '6 t-4 '69 Computet center of the Bona
t-4 '69
ARC (t-5) Kidnc Institute of Nuclear
Lawrence Alton
t-4 '69 Sciences
Getulio Alviani nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3
Steven Conird ARC (t-5)
Giovanni Anceschi Gruppo T nt2 nt2 IT NT FR nt3
t-4 '69 Waldemir Cordeiro nt3 t-4 '69 t-5
Anonima Group nt3
t-5 ToniCosti Gruppo N nt (nt2) (nt2 IT) (NT FR) t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Anonymous Collective
t-5 Carlos Crui-Dier nt2 nt DE NT FR
Giovanni Anselmo
nt3 t-4 '69 TtborCsiky Anommous Collective (t-5)
Marina Apollonio
t-4 '69 t-5 Charles Csuri t-4 '68 t-4 '69
ars intermedia
t-4 '69 t-5 Dadamaino (Edoarda Maino) NT FR nt3 t-4 '69
Art Research Center (ARC)
(t-5) Slavlo Dakic
Gabor Attalai Anonymous Collective
nt3 Radomir Damnjanovk-Damnian t-5
Marianne Aue
(t-5) Vittoria D Augusta Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica (nt3) t-4 '69
Imre Bak Anonymous Collective
t-4 '69 t-5 Narciso Debourg NT FR
Vojin Bakic nt2 nt DE
Ernesto Deira t-5
John Baldessari t-5 Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
Andras Baranyay Anonymous Collective
(t-5) Buenot Aire*
Radovan Delalle t-6
Manuel Barbadillo t-5
Gerardo Delgado t-5
t-5
Oskar Beckmann ars intermedia
t-4 '69 t-5 Hugo Rodolfo Demarco nt2 I nt2 IT nt DE NT FR
Otto Beckmann ars intermedia
jerko Denegri t-6
Jan Baptist Bedaux t-4 '69
Compos 68
Gabriele Devecchi NT FR nt3 t-4 '69
t-4 '69 Gruppo T nl2 nt2 IT
Stefan Bglohradsky
Antonio Din t-5
t-5
Luis Fernando Benedit Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica t-5
Braco Dintttrijevif
Buenos Aires
(t-5) "oris Diodorov (nt3)
A. Beniaminov Dvizenije Dvilenije
Milan Dobei t-4 '69 t-5
nt3 t-4 '69
Ernst Benkert Anonima Group
nt3 t-4 '69 t-5
lutaj Dobrovic
Giorgio Benzi Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica (nt3)
t-4 '69
Ei'to Doraaio ' nt DE
Ueli Berger nt3 nt2
t-5
t-5 ^"Nuia Dragan
Antonio Berni Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica t-5 t-6
Stefo Dragan
Buenos Aires
<nt3) t-4 '69
(nt3) HdDuane (nt DE) (NT FR)
Augusto Betti Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica F.quipo 57 (nr 2)
t-5
(NT FR) nt3 t-4 '68 t-4 '69 fanie Dupre
Alberto Biasi Gruppo N / Enne 65 nt2 [ (nt2 IT) GAIV t-5
t-4 '69 Hues Dupre
Jin Bielecki GAIV
(t-5) ^'itenije nt3
Galina Bitt Dvizenije
(t-5) EfTek. nt3
Robert Blackman ARC
t-4 '69 Equipo57 NT FR nt3
Jaroslav Blazek nt2 IT nt DE
nt2 (t-5)
M'klos Erdely
Hans-Joachim Bleckert nt DE
Anonymou* Collective nt3
nt3 t-4 '69 ^'°nda (Mario De Donl)
Hartmut Bohm NT FR
t-5 t-6 t-4 '69
t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Vladimir Bonacic
arel D- Eschbach
nt3
Bonies (Bob Nieuwenhuis) nt3 Cjm Estenfelder
t-4 '69
NT FR nt3 £• Evans
Davide Boriani Gruppo T nt2 nt2 IT t-4 '69
Micbel nt3
NT FR nt3 Fadat
Martha Boto nt2 nt DE
t-5 nt3
Frank Bottger MBB Computer Graphics ^lAnnemarielFa.nach. t-4 '69
t-5
Angelo Bozzolla '"'"n A- Fetter
t-5 nt3
"(ne Feurer
Daniel Buren t-5
(t-5)
Victor Buturlin Dvizenije Fischer t-5
t-4 '69 Barfy
MBB Computer Graphics
California Computer Products Flanagan
t-4 '69
A'anMarkFr,„
(CalComp) ce
t-4 '69 t-5
Milan Cankovic nt3 "^nW.Franke t-6
t-4 '69
Alessandro Carlini disUv Galeia
t-4 '69 nt3
Flavio Casadei (nt3) Vladimir Calkin
Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica t-4 '69
Dviienije
Enrico Castellani nt2 nt2 IT nt DE ErUn°Gambone

,.4 '68 t-4 '69 NT FR

Doyle Cavin CalComp Garcia nt DE
t-5 Miranda nt2
Harold Chase nt DE NT FR
ARC
GRAV
David R. Garrison ARC t-4 '69 t-5 Iannis Kounr Ilia
t-5
Tibor Gayor Anonymous Collective (t-5) Edward Krasmski
nt3
Karl Gerstner nt nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3 t-4 '69 lidoslav Krattna
t-4 '69
t-5 Richard Knrscbe
Gilbert & George
t-4 '69 t-6
Rolf Glasmeier t-4 '69 Vlado Kristl nt2 nt2 IT NT FR t-4 '69
Hans Jorg Glattfelder t-4 '69 Fedor Kritovac
t-6
t-5 Anatoli) Krtvdiko* DvtloniK
Jose Luis Gomez Perales (nt3)
Tomislav Gotovac jiirgen Kria
t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Jiirgen Graaff nt3 Laszlo Laknet Anonymous Collective
(t-5)
Vladimir Grabenko Dviienije (t-5) Edoardo Landi Gruppo N / Enne 65 nt nt2 (nt2 IT) (NT FR) t-4 '69
Gerhard von Graevenitz nt nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3 Ugo La Pirtra
t-6
Alfred GraBl ars intermedia t-4 '69 Bernard Lassut
nt3
Hein Gravenhorst t-4 '69 John Latham
t-5
Lily Greenham NT FR Walter LeUaac nt2 IT nt DE NT FR

Alexander Grigorjev Dvizenije (t-5) AuroLecci

t-4 '69 t-5
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel GRAV nt nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3 t-4 '69 Peter Legends Anonymous Collective (t-5)
Davor Grunwald nt3 Julio Le Parr GRAV m nt2 | nt2 IT nt DE NT FR t-4 '69 t-5
Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica t-5 Sol LeWin
t-5
Buenos Aires Eugenio Lombardini Gruppo dl ricerca cibernetica t-4'69
Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica nt3 t-4 '69 Georgij Ivancnid lopakov Dvilenije nt3
Gruppo MID Lucia Di Luciano nt3
Gruppo N / enne 65 nt nt2 nt2 IT NT FR nt3 t-4 '69 Wolfgang Ludwig nt3 t-4 '69
Gruppo T nt2 nt2 IT NT FR nt3 t-4 '69 Eduardo Mac Entyre Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica t-5
Claudio Guenzani Ruenos Aires

Gyula Gulyas Anonymous Collective (t-5) Heinz Mack t-4 '69

nt nt2 nt DE

Hans Haacke Ma Hermann Mahlmann t-4 '69

Dieter Hacker nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3 t-4 '69 Gudnin Mahlmann Piper t-4 '69

Jean-Claude Halgand t-5 linos Major (t-5)

GAIV Anonymous Collective
(t-5) Frank |. Malina
Istvan Haraszty Anonymous Collective nt3

Jens Harke t-4 '69 Robert Mallarv t-4 '69

Leon D. Harmon t-4 '69 pi«o Manzoni

nt
John Gabriel Harries t-4 '69 Enzo Man NT FR t-5
nt2 nt2 IT nt DE

Axel Heibel t-4 '69 Mario Marino t-5

Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
(t-5)
Tamas Hencze Anonymous Collective Ruenos Aires
t-5 t-5 t-6
Grace C. Hertlein Jean-Claude Marquette
GAIV
Francis R. Hewitt nt3 t-4 '69 Kenneth Manin nt3
Anonima Group
t-4 '69 Alfredo Mauironj nt3 t-4 '69
Jin Hilmar (nt2 IT) (NT FR)
Gruppo N / Enne 65 nt nt2
t-6
t-5 D«orMatide»tf
Miljenko Horvat
t-5
Dee Hudson t-4 '68 t-4 '69 S'avko MatkoMt
CalComp
(t-5)
Dora Maurer
Tom Hudson nt3 Anonymous Collective
t-5 t-4 '69 t-5
Almir Mavignie r
Douglas Huebler nt nt2 nt2 IT nt DE
t-5 t-5
Herve Huitric GAIV ^BB Computer Graphics
t-6
(t-5) Matko Meitros ic
Sergej Icko Dvizenije
(t-5) GuHav
t-4 '69
Francisco Infante-Arana nt3 Metzger
Dvizenije
t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Gottfried Jager t-4 '69 •^lieMezei
t-4 '69
Edwin nt3
Zeljko Jerman Mieczkowwskj
Anonima Group t-5
Raimer Jochims nt3 t-4 '69 T°niislav Mikulid
t-5 t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Be"r Milojevid
Sture Johannesson t-5
(t-5) Manffod
Gyorgy Jovanovics Mohr
Anonymous Collective t-4 '69
t-4 '68
Wolf Kahlen t-4 '69 I'ntMoon
t-5 CalComp t-4 '69
Sten Kallin M«cello Morandini
t-5
t-4 '69
t-4 '69 Fr,n?ois NT FR nt3
Rudolf Kammer nt3 Morellet nt DE
nt nt2 nt DE nt nt2 nt2 IT t-4 '69
GRAV
Hiroshi Kawano t-4 '68 t-4 '69 Giorgio Moscati
t-5 NT FR
On Kawara Go"han Miiller nt2 IT nt DE
nt nt2
nt3
Boris Kelemen Bruno Munari
t-5
t-5
Laszlo Kerekes Monique Nahas
(t-5) t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Brieder
GAIV
Ilona Keserii Nake
Anonymous Collective t-4 '69
Ed Kiender nt3
M,urizio NannUcCi (t-5)
Tamara Klimova t-4 '69 K Nedelylco
t-4'69 t-5
Dviienije t-4 '68
G,°tgNees
Stevan Knezevic t-4 '69
1-4 '69 t-5 t-4 '68
Julije Knifer nt DE
A- Michael Noll t-5
nt nt2 t-4 '69
t-4 '69 nt3
Kenneth C. Knowlton t-4 '68 Ko|°oian Nov,k
t-5
t-5 nt3
Hans Kohler U»V-Nusberg

Dviienije
Hans Konig-Klingenberg nt3 HerbenOeh
m nt DE
t-5 nt nt2 nt3
Zehmir Koscevic Fedor'Orebic
 t-4 '69 Galerija Studentskog centra
54^ Duane M. Palyka
[Students' Center Gallery)
Giulio Paolini
Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica (nt3) t-4 '69 Lloyd Q. Sumner
Pino Parini t-4 '68 t-4 '69
t-4 '69 Marijan Susovski
Cord Passow
Anonymous Collective Alan Sutdiffe
Gyula Pauer t-4 '69
Miroslav Sutej nt2 nt2 IT nt DE
Sergej Pavlin t-4 '69
nt2 nt3 Zdenek Sykora
Henk Peeters nt3 t-4 '69
Laszlo Szalma
Giuseppe Penone
t-4 '69 SandorSzandai nt3
Luigi Pezzato t-4 '69
nt3 t-4 '69 Tamas Szentjoby Anonymous Collective
Helga Philipp (t-5)
nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3 t-4 '68 t-4 '69 Bilint Szombathy
Ivan Picelj t-5
nt2 nt DE nt3 t-4 '69 Paul Talman nt2 nt2 IT NT FR t-4 '69
Otto Piene
nt3 Giulio Tedioli Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica (nt3) t-4 '69
Giovanni Pizzo
Ion Brees Thogmartin ARC t-4 '69 (t-5)
Marko Pogacnik
nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR Etwin Thorn
Uli Pohl
Luis Tomasello nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR t-4 '69
Rogelio Polesello Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
Buenos Aires Biljana Tomic

Dvizenije Jorrit Tornquist t-4 '69

Natalie Prokuratova
Endre Tot Anonymous Collective (t-5)
Radoslav Putar
Goran Trbuljak t-5
Manuel Quejido
nt3 Ivanhoe Trivulzio nt3
Lothar Quinte
t-4 '68 t-4 '69 Peter Turk Anonymous Collective (t-5)
Zoran Radovic
Gijs van Tuyl
Ludwig Rase
Giinther Uecker nt2 nt DE NT FR
Edo Ravnikar (Edvard Ravnikar,
Milos Urbasek t-4 '69
Jr.)
nt DE Gianni Valentini (nt3)
Ad Reinhardt Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica
nt DE NT FR nt3 t-4 '69 Mario Valentini (nt3)
Karl Reinhartz nt2 nt2 IT Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica
NT FR nt3 t-4 '69 Antonio Valmaggi (nt3) t-4 '69
Vjenceslav Richter nt2 nt2 IT nt DE Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica
NT FR nt3 Gregorio Vardanega nt DE NT FR nt3
Bridget Riley nt2
Gtazia Varisco NT FR nt3 t-4 '69
Christian Roeckenschuss nt3 Gruppo T (ab 1964) nt2 nt2 IT
Victor Vasarely t-4 '68 t-5
Osvaldo Romberg Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
EmilioVedova nt3
Buenos Aires
VthurVeen t-4 '69
Dieter Roth nt3
Compos 68
Sylvia Roubaud MBB Computer Graphics Miguel Angel Vidal
Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
t-4 '69
Beverly Rowe Buenos Aires
NandaVigo nt3
Reiner Ruthenbeck
t-4 '69 ^IdoVillani (nt3)
Bernhard Sandfort Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica
t-4 '69
(nt3) Phtlip). van Voorst
Sapgir-Zanevskaja Dvizenije ARC t-4 '69
nt3 t-4 '68
(nt3) t-4 '69 human de vries nt DE
Giorgio Scarpa Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica
AnteVuli„ nt3
Vladimir Scerbakov (nt3)
Dvizenije t-4 '69
nt3 t-4 '69 Eva" Harris Walker
Paolo Scheggi t-5
t-4 '69 •V'on Warszawski
Gottfried Schlemmer MBB Computer Graphics t-4 '68 t-4 '69
t-4 '69 Horst Wegscheider
Bernhard Schneider t-5
t-4 '69 Ceroid Weiss
Manfred R. Schroeder MBB Computer Graphics t-5
|oh,,H. Whi,„ey
Lillian F. Schwartz
Lath NT FR nt3
^Wilding nt2 IT nt DE
Ana and Javier Segui nt2 t-5
RolfWolk
Howard Selina MBB Computer Graphics
Marcel Wyss
Soledad Sevilla t-5
|os* Maria Yturralde
Turi Simeti nt3 t-4 '69
Vvaral nt DE NT FR
nt2 nt2 IT t-4 '69 t-5
Francisco Sobrino GRAV nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR GRAV
^Zajec
Ed Sommer nt3
NT FR nt3
^Zehringer nt2 IT nt DE
nt3 nt2 t-5
Helge Sommerrock nt2 nt DE NT FR
ioseph Ziegler t-5
Hija Soskic ARC
Vilk°tiljak
t-5
Jesus Rafael Soto
An«on Zottl
t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Aleksandar Srnec nt2 nt DE
t-4 '68 t-4 '69
Klaus Staudt nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR nt3

Joel Stein GRAV nt2 nt2 IT nt DE NT FR

t-4 '69
Viktor Stepanov Dvizenije (nt3)
, , , hpfore t h e 1-4 e x h i b i t i o n 1969 a r e still n a m e d
t-4 '69
Nancy A. Stephens ARC Editorial note: Groups whoin <he section retrospect nU-n„.
t-4 '69
Thomas Michael Stephens ARC
with their group name. ^ of an artist within a group without
t-4 '69
Richard J. Stibbs
t-4 '69 E d i t o r i a l n o t e : (x) ca(alog w i t h an i n d i v i d u a l a r t w o r k .
Josef Hermann Stiegler
he or she being prese
Mladen Stilinovic

Josip Stosic

Kerry Strand t-4 '68 tl '69

CalComp
548 Appendix
Biographies and Group Chronologies
This section offers a selection of all artists, theorists,
and groups known to have participated in the New
Tendencies exhibitions or to have made contributions
to the symposiums, exhibition catalogs, or bit inter­
national journal publications. The selection contains
the biographies of all artists, theorists, and groups
who are represented in this book with an essay, short
text, or with a contribution in one of the protocolled
meetings and conferences. In addition, all authors
are listed who published in the journal bit inter­
national, and all individuals and groups who partici­
pated in exhibitions, conferences, or meetings
related to the topics "computers and visual research"
or "computers and art" between 1968 and 1973.
The complete biographies of all artists, theorists,
and groups known to have participated in the New
Tendencies as artists, authors, or speakers can be
downloaded under www.new-tendencies.org.
The selection of relevant literature and exhibitions
is restricted to the period before 1973 with a few
exceptions. Exhibition chronologies contain both
solo and group exhibitions. For all artists, theorists,
and groups, contributions to New Tendencies
exhibitions and publications have been omitted; this
information can be found in the appendix. If artists
participated primarily as group members, they are
only named in the respective group chronologies.
In the case of touring exhibitions, only the first place
of exhibition is listed. [-) indicates that information
is not available.
— Marc Adrian
(1930, Vienna, AT - 2008, Vienna) studied at the
Akademie der bildenden Kiinste Wien, Vienna
(1948-1954). 1957-1960 guest student at 1DHEC, Paris,
and in 1965 studied psychology of perception at the
University of Vienna. 1966/1967 first works with com­
puter. >970-197} teaching assignment at the Hoch-
schule fiir bildende Kiinste Hamburg. 1980-1981
artist in residence at the Center for Advanced Visual
Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA. From 1965, he lived
mainly in Vienna.
Exhib.: 1958, 7. Abendausstellung. Das rote Bild, Atelier
Gladbacher Str. 69, Diisseldorf. 1965, The Responsive
Eye, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1969,
Kunst und Computer, Zentralsparkasse Wien, Vienna.
Lit.: M. A.,"Kurzgefasste Theorie des methodischen
Inventionismus," in: Siegfried J. Schmidt (ed.),
Empirie in Literatur- und Kunstwissenschaft, Munich,
'979. pp. 197-203. M. A.,"Komputer und die
Demokratisierung des asthetischen BewuBtseins," in:
Kunst und Computer, exhib. cat., Zentralsparkasse
Wien, Vienna, 1969, n. p.
— Vincenzo Agnetti
(1926, Milan, IT - 1981, Milan) studied at the Accade-
mia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan.
Exhib.: 1972, documenta 5, Kassel.
— Jose Luis Alexanco
(1942, Madrid, ES) studied at the Real Academia de
Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid. 1968-1973
participated in seminar "Generacion automatica de
formas plasticas" at the computer center of the
University of Madrid. He lives in Madrid.
Exhib.: 1969, Formas computables, computer center of
the University of Madrid.1970, Generacidn automatica
de formas pldsticas, computer center of the University
of Madrid. 1971, The Computer Assisted Art, Palacio
de Congresos y Exposiciones, Madrid.
Lit.: J. L. A.,"Posibilidades y necessidad de un
analisis de un proceso intuitivo," in: Ernesto Garcia
Camarero (ed.), Ordenadores en el arte. Generacidn
automatica de formas pldsticas, Madrid, 1969, pp. 24-33.
— Kurd Alsleben
(1928, Konigsberg in der Neumark, today Chojna, PL)
studied at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden
Kiinste Karlsruhe (1949-1952). i960 collaboration with
Cord Passow on computer graphics. 1965 teaching
assignment at the Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm
(HfG). Since 1970 professor at the Hochschule fiir
bildende Kiinste Hamburg. He lives in Hamburg, DE.
Exhib.: 1968, Cybernetic Serendipity, Institute of
Contemporary Arts, London. 1968, Some More Begin­
nings, Brooklyn Museum, New York. 1969, Computer-
Kunst. On the Eve of Tomorrow, Kubus, Hannover.
Lit.: K. A., Aesthetische Redundanz. Abhandlungen iiber
die artistischen Mittel der bildenden Kunst, Quick-
born, 1962.
— Getulio Alviani
(1939, Udine, IT) studied architecture and engineer­
ing. He lives in Milan, IT.
Exhib.: 1962, arte programmata, Showroom Olivetti,
Milan. 1964, Venice Biennale. 1965, The Responsive Eye,
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1968,
documenta 4, Kassel.
— Giovanni Anceschi
(1939, Milan, IT) studied psychology and philosophy
at the University of Milan (1957-1959) and visual
communications with Tomas Maldonado, Abraham
A. Moles, and Max Bense at the Hochschule fiir Ge­
staltung Ulm (HfG) (1962-1966). 1959 founding
member of Gruppo T. Teaching assignments at the
Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm (1966), in Venice,
and in Milan (1971-1976). He lives in Milan.
Exhib.: 1961, Bewogen Beweging, Stedelijk Museum,
Amsterdam. See also: Gruppo T
— Anonima Group
was founded in i960 by Ernst Benkert, Francis R.
Hewitt, and Ed Mieczkowski in the studio of Ernst
Benkert in Springs, Long Island, NY, USA. The group
organized several exhibitions in self-operated
galleries: the 10021 Gallery, Cleveland, OH, and the
Anonima Gallery, New York, NY. It disbanded in 1971.
Exhib.: 1962, Recent Development in Visual Design:
Perception and Constructs, 10021Gallery. Cleveland,
OH. 1965, The Responsive Eye, The Museum of
Modern Art, New York. 1967. Perceptual Inguirg I:
Overlap, Anonima Gallery, New York.
Lit.: Francis R. Hewitt, Perceptual Inguiry 1: Overlap.
exhib. cat., Anonima Gallery, New York. 196, Htnn
P. Raleigh, "Anonima Group." in: Leonardo, vol.2 no*
October 1969, pp. 423-443-
— Umbro Apollonio
(1911. Trieste, today IT - 1981, Bassano del Grappa,
IT), 1948-1970 curator for the Venice Biennale
1949-1972 director of the Archivio Storico delle A
Contemporanee at ihe Venice Biennale. General
Secretary of the Venice Biennale. i950-'972 e »',f
the magazine La Biennale di Venezia. Lecturer in
history of contemporary art at the University 0
Editor of the magazine Art International-
Lit.: U. A., Pittura italiana moderna. Venice, I9st
— Giulio Carlo Argan
(,909, Turin, today IT - .992. Rome, IT)
Italian art historian and politician. 19/ 1
Communist mayor of Rome.
Lit.: G. C. A.,"Arte concreta," in: Arle l""\ .
concreta in Italia, exhib. cat.G""*n* ncercJ
m o d e r n a , R o m e , 1 9 5 LP P - , 0 6 1
gestaltica," in: II Messaggero. September .
p. 3. G. C. A.,"Un futuro tecnologico p>
Metro, 9,1966, pp. 14-19-
— ars intermedia
was founded in 1966 in Vienna, A . > u,er
B e c k m a n n . I t s p r i m a r y working Held-JP
art. The first members were Otto ec ^
Alfred GraBI, Oskar Beckmann. Ge
Gerhard Schedl TV
Exhib.: 1W. [htmmmkt C >4
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Secession. Viena* n*v V**
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WtrlieitriftCtrnftmmi|*»./.iif lit me
Wien. Vienna
Liu its intermedin. On* Vlnm and AlltvM
GraBI Otto fcti— —i A»W G—fi IMMmnti
Cmftitryrtfi —dmm/" - *» <5
Research),exhib «.*»*/ Vkun .*•*
Otto Beckmann. tn 11 dm 5»W—My I—
Compiled unit, rtluh 11. /emulifiiUtw WkM,
Vienna, 197L
-Art Research Crate* (Ail I
nas founded in ka>u< CP • MO. UtA •• »v*a V
Thomas Michael WfVmv Mm Attfci. IlinU
Chase. David k. Carrm—. Minn MtftNk Mlmtf
Stephens, |oa Beers TVe-n">.-». PV!.P I
and|oseph Zieglrt laarv aeahen <a<l<e4* S.»«v
Rice. Peter Clap* tmi Mhm TV peep reared
from the New Ctmm UA An Clay 1 ntht Galleey n
'#! and 1964. Fuse hMIIHim if.h*|Mp Ml
and 1967 in Kansas CM* ft— AMCIm4MI«—
building with rahis--^ a t#. • n.« -•
The aciivitin of AK Mrt
«symposia, leetwer* ,
•men, andedaea
^ '966. Art In—ft Ctmm
City Public Librae*. Km— CM* MO *•* TV
WaiiorsAipsajArtaadfc.-. . md T,
M Library of So—* aad Tevha.l.*, R— CMy.
M0- '9M. Art Researrh Ctmm Off CMMBfl—.
Anonima Gallen Sra Tori
Ul ,ourn'1* ARC ThtCtrnm. Km— CM* MO.
1966-1970.
~|acques Arveiller
"944.Monaco. MC.n—,4 —V—.
mdinformation -91——V« mt
'Croupe An «1.1—^,* VMM—
W9-I975 assistant mt+tti 4mnmt M.pmhMhr
g^iMiiiiii
^ofVin-^t-uRM^UM.
mfonM,~ M77--I pmhMrm
i« Franc* Vac*
S
hi.
Vine " (GAIV)
'"tcennes 'Gf0Up* A"" MMP
dirt(
a* w~*»"-
1 at tV Inaeitul
I taction at t V Inw.tui
r nd • V C rnitr Cultural Etpare Ahhrnalon.
liafwala H(livnlaLM|wala.CD.
— Ma|>n lahtc
I—* Rtelovai. today IIR - iw /agtcb. HR) studied
aa tKr Ahad«M|a lllu»*nih uiti|rtnosii u /agrrbu.
dagnhlMU Mill
l*hlhi 1990 and •***. Vrnitr Btrnnalr 1959.
dnaawMa 1. K*m*I
— Maa«a*l Batbadlllo
(MM. ( aaalla de la S»*rra. ES - tool. Malaga. F.S)
Mad led la* at she Lnt<*t»it> of Granada (grad. 195}).
Mr teudltd atto *<ih she aculptot Emllio Garcia Ortia
IMM MI7I and at a school of arts and crafts
INM mil 1*1* 1961 May In Ne* York. 19*8 1971
farttcSpared tn she seminars "UenrraciAn automhtica
de formas plastic as* at the computer centrr of the
A. L'nhentty of Madrid
t shlh ••** formal compsetahfes. computer centrr of
•he IMtmsHt of Madrid t«7o. Gnmt idn automdlica
drf*— • pfdsftrot, composer center of the University
of Madrid
Ulj M B.*Materia * vida.* in Ernesto Garcia
Camarero led.l. Oedeoedeert en rf arte Genera. 1in
antamdtsra de farmas pfdiftcat. Madrid. 196*. pp. «7-*»-
M ordenador Enperiencias de un pintor con
•na herramsenta tssaeva.* Its: Garcia Camarero I9<"».
RB'HE
— Renato Barllli
li-da lt«|* |-|l !• professor of history of contemporary arts
at the department of visual arts. Faculty of Philo
sophs and l etters. UtlHerslty of Bologna. Director of
Scooladi
ialiaaarione in Beni Stofici Ariistici.
University of Bologna He lives in Bologna. IT.
— (Hmitrit* llMfttlf (Mangelos)
(mil. lid. today BS l*»7. Zagreb. YU. today MR)
studied an history and philosophy in Vienna and
Z^rehl—1 1*4*. *'•«» 'W Zagreb. Ph.D. I997>
.sas lev* assistant at the Moderna galerija and
curator of 1V One arts archive of the Yugoslav
Academy of Atts and Sciences IW"** member of
Gorgon*. .*—*« r-ra.ot of the Galerija primitivne
umtetnosri. Zagreb 19*5-1*71 curator and head of the
Ben bo Unreal Collection 1971 bead of the Centar aa
ni,-| film i MtafMN (CF.FFT) a. the Galen,,
suvremene -mjetnosti. Zagreb .*72-978 memVr of
,he editorial board of Sp*. • iourn.l on phoiogr.p y
published by the Galerife grada Zagreb*.
I shlh 19*8. frrmanmf Art. Galerija JI2. gra «
1999 tgpm-arM. Galerija S.uden.skog centra. Zagreb.
— Oskar Beckmann
f»94l. Vienna. AT, studied se.ecommunic.nons a;^^
the Techniscbe Mochwhule Wsen. V.en
founding member of ars Sj
development of a'studio computer. Later
lives tn St. PBlten. AT.
Eablh.: See: ars intermedia
— Otto Beckmann AT)
(1908. Vladivostok, today RU - «9*7, 1 "
studied at the HAhere Technische <,rv"'r
Rundeslehranstal. Mddling f.927-*J»
Biographies and Group Chronologies 549
Kunsigewcrbeschule des 6sierreichischen Museums
fur Kunst und Industrie (1934/1935). He studied
sculpture at the Akademie der bildenden Kiinste
Wien. Vienna (1936-1941). 1941-1944 head of the
depart ment of metal sculpture at the State School of
Arts and Crafts, Krakow. 1945 return to Vienna.
1950-1961 position at the Akademie fiir Musik und
darstellende Kunst Wien. Since 1958 professor.
1966 first experiments with computing technology.
1969 development of a personal "studio computer"
with his son Oskar Beckmann. 1966-1978 founder and
head of ars intermedia.
Exhib.: See: ars intermedia.
Lit.: O. B.,"Computergrafik - Computerfilm," in:
Alle und moderne Kunst, 102, 1969, pp. 36-39. O. B.,
"Computerplastik, cinematrische Modelle und
choreographische Ablaufe,"in: Alte und moderne Kunst,
102. 1969. pp. 43-46. O. B.,"Symposion Zagreb," in:
Alte und moderne Kunst, 105, 1969, pp. 54. See also: ars
intermedia.
— I .in Baptist Bedaux
(1947. Bergen op Zoom, NL) studied art history and
archaeology at the University of Louvain, BE, and at
Utrecht University, NL. 1968 founding member of
Compos 68. 1975 assistant professor at the depart­
ment of medieval art. Institute for Art History,
Utrecht University. 1978 associate professor of art
history, department of art history and archaeology,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he was tenured
until 2005. Since 2006 art consultant. He lives in
Utrecht. NL.
Lit.: See: Compos 68.
— Boio Bek
(1926. Durdevac. today HR - 2000. Zagreb, HR)
studied art history at the University of Leningrad,
today St. Petersburg, and the University of Zagreb
(grad. .952). 1954 co-founder of the Gradska galerija
suvremene umjetnosti. t954-'96o curator at the fine
arts archive of the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and
Sciences. 1960-1972 director of Gradska galerija
suvremene umjetnosti. since .96. the Galerije grada
Zagreba. .968-1972 chief editor and co-founder ot
the magazine bit international. 1972-1*78senior
curator and since 1978 museum advisor at the Gale­
rije grada Zagreba.
— Laszlb Beke ...
(1944, Szombathely. today HU) studied art history a,
Eotvos Lorind University in Budapest. .969-1*86
research fellow in art history at the Research
Institute for Art History of the Hungarian Academy
of Sciences. Since .99° professor of interdisciplinary
studies. Magyar Kepz6muv6sze.i Egye.em, Budapest.
Since ,995 general director of the Mucsarnok in
Budapest. He lives in Budapest.
Ll, : I. B. „nd Z*— «V
1968.
^
(7_p^aTalonXra.or of Silvio Cecca.o at the
Centro di Cibernetica e di A.tivita Linguist,che at
^ University of Milan and is a sen.or research
nrlTp0^ machine S6mantique,"in:
j the 4'" International Congress on
' « nf
Proceedings of the 4
Cybernetics. Namur, ,964, PP- »9-246.
550 Appendix
— Luis Fernando Benedit
(1937, Buenos Aires, AR) studied architecture at the
University of Buenos Aires (grad. 1963). Self-taught
artist. Member of Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos
Aires since 1969. He lives in Buenos Aires.
Exhib.: 1970, Venice Biennale. 1972, Projects: Luis
Fernando Benedit, The Museum of Modern Art,
New York. See also: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
Buenos Aires.
Lit.: See: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires.
— Max Bense
(1910, StraBburg, today FR - 1990, Stuttgart, DE)
studied mathematics, physics, geology, mineralogy,
and philosophy at the Universities of Cologne and
Bonn; 1937 doctorate in physics. 1938 scientific
employee, IG Farben, Leverkusen. 1939 recruited by
the German army. From 1941 physicist and
mathematician in a high-frequency laboratory in
Berlin. 1945 named chancellor of the University
of Jena. 1946 habilitation thesis. 1948 fled to Western
Germany. From 1949 professor of philosophy and
philosophy of science at the Technische Hochschule
Stuttgart. 1957 founded Studiengalerie des Studium
Generale at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart.
'953-'958 taught at the Hochschule fur Gestaltung
Ulm (HfG). 1958, i960, and 1966/1967 guest professor
at the Hochschule fiir bildende Kiinste Hamburg.
1960-1964 lectured at the Escola Superior de
Desenho Industrial and at the Museu de Arte
Moderna, Rio de Janeiro. 1978 professor emeritus.
Lit.: M. B., Aesthetische Information, Baden-Baden,
1956. M. B„ Programmierung des Schdnen. AUgemeine
Texttheorie und Textdsthetik, Baden-Baden, i960.
M. B., Aesthetica. Einfuhrung in die neue Aesthetik,
Baden-Baden, 1965. M. B.,"Projekte generativer
Asthetik," in: M. B. and Elisabeth Walther (eds.), rot
19. computer-grafik, Stuttgart, 1965, pp. 11—13.
— Jonathan Benthall
(1941, Calcutta, today Kolkata, IN) studied English
language and literature at the University of Cam­
bridge (M.A. 1968). 1964/1965 employed by Interna­
tional Tutor Machines and IBM United Kingdom
Ltd. 1965-1968 employed as a systems engineer and
1968-1970 as an investment analyst by Henderson
Administration Ltd. 1971—1973 lectures program
organizer, then secretary at the Institute of Contem­
porary Arts, London. 1974-2000 director of the Royal
Anthropological Institute, London. 1985-2000
founder and editor of the journal Anthropology Today.
Since 1994 honorary research fellow in the depart­
ment of anthropology, University College London.
1997-2003 chair of the International NGO Training
and Research Centre (INRAC), Oxford. He lives in
London.
Lit.: J. B.,"Artists 8c Technicians," in: Times Literary
Supplement, 3479, October 31, 1966, p. 1229. J. B.,
Science and Technology in Art Today, London, 1972.
— Rene Berger
('9'5> [-] - 2009, (-]) held a doctorate in literature
from the University of Paris. He was director-conser­
vator at the Musee des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, and
honorary professor of the University of Lausanne.
Lit.: R. B., Art et communication, Paris, 1972.
— Antonio Berni
(1905, Rosario, AR - 1981, Buenos Aires, AR) took
drawing classes at the Centre Catala in Rosario.
1928-1930 lived in Paris. 1969 member of the Grupo
de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires. 1976 moved to
New York.
Exhib.: 1962, Venice Biennale. See also: Grupo de
Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires.
Lit.: See: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires.
— Gianfranco Bettetini
(1933, Milan, IT) studied electrical engineering at the
Politecnico di Milano (grad. 1956). From 1965
teaching assignment for film history and criticism in
Milan. 1976 professor for the theory and technology
of mass communications. 1965-1978 taught film
history and criticism in Milan and Genoa, semiotics
in Bologna, and theory and technology of mass
communications in Rome. Currently, he is professor
for theory and technology of social communications
and the director of the Istituto di Scienze delle
comunicazioni e dello spettacolo and the Scuola
superiore delle comunicazioni sociali, both at the
University of Milan. He lives in Milan.
Lit.: G. B., II segno, dalla magia fina al cinema, Milan,
1962.
— Alberto Biasi
('937. Padua, IT) studied industrial design at the
department of architecture at the Accademia delle
Belle Arti di Venezia from 1959.1959-1964 founding
member of Gruppo N. 1965/1966 member of Gruppo
enne 65. He lives in Padua.
Exhib.: 1966, Weiss auf Weiss, Kunsthalle Bern. See
also: Gruppo N.
Lit.: See: Gruppo N.
— Jaroslav Blazek
('925, [-] - 2007, [-]) studied mathematics and
descriptive geometry at Charles University in Prague.
1960s collaboration with Zdenek Sykora on the
creation of structures. Later he created and exhibited
his own computer graphic art. He was professor of
mathematics at Charles University in Prague.
— Vladimir Bonacic
(1938, Novi Sad, today RS - 1999, Bonn, DE) grew up
in Zagreb, today HR, and studied electronics at the
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing,
University of Zagreb (Ph.D. 1968). Postgraduate
studies in London and Paris. 1968 started to utilize
computer systems for cybernetic art. 1969-1973 head
of the Laboratory for Cybernetics at the Ruder
BoSkovic Institute in Zagreb. 1971 advisor to the
UNESCO on art and science matters and foundation
of the "bed cybernetic art team" with Miro A.
Cimerman and Dunja Donassy. 1972—1977 founding
director of the "Jerusalem Program in Art and
Science" at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design,
Jerusalem. 1973 member of the editorial advisory
board of the journal Leonardo. 1978/1979 head of
development of the multimedia and electronic lib­
rary at the national library of Croatia, Zagreb, and
the central library of the University of Zagreb.
Moved to Germany in 1980 where he undertook R8iD
projects primarily in visual communications used
by German television for election night reporting.
Exhib.: 1970, kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja /
computers and visual research, Ruder Boskovic
Institute, Zagreb. 1971, Septieme Biennale de Paris.
1971, Exhibition on the Occasion of the 25"" Anniversary
of the UNESCO, UNESCO, Paris. 1971, Art and Science.
Tel Aviv Museum.
Lit.: V. B. et al.,"Pseudorandom Digital Transfor­
mation," in: Fourth DECUS European Seminar,
Edinburgh, Sept. 19-20,1968 and Nuclear Instruments
and Methods, 66,1968, pp. 213-223. V. B.,"Kinetic An.
Application of Abstract Algebra to Objects with
Computer-Controlled Flashing Lights and Sound
Combinations," in: Leonardo, vol. 7, no, 3, Summer
1974, pp. 193-200.
— Paolo Bonaiuto
[-] is an Italian psychologist.
Lit.: P. B., Suite opere di nuova tendenza, Atti del 2.
Convegno nazionale Filosofia, arti. scienze, conference
proceedings, FAS, Ferrara, Bologna, 1964, Marge,
Bologna, 1965. P. B., Le motivazioni dell'attivita nell'etd
evolutiva. Analisi fenomenologica, riferimentie
indicazioni per la sperimentazione, C.M.S.R., Milan,
1967.
— Gui Bonsiepe
Glucksburg, DE) studied graphics and
(1934,
architecture at the Technische Universitat Miinchen,
Munich (until 1955). Additional studies at the
Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm (HfG) (grad. 1959)
under Max Bense and Tomas Maldonado. 1960-1968
worked for the HfG in research and teaching. From
1968 freelancer and design consultant in Chile,
Argentina, and Brazil. 1970-1973 head of the design
team for the "Project Cybersyn" for the Chilean
Government. 1993-2003 professor at the department
of design, Fachhochschule Koln, Cologne. He has
also taught integrated media at the Escola Superior
de Desenho Industrial (ESDI), Riode Janeiro State
University. He lives in La Plata near Buenos Aires
and in Florianopolis, BR.
Lit.: G. B.,"Arabesken der Rationalitat"/"Arabesques
of Rationality," in: ulm, 19/20,1967. PP- 9-23- G-B-
"Mathematische Asthetik," in: format, 15. '968. PP-
36-39-
— Davide Boriani
(1936, Milan, IT) studied at the Accademia di Belle m
di Brera, Milan. 1959 participated in activities 0 t <
magazine Azimuth and Galleria Azimut. .959 founding
member of Gruppo T. He lives in Curi.iba, BR.
Exhib.: 1961, Bewogen Beweging, Stedelijk Mu><um
Amsterdam. See also: Gruppo f.
Lit.: See: Gruppo T.
— Frank Bottger , (CalComp).
(1946. Speyer, DE) was trained as an elec,"cia"
engineer. Since 1969 worked in the EDP ep"
at Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB). '97'- 9/
worked on computer graphics at MBB. He t»
Chapel Hill, Brisbane, AU.
Exhib. and lit. See: MBB Computer Graphics.
— Tomaz Brejc . •>pe of artificial intelligence. Teaching assignments
Ljubljana, today SI) studied li.era.ur
(,946,
ar, history atthe University of LjubDana^
Lectures at the Akademija likovn.h umie.n
Mar»«, Maribor, T. B, Sh-*
— Florentino Briones
([-]) was the director of the computer center of the
University of Madrid from its formal inauguration in
1969 until 1973.1968-1973 participated in the seminars
"Generacion automatica de formas plastics" at the
computer center of the University of Madrid.
Lit, F. B.,"EI Centro de Calculo de la Universidad de
Madrid," in: Revista de Automdtica, I, July, August,
September 1968, pp. 53L F. B.,"Pintura modular," in:
Boletin del CCUM, 8/9, January 1970, pp. 3-19. F. B.,
"Generacion automatica de formas plasticas," in: F. B.
(ed.), Formas computadas, exhib. cat., Ateneo, Madrid,
1971. n. p.
— Zeljko Bujas
(1928, today HR-1999, Zagreb, HR) graduated in 1952
in English and Russian from the Faculty of Philos­
ophy, University of Zagreb (Ph.D. in 1965 on mechani­
cal translation). 1954-1965 assistant in the depart­
ment of English studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences,
1965-1971 senior lecturer, 1971-1974 associate
professor, from 1974 professor at the University of
Zagreb.
Lit, Z. B.,"Kompjutorsko-!eksikografski pristup
kompliranju hrvatske sinonimije," in: Suvremena
lingistika, 1972, pp. if.
— California Computer Products
CalCompTechnology, Inc., Anaheim.CA, USA. known
asCalComp, founded in 1959, produced plotters,
digitizers, and other graphic input and output de­
vices. In 1968, CalComp organized an international
competition for computer and plotter art. The firm
published and distributed works by Doyle Cavin,
Ace Hudson, Dee Hudson, Larry Jenkins, Jane Moon,
and Kerry Strand. It was bought by Lockheed in the
1980s and closed production in 1999.
Exhib, 1968, Cybernetic Serendipity, institute of
Contemporary Arts, London.
— Alessandro Carlini
('943, Lanciano, IT) studied architecture at the Univer­
sity of Naples (1961-1967). 1964 founding member
. Congresos y Exposiciones, Madrid.
of Operativo Sud 64, Naples. Moved to Berlin in 1967,
where he lives today. 1970 stay in London.
Exhib, 1968, Objekt Strukturen - Environment Struktu
ten, Galerie Mikro, Berlin.
Lit, A. C. and Bernhard Schneider, Konzept 1. Archi-
tektur als Zeichensystem, Tubingen, 1971.
— Doyle Cavin
<l-|) was employed by California Computer Products
Exhib. and lit. See: California Computer Products.
Silvio Ceccato
''9'4, Montecchio Maggiore, IT - 1997, Milan, IT)
studied law and music. 1949 founder of Methodos, an
international magazine published until 1964. 1956
designed and built Adamo II, the first Italian proto-
in 'he philosophy of science at the University of
Milan, where he founded the Centro di Cibernetica
e di Attivita Linguistiche, which he directed until
the mid-1960s.
E't, S. C.,"La machine qui pense et qui parle," in:
Conference Proceedings 1" International Congress on
Cybernetics, Namur, tune 1956, Paris, 1958, pp. 288-299.
s-
C., Cibernetica per tutti, Milan, 1968.
— Harold Chase
(c. 1945, |—), VT, USA) studied painting at the Kansas
City Art Institute (B.F.A. c. 1966). 1966 founding
member of the Art Research Center (ARC). He lives
in Wyoming, USA.
Exhib. and lit. See: Art Research Center (ARC).
— Andreas Christen
(1936, Buhendorf, CH - 2006, Zurich, CH) studied
product design at Kunstgewerbeschule Zurich under
Hans Fischli (1956-1959). 1971/1972 teaching assign­
ment at Hochschule fiir bildende Kiinste Hamburg.
Exhib, i960, Konkrete Kunst. 50 lahre Entwicklung,
Helmhaus, Zurich. 1962,10 Monoforms, Galerie
Suzanne Bollag, Zurich. 1966, Weiss auf Weiss,
Kunst-halle Bern.
— Peter Clapp
(1943, Albany, NY, USA) studied at the Boston
Museum School (1961-1963) and at the Kansas City
Art Institute (1967-1969, B.F.A. 1969). Member of the
Art Research Center (ARC). He works as a graphic
designer and lives in Santa Fe, NM, USA.
Exhib. and lit. See: Art Research Center (ARC).
— Jeroen Clausman
(1947, Maartensdijk, NL) studied biology (grad. 1976).
1968 founding member of Compos 68. 1976-1985
worked for the province administration of South-Hol­
land in ecological research. 1976-2004 project
manager in the province administration of South-
Holland. 2005 co-founder of the Rijp voor Groen BV
consulting company. He is owner of the Jeroen Claus­
man webdesign company and lives in Utrecht, NL.
Lit, See: Compos 68.
— Compos 68
Compos 68 was founded in 1968 in Utrecht by Jan
Baptist Bedaux, Jeroen Clausman, and Arthur Veen
to work on the connection between art and computer.
Lit, Arthur Veen,"Compos 68," in: Peter Struycken,
Vormgeving en exacte disciplines. Design and I he Exact
Disciplines, Utrecht, 1971, n. p.
— Waldemar Cordeiro
(1925, Rome, IT - 1973. Sao Paulo, BR) studied at the
Academia de Bellas Artes and at the Scuola di S.
Giacomo in Rome. 1946 moved to Sao Paulo. t95'/'952
founder of the group Ruptura. From 1968 experiments
in computer art, from 1969 collaboration with Giorgio
Moscati on computer graphics. 197' organized the
exhibition Arteonica - O Uso Criativo das Meios Eletrd-
nicos em Arte, Sao Paulo. 1972 lecturer at University
of Campinas (Unicamp), head of the Centro de
Processamento de Imagens do lnstituto de Artes.
Exhib, 1952, Ruptura, Museu de Arte Moderna de
Sao Paulo, i960, Konkrete Kunst. 50 lahre Entwicklung,
Helmhaus, Zurich. 1970, Computer Plotter Art,
Galeria da USIS, Sao Paulo.
— Charles Csuri
Grant Town, WV, USA) studied engineering at
(1922,
the Newark College of Engineering 0943-'945> and
fine arts at the Ohio State University (B.A. 1947 am
M.F.A. 1948). 1949 faculty member of the department
of art, Ohio State University. 1964 started to use
digital computers for artistic drawings. 1968-1986
research in computer graphics funded by the Nationa
Science Foundation, The Navy, and Defense Depart­
Biographies and Group Chronologies
ment. 1970 organized the exhibition Interactive Sound
and Visual Systems. 1971 founded the Computer
Graphics Research Group (CGRG). 1978 professor of
art education. 1986 professor of computer and
information science. 1987 Advanced Computer
Center for Art and Design (ACCAD). He lives in
Columbus, OH, USA.
Exhib, 1956, Charles Csuri, Harry Salpeter Gallery,
New York. 1968, computer graphic, Dum umeni mesta
Brna, Brno. 1968, Cybernetic Serendipity, Institute of
Contemporary Arts, London.
Lit, C. C. and James Shaffer,"Art, Computers and
Mathematics," in:AFIPS Conference Proceedings, 33,
1968, pp. 1293-1298. C. C., Interactive Systems. Com­
puter Animated Film, Electronic Sound, Video, Light,
Electromyogram, and Environmental Collage, exhib. cat.,
College of the Arts, Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH, 1970.
— Ernesto Deira
(1928, Buenos Aires, AR - 1986, Paris, FR) studied
law at the University of Buenos Aires (grad. 1950) and
painting under Leopoldo Torres Agiiero and
Leopoldo Presas. 1969 member of the Grupo de Arte
y Cibernetica Buenos Aires.
Exhib. and lit. See: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
Buenos Aires.
— Gerardo Delgado
(1942, Olivares, ES) studied architecture at the
Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura, Seville
(grad. 1967). 1968-1973 participated in the seminars
"Generacion automatica de formas plasticas" at the
computer center of the University of Madrid.
1968-1973 taught at the Escuela Tecnica Superior de
Arquitectura, Seville. He lives in Olivares, ES.
Lit, G. D.,"Aplicaci6n de las computadoras a la
generacion de formas plasticas," in: Boletin del CCUM,
April 1969, pp. 31—35-
Exhib, 1969, Formas computables, computer center of
the University of Madrid. 1970, Generacidn automdtica
de formas pldsticas, computer center of the University
of Madrid. 1971, The Computer Assisted Art, Palacio de
— Jerko Denegri
(1936, Split, today HR) studied history and geogra­
phy at the Visa pedagoska Skola u Splitu in Split
(1955-1958) and art history at the Faculty of
Philosophy, University of Belgrade (1954-1964, 1990
Ph.D. in history of contemporary art). 1965-1989
curator, Mu-zej savremene umetnosti, Beograd,
Belgrade. Editor in chief of the contemporary art
magazine Moment: casopis za vizuelne medije. Curator
of the Yugoslavian contributions to the Paris
Biennales of 1971. '976, and 1983, and the Venice
Biennales of 1976 and 1982. He lives in Belgrade, RS.
Lit, J. D. and Ivan Cizmek, Radomir Damnjanovid-
Damnjan, Zagreb, 1966. J. D„ Konstruktivno slikarstvo.
Treca decenija, Belgrade, 1967. J- D.,"Computers and
Visual Research," in: Umetnost, vol. 15, no. 7-9 and no.
10-12,1969, n. p. J. D.,"On the Occasion of New
Tendency 4 and Computers and Visual Research," in:
Arhitektura i urbanizam, vol. to, no. 56/57,1969. n. p.
— Braco Dimitrijevii
(1948, Sarajevo, today BA) studied at the Akademija
likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu, Zagreb (1968-1971)
and St Martin's School of Art, London d97'-'973>.
Appendix
In 1971, together with Nena Dimitrijevic, he organized
the Conceptual art exhibition At the Moment in the
entrance hall of an apartment building at Franko-
panska 2a in Zagreb. In 1971, he moved to London,
and then to Paris in 1995. He lives in Paris.
Exhib.: 1969, Suma 680, Galerija Studentskog centra,
Zagreb. 1970, Some Changes. Miinchen, Amsterdam,
London, Paris, Milano, Aktionsraum 1, Munich. 1971,
Casual Passers-by, Galleria Lucio Amelio, Naples.
Lit.: B. D., Covjek-stvaralac, vizija, osjecanje, stvaranje
i djelo, exhib. cat., Galerija Studentskog centra,
Zagreb, 1969. Nena Dimitrijevic and B. D„ In Another
Moment, exhib. cat., Studentski kulturni centar,
Belgrade, 1971. B. D.,"Why Do I Paint like Pollock,"
in: Why Do I Paint like Pollock, exhib. cat., Bitef and
Galerija 212, Zagreb, 1972, and in: Studentski List
Zagreb, February 20, 1973. Caroline Tisdall, Braco
Dimitrijevic, exhib. cat, Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1973.
— Nena Dimitrijevic
(1950, Sibenik, YU, today HR) studied chemistry and
technological studies at the University of Belgrade
and art history and philosophy at the University of
Zagreb. In 1971, together with Braco Dimitrijevic, she
organized the Conceptual art exhibition At the
Moment in the entrance hall of an apartment building
at Frankopanska 2a in Zagreb. In 1971, she moved to
London, and then to Paris in 1995. She lives in Paris.
Exhib.: 1971, At the Moment, Frankopanska 2a, Zagreb.
1971, In Another Moment, Studentski kulturni centar,
Belgrade. 1972, Barry Flanagan's Films, Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb.
Lit.: N. D. and Braco Dimitrijevic, In Another Moment,
exhib. cat., Studentski kulturni centar, Belgrade, 1971.
N. D.,"Siromasna i konceptualna umjetnost," in: 75
dana: revija za umjetnost, kulturu, socijalna i ekonomska
pitanja, 4/5, 1971. N. D.,"At the Moment," in: Studio
International, February 1972.
— Milan Dobes
(1929, Prerov, CS, today CZ) studied at the Vysoka
skola vytvarnych umeni v Bratislave, Bratislava.
Exhib.: 1958, /-/, Galeria mladych, Bratislava. 1966,
Interscdna, Prague. 1966, KunstLichtKunst, Stedelijk
Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. 1968, documenta 4,
Kassel.
— Branimir Donat (Tvrtko Zane)
(1934, Zagreb, today HR) studied Yugoslav languages
and literature and comparative literature at the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Zagreb,
and at a special education teachers college in Zagreb.
1957 sentenced to 18 months in prison for a political
offense. From early 1960s published under the
pseudonym Branimir Donat in the cultural magazine
Felegram. Co-founder and secretary of the magazine
Kritika. 1972 became editor in the publishing insti­
tute Matica hrvatska. He lives in Zagreb.
Lit.: B. D., O pjesnifkom teatru Miroslava Krleze,
Zagreb, 1970
— Gillo Dorfles
(1910, Trieste, IT) studied medicine and psychiatry.
1948 member of Movimento Arte Concreta (MAC),
Milan. From i960 professor of aesthetics at the
University of Milan. 1956 co-founder of the Associa-
zione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI) in Italy. He
lives in Milan, IT.
Lit.: G. D., Discorso tecnico delle arti, Pisa, 1952. G. D.,
"Max Bense e l'estetica dell'informazione," in: Rivista
di estetica, Istituto di estetica dell'Universita di
Torino, 3, May-August 1958, pp. 261-271. G. D.,
II disegno industriale e la sua estetica, Bologna, 1963
—Sreco Dragan
(1944, Spodnji Hrastnik, today SI) obtained a degree
in painting from the Akademija za likovno umetnost,
Ljubljana. Postgraduate studies at the painting
department of the Akademija za likovno umetnost.
1968-1988 collaboration with Ana Nusa Dragan.
1968/1969 member of the group OHO. He lives in
Ljubljana.
Exhib.: 1968, Grupa OHO, Galerija Studentskog
centra, Zagreb. 1968, Dokumenti 0 postobjektinim poja-
vama u jugoslovenskoj umetnosti 1968-1973, Salon
Muzeja savremene umetnosti, Belgrade.
— Fanie (Francine) Dupre
(1944, Salagnac, FR) studied at the Institut poly-
technique de Grenoble (1965-1967). 1969 founding
member of the Groupe Art et Informatique de
Vincennes. She taught information science at the
University of Vincennes, now University of Paris VIII.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Groupe Art et Informatique
Vincennes (GAIV).
— Jacques Dupre
(1943, Marseille, FR) studied at the Institut poly-
technique de Grenoble (1964-1967). 1969 founding
member of the Groupe Art et Informatique de
Vincennes. Taught information science at the
University of Vincennes, now University of Paris VIII.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Groupe Art et Informatique
Vincennes (GAIV).
— Dvizenije
is a group which was founded by Lev V. Nusberg in
1962 in Moscow, SU, today RU. The first members
were Mikhail Dorokhov, Francisco Infante-Arana,
Viacheslav Koleichuk, Anatolij Krivcikov, Viacheslav
Scerbakov, Viktor Stepanov, and Rimma Zanevskaya.
Later, Vladimir Galkin, Juri Lopakov, and others
joined the group. From around 1966, Vladimir
Akulinin, Galina Bitt, Tatiana Bystrova, Alexander
Grigorjev, and Natalia Prokuratovawere also
members. The group's manifesto was written by
Nusberg in 1966. In 1972, the group disbanded.
Exhib.: 1963, Exhibition of the Geometrical Works,
Central House of the Artists, Moscow. 1965, Exhibition
of the Kinetic Art of the Dvizenije Group, House of the
Architects, St. Petersburg. 1966, KunstLichtKunst,
Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven.
— Umberto Eco
(1932, Alessandria, IT) studied philosophy and
literature at the University of Turin (Ph.D. 1954,
lecturer in aesthetics 1961). 1954-1959 editor for
cultural programs RAI, Milan. 1959—1975 non-fiction
senior editor, Bompiani publishers, Milan. 1961-1964
lecturer in aesthetics, Faculty of Literature and
Philosophy, University of Turin, and at the Faculty of
Architecture, Politenico di Milano. 1966-1969
associate professor of visual communication, Faculty
of Architecture, University of Florence. 1969-1971
associate professor of semiotics, Faculty of
Architecture, Politecnico di Milano. 1969 visiting
professor New York University. 1971—1975 associate
Philosophy, University of Bologna. 1972 visiting
professor at Northwestern University, IL, USA. He
lives in Milan, IT.
Lit.: U. E.,"La forma del disordine," in: A/manacco
Letterario Bompiani 1962, Milan, 1961, pp. 175-188.
U. E., Opera aperta, Milan, 1962. U. E.,"Arte
Programmata" in: arte programmala, exhib. cat.,
Showroom Olivetti, Milan, 1962.
— Effekt
was founded in 1965 by Dieter Hacker, Karl
Reinhartz, Helge Sommerrock, and Walter Zehringer
in Munich. The group disbanded in 1968. Helge
Sommerrock and Walter Zehringer discontinued
their work as artists to pursue political activities,
Exhib.: 1965, EFFEKT, Deutsches Institut fiir Film
und Fernsehen, Munich. 1965, EFFEKT, Galeriepro,
Bad Godesberg. 1969, EFFEKT, Galerie van de Loo
— Forum, Munich.
— Equipo 57
was founded in 1957 in Paris by Angel Duarte, Jose
Duarte, Juan Serrano, Juan Cuenca (joined the group
shortly after), and Agustin Ibarrola in Paris. The
group disbanded in 1962.
Exhib.: 1957, Peintures, Cafe Le Rond Point, Paris.
i960, Konkrete Kunst. 50 jahre Entwicklung, Helmhaus,
Zurich. 1965, The Responsive Eye, The Museum of
Modern Art, New York. 1969. Formas computable,
computer center of the University of Madrid.
— Darel D. Eschbach
(1940, Toledo, OH, USA) studied mechanical
engineering at the University of Toledo (I959-'9H
B.S.) and engineering science at the University of
Toledo (1964-1967. M.S.). 1963-1976 worked for the
University of Toledo. 1976-2004 worked for the
Arizona State University. Since 2004 works for Arizona
Board of Regents. He lives in Tempe, AZ, USA.
Exhib.: 1967, Computer Art, Stable Gallery, Montreal
Museum of Fine Arts. .968, Cybernetic Serendipity.
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. ^
Lit.: D. E.,"Annual Computer Art Contest, in:
Computers and Automation, August 1967. PP-
— Exat 51
was founded in Zagreb. YU. today HR. Its name
abbreviation of "Eksperimentalm atelje. Gi"'ip
members were Bernardo Bernardi, Zdravko
Bregovac, Vlado Kristl, Ivan Picelj. Zvon.nurRad. •
Bozidar Rasica, Vjenceslav Richter, Aleksan ar
Srnec, and Vladimir Zarahovic. The group for-ri
the plenary meeting of the association of app e
arts artists of Croatia (ULUPUH) on December
,951. The group disbanded in .956.
Exhib.: 1952. Exat 3L apartment Ivan I-
,952. 7
e Salon des Reali.es Nouvelles££
5t, hall of the Architects' Soc.et)-o Cro
Lit.: Jerko Denegri and Zelim.r Ko ce^
7957-56, Zagreb, 1979- Jerko Denegri,
kon-struktivnog pristupa. Exat 311- V m ' '
Zagreb, 2000.
— William A. Fetter it studied
(1928, Independence, MO, USA - 200 ,
eraphic design at the University o ' Lit.: Gorgona (ed.), Gorgona, Zagreb, series ot
Design, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Participation in "Experiments in Art and Techno­
logy" at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. USA.
Exhib.: 1967, Expo, Montreal. 1968, Cybernetic
Serendipity, ICA, London. 1969, Computer Kunst. On
the Eve of Tomorrow, Kubus, Hannover.
Lit.: W. A. F.. Computer Graphics in Communication,
New York, 1965. W. A. F.,"Computer Graphics," in:
Martin Krampen and Peter Seitz (eds.). Design and
Planning, New York, 1967, pp. 15-23.
— Winfried Fischer
(1930, Munich, DE) studied in Munich and Cologne.
He worked for Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB),
where he initiated work on computer graphics from
1971 to 1972. He lives in Munich.
Exhib. and lit.: See: MBB Computer Graphics.
— Alan Mark France
(I943t London, UK) was a general computer
operations consultant. Member of the Computer
Arts Society, London. He lives in London.
Exhib.: 1969. Computer-Kunst. On the Eve of Tomorrow,
Kubus, Hannover.
— Herbert W. Franke
(1927, Vienna, AT) studied physics, mathematics,
and chemical science at the Technische Hochschule
Wien, Vienna (1945-1950, Ph.D. 1950). During this
period he also attended classes in psychology and
philosophy. After leaving university he worked on a
research project for the Technische Hochschule
Wien and in the advertising and press department
at Siemens in Erlangen (1952-1937)- Since 1957, he
worked as a freelance author and published over
40 monographs on scientific and experimental
photography, visual perception, cybernetics, the
relations of arts and sciences, and speleology. He
also published over twenty science fiction novels
and a large number of radio features. In 1956, he
produced first electronic images with an analog
device, which was constructed by his friend Franz
Raimann. From 1969 he produced digital computer
graphics. He taught at the University of Munich
"973-1997). at the Fachhochschule Bielefeld
8"J
"979-I980), and at the Akademie der Bildenden
Kunste Miinchen, Munich (1984-1998). 1979 co-found­
er of Ars Electronica. He lives in Egling, DE.
Exhib.: 1959, Experimentelle Asthetik, Museum fiir
angewandte Kunst, Vienna. 1968. Kunst aus dem
Computer, accompanying the symposium "Der
Computer in der Universitat," Technische Universitat
Berlin. 1969, Computer-Kunst. On the Eve of Tomorrow,
kubus, Hannover. 1969, Computer-Kunst. On the Eve of
Tomorrow, Kubus, Hannover.
Lit-: H. W. F., Der grune Komet, Munich, i960.
H- W. F„ Phanomen Kunst, Munich, 1967. H. W. F.,
^ Rossi, Hugo Rodolfo Demarco, Julio Le Pare, Vera and
Computergraphik - Computerkunst, Munich, 1971.
~ Grgo Gamulin
. Sobrino, and Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely) founded
"910, Jelsa, today HR - 1997, Zagreb, HR) studied art
history at the University of Zagreb (grad. 1935, Ph.D.
•95i). 1960-1972 professor in the department of art
history in Zagreb. Co-founder of the Institute of Art
History in Zagreb.
Lit.: G. G., Tizianov poliptih u katedrali u Dubrovniku,
Zagreb, 1955. G. G„ Stari majstori u Jugoslaviji, Zagreb,
'96i. G. G. and Ivan Cizmek, Oskar Herman, exhib.
cat-. Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1966.
— David R. Garrison
(1929, Buenos Aires, AR) studied humanities and fine
arts at the State University of New York at Buffalo
(M.A. 1971 and M.F.A. 1972). 1966-1986 he was a
member of the Art Research Center (ARC). He lives
in Buenos Aires.
Exhib.: 1970, Art Research Center, Kansas City, MO.
•97'. Artednica — O Uso Criativo dos Meios Eletronicos
em Arte, Sao Paulo.
— Karl Gerstner
(1930, Basel, CH) studied at the Allgemeine Gewerbe-
schule in Basel under Emil Ruder before a three-year
apprenticeship as a graphic designer. 1959 co-
founder of the Agentur fiir Werbung, Grafik,
Publizitat Gerstner + Kutter, later renamed GGK
(Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter). 1970 left GGK to focus
on his artistic work. He lives in Basel, CH, Hippolts-
kirch, FR, and Paris.
Exhib.: i960, Konkrete Kunst. 30 jahre Entwicklung,
Helmhaus, Zurich. 1964, documenta 3, Kassel. 1973,
think program. The Museum of Modern Art, New
York.
Lit.: K. G., Kalte Kunst - zum Standpunkt der heutigen
Malerei, Teufen, 1957. K. G.,"Bilder machen heute,"in:
Spirale, 8, i960, pp. 3-15. K. G., Programme entwerfen,
Teufen, 1964 (1963).
— Samuel Y. Gibbon, Jr.
([-]) studied English literature at Princeton Univer­
sity, USA, and Elizabethan theater at University
College, London 0953/>954)- 1960-1967 writer and
associate producer of CBS television programs.
1972-1982 taught at Harvard University Graduate
School of Education, where he was also a producer
in residence at the Center for Research in Children's
Television (1972-1982). 1981-1991 served as executive
director of the Bank Street College Project in Science
and Mathematics.
— Jose Luis Gomez Perales
(1923, Madrid, ES - 2008, Buenafuente del Sistal,
Guadalajara, ES) studied at Escuela Superior de
Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid (grad. 195')-
He was professor of drawing at the Instituto de
Bachillerato Laboral de Saldana. 1969-1973
participated in the seminars "Generacion automatica
de formas plisticas" at the computer center of the
University of Madrid.
Exhib.: 1970, Generacidn automatica de formas
pldsticas, computer center of the University of
Madrid. 1971, The Computer Assisted Art, Palacio de
Congresos y Exposiciones, Madrid. 1972, Venice
Biennale.
Lit.: J. L. G. P.,"Un intento de sistematizacion en la
creacion plastica," in: Boletin del CCUM, 8/9. January
1970, pp. 20-27.
— Gorgona
existed from 1959 to 1966. Members of this group
were the painters Marijan JevSovar, Julije Kniler,
Duro Seder, and Josip VaniSta, the sculptor Ivan
Kozaric, the art historians Dimitrije BaSicevic, Maiko
MeStrovic, and Radoslav Putar, and the architect
Miljenko Horvat.
Exhib.: 1961-1963. Gorgona exhibitions, Studio G,
Zagreb.
journals, 1961-1966.
Biographies and Group Chronologies
— Alfred GraBl
(1941, Vienna, AT) studied information technology
at the Technische Hochschule Wien, Vienna.
1966-1970 assistant professor at the Technische Hoch­
schule Wien. 1966-1978 member of ars intermedia.
He worked as a project manager on data-processing
projects for the Vienna public transportation
authority, as well as for the Austrian Federal Rail­
ways (1971—1994). Since 1995 independent consultant
for various international railway companies in
Eastern Europe. He lives in Vienna.
Exhib. and lit.: See: ars intermedia.
— Hein Gravenhorst
(1937, Berlin, DE) studied painting and graphics at
the Hochschule fiir bildende Kunste Berlin and
did an apprenticeship in photography and film in
Berlin and Munich. He lives in Berlin.
Exhib.: 1968, Generative Fotografie, Stadtisches Kunst-
haus, Bielefeld. 1969, Auf dem Wege zur Computer-
graphik, uBu, Karlsruhe. 1970, Auf dem Wege zur
Computerkunst, Kongresshalle, Davos. 1975, Generative
Fotografie, Internationaal Cultureel Centrum,
Antwerp.
Lit.: Kunst aus dem Computer, joint summer
conference "The Computer in the University"/"Der
Computer in der Universitat," Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Technische Universitat
Berlin, conference proceedings, Berlin, 1968.
— Patrick Greussay
(1944, Paris, FR) studied music and philosophy at the
Paris-Sorbonne University (1962—1965). 1969-1971
taught at the University of Vincennes, now
University of Paris VIII. 1969 founding member of
the Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Groupe Art et Informatique de
Vincennes (GAIV).
— Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes (GAIV)
was founded in 1969 at the UER Informatics,
University of Vincennes, now University of Paris
VIII. Founding members were Herve Huitric,
Jean-Claude Halgand, Francine and Jacques Dupre,
Jacques Arveiller, and Patrick Greussay. They were
joined by Jean-Claude Marquette, Monique Nahas,
Pierre-Louis Neumann, and later by Michel Bret,
Gilbert Dalmasso, and Louis Audoire. From 1971
publication of the magazine Artlnfo-Muslnfo.
Exhib.: 1971, exhib. accompanying the colloquy
"Umjetnost i kompjuteri 71"/"Art and Computers 71,"
Zagreb. 1972, Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes,
Galerie Weiller, Paris.
Lit.: Artlnfo-Muslnfo, nos. 11-17, i97i-'973-
— Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV)
In July i960. Hector Garcia Miranda, Horacio Garcia
Francois Molnar, Francois Morellet, Sergio Moyano,
Servanes (Simone Revoil), Joel Stein, Francisco
the Centre de Recherche d'Art Visuel, a center for
visual research where the artists could work together
towards the realization of their common formal and
theoretical goals. In the summer of i960, the young
artists rented a small garage in the Marais district of
Paris, which provided them with a common meeting
and exhibition space. The center was renamed
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV) in July
554 Appendix
1961. F r o m t h e n o n , t h e g r o u p m e m b e r s w e r e G a r c i a
Rossi, Le Pare, Morellet, Sobrino, Stein, and Yvaral.
The group disbanded in November 1968.
E x h i b . : 1961, Proposition sur le mouvement. Groupe de
r e c h e r c h e d ' A r t V i s u e l ,G a l e r i e D e n i s e R e n e , P a r i s .
1964, documenta 3, Kassel. 1965, The Responsive Eye,
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Lit.: GRAV, "Assez de mystifications!," brochure, Paris,
1961, later published in: GRAV (ed.), Participation.
A la recherche d'un nouveau spectateur. Groupe de
Recherche d'ArtVisuel, exhib. cat., Museum am Ostwall,
Dortmund, 1968, p.6. GRAV, "Transformerl'actuelle
situation de 1'art plastique," brochure, Paris,1961, later
p u b l i s h e d i n :G R A V a n d G a l e r i e D e n i s e R e n e (eds.),
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel. Paris1962, exhib. cat.,
Maison des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1962.
— Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires
w a s f o u n d e d i n B u e n o s A i r e s , A R , i n M a r c h 1969 b y
Jorge Glusberg, founding director of the Centro de
Arte y Comunicacion (CAYC), Buenos Aires, after
contact with the work of the Computer Technique
Group Japan. Founding members: Luis F. Benedit,
Antonio Berni, Eduardo Mac Entyre, Osvaldo
Romberg, and Miguel Angel Vidal. Further
members: Ernesto Deira, Humberto Demarco,
Gregorio Dujovny, Mario Marino, Rogelio Polesello,
as well as Isaias Nougues, Josefina Robirosa, and
Norma Tamburini. The group existed until 1973.
Exhib.: 1969, Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires
y Computer TechniqueGroup of Tokyo, Galeria Bonino,
Buenos Aires.1970, Computer Graphics 70, Brunei
University, Uxbridge. 1971, Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica,
Centro de Arte y Comunicacion, Buenos Aires.
Lit.: Jorge Glusberg, arte y cibernetica. san francisco,
londres, buenos aires, exhib. cat., Centrode Arte y
Comunicacion, Buenos Aires, 1971. Jorge Glusberg,
arte y computadors en latinoamerica/art and computera
in latin america, exhib. cat., University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN, 1973.
— Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica
I n 1959, S i l v i o C e c c a t o i n v i t e d P i n o P a r i n i t o j o i n a
research group on "machinery that observes and
describes the events of its environment" at the
Centro di Cibernetica e di Attivita Linguistiche at
the University of Milan. A number of artists joined
Parini and formed a group in spring 1963. The group
exhibited as Gruppo V as well as Gruppo di ricerca
cibernetica in the mid-1960s. It presented itself in
various constellationsof members. Members were
Vittorio d' Augusta, Giorgio Benzi, Augusto Betti,
Flavio Casadei, Gerardo F. Dasi, Eugenio
Lombardini, Massimo Marra, Pino Parini, Galliano
Ricci, Giorgio Scarpa, Giulio Tedioli, Giancarlo
Valentini, Mario Valentini, Antonio Valmaggi, and
Aldo Villani.
E x h i b . : 1964, Strutture di visione, A v e z z a n o . 1966,
Nuove ricerche visive in Italia, G a l l e r i a M i l a n o , M i l a n .
Lit.: Giulio Carlo Argan, Strutture di visione, Rome,
1964.
— Gruppo MID
is a collective which was founded in Milan by
Antonio Barrese, Alfonso Grassi, Gianfranco
Laminarca, and Alberto Marangoni in 1964. The
planning of works was done as a collective.Since
1966 member of Associazione per il Disegno
Industrial (ADI) and shift of activities towards
design. Alternative names MID Ricerche visive and
MID Design were used after 1966. Barrese left the
collective in 1972. From 1972 Grassi, Laminarca, and
Marangoni collaborated as MID Design/Communi-
cazione Visiva until 1992-
E x h i b . : 1964, V e n i c e B i e n n a l e . 1965, MID Gruppo di
ricerca, Galleria II Centro, Naples. 1966,
KunstLichtKunst, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum,
Eindhoven.
— Gruppo N
was founded by Alberto Biasi, Edoardi Landi, and
Manfredo Massironi in Padua in 1959. Toni Costa and
Ennio Chiggio joined the group in i960. The group's
gallery, Studio N, opened in Padua in November
i960. T h e group disbanded in 1964. Biasi, Landi, and
Massironi continued to collaborate as Gruppo enne
65, which existed until 1966.
E x h i b . : i960, Mostra chiusa. Nessuno e invitato a
intervenire. Studio N, Padua. 1962, Anti-Peinture,
Hessenhuis, Antwerp. 1964, Venice Biennale.
Lit.: Enzo Mari, Gruppo N, and Gruppo T,"Arte e
liberta - Impegno ideologica nelle correnti artistiche
contemporanee," in: il verri, 12, 1963, pp. 133-135.
— Gruppo T
w a s f o u n d e d i n 1959 b y G i o v a n n i A n c e s c h i , D a v i d e
Boriani, Gianni Colombo, and Gabriele Devecchi,
based o n t h e manifesto Miriorama 1. In i960, Grazia
Varisco joined the group. It existed until c. 1964.
Exhib.: i960, Miriorama I, Galleria Pater, Milan, i960,
Miriorama 7, Galleria San Matteo, Genoa. 1961,
Bewoqen Beweging, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
1964, Venice Biennale.
— Dieter Hacker
(1942, A u g s b u r g , D E ) s t u d i e d a t t h e A k a d e m i e d e r
Bildenden Kiinste Munchen, Munich, under Ernst
Geitlinger (1960-1965). 1965-1968 founding member
of Effekt. 1970 moved t o Berlin. 1971 opened the
7. Produzentengalerie in Berlin, which existed until
1984. From 1972 published magazines of the 7.
Produzentengalerie. 1974 guest professor at the Hoch-
schule fur bildende Kiinste Hamburg. From 1976
publisher of Volksfoto, a journal for photography.
Since 1990 professor at the Universitat der Kiinste
Berlin. He lives in Berlin.
E x h i b . : 1968.public eye, K u n s t h a u s H a m b u r g . 1973,
Kunst im politischen Kampf, Kunstverein Hannover.
1974, Art into Society, Society into Art, Institute of
Contemporary Arts, London. See also: Effekt.
Lit.: Klaus Staudt and D. H. (eds.), Drei Probleme aus
dem Bereich der Informationsasthetik, Munich, 1966. D.
H., Kritik des Konstruktivismus, exhib. cat., 7.
Produzentengalerie, Berlin, 1972. D. H., Volksfoto,
B e r l i n , 1 9 7 2 . D . H . , K u n s t i m p o l i t i s c h e n K a m p f ,e x h i b .
cat., Kunstverein Hannover, 1973. See also: Effekt.
— Jean-Claude Halgand
(1944, M o u l i n s - l a - M a r c h e , F R ) s t u d i e d a t t h e fecole
d'Art du Havre, the EcoleSuperieure des Beaux-Arts,
Valenciennes, and the Ecole Nationale Superieure
des Beaux-Arts, Paris, as well as information sciences
at the University of Vincennes, now University of
Paris VIII. 1969 founding member of the Groupe Art
et Informatique de Vincennes. He lives in Aix-en-
Provence, FR.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Groupe Art et Informatique de
Vincennes (GAIV).
— Jens Harke
(1944. H a m b u r g , D E ) s t u d i e d a t t h e W e r k k u n s t s c h u l e
in Hamburg. He worked as an art director for
Hanseatische Werbeagentur, Hamburg.
— Leon D. Harmon
(1922, [ - ] , U S A - 1982, [ - ) , U S A ) s t a r t e d h i s c a r e e r a s
a r a d i o s e r v i c e m a n a n d e l e c t r o n i c s h o b b y i s t . From
1 9 5 0 w o r k e d a t t h e I n s t i t u t e f o r A d v a n c e d Study,
Princeton, NJ. 1956 joined Bell Laboraiories and
worked in the department of neurophysiology. 1966,
Harmon and Kenneth C. Knowlton began their
collaboration on computer graphics.
E x h i b . : 1 9 6 7 , Computer Art and Animation, S t a b l e
G a l l e r y , M o n t r e a l M u s e u m o f F i n e A r t s . 1968,
The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age.
T h e M u s e u m o f M o d e r n A r t , N e w York. 1968, Some
M o r e B e g i n n i n g s , B r o o k l y n M u s e u m , N e w York.
Lit.: L. D. H. and Kenneth C. Knowlton,"Computer-
G e n e r a t e d P i c t u r e s , " i n : J a s i a R e i c h a r d t (ed.),
C y b e r n e t i c S e r e n d i p i t y , L o n d o n , 1 9 6 8 , p p . 8 6 - 8 7 . A. J.
G o l d s t e i n , L . D . H . , a n d A n n B . L e s k . "Identification
o f H u m a n F a c e s , " i n : P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e IEEE, vol. 59,
no. 5, 1971, pp. 748-760.
— Grace C. Hertlein
(1924, C h i c a g o , I L , U S A ) s t u d i e d a t t h e S c h o o l of the
A r t I n s t i t u t e o f C h i c a g o (1961-1965) a n d s c u l p t u r e at
C h i c o S t a t e C o l l e g e ( B . F . A . 1 9 6 8 a n d M.F.A. 197°)-
1970-1998 professor at the department of computer
s c i e n c e , C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , C h i c o . 1974*197'
art editor of the journal Computers and People
(formerly Computers and Automation). 1976-1982
editor of the yearbook Computer Graphics and Art.
She lives in Chico,CA, USA.
E x h i b . : 1969, e x h i b i t i o n a t t h e " F a l l Joint C o m p u t e r
C o n f e r e n c e , " L a s V e g a s , N V . 1 9 7 0 , D a t a Designs. State
University of New York, Brockport, NY. 1970,
C o m p u t e r G r a p h i c s 7 0 , B r u n e i U n i v e r s i t y , Uxbridge.
Lit.: G. H., Computer-Aided Graphics in Dimensional
F o r m , M . A . t h e s i s , C h i c o , C A , 1970. G . H . "An Artist ^
Views Discovery Through Computer-Aided Graphics,
i n : Computers and Automation,A u g u s t 197°. PP- J 5 ~ 2 6 '
— Francis R. Hewitt
(1936, R u t l a n d , V T , U S A - 1992. B u r l i n g t o n . VT. US.
r e c e i v e d d r a w i n g i n s t r u c t i o n f r o m t h e painter Stuart
Eldredge (1948-1954)- He studied at the Carnegie
M e l l o n U n i v e r s i t y , P i t t s b u r g h , PA d 9 5 4 - ' 9 5 8 . • _ 'he Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
1 9 5 8 ) a n d a r t h i s t o r y a t O b e r l i n C o l l e g e , O b e r in.
(1958-1960, M.A. i960). 1960-W member ol
A n o n i m a G r o u p . 1 9 6 0 - . 9 6 4 f a c u l t y m e m b e r o f the
C l e v e l a n d I n s t i t u t e o f A r t . 1962-1965 p u r s u e
coursework towards Ph.D. in aesthetics and art
history at Case Western Reserve University.
C l e v e l a n d . 1 9 6 6 / 1 9 6 7 t a u g h t a t t h e P r a t t Institute
Brooklyn, 1965-1970 at Cooper Union, Ne»
a n d 1970-1992 at the University of Vermont.
Exhib. a n d lit.:See: Anonima Group.
— Josef Hlavafek
(1934, L o u n y , C S , t o d a y C Z - 20°8' ^"^ultyof
studied aesthetics and art history a «• . o e > g_,970
Philosophy. Charles University in
worked at the Institute ofPhilosop y
Academy of Sciences. .97° dismissed f ^ P ^ ^ .
reasons. 1970-1989 worked in various
R e p u b l i c . 1992 f o u n d e r o f G a l e r i e 60/70.1994-2000
director and professor at the VysokA Jkola um£lecko-
prumyslova v Praze, Prague.
Lit.: J. H . , " N a d j e d n i m o b r a z e m , " i n : Tvif, 5 16, 1964,
p p . 4 2 - 4 3 . J. H . , " O b r a z y Z d e n k a S y k o r y a o p - a r t , " i n :
Dialog, 5 . 1 9 6 6 , p p . 3 0 - 3 2 . J i r i K o l a f , M i r o s l a v H o u r a ,
and J. H., Ndvod k upolrebeni (1965), Most, 1969.
— Miljenko Horvat
(1935, V a r a z d i n , t o d a y H R ) s t u d i e d a r c h i t e c t u r e a t t h e
University of Zagreb (i960). 1959-1966 member o f
Gorgona. 1962-1966 lived in Paris. He moved to
Montreal, CA, in the 1960s, where he still lives. 1970
first e x p e r i m e n t s i n c o m p u t e r v i s u a l r e s e a r c h i n a r t .
Exhib.: 1961, Biennale des jeunes artistes, Paris. 1971,
Computer Art E x h i b i t i o n , T o r o n t o . S e e a l s o :G o r g o n a .
Lit.: M. H.,5 sirigraphies, Montreal, 1971. S e e also:
Gorgona.
— Vera Horvat-Pintaril
(1926, S i s a k , t o d a y H R ) s t u d i e d a r t h i s t o r y a n d
archaeology at the University of Zagreb (grad. 1951,
P h . D . 1959). 1951 a s s i s t a n t i n t h e d e p a r t m e n t o f a r t
history, University of Zagreb; 1962 senior lecturer,
1967 a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r , a n d 1 9 7 4 - 1 9 9 9 f u l l p r o f e s s o r .
1967 f o u n d e d c h a i r o f v i s u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d
design, University of Zagreb. Member of the editorial
board and co-founder of bit international magazine.
Editor of bit issues the word image (1969) a n d
television t o d a y (1971). M e m b e r o f t h e e d i t o r i a l b o a r d
of Europa letteraria (1963-1977) and Nuova rivista
europea ( 1 9 7 8 - 1 9 8 8 ) . A u t h o r o f e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m s
on art within the educational program of Zagreb
Television (1966-1977,1986).
L i t . : V. H . - P . , Vjenceslav Richter, Z a g r e b , 1970. V . H . P . ,
Ikonika i optika Miroslava Suteja," in: Umetnost, 2,
'965, pp.81-89. V. H.-P.,"Vizualna k u l t u r a i p r o b l e m i
vizualnih komunikacija," i n : Praxis,4 / 6 , 1 9 6 6 . p p .
639-643.
— Dee Hudson
" 9 4 1 . | - J - 1985, S a n t a B a r b a r a , C A , U S A ) j o i n e d t h e
Navy after junior college a n d worked in t h e
computer industry from 1965. He was employed by
California Computer Products (CalComp). Studied
anthropology at Long Beach State University
IB.A. 1970) and at Arizona State University (1970-
' 9 7 4 . P h . D . 1974). F r o m 1 9 7 3 w o r k e d a s a c u r a t o r f o r
anthropology department.
Lit.: D. H.,"CalComp Quality Doesn't Just ' H a p p e n , ' "
in: CalCompiler, vol. 1, no. 10, 1970, p. 2.
— Herve Huitric
"945. Paris, FR) studied at the £cole Nationale
Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris (grad. 1969) and
computer science at the University of Vincennes,
now University of Paris VIII (M.A. 1973, Ph.D. 1980).
'969 founding member of the Groupe Art et Infor­
matique de Vincennes. Professor at the University of
Vincennes. Collaboration with Monique Nahas.
He lives in Nogent-sur-Marne, FR.
— Gordon Hyde
1*1 w a s a m e m b e r o f t h e C o m p u t e r A r t s S o c i e t y ,
London.
L i t . : G . H . " A N e w S o r t o f C o m p u t e r ? , " i n : PAGE, I I ,
Bulletin of the Computer Arts Society, October 1970,
n. p.
— Sture Johannesson
('935. Vinslov, SE) is a self-taught artist and, worked
in the graphic arts 0955-1959) and as a photographer
(1959-1961). 1970-1974 collaboration with Sten Kallin,
IBM, on computer graphics experiments, the "Intra
Secus" project. 1978-1985 collaboration with
Ann-Charlotte Johannesson on "The Digital Theater"
p r o j e c t , t h e first A p p l e l l - b a s e d m i c r o c o m p u t e r
graphics studio in Scandinavia. 1986-1998
collaboration with Sten Kallin on the EPICS Project
(Exploring Picture Space). He lives in Skanor,SE.
E x h i b . : 1973,C i r c u i t , B l o o m f i e l d A r t A s s o c i a t i o n ,
Birmingham, MI, USA.
L i t . : S . J . a n d S t e n K a l l i n , Computed Art. Beraeknad
Konst, Intra Secus, Malmo, 1974.
— Sten Kallin
(1928, n e a r S t o c k h o l m , S E ) s t u d i e d m a t h e m a t i c s a n d
physics at Uppsala University (M.A.) and worked for
several years as a high school physics teacher. 1962
began to work with computers. 1963 joined IBM
where he held the position of a senior systems
engineer and worked with graphic output devices.
1970-1974 collaborated with Sture Johannesson on
computer graphics.
L i t . : S t u r e J o h a n n e s s o n a n d S . K „ Computer Art.
Beraeknad Konst, Intra Secus, Malmo, 1974.
— Rudolf Kammer
(1935, R u d o l s t a d t , D E ) s t u d i e d a t t h e H o c h s c h u l e f u r
Bildende Kiinste Dresden (1953-1956). the Hoch­
schule fur Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (1956-1957),
and the Akademie der Bildenden Kiinste Miinchen,
Munich, under Ernst Geitlinger (1957-1964). He lives
in Miinsing, DE.
E x h i b . : 1968, public eye, K u n s t h a u s H a m b u r g .
— Hiroshi Kawano
(1925, F u s h u n , C N ) s t u d i e d G e r m a n p h i l o s o p h y a n d
aesthetics at the University of Tokyo (grad. 1951).
1955-1961 assistant professor at the University of
Tokyo. 1961-1972 lecturer and associate professor at
the Tokyo Metropolitan College of Aeronautical
E n g i n e e r i n g . 1 9 6 4 p u b l i s h e d first e x a m p l e s o f
computer-generated pictures. 1972-1988 professor at
the Metropolitan College of Technology, Tokyo. 1986
Ph.D. from Osaka University. 1986-1990 professor at
the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology.
1990-1994 professor at Nagano University. i994-'996
professor at the Tohoku University of Art and
Design. 1997-2001 visiting professor et Tama Art
University.
E x h i b . : 1968,1" Computer Art Contest, S a n k e i
Building, Tokyo. 1970, Computer Art Exhibit, Plaza
DIC, Tokyo. 1973, Cybernetic ARTRIP: Computer Art
Exhibition '73,Sony Building, Tokyo.
Lit.: H. K., (A Study on Aesthetics and Information
Theory], in: (Report of Tokyo Metropolitan College
of Air Technology], I, 1962, PP- 77-85- H. K.,
( C o m p u t e r a n d D e s i g n ] , i n : IBM Review, 6 ,
S e p t e m b e r 1964. P P - 5 3 - 5 7 - H - K - [ D e s i g n S i m u l a t i o n
by Computer), in: [Summary of the Design Society s
nth Convention], 1964. PP- 8-»- H. K., (Monte Carlo
Method of Experimental Design], in: (Report of
Tokyo Metropolitan College of Air Technology],
1964, pp. 75-9'- H. K.,"Computer Arts Exhibition.
Demonstrated at the Plaza DIC. Kawano Hiroshi and
Shimomura Chihaya," in: (Graphic Design], 4'.
M a r c h 197'. P P - 3 ' ~ 4 2 -
Biographies and Group Chronologies
— Boris Kelemen
(1930, P o d r a v s k a S l a t i n a , t o d a y H R - 1983, Z a g r e b ,
today HR) studied art history at the University of
Zagreb (grad. 1955, Ph.D. 1966). 1956-1965 curator and
head of the Benko Horvat Collection and 1965-1978
curator and head of the Galerija primitivne umjetno-
sti, Zagreb.1978-1983 head of Galerije grada Zagreba.
Lit.: B. K., Naivno slikarstvo lugoslavije, Zagreb, 1969.
— Kenneth C. Knowlton
(1931, S p r i n g v i l l e , N Y , U S A ) s t u d i e d e n g i n e e r i n g
physics a t Cornell University (M.S. 1955) and
communication sciences at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (Ph.D. 1962). 1962 joined Bell
Telephone Laboratories as a member of the
computer technology research department. 1963
developer of the BEFLIX programming language for
bitmap computer-produced movies, 1969 of EXPLOR,
and later other experimental languages for stillsand
films for scientific and artistic purposes. 1966
collaboration with Leon D. Harmon. 1966-1970
c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e filmmaker Stan VanDerBeek.
1968-1974 collaboration with the artist Lillian F.
S c h w a r t z o n c o m p u t e r films. 1 9 7 1 v i s i t i n g p r o f e s s o r
of computer graphics, University of California, Santa
Cruz;1980 visiting professor, New Mexico State Univer­
sity. Since1982 worked as consultant for different
software companies. He lives in Budd Lake, NJ, USA.
Exhib.: 1967, Computer Art and Animation, Stable
Gallery, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. 1968, The
Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechnical Age, The
Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1968, Some More
Beginnings, Brooklyn Museum, New York.
Lit.: K. C. K. "Computer-Generated Movies, Designs
and Diagrams," in: Martin Krampen and Peter Seitz
(eds.), Design and Planning 2, New York, 1967, pp.
58-63. Leon D. Harmon and K. C. K.,"Computer-
Generated Pictures," in: Jasia Reichardt (ed.),
Cybernetic Serendipity, London, 1968, pp. 86f. Leon D.
Harmon and K. C. K.,"Picture Processing by
Computer," in: Science,163, April 1969, pp. 19-29.
— Hans Kohler
(1922, S t u t t g a r t , D E ) s t u d i e d p a i n t i n g a n d g r a p h i c s a t
the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Kiinste
Stuttgart after an apprenticeship asa color litho­
grapher and studies at the Hohere grafische Fach-
schule in Stuttgart. Assisted lectures by Max Bense
at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart. He worked
as an art director for Kodak and as a chief design
consultant for IBM Germany. He lives in Stuttgart.
— Zelimir Koscevic
(1939, Z a g r e b , t o d a y H R ) s t u d i e d a r t h i s t o r y a n d
ethnology at the University of Zagreb (grad. 1964).
1965/1966 worked for the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt,
Zagreb. 1966-1980 directorof the Galerija Students-
kog centra, Zagreb. 1980-2004 chief curator at the
Gradska galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb.
1975-1980 and 1989-1997 part-time professor of muse-
ology at the department of art history, University
of Zagreb. 1992-1996 editor of twentieth-century-art
encyclopedia. He is now program adviser of the Photo
Gallery Lang in Samobor. He lives in Samobor, HR.
Lit.: t. K„ Ispitivanje medjuprostora, Zagreb, 1978.
J e r k o D e n e g r i a n d Z . K . , EXA1 51, Z a g r e b , 1979.
— Martin Krampen
(1928, S i e g e n , D E ) s t u d i e d t h e o l o g y , p s y c h o l o g y , a n d
 Appendix

Biographies and Group Chronologies

art history in Tubingen and Heidelberg, and painting Exhib.: 1966, Strutture organizzate, Conservatorio — Robert Mallary
— Manfredo Massironi
at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, Florence Cherubini, Florence. 1970, Generacidn automdtica de i javnost," in: NaSe feme. 5, 1971. M. M.,"Elektronsko
(1917, Toledo, OH, USA - 1997, Northampton, MA, (1937, Padua, IT) studied architecture and industrial 1965 joined the computer center at McGill University,
(1950). He also studied at the Hochschule fiir formas pldsticas, computer center of the University of doba na plitfini," in: NaSe feme, 2/3, 1972.
USA) studied at the Escuela de las Artes del Libro, design in Venice. 1959-1964 member of Gruppo N. Montreal, where he was chief operator. From 1965
Gestaltung Ulm (HfG) (grad. 1957) and at Michigan Madrid. 1970, Venice Biennale. Mexico City (1938/1939). the Painter's Workshop used computers for experimental artistic graphics.
1965/1966 member of Gruppo enne 65. He lives in — Gustav Metzger
State University, East Lansing (1962 Ph.D. in design School in Boston (1941), and the Academia de San He moved to Ottawa in 1969 to join Information
Padua.
and psychology). He taught at the Hochschule fiir — Julio Le Pare (1926, Nuremberg, DE) came to England in 1939 as a
Carlos in Mexico City (1942/1943). 1942/1943 worked Science Industry (ISI). 1970 consultant for the
Exhib.: 1966. Weiss auf Weiss. Kunsthalle Bern. See
Gestaltung Ulm, at the Carnegie Institute of (1928, Mendoza, AR) studied at the Escuela Nacional child refugee from Germany (Refugee Children
with Jose Clemente Orozco on a research project also: Gruppo N. Ministry of Urban Affairs of the Federal Govern­
Technology in Pittsburgh, at the University of de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredon, Buenos Aires Movement). Has been stateless since the 1940s.
on experimental media. 1949/1950 taught at the ment. He lives in Toronto, CA.
Lit.: See: Gruppo N.
Waterloo, at the University of Toronto, at the Studied woodwork at the Technical College in Leeds
(1943-1947). i960 founding member of the Centre California School of Art, Los Angeles. 1950-1954 Exhib.: 1967, Computer Art and Animation, Stable
Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Schwabisch Gmiind, and and art at the Cambridge School of Art and Borough
de Recherche d'Art Visuel. 1961 founding member of taught at the Hollywood Art Center School. Gallery, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. 1968,
— Slavko Matkovic
at the University of Gottingen. 1977-1993 taught at Polytechnic in London. 1959 published the First of
the Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV). 1959-1967 taught at the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, and Cybernetic Serendipity, International Center of
(1948, Subotica, today RS - 1994. Subotica) is a writer
the Hochschule fiir bildende Kiinste Berlin. 1998 He lives in Cachan, FR. three manifestos on auto-destructive art. Organized Contemporary Arts, London. 1969, Expozice
1967-1996 at the University of Massachusetts and worked as a bookseller. 1969 founding member
professor honoris causa, Hochschule fiir Gestaltung i n t e r n a t i o n a l " D e s t r u c t i o n i n Art S y m p o s i u m " ( D I A S ) . Experimentalni Hudby, Konkretni hudba. Fonicka poezie,
Exhib.: 1964, Venice Biennale. 1966, Venice Biennale. Amherst. 1963/1964 Guggenheim Fellow. Member of of Bosch+Bosch.
Schwabisch Gmiind. He lives in Ulm, DE. 1969 became editor of PAGE, the bulletin of the Studiu Ceskeho rozhlasu, Brno.
See also: Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV). Experiments in Art and Technnology (E.A.T.). Exhib.: 1970, Izloiba grupe Bosch*Bosch, Salon tribine
Exhib.: 1967, Computergrafik, studio f, Ulm. London Computer Arts Society. He lives in London. Lit.: "Some Thoughts on the Art/Computer
Lit.: J. L. P., A propos de art-spectacle, spectateur actif Exhib.: 1959,16 Americans, The Museum of Modern Mladih, Novi Sad. 1972, Izloiba grupe Bosch*Bosch, Exhib.: 1961, Bewogen Beweging, Stedelijk Museum,
Lit.: M. K. (ed.), Design and Planning, New York, 1965. instability et programmation dans I'art visuel, folder, Relationship," in: The Magazine of the Institute of
Art, New York, i960, Whitney Sculpture Biennial, Galerija Studentskog centra, Zagreb.
M. K.,"Computer and Design," in: ulm, 19, 1967, pp. Amsterdam. 1972, documenta 5, Kassel. Contemporary Arts, 6, September 1968, pp. 16-19.
Paris, September 1962. J. L. P.,"Declaration," in: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. 1961,Art Lit: S. M„ Knjiga: vizuelno poetska istraiivanja,
2-8. M. K. and Peter Seitz (eds.). Design and Planning Lit.: G. M.,"Auto-destructive art. Machine art.
GRAV (ed.), L'lnstabilite, exhib. cat., Maison des of Assemblage, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1971-1978. Subotica, 1979.
2, New York, 1967. Auto-creative art," in: Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz — Manfred Mohr
Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1962, n. p. J. L. P.,"Guerilla Lit.: R. M.,"Computer Sculpture: Six Levels of
(eds.), Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art. A (1938, Pforzheim, DE) studied at the Kunst- und
culturelle," Cybernetics," in: Artforum, vol. 7, no. 9, May 1969, pp. — Almir Mavignier
— Fedor Kritovac Sourcebook of Artist's Writings, Berkeley, CA, 1996, p. Werkschule Pforzheim (1957-1961) and the Ecole
in: Robho, 3, Spring 1968, n. p. See also: Groupe de 29-35. R- M.,"Notes on Jack Burnham's Concepts of 11925, Rio de Janeiro, BR) studied painting in Rio de 402.
(1938, Zagreb, today HR) studied architecture at the Recherche d'Art Visuel. Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris
a Software Exhibition," in: Leonardo, vol. 3, no. 2, Janeiro (1945-1950 and visual communications at the
University of Zagreb (grad. 1963, Ph.D. in social (1964-1967). 1963-1983 studio in Paris. 1969 created his
April 1970, pp. 189L R. M. and Caxton C. Foster, Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm (HfG) (1953-1958). — Leslie Mezei first computer graphics. He lives in New York, NY, USA.
studies, urban sociology 1986). He worked at the — Eduardo Mac Entyre "Comments on Software and Hardware,"in: Leonardo, 1965-1990 professor of painting at the Hochschule fiir
Centar za industrijsko oblikovanje, Zagreb. He is (1931, Budapest, HU) studied physics and Exhib.: 1970, Computer Graphics 70, London. 1970,
(1929, Buenos Aires, AR) is a self-taught artist. 1959 vol. 3, no. 4, October 1970, pp. 492f. bildende Kiinste Hamburg. He lives in Hamburg. DE. mathematics at McGill University, Montreal (B.S. Generacidn automdtica de formas pldsticas, computer
member of ULUPUH, a gallery and department for founding member of the group Movimiento de Arte
Exhib.: 1958, 7. Abendausstellung. Das rote Bild, Atelier 1953) and the University of Toronto (M.A. 1954).
fashion and design, Zagreb. He lives in Zagreb. center of the University of Madrid. 1971, Manfred
Generativo, Buenos Aires. 1969 member of the Grupo — John S. Margolies Gladbacher Str. 69, Diisseldorf. 1959, Azimut, Galleria
Lit.:. F. K., Dizajn, planiranje i razvoj proizvoda, 1954-1964 programmer, system analyst, and manager Mohr. Computer Graphics - line esthetique programmee,
de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires. He lives in ([-]) was assistant editor of Architectural Record Azimut, Milan. 1959. Stringenz. Nuove tendenze
Maribor, 1973. in Toronto. 1965-1978 associate professor of computer Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
Buenos Aires. (1964-1968) and worked as a freelance writer and tedesche, Galleria Pagani del Grattacielo, Milan. 1964. science at the University of Toronto. Founder of Lit.: M. M„ Manfred Mohr. Computer Graphics - Une
Exhib. and lit.: See: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica photographer on architecture, arts, and mass media Venice Biennale.
— Jiirgen Kriz Computer Graphics Group. In the late 1960s he esthetique programmee, exhib. cat., Musee d'Art
Buenos Aires. for magazines such as Architectural Forum, Progressive
developed the early computer graphics languages Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1971.
(1944. Ehrhorn, DE) studied psychology and social
Architecture, and Art in America. He directed the — MBB Computer Graphics SPARTA and ARTA. 1968/1969 collaboration with
pedagogy at the University of Hamburg (1964-1965) — Branimir Makanec Architectural League of New York's program of From 1971 to 1972 the aerospace company — Abraham A. Moles
Frieder Nake, whom he had invited to Toronto as a
and psychology, pedagogy, philosophy, astronomy,
(1932, Koprivnica, today HR) graduated in 1961 from lectures and exhibitions (1966-1968). 1969 worked as Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB), based in postdoctoral fellow. Produced computer art with (1920, (-] - 1992, Strasbourg, FR) studied science and
and astrophysics at the University of Vienna
the Faculty of Electric Engineering, University of a critic at the American Federation of Arts, New York. Oitobrunn near Munich, engaged with computer random and algorithmic graphic transformations. law in Grenoble, Paris, and Aix-en-Provence (1942
(1965-1968, Ph.D. 1969). 1967-1970 scholar and
Zagreb. 1962 founder ofGrupa kiberneticara at the graphics at the initiative of Winfried Fischer, head of diploma in electrical engineering at the Institut
Member of the Board of Experiments in Art and
research assistant at the Institut fur Hohere Studien
University of Zagreb. 1964 designed the first — Enzo Mari MBB Press Relations. The MBB employees Frank Technology (E.A.T.) and other organizations. He lives Polytechnique de Grenoble, 1952 Ph.D. in
CHS), Vienna. 1970-1972 assistant professor of
electronic classroom in the department of physical (1932, Novara, IT) studied literature at the Accademia Bottger, Aron Warszawski. and Rolf Wolk created electroacoustics, 1956 Ph.D. in philosophy at the
in Toronto, CA.
empiricism, statistics, and EDP at the seminar of
medicine and rehabilitation at the Dr. Mladen di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan. He taught at the computer graphics, as well as the invited artist Sylvie Paris-Sorbonne University). 1945-1954 worked as a
Exhib.: 1967, Computer Art and Animation, Stable
social sciences. University of Hamburg. 1972-1974
Stojanovi6 Hospital in Zagreb. He taught Politecnico di Milano, the Centro Studi di Roubaud, who collaborated with the programmer Gallery, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. 1968, researcher at the Laboratoire d'acoustique et de
associate professor of statistics, Faculty of Sociology,
Iibrarianship, documentation, and information Comunicazione Visiva at the University of Parma, Ceroid Weiss. In 1972. the freelance author and computer graphic, Diim um6ni mesta Brna, Brno. 1970, vibrations and the Laboratoire d'etudes mecaniques
University of Bielefeld. 1974-1999 professor of
science at the Center for Postgraduate Studies and the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, and the publisher Johann Willsberger edited the book Impulse Computerkunst: Graphik, Plastik, Musik, Film, at the CNRS in Marseille. 1952-1965 consultant of
empirical social research and statistics and their
worked as an educational advisor at the Zavod za S c u o l a Umanitaria in Milan. He lives in Milan, IT. Computer Graphics for MBB. Kunstverein Miinchen, Munich. Radio France. From 1952 worked at the Centre
foundations in the philosophy of science,
unapredenje strucnog obrazovanja (SRH) at the Exhib.: i960, Konkrete Kunst. 50 lahre Entwicklung. Exhib.. 1972, Computer Graphics, Messerschmitt- Lit.: L. M.,"Artistic Design by Computer," in: d'etudes radiophoniques of the RTF. 1954-1960
department of social sciences, University of
University of Zagreb. 1970 co-founder of the Helmhaus, Zurich. 1961, Bewogen Beweging, Stedelijk Bolkow-Blohm (MBB), Ottobrunn, cafeteria. 1972, Computers and Automation, vol. 13, no. 8, August 1964, research at the Laboratoire d'electroacoustique
Osnabriick. 1980/1981 professor of clinical Scherchen, Gravesano, IT. 1956 researcher at MIT,
multimedia center of the University of Zagreb. M u s e u m , Amsterdam. 1965, The Responsive Eye, THT Musik/Film/Dia/Licht-Festival im Rahmenprogramm der pp. 12-15. L. M. and Arnold Rockmann,"The
psychology and intervention methods, University of Cambridge, and Columbia University, New York.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. Clympischen Spiele, Technische Universitat Miinchen Electronic Computer as an Artist," in: Canadian Art
Osnabriick. 1999 professor of psychotherapy and 1959-1965 professor at the Ecole d'organisation du
— Tomas Maldonado Lit.: E. M., La funzione delta ricerca estetica, Milan, and Bayerischer Rundfunk. Munich. Magazine, vol. 21, no. 6, 1964, pp. 365-367- L. M.,
clinical psychology, department of psychology, travail in Paris. 1961-1966 teaching assignment at the
(1922, Buenos Aires, AR) studied at the Escuela 1970. E. M.,"Arte e liberta - impegno ideologico delle L"': ,ohann Willsberger (ed.), Computer Graphics, "Computers and the Visual Arts," in: Computers and
University ol Osnabriick. From 1999 psychotherapist. Cologne, 1972. Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm [Ulm School of
Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredon and correnti artistiche," in: il verri, 1953. PP- '33-'36- the Humanities, 2, 1967. PP- 4'~42-
He lives in Osnabriick, DE. Design). 1961 taught sociology at the University of
the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Manuel
Lit.: J. K., Subjektive Wahrscheinlichkeiten und ~ Matko Mestrovic Strasbourg. 1966-1987 professor at the University of
Belgrano, Buenos Aires (1936-1942). 1944 co-founder — Mario Marino — Tomislav MikuliZ
Entscheidungen. Zur Problematik von Methoden- Strasbourg, where he founded the chair of social
of Asociacion Arte Concreto-Invencion and 1945 of (1934, [-]) studied industrial design and holds a Ph. l,933. Brna, Korfula, today HR) studied art history (1953, Bobota, YU, today HR) studied electrical
artefakten in der Entscheidungstheorie, Vienna, 1968. psychology of communications in 1966.
Arte Madi. 1951 co-founder of the review Nueva from the University of Buenos Aires. He was a and culture at the University of Zagreb (grad. 1958, engineering at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Lit.: A. A. M., Physique et technique du bruit, Paris,
Vision. 1954-1967 taught at the Hochschule fiir member of Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Ph.D. 1978). 1956-1964 worked as art critic for Radio and Computing of the University of Zagreb (from
— Auro Lecci 1952. A. A. M„ La Creation scientifique, Geneva, 1956.
Gestaltung Ulm (HfG). 1964-1966 rector of the HfG. Aires since 1969. He is emeritus professor of the Zagreb. 1959-1966 founding member of Gorgona. 1971) and at the Akademija likovnih umjetnosti u
(1938, Florence, IT) studied architecture at the A. A. M., Thdorie de I'information et perception
1964 created with Gui Bonsiepe a system of codes for University of Buenos Aires. •96os worked for the Centar za industrijsko Zagrebu, Zagreb (from 1972). '974 developed
University of Florence, the University of Oregon eslhdtique, Paris, 1958. A. A. M., Erstes Manifest der
the design program of the Italian firm Olivetti. Exhib. and lit.: See: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica "blikovanje (Cio)., Zagreb, and for the International computer program for animation at the multimedia
(1960/1961), and the University of Massachusetts permutationellen Kunst, Stuttgart, 1962. Kurd Alsleben,
1967-1970 guest professor at the School of Buenos Aires. Council of Societies of Industrial Design (1CSID). center of the University of Zagreb. 1980-1991 head of
(1970-1972). 1965 joined Centro Proposte, a visual arts A. A. M., and Francois Molnar, Drei Probleme aus der
Architecture, Princeton University. 1976-1984 '964-1968 head of information department at the design department at TV Zagreb, later Croatian TV.
initiative led by Lara Vinca Masini. 1965 started Informationsasthetik, Munich, 1966. A. A. M.,
professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and — Jean-Claude Marquette Centar za industrijsko oblikovanje, Zagreb. 1969 1998-2002 worked as a senior graphic artist at
collaboration with the Studio di Fonologia Musicale Sociodynamique de la culture, Mouton, 1969.
Literature, University of Bologna. 1976-1991 professor (1946, Juvisy-sur-Orge, FR) studied arts and grap editor of bit international 4. 1969/1970 lived in the Channel 7, Melbourne. From 2002 he worked for
1 Firenze (S2FM). 1966 participated in the electronic Monash University, AU. Since 1992 he lives in
of environmental design, Politecnico di Milano. He at the £cole Estienne in Paris and fine arts an. United States, participation in an interdisciplinary
music program at the Conservatorio Cherubini in — Francois Molnar (Ferenc Molnar)
lives in Milan, IT. informatics at the University of Vincennes. now research program. 1970-1987 consultant to the Melbourne, AU.
Florence. 1967 formed the Centro Ricerche Estetiche (1922, Szentes, HU - 1993. Pat's. FR> studied at the
Lit.: T. M., Max Bill, Buenos Aires, 1955. T. M., University of Paris VIII. 197° member of the Oro p general manager of Radio-televizija Zagreb.
F uno with Maurizio Nannucci, Paolo Masi, and Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest (grad. 1947)- '947
"Design-Objekte und Kunst-Objekte," in: ulm, 7, 1963, Art et Informatique de Vincennes. 1970-Wf '987-1992 director of the Institute for the Culture of — Peter Milojevic (Petar Milojevic)
moved to Paris. 1952 studies in experimental
Lanfranco Baldi. ,968 started to generate computer Croatia. He lives in Zagreb, HR. (1936,1-], today Kosovo) studied electrical engineering
pp. 18-24. T. M. and Gui Bonsiepe,"Wissenschaft und for Galerie Denise Rene, Paris. He lives in Par.s^ psychology at the University of Paris, i960 founding
graphics in collaboration with CNUCE, the University at the University of Belgrade, i960 emigration to
Gestaltung /"Science and Design," in: ulm, 10/11, Exhib. and lit.: See: Groupe Art et Informant U't.: M. M.,"Civilizacija slike ili slika civilizacije," in:
member of Centre de Recherche d'Art Visuel. In
of Pisa computer center. He lives in Florence. Canada. 1963/1964 first courses in computing.
1964, pp. 10-29. ivot umjetnosti, 2,1966. M. M.,"Nova tehnologija
Vincennes (GAIV).

Af
 Appendix

Biographies and Group Chronologies 559

November i960 left the Centre before it was renamed Istituto Alvar Aalto. He lives in Pino Torinese, IT. researcher in computer art at the University of
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV) in 1961. Lit.: L. M.,"Architettura programmata e linguaggio," Toronto and collaboration with Leslie Mezei.
August 28,1962. A. M. N.,"Computer-Generated
From 1963 worked at the Institut d'Esthetique et des in: Massimo Foti and Mario Zaffagnini (eds.), 1970-1972 assistant professor of computer science at
Three-Dimensional Movies," in: Computers and Technology.
Sciences de l'Art, University of Paris I. From 1969 La sfida elettronica, realta e prospettive dell'uso del the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. From
Automation, vol. 14, no. 11, November 1965. pp. 20-23.
taught at the University of Paris. Director of research computer in architettura, Bologna, 1969, pp. 130-137. L. 1972 professor of computer science at the University Exhib.: 1968, Some More Beginnings, Brooklyn
A. M. N.,"Human or Machine. A Subjective Buenos Aires.
at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique M.,"Programmazione strutturale e citta-territorio of Bremen, and since 2006 at the Hochschule fur Museum, New York. 1969, Computer-Kunst. On the Eve
Comparison of Piet Mondrian's 'Composition with
(CNRS). Director of the Centre de Recherche programmata," in: Wilfried Skreiner (ed.), Architektur Kiinste Bremen. He lives in Bremen, DE. oj tomorrow, Kubus, Hannover. 1970, Impulse
— Radoslav Putar
Lines' and a Computer-Generated Picture," in: The
Experimentale et Informatique des Arts Visuels, und Freiheit. Italien, lugoslawien, Osterreich. Computerkunst: Graphik, Plastik, Musik, Film,
Exhib.: 1965, Computer-Grafik Programme, Galerie (1921, Varazdin. today HR - 1994, Zagreb, HR) studied
Psychological Record, vol. 16, no. 1, January 1966.
University of Paris I. Dreilanderbiennale Trigon '69, Graz, 1969, pp. 13-30. Kunstverein Munchen, Munich.
Wendelin Niedlich, Biicherdienst Eggert, Stuttgart. at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of
Lit.: F. M.,"A la recherche d'un langage plastique... Umbro Apollonio and Carlo Belloli, Leonardo Mosso, 1966, Herstellung von zeichnerischen Darstellungen, Zagreb (grad. 1949). 1951-1961 assistant lecturer in
— Computer center of the Boris Kidrie Institute — Sergej Pavlin
pour une science de Part," in: Denise Rene (ed.), programmierte architektur, Milan, 1969. Tonfolgen und Texten mit elektronischen Rechenanlagen, of Nuclear Sciences philosophy at the University of Zagreb. 1959
Vasarely, exhib. cat., Galerie Denise Rene, Paris, 1959. (1929, Ljubljana, today SI) studied at the University
Deutsches Rechenzentrum, Darmstadt. 1968, founding member of Gorgona. 1964/1965 headed the
The Vin£a Institute of Nuclear Sciences is situated
F. M.,"Contribution a Petude experimentale de la — Vladimir Muljevic of Ljubljana. 1970-1973 active in the computer arts.
Cybernetic Serendipity, Institute of Contemporary information department of the Centar za
near Belgrade. It was founded in 1948 as Institute of
composition picturale," in: Sciences de l'Art. Annates de 1981 visiting professor at Tsinghua University,
(1913, Zagreb, today HR - 2007, Zagreb) studied Arts, London. 1970, Venice Biennale. industrijsko oblikovanje (CIO). 1968-1972 curator at
Physics and renamed Boris Kidrie Institute of
I'lnstitut d'Esthetique et des Sciences de l'Art, 2,1965, pp. Beijing. 1982/1983 visiting professor at Technische
engineering at the University of Zagreb (grad. 1939) Lit.: F. N.,"Bemerkungen zur Programmierungvon the Muzej za umjetnost i obrt, Zagreb, and 1972-1979
Nuclear Sciences in 1953. Since 1992 it is called Vinda
42-56. F. M.,"Towards Science in Art," in: DATA. Universitat Graz. 1973-2004 Faculty of Architecture
and technical sciences at the Technische Hochschule Computer-Grafiken," in: DRZ Programm-Information director of the Galerije grada Zagreba. 1972-1978
Institute of Nuclear Sciences. Employees of the
Directions in Art, Theory and Aesthetics, London, 1968, in Ljubljana. He lives in Ljubljana.
Wien, Vienna (Ph.D. 1944). From 1949 worked at the PI-21, Darmstadt, 1966, pp. 3-34. F. N., "Computer- institute participated in tendencije 4. kompjuteri i editor of Spot, a periodical on photography. 1973
pp. 204-213. Exhib.: 1971, Artednica - O Uso Criativo dos Meios
Faculty of Electrotechnical Engineering at the Grafik," in: exakte asthetik,5,1967, pp. 21-32. F. N„ founded CEFFT. 1979-1983 director of the Muzej za
vizuelna istrazivanja / tendencies 4. computers and visual
Eletrdnicos em Arte, Sao Paulo.
University of Zagreb. Founder of the department of Asthetik der Informationsverarbeitung. Grundlagen und research. umjetnost i obrt.
— Jane Moon automation and computer engineering. University of Anwendungen der Informatik im Bereich dsthetischer Lit.: R. P., Vizionarna arhitektura, Zagreb, 1963. See
— Ivan Picelj also: Gorgona.
([-]) studied at the University of California, Irvine Zagreb. 1966-1968 chairman of the Faculty of Produktion und Kritik, Vienna, 1974. — Lev V. Nusberg
(1924, Okucani, today HR) studied at the Akademija
(B.S. and M.S.). Worked for Burroughs Corporation, Electrotechnical Engineering, University of Zagreb. (1937. Tashkent, SU, today UZ - 1992, Orange, CT,
likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu, Zagreb (1943-1946). — Manuel Quejido
University of California, Irvine, California Computer Since 1997 professor emeritus. — Georg Nees USA) studied at the USSR Academy of Arts
1951—1956 founding member of Exat 51. He lives in
Products, Hughes Aircraft Company, Collins Radio (1926, Nuremberg, DE) studied mathematics, physics, (1946, Seville, ES) is a self-taught artist. 1969-1973
(1951-1958). 1962 founder of Dviienije. 1972 Dviienije Zagreb, HR.
Company, and Raytheon Company. Faculty member — Jo Gotthart Miiller and philosophy at the University of Erlangen and the participated in the seminars "Generacion automatica
disbanded, and Nusberg founded the group
Exhib.: 1959, Bakid - Picelj - Srnec, Galerie Denise de formas plasticas" at the computer center of the
of California State University, Fullerton, and the (1936, Mauer, today PL) studied engineering until Technische Hochschule Stuttgart under Max Bense Dynamik in Leningrad. 1976 emigrated to the USA
Rene, Paris. 1965, The Responsive Eye, The Museum University of Madrid. He lives in Madrid.
University of California, Irvine. Her initial contact 1956 (no grad.) and worked as a constructor for a bus (Ph.D. 1969). Doctoral dissertation Generative and lived in Orange.
of Modern Art, New York. 1965, Povrsine by Ivan Picelj Exhib.: 1969, Formas computables, computer center of
with computer art was at California Computer producer in Ulm. Attended early lectures at the Computergraphik was the first Ph.D. thesis in the Exhib.: 1968, documenta 4, Kassel. 1972, documenta of Yugoslavia, Howard Wise Gallery, New York. 1968,
Products. the University of Madrid. 1970, Generacidn automdtica
Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm (HfG) and studied field of computer art. 1969-1973 collaboration with 5, Kassel. See also: Dviienije.
Plus By Minus: Today's Half-Century, Albright-Knox deformas pldsticas, computer center of the University
Exhib. and lit.: See: California Computer Products. fine arts from 1958 at the Akademie der Bildenden Ludwig Rase. 1977 honorary professor of applied Lit.: See: Dviienije.
Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. See also: Exat 51. of Madrid. 1971, The Computer Assisted Art, Palacio de
Kiinste Munchen, Munich, under Ernst Geitlinger. In informatics at the University of Erlangen. He lives in
Lit.: See: Exat 51. Congresos y Exposiciones, Madrid.
— Francois Morellet 1964 discontinued his career as an artist and worked — Edward L. Palmer
Erlangen, DE.
(1926, Cholet, FR) is a self-taught artist, i960 as an architect as of 1969. 1971 founding member of Exhib.: 1965, computer-grafik, Institut fiir Philosophic 0933.!-], OR, USA - 1999, [-)) held a Ph.D. in — Otto Piene — Zoran Radovic
founding member of the Centre de Recherche d'Art an architectural office with Axel Klamke and Kai von und Wissenschaftstheorie, Technische Hochschule educational measurement and research design from (1928, Laasphe, DE) studied at the Akademie der (1940, Kraljevo, today RS) studied mathematics and
Visuel. 1961 founding member of the Groupe de Doring in Munich. He lives in Munich, DE. Stuttgart. 1968, computer graphic, Dum umOni mesta Michigan State University. University appointments Bildenden Kiinste Munchen, Munich (1949/1950) and electronics at the University of Belgrade (1959-1962).
Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV). He lives in Cholet. Exhib.: i960, lunge Maler. Munchen - Ulm, studio f, Brna, Brno. 1968, Cybernetic Serendipity, Institute of from Florida State University, Harvard University, the Kunstakademie Diisseldorf (1950-1952). Studied 1972 stipendiary of DAAD artist residential program
Exhib.: i960, motus, Galleria Azimut, Milan. 1961, Ulm. Contemporary Arts, London. 1970, Venice Biennale. and Annenberg School for Communications at the philosophy at the University of Cologne (1953—1957). in Berlin. Since 1973 he lives in Berlin.
Franfois Morellet, Uli Pohl, Bernhard Sandfort, Lit.: G. N.,"Statistische Graphik," in: University of Pennsylvania. He was founder and vice 1957-1959 member of Gruppe 53. 1957-1966 member Exhib.: 1970, Venice Biennale. 1970, Generacidn
Studiengalerie, Technische Hochschule Stuttgart. — Bruno Munari president of research of Children's Television
Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und of ZERO. 1958-196! co-publisher with Heinz Mack of automdtica de formas pldsticas, computer center of the
1961, Franfois Morellet - Marc Adrian, studio f, Ulm. Workshop (CTW). Participated in the creation of
(1907, Milan, IT - 1998, Milan) studied at the Geisteswissenschaft, vol. 5, no. 3/4, December 1964. PP- the magazine ZERO. 1966 moved to New York City. University of Madrid. 1970, Impulse Computerkunst:
1962, Francois Morellet, Studio G, Zagreb. See also: "Sesame Street."
Politecnico di Milano and worked for his uncle's 67-78. G. N.,"Variationen von Figuren in der 1974-1994 director of the Center for Advanced Visual Graphik, Plastik, Musik, Film, Kunstverein Munchen,
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel.
engineering office. Self-taught artist. 1948 founding statistischen Graphik," in: Grundlagenstudien aus Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Munich.
Lit.: F. M.,"Mise en condition du spectateur," in: — Duane M. Palyka
member of Movimento Arte Concreta (MAC) in Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft, vol. 5, no. 3/4. Cambridge, MA. He lives in Diisseldorf, DE.
Lumiere et Mouvement, exhib. cat., Musee d'Art <'944. Pittsburgh. PA, USA) studied mathematics
Milan and its head from 1953 to 1954, published the December 1964, pp. 121-125. G. N., Generative Exhib.: 1959, documenta 2, Kassel. i960, Monochrome — Ludwig Rase
Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1967, pp. 8of. F. M. "The H962-1965, B.A. 1968) and fine arts (1965-1968, B.F.A.
bulletin of MAC. In 1962 organized the exhibition Computergraphik, Berlin, 1969. Malerei, Stadtisches Museum Leverkusen Schloss (1925, Nuremberg, DE - 2009, Munich, DE) studied
Choice in Present-Day Art," in: DATA. Directions in '969) at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, and
Arte programmata, Olivetti Showroom, Milan. Morsbroich. i960, Konkrete Kunst. 50 lahre Entwick­ architecture at the Technische Hochschule
Art theory and Aesthetics, London, 1968, pp. 236-242. Exhib.: 1927, Venice Biennale. 1955, Two Graphic Painting at the University of Utah (M.F.A. 1970). 1965 Munchen, Munich. 1969-1973 collaboration with
— Pierre-Louis Neumann lung, Helmhaus, Zurich. 1961, Bewogen Beweging,
See also: Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel. Designers: Bruno Munari and Alvin Lustig, The first experiments with computer art. 1968-1976 Georg Nees. He lived in Munich.
((-J) was a member of the Groupe Art et Informa­ Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. See also: ZERO.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, i960, Konkrete research associate and systems programmer in Lit.: See: ZERO. Exhib.: 1970, Venice Biennale.
tique de Vincennes.
— Giorgio Moscati
Kunst. 50 Jahre Entwicklung, Helmhaus, Zurich. Exhib.: See: Groupe Art et Informatique de computer graphics at the University of Utah, Salt
([-)) 1967-1969 and 1970 collaboration with Waldemar Lake City. 1977-1989 senior research scientist at New — Edo Ravnikar (Edvard Ravnikar)
Lit.: B. M. "Manifesto del Macchinismo," in: arte Vincennes (GAIV). — Uli Pohl
Cordeiro on computer graphics. 1970 visiting York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics (1935, Munich, DE) studied at the Akademie der (1941, Ljubljana, today SI) studied architecture at the
concreta 10, December 1952. B. M., Arte come mestiere, Lit.: P.-L. N.,"Definition d'un espace
scientist at the University of Liverpool. Director of Laboratory. 1989-1993 assistant professor at the Bildenden Kiinste Miinchen, Munich, under Ernst University of Ljubljana (1967). Postgraduate studies
Bari, 1966. comprehensible," in: Artinfo-Musinfo. 14''97'•
scientific and industrial metrology at Inmetro, the University of Michigan School of Art. 1994-1998 Geitlinger. 1967-1971 lecturer at the Hochschule fiir at University College London. He worked for
pp. 15-26.
Brazilian National Metrology Organization. coniract work. 1998-2008 associate professor at the Douglas Stephen & Partners in London, Studio BBPR
— Monique Nahas bildende Kiinste Hamburg and 1971-1974 at 'he
Professor of physics at the University of Sao Paulo. School of Film and Animation at the Rochester Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Bremen. He lives in in Milan, and Studio Cappai, Foscari, Mainardis in
(1940, Paris, FR) studied physics at the Paris- — A. Michael Noll
Vice president of the International Committee for Institute of Technology. He lives in Rochester, NY. Blaustein, DE. Venice. He lives in Ljubljana.
Sorbonne University (1963 Ph.D., University of (1939. H. USA) studied electrical engineering
Weights and Measures (C1PM). Exhib.: 1968, Some More Beginnings, Brooklyn Exhib.: 1961, Franfois Morellet, Uli Pohl, Bernhard
Orsay). Member of the Groupe Art et Informatique Newark College of Engineering (B.S. 1961). N'ew
Museum, New York. 1968. Cybernetic Serendipity, ICA, Sandfort, Studiengalerie, Technische Hochschule — Gary Rice
de Vincennes. She collaborates with Herve Huitric University (M.S. .963). and the Polytechnic Ins.i.u
— Leonardo Mosso London. 1969, Computer-Kunst. On the Eve of Stuttgart. 1961, Zero. Edition Exposition Demonstration, (1938, Kansas City, MO, USA - 1975, Kansas City)
and lives in Nogent-sur-Marne, FR. of Brooklyn (Ph.D. 1961) in New York. 196'slarlt' .
(1926, Turin, IT) studied architecture at the Politec- Tomorrow, Kubus, Hannover. Galerie Schmela, Diisseldorf. 1961, structures. I art obtained a highschool degree, was a self-taught
Exhib. and lit.: See: Groupe Art et Informatique de work for Bell Laboratories. Professoremer"US°.
o!
nico di Torino. 1951-1955 worked in the architecture Lit.. D. M. P.,"Computer Prints," in: Jasia Reichardt abstrait constructif des pionniers a nos jours, Galerie artist, and worked as a programmer and steel worker.
Vincennes (GAIV). University of Southern California Annenberg
office of his father Nicola Mosso. 1955-1958 worked led.), Cybernetic Serendipity, London, 1968, pp. 92f. Member of the Art Research Center (ARC).
for Communication. He lives in Stirling. NJ. Denise Rene, Paris.
in the studio of Alvar Aalto in Helsinki. Since 1963 Exhib.: See: Art Research Center (ARC).
— Frieder Nake Exhib.: 1965, Computer-Generated Pictures, °»
collaboration with Laura Castagno. 1961-1986 Cord Passow Lit.: G. R.,"Untitled," in: The Center, 3, 1967, n. p. See:
Wise Gallery, New York. 1968, Cybernetic eren — Rogelio Polesello
(1938, Stuttgart, DE) studied mathematics at the
professor at the Politecnico di Torino. 1970 founder, Art Research Center (ARC).
<>927, Naumburg, DE) studied physics from c. 1949. (1939, Buenos Aires, AR) studied at the Escuela
Technische Hochschule Stuttgart and attended the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London-",'°
with Laura Castagno, of the Centro Studi di From c. 1959 worked for the Deutsches Elektronen- Nacional de Bellas Artes Manuel Belgrano, Buenos
lectures of Max Bense. 1963 first artistic experiments Generacidn automdtica deformas pldsticas, com
Cibernetica Ambientale e Architettura Programmata — Vjenceslav Richter
Synchrotron (DESY). In i960 created with Kurd Aires, and graduated from the Escuela Nacional de
with the plotter ZUSE Z64 Graphomat at the center of the University o f M a d r i d . tnrlnn LI D _ inni 7la ri< K HRI Ctllsliorf
and the Centro Studi Aaltiani di Torino, later Alsleben drawings with an analog computer. From c.
university's computer center. 1968/1969 visiting Lit.: A. M. N.,"Patterns by 7090," in: Bel eeP
 Appendix
architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the
University of Zagreb (grad. 1949)- 1950-1956 member
of Exat 51. 1958 architect of the Yugoslav pavilion,
EXPO 58, Brussels.
Exhib.: 1968, Vjenceslav Richter, Galerija suvremene
umjetnosti, Zagreb. 1968, Plus By Minus: Today's
Half-Century, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.
1973, De consequenties van de machine, Museum
Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. See also: Exat 51.
Lit.: V. R., Sinturbanizam, Zagreb, 1964. See also: Exat 51.
— Osvaldo Romberg
(1938, Buenos Aires, AR) studied at the Colegio
Nacional de Buenos Aires (1950—1955) and
architecture at the University of Buenos Aires
(1956—1962). 1969 member of the Grupo de Arte y
Cibernetica Buenos Aires. 1961-1973 taught at the
Universities of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, AR, Puerto
Rico, and Tucuman. 1973 immigration to Israel. Since
1973 teaches at the Bezalel Academy of Art,
Jerusalem. Co-founder of Slought Foundation,
Philadelphia, PA, USA. He lives in Tel Aviv and New
York City.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
Buenos Aires.
— Sylvia Roubaud
(1941, Munich, DE) studied painting and graphic arts
under Emilio Vedova in Venice (1966-1969) and at the
Akademie der Bildenden Kiinste Miinchen, Munich,
under Gunter Fruhtrunk (1967-1974). 1971 created
computer graphics in collaboration with the
mathematician Gerold Weiss at Messerschmitt-
Bolkow-Blohm (MBB). 1974-1998 owner of a gallery
for abstract painting in Munich. She continues to
work as an artist and lives in Munich and Italy.
Exhib. and lit.: See: MBB Computer Graphics.
— Beverly Charles Rowe
<•935. London, UK) studied archaeology and
anthropology at King's College, Cambridge, UK.
1958/1959 research executive, Social Surveys (Gallup
Poll) Ltd. 1960/1961 research officer at the London
County Council (town planning). 1962/1963 analyst/
programmer at English Electric Ltd. 1963-1967
lecturer in medical data processing at the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 1968/1969
head of applications at the University of London
Computer Centre, there consultant to Gustav
Metzger for his computer works. 1970-1978 head of
computer center at the Polytechnic of North London.
'979-1984 head of computing at the International
Statistical Institute, London. 1985-2003 director of
AnyWare Ltd., London.
— Pierre Schaeffer
d9.o, Nancy, today FR - ,995, Aix-en-Provence, FR)
studied a, the Ecole Polytechnique (grad. ,929) and
the Ecole superieure d'electricite et des
telecommunications, Paris (grad. 1931). From 1936
worked for the Radiodiffusion Fran9aise. 195,
co-founder of the Croupe de Recherche de Musique
Concrete, from ,958 Groupe de Recherches
Musicales (CRM). From ,960 worked for the
S'™ '» Recherche de la
,oe,'h u"°"-,eI,Sv,"°" fran ai.e (RTF), which in
9 International, 18, 1968, pp. 89L I. S.,"Jugoslavia.
64 became ,he Office de radiodiff„sio„.,a4vi,ion
han9aise (ORTF), and from 1974 for the Institut
ational de 1 Audiovisuel (INA).
— Gottfried Schlemmer
(1934, Vienna, AT) studied theater directing (grad.
1963). 1962 founder of werkstatt. Independent theater
productions, experimental theater, and
multimedia events. 1967-1984 research assistant at
the Osterreichisches Filmmuseum. 1968 co-founder
of the Austrian Filmmakers Cooperative. 1971-2006
taught at the Akademie der bildenden Kiinste Wien,
Vienna. 1982-2003 taught at the Universitat fur
kiinstlerische und industrielle Gestaltung Linz. 1981
founder of the Gesellschaft fur Filmtheorie, later
SYNEMA - Gesellschaft fur Film und Medien.
Exhib.: 1967, Meeting 67. Biihne und Autor heute,
werkstatt Breitenbrunn. 1968, Meeting Film Literatur,
werkstatt Breitenbrunn.
Lit.: G. S. and Marc Adrian,"Syspot," in: protokolle 70,
1,1970, pp. 86f. G. S. (ed.), Avantgardistischer Film
1951-1971: Theorie, Munich, 1975.
— Siegfried J. Schmidt
(1940, Jiilich, DE) studied philosophy, German
literature, linguistics, and art history in Freiburg,
Gottingen, and Munster, DE (1960-1965, Ph.D. 1966).
1965-1969 assistant for philosophy at the Technische
Hochschule Karlsruhe. 1968 habilitation thesis in
philosophy. 1971 professor of text theory and from
1973 of the theory of literature at the University of
Bielefeld. From 1979 professor of German literature
and general literature at the University of Siegen.
1984-1997 director of the Institute for Empirical
Literature and Media Research (LUMIS), University
of Siegen. Since 1997 professor for communications
theory and media culture at the University of
Munster and director of the Institute of
Communication Sciences. He lives in Munster, DE.
Exhib.: 1959, /-/, Stadtbiicherei, Essen. 1962, /-/,
Junges Theater, Gottingen. 1973, [ - / , Galerie Baecker,
Bochum.
Lit.: Co-publisher with Dietfried Gerhardus of the
magazine BOGAWUS. Zeitschrift fur Literatur, Kunst
und Philosophie (1964-1968). Publisher of the
magazine volumina I-V (1968-1976). S. J. S., Sprache
und Denken als sprachphilosophisches Problem von
Locke bis Wittgenstein, The Hague, 1968. S. J. S.,
Bedeutung und Begriff. Zur Fundierung einer
sprach-philosophischen Semantik, Braunschweig, 1969.
— Claude Schnaidt
(1931. Geneva, CH - 2007, Paris, FR) studied at the
Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm (HfG Ulm)
(1954-1958). 1962/1963 teaching appointment at the
Hochschule fiir Gestaltung Ulm.
— Bernhard Schneider
(1941, Stuttgart, DE) studied art history at the
University of Tubingen and architecture in Berlin,
where he moved in 1961. 1978-1981 manager of
Deutscher Werkbund Berlin. 1981-1989 executive
planning officer with the senators of urban
development and of cultural affairs, Berlin. 1991-1995
member of the steering committee of the Stadtforum
Berlin. Founding member of the Deutsche
Gesellschaft fiir Semiotik. He lives in Berlin.
Lit.: Alessandro Carlini and B. S. (eds.), Konzept 1 -
Architektur als Zeichensystem, Tubingen, 1971.
— Manfred R. Schroeder
(1926, Ahlen, DE - 2009, Gottingen, DE) studied
physics at the University of Gottingen (diploma 1951,
Ph.D. 1952). 1954 joined research staff of Bell
Telephone Laboratories at Murray Hill, NJ. 1958
head of the Acoustics Research Department, where
he was in charge of acoustics and speech research
(1958-1969). 1963 director of Acoustics and Speech
Research at Bell Labs. In 1968, he generated
computer graphics. Collaboration with Suzanne
Hanauer. 1969-1991 professor of physics and director
at the Drittes Physikalisches Institut, University of
Gottingen: remained associated with Bell Labs.
Exhib.: 1969, Some More Beginnings, Brooklyn
Museum of Art, New York. 1969, Computer-Kunst. On
the Eve of Tomorrow, Kubus, Hannover. 1970, Impulse
Computerkunst: Graphik, Plastik, Musik, Film,
Kunstverein Miinchen, Munich.
Lit.: M. R. S.,"Die statistischen Parameter der
Frequenzkurven von grossen Raumen," in:Zlcustica,
4,1954, pp. 594-600. M. R. S.,"Images from
Computers and Microfilm Plotters,"in:
Communications of the Association for Computing
Machinery, vol. 12, no. 2, February 1969, pp. 95-101.
Bishnu S. Atal and M. R. S.,"Adaptive Predictive
Coding of Speech Signals," in: Bell Systems Technical
journal, vol. 49, no. 8, October 1970, pp. 1973-1986.
— Lillian F. Schwartz
(1927, Cincinnati, OH, USA) studied at the College of
Nursing and Health at the University of Cincinnati,
OH. Studied and experimented with traditional
media in the USA; calligraphy and brushwork in
Japan. Created sculptures in the 1950s and 1960s. In
1968 she was introduced to computing at the Bell
Telephone Laboratories, New Jersey, by Leon D.
Harmon and John R. Vollaro. In 1969 she began to
work on computer-generated movies in collaboration
with Kenneth C. Knowlton. 1970 release of Pixillaticn.
She lives in New York City.
Exhib.: 1968, The Machine as Seen at the End of the Me­
chanical Age, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Lit.: L. F. S., "Lillian Schwartz," in: Ruth Leavitt (ed.),
Artist and Computer, Harmony Books, New York, 19/6.
pp. 107L L. F. S. and Charles B. Rubinstein,
"Film-making with Computer. Adapting a New
Technology for Art," in: Interdisciplinary Science
Reviews, vol. 4, no. 4, December 1979, PP- -"''s
— Ana Segui (Ana Buenaventura Barrial)
(1942, Madrid, ES) studied at the University of
Madrid. 1970-1973 participated in the seminars
"Generacion automatica de formas plastii.i-
computer center of the University of Madrid. She
lives in Madrid. . ,
Exhib.: 1971, The Computer Assisted Art, Palan" '
Congresos y Exposiciones, Madrid. 197'.FormJ
computadas, Ateneo, Madrid.
- Javier Segui (Javier de Segui de la Rival
(,940, Madrid, ES) studied architecture and Ps)C
logy at the University of Madrid (grad. '9 4-
1966). 1968-1973 participated in the seminars
racion automatica de formas plasticas ai
computer center of,he University ofMadn^
a professor at the Escuela Tecmca de rq
de Madrid. He lives in Madrid. rcenle,of
Exhib.: 1969. Formas computables, coup"' . L't.:
the University of Madrid. 197'.lhe om drj(J
An Polarin de Congresos y Expositions
Camarero (ed.), Ordenadores en el arte. Generacidn
automatica de formas pldsticas, Madrid, 1969, pp.
49-56. J. S.,"Precisi6n del problems," in: Boletin del
CCUM, 10, February 1970, pp. 25-33. J- S.,"Pintura
sobre redes moduladas. Conceptos generales," in:
Boletin del CCUM, 18, March 1972, pp. 1-3.
— Soledad Sevilla
(1944. Valencia, ES) studied painting at the Escuela
Superior de Bellas Artes de San Jorge de Barcelona
(1960-1965). 1968-1973 participated in the seminars
"Generacion automatica de formas plasticas" at the
computer center of the University of Madrid. She
lives in Barcelona, ES.
Exhib.: 1969, Formas computables, computer center of
the University of Madrid. 1970, Generacidn automatica
de formas pldsticas, computer center of the University
of Madrid. 1971, The Computer Assisted Art, Palacio de
Congresos y Exposiciones, Madrid.
— Ivo§kari6
('933. Postira, Brad, today HR - 2009, Zagreb. HR)
studied Yugoslav and French literature at the Univer­
sity of Zagreb (grad. 1958, Ph.D. in phonetics 1965).
From i960 assistant at the Institute of Phonetics at
the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Zagreb. From 1965
senior lecturer and from 1980 full professor. Editor
in chief of magazine Govor, member of the editorial
board of jezik magazine and the revue Media research.
He taught phonetics and linguistics to graduate and
postgraduate students at various institutions.
— Ed Sommer
('932. Schwabisch Gmtind, DE) worked in the metal
processing factory of his father, later also as designer
(1948-1965). He is a self-taught artist. Guest student
under Max Bense at the Technische Hochschule
Stuttgart and Abraham A. Moles at the Hochschule
fiir Gestaltung Ulm (HfG). 1966-1969 German
correspondent for the journal Art International. Since
'974 married to the artist YongSa. Since 2002 creates
mostly literary works. He lives in Schwabisch
Gmiind, DE.
Exhib.: 1964, Mouvement 2, Galerie Denise Rene,
Paris. 1966, Ed Sommer. Plastische Arbeiten, (op)art
'
galerie h. f. mayer, Esslingen. 1968, public eye,
Kunsthaus Hamburg.
— Ronald B. de Sousa
('940, [-)) studied litterae humaniores (classical
languages and literature) at New College, Oxford
University (B.A. 1962) and holds a Ph.D. in
philosophy from Princeton University (1966). 1966
assistant professor of philosophy, 1971 associate
professor of philosophy, 1982 professor of philosophy,
2005 professor emeritus, University of Toronto.
Aleksandar Srnec
('924, Zagreb, today HR - 2010, Zagreb) studied at
e ^kademiji likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu, Zagreb
(1943-1949). 1950-1956 member of Exat 51.
Exhib.: 1967, srnec aleksandr, Galerija Studentskog
centra, Zagreb. 1973, De consequenties van de machine.
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. See
a'so: Exat 51.
See: Exat 51.
Klaus Staudt
('932, Otterndorf, DE) studied medicine in Marburg
(1954-1959) and painting at the Akademie der
Bildenden Kiinste Miinchen, Munich, under Ernst
Geitlinger (1959-1963). 1963-1967 assistant at the
Akademie der Bildenden Kiinste Miinchen under
Georg Meistermann. From 1967 taught at the
Werkkunstschule Offenbach. 1974-1994 professor at
the Hochschule fur Gestaltung Offenbach am Main.
He lives in Frankfurt am Main, DE.
Exhib.: i960, junge Maler. Miinchen - Ulm, studio f,
Ulm. 1966, Sigma II, Galerie des Beaux-Arts,
Bordeaux. 1968, public eye, Kunsthaus Hamburg.
Lit.: K. S. and Dieter Hacker (eds.), Drei Probleme aus
dem Bereich der Informationsasthetik, Munich, 1966.
— Nancy A. Stephens
(1940. I_l. KS, USA) studied drama and acting at
Northwestern University (1958-1960) and theater
design and acting (B.A.) and directing and drama
(M.A.) at the University of Kansas, Kansas City, MO
(1960-1963). 1962-1975 married to Thomas Michael
Stephens. 1963 co-founder of the New Center U.S.
Art Cooperative Gallery, Kansas City, MO. 1966
founding member of the Art Research Center (ARC).
1965-1967 community center director at the Kansas
City Missouri Parks and Recreation Department.
1968-1973 co-founder of the Midwest Area Peace and
Freedom Coalition, Kansas City. Since 1978 owner of
a medical transcription service company in Boston.
She lives in the Boston area, MA, USA.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Art Research Center (ARC).
— Thomas Michael Stephens
(1941, Elkins, AR, USA) studied theater design,
creative writing, and art history at the University of
Kansas, Kansas City, MO (1959-1963). 1962-1964
co-founder and director of the New Center U.S. Art
Cooperative Gallery, Kansas City, MO. 1966 founding
member of the Art Research Center (ARC). He lives
in Columbus, KS, USA.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Art Research Center (ARC).
— Zdenko Sternberg
(1920, Osijek, today HR) studied chemistry (1938-1941
and 1946-1949, grad. 1949) at the University of Zagreb,
physics at the University of Zagreb (from 1950), and
nuclear physics at University College London
(1956-1958). 1958-1960 researcher at the Commissariat
a I'Energie Atomique (CEA), Centre Fusion
Control6e, Fontenay-aux-Roses, FR. 1961 director of
the laboratory for physics and chemistry of ionized
gases, later the laboratory for ionized gases at the
Ruder Boskovic Institute, Zagreb. From 1965 lectures
at the University of Zagreb. He lives in Zagreb.
Lit.: Z. S.,"High Current Glow Discharge with
Electrolyte as Cathode," in: Proceedings of the
International Conference on Gas Discharges London,
1970, pp. 68-71. Z. 5. and P. Tomas,"Excitation
Processes in Helium Induced by Impact of Deuterons
and Protons," in: Physical Review, vol. 124, no. 3, 1961,
pp. 810-813.
— Richard J. Stibbs
([-]) studied natural science (B.A. 1967) and
computing science (diploma 1968) at the University
of Cambridge (M.A. 1971)- 1968-1971 research
assistant at the Centre for Land Use and Built Form
Studies at the University of Cambridge.
Collaboration with Gustav Metzger. From 1971
worked for the University of Cambridge Computing
Biographies and Group Chronologies
Service. From 1991 head of user services at the Uni­
versity of Cambridge Computing Service. 1978-1985
partner and 1985-1998 director of a planning
consultancy firm in Cambridge. 1987-2005 director,
later chairman of a technology investment fund
based in Cambridge, MA, USA.
— Josef Hermann Stiegler
(1920, Vienna, AT - J-|) studied engineering. 1964
started to develop a system for generating cybernetic
graphics and vector drawings.
Exhib.: 1968, Cybernetic Serendipity, Institute of
Contemporary Arts, London. 1969, Rationale Pro­
gramme: Osterreichs Beitrag zum Symposium Computers
& Visual Research, werkstatt Breitenbrunn. 1969,
Kunst und Computer, Zentralsparkasse Wien, Vienna.
Lit.: J. H. S.,"Retortenkunst. Zu Ausstellungen
Rationale Asthetik' in London, Zagreb und Wien,"
in: Die Furche, 38, September 20, 1969, n. p. J. H. S.,
"ein rational-asthetisches programm," in: Fria Elfen
and Will Frenken (eds.), wb2 Dokumentation Werkstatt
Breitenbrunn 1968, Breitenbrunn, 1970, pp. xxxiv-xxxv.
— Srboljub Stojanovic
(1926, Belgrade, today RS) studied at the Faculty of
Electronics, telecommunications department (grad.
1952) and philosophy and nuclear physics at the
University of Belgrade. 1952-1967 worked in the
industry, carried out teaching and research activities,
and worked in the Federal Chamber of Commerce in
Belgrade. 1967 to late 1980s worked in the Zagreb
Institute of Economics and was involved in
interdisciplinary research projects.
— Kerry Strand
(1940, Emida, ID, USA) studied engineering at the
University of Washington, Seattle (1958-1961). After
service in the U.S. Army (1961-1963) studied physics
at the University of Washington, Seattle (1964-1966).
1965-1966 employed at University of Washington
as a programmer. 1965 created first work of computer
art, The Shell, written in ALGOL on a Burroughs 5500
and plotted on a CalComp Model 563 at the
University of Washington. 1966-1972 employed at
CalComp pro-gramming department. 1968 produced
Hummingbird, The Fisherman, and Plexus. 1972 B.S. in
physics from the California State College Fullerton.
1972-2007 employed at Boeing as a programmer
analyst. He lives in Everett, WA, USA.
Exhib.: 1969, Computer-Kunst. On the Eve of Tomorrow,
Kubus, Hannover. 1970, Impulse Computerkunst:
Graphik, Plastik, Musik, Film, Kunstverein Miinchen,
Munich.
— Irina Subotic
([-]) studied art history at the University of Belgrade
(grad. 1965). 1965-1978 curator at the Muzej
savremene umetnosti, Beograd, Belgrade. 1979-1995
curator at the Narodni Muzej in Belgrade. 1991 Ph.D.
from the University of Ljubljana with a thesis on
Zenit magazine: Likovni krug Casopisa Zenit 1921-1926.
1991-2002 professor of history of modern art at the
Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade. From
1995 professor of history of modern art at the
Akademija umetnosti, Novi Sad, RS.
Lit.: I. S.,"Londres. Cybernetic Serendipity," in: Opus
Nuove tendenze artistiche e la nuova generazione,"
in: D'Ars Agency, 43/44. '968, pp. 68-82.1. S. with
 Appendix
Jerko Denegri,"Nuove tendenze nell'arte jugoslava HR) studied chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences at
contemporanea," in: La Battana, 18, 1969, pp. 145-152. the University of Zagreb. He held a Ph.D. from the
Faculty of Technical Sciences at the University of
Ljubljana (1945). 1961 founder of postgraduate studies
— Lloyd Q. Sumner
(1943, Hillsville, VA, USA) studied engineering of documentation and special librarianship at the
science at the University of Virginia (B.S.). President Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the
of Computer Creations, Charlottesville, VA. University of Zagreb.
Lit.: L. S., Computer Art Human Response,
Charlottesville, VA, 1968. — Jon Brees Thogmartin
(1942, Kansas City, MO, USA) studied at the
University of Kansas, Kansas City, MO (1960-1964,
— Marijan Susovski
B.A. 1965). 1966 founding member of the Art
(1943, Zagreb, today HR - 2003, Zagreb) studied art
history and English at the University of Zagreb Research Center (ARC). Licensed architect since
(1962-1966). 1972-2003 chief curator at the Gradska 1968.1984/1985 taught design at California State
galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb. University. He lives in Colton, CA, USA.
1983-1990 director of the Galerije grada Zagreba. Exhib. and lit.: See: Art Research Center (ARC).
Lit.: M. S., Nova umjetnicka praksa 1966-1978, exhib.
cat., Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1978. — Biljana Tomic
(1940, Novo Selo, today RS) studied art history
— Alan Sutcliffe (1960-1965, grad.), aesthetics, and contemporary art
(1930, Todmorden, UK) studied mathematics in
(1965-1968, grad.) at the Faculty of Philosophy,
Bristol. 1951-1953 draughtsman in the Secret Service. University of Belgrade. 1969/1970 studied under
He worked as a manager of programming Giulio Carlo Argan at the La Sapienza University in
development for International Computers Ltd., Rome. 1968-1973 curator of Gallery 212, art
Bracknell, Berkshire, near London. 1969, founder of manifestations, BITEF theater festival, Belgrade.
the Computer Arts Society. 1969 multimedia work 1971/1972 curator of the Studentski kulturni centar
SPASMO performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall, (SKC), Belgrade. 1976-1999 director of the visual arts
London. He lives in Wokingham, UK. program of the Galerija SKC, Belgrade. She lives in
Exhib.: 1969, Event One, Royal College of Art, Belgrade.
London. 1970, Impulse Computerkunst: Graphik, Exhib. organized by B. T.: 1968, PERMANENT ART,
Plastik, Musik, Film, Kunstverein Miinchen, Munich. BITEF, Belgrade. 1969, Permanent Manifestations,
BITEF, Belgrade. 1970, Movement - Light, BITEF,
— Zdenek Sykora Belgrade.
(1920, Louny, CS, today CZ) studied at the Mining Lit.: B. T.,"GetuIio Alviani," in: Umetnost, July/
University in Pribram (1938/1939) and at the Charles September 1967, n. p. B. T., (Words on Walls - Images
University in Prague (1945-1947). 1947 assistant at the on Walls: Happening of Visual, Concrete, Vocal, and
institute for art education, Charles University in Sound Poetry], in: Umetnost, July/September 1968. B.
Prague. 1963 member of Krizovatka. 1964 first works T., [Six Numbers of the bit Magazine], in: Arhitektura
with computer in collaboration with mathematician i urbanizam, 59, November/December 1969, n. p.
Jaroslav Blazek. 1966-1980 professor at the Charles
University in Prague. He lives in Louny.
— Giinther Uecker
Exhib.: 1965, nuove realta nell'arte de cecoslovacchia (1930, Wendorf, DE) studied at ihe Fachschule fur
contemporanea. La Carabaga club d'arte, Genoa. 1965,
angewandte Kunst, Berlin, and painting at the
V. Biennale di San Marino. 1965, Tschechoslowakische
Kunsthochschule WeiBensee, Berlin, and the
Kunst heute, Stadtische Kunstgalerie Bochum and
Kunstakademie Diisseldorf. 1961-1966 member of
Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden. 1967,
ZERO. 1976-1995 professor at the Kunstakademie
Konstruktive Tendenzen aus der Tschechoslowakei,
Diisseldorf. He lives in Diisseldorf, DE.
Studiogalerie, johann Wolfgang Goethe University,
Exhib.: i960, Monochrome Malerei, Stadtisches
Frankfurt am Main. 1968, documenta 4, Kassel.
Museum Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich. i960,
Lit.: Z. S., and Jaroslav Blazek vol. 3, no. 4,
Konkrete Kunst. 50 jahre Entwicklung, Helmhaus,
Computer-Aided Multi-Element Geometrical
Zurich. 1965, The Responsive Eye, The Museum of
Abstract Paintings," in: Leonardo, October 1970, pp.
Modern Art, New York.
409-413-
Lit.: See: ZERO.
— Balint Szombathy
— Jiri Valoch
("950, Pacir, YU, today RS) studied at the Alexander
(1946, Brno, CS, today CZ) studied Czech and
Tsuszo Academy in Russia (1980-1984). 1969-1976
German literature and aesthetics at the University J.
co-founder and member of the Bosch+Bosch group.
E. Purkyne, Brno. 1968 curated the exhibition
'971-1972 editor of the magazine Uj Symposion, Novi
computer graphic at Dum umeni rnSsta Brna, Brno.
Sad. 1974-1985 editor of the daily newspaper Magyar
Since 1972 curator of the Dum umeni mesta Brna.
Szo. 1985-1989 editor of the magazine Uj Symposion.
He lives in Brno, CZ.
1989-1993 editor of the newspaper Csalddi Kor, Novi
Lit.: J. V., "programovane umeni," in: computer graphic,
Sad. 1993-1999 editor at the Prometej Publishing
exhib. cat., Dum umeni mesta Brna, Brno, 1968, n. p.
House, Novi Sad. Since 1999 artistic director of the
J. V., 'Umeni a computery," in: Sesity. pro literaturu a
international video art festival VideoMedeja, Novi Sad
diskusi, 31, May 1969, pp. 42L
He lives in Budapest.
— Arthur Veen
— Bozo Teiak
('949. Utrecht, NL) studied computer and
(1907, Varazdin, today HR - 1980, Zagreb, YU, today
information science at the University of
Pennsylvania, PA (M.S. 1973) and computer science at
the Technical University Eindhoven (Ph.D. 1985).
1968 founding member of Compos 68.1969-1991
engaged in computer graphics and movies. 1970-1988
teaching appointments in computer science at
various universities in the Netherlands, UK, USA,
and in Nicaragua. 1977/1978 project leader at the
University Hospital, Leiden, NL. 1978-1984 scientist
at the Center for Mathematics and Information
Science, Amsterdam. 1988-1992 founder and
managing director of the firm Parallel Computing,
Amsterdam. 1992—1996 technical director and
'999-2001 managing director of European IT
projects. Since 2001 professional actor in movies, TV
series, TV commercials, and management courses.
He lives in Amsterdam.
Lit.: A. V.,"Compos 68," in: Peter Struycken (ed.),
Vormgeving en exacte disciplines. Design and the Exact
Disciplines, Utrecht, 1971, n. p.
— Marijan Vejvoda
('939. H) studied architecture at the University of
Zagreb (grad. 1964). He worked in various
architecture studios. 1968/1969 guest lecturer at the
Manchester College of Art and Design. Currently
professor at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel
Management in Opatija Ika and the Faculty of
Philosophy at the University of Rijeka. He lives in
Matulji, HR.
— Miguel Angel Vidal
(1928, Buenos Aires, AR) was a founding member of
the group Movimiento de Arte Generativo in Buenos
Aires in 1959.1969 member of the Grupo de Arte y
Cibernetica Buenos Aires. He lives in Buenos Aires.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica
Buenos Aires.
— Philip J. van Voorst
(1939, Amsterdam, NL) studied poster design at a
private school in Amsterdam, design at the South
west Missouri State College (B.F.A.), and sculpture
at the University of Kansas, Kansas City, MO
(M.F.A.), where he taught in the design program as
a graduate assistant. 1966 founding member of th<
Art Research Center (ARC). 1992-2007 committee
member of the James Wright Poetry Festival. He lives
in southwest Missouri.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Art Research Center (ARC)-
— herman de vries
(1931, Alkmaar, NL) studied biology at a horticu tun
college in Hoorn. 1952-1961 employed by the p ant
protection service in Wageningen. 1953 llt vrit
began to make art as an autodtdact. He partictpa
in several ZERO exhibitions until 1967- '969-"'
traveled in Africa and Asia. He lives in Knetzgau.
Eschenau, DE. . — Anton Zottl
Exhib.: .962. Nul, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterda
1962, Anti-Peinture, Hessenhuis, Antwerp. 19
Weiss auf Weiss, Kunsthalle Bern. 1967. h'rn""'
vries: random objectivations: bucher, grab ""
Galerie der Edition Hansjorg Mayer, Stuttgar
Lit.: Co-publisher of Revue Nul=0 (1961-19 ^ ^
Publisher of revue integration (1965-1972'- ' Munich.
"nul-o." in: Revue o = nul, .96.. P-10-
"random objectivations," in: Revue o - nu • •
f K . l v a n d HenkPeeters , herman de vne.
— Evan Harris Walker
(1935, Franklin. AL. USA - 2006, Havre de Grace, MD,
USA) studied physics at the University of Alabama
(B.S. 1955 and M.S. 1956) and the University of
Maryland (Ph.D. 1964). 1964-1967 assistant professor
at the Institute of Atmospheric and Space Physics a
t the University of Miami. Since 1968 research
scientist of the U.S. Army Ballistics Research Center.
He founded the Walker Cancer Research Institute, a
nonprofit organization based in Aberdeen, MD.
1981-2006 president of the Walker Cancer Research
Institute.
Lit.: E. H. W.,"The Use of Computers in Designing
Paintings and Composing Music," in: University of
Miami Technical Report, Miami, FL, 1965.
Exhib.: 1969, Computer-Kunst. On the Eve of Tomorrow,
Kubus, Hannover.
— Aron Warszawski
(1935. Jerusalem, IL) studied mechanical engineering
attheTechnische Universitat Miinchen, Munich.
'97'/'972 worked on computer graphics at
Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB). He is thought
to live in Israel.
Exhib. and lit.: See: MBB Computer Graphics.
— Rolf Wedewer
(1932, Miinster, DE) studied German literature,
philosophy, geography, and art history at the
University of Miinster (1952-1957. Ph.D.). He worked
as an independent art and theater critic for different
newspapers. Later employed by the German
broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk and the
newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 1965-1995
director of Stadtisches Museum Leverkusen Schloss
Morsbroich. He lives in Leverkusen, DE.
Lit.: R. W., Dokumentation einer heutigen
Kunstrichtung, Cologne, 1969. R. W„ Zur Sprachlichkeit
von Bildern: Ein Beitrag zur Analogie von Sprache und
Kunst, Cologne, 1985.
— Horst Wegscheider
([-]) was a research assistant in the computer
working group of the Institut fur Hohere Studien
(IHS), Vienna (1966-1971).
— Ceroid Weiss
(1940, Hohenelbe, DE) studied mathematics at the
Fechnische Universitat Miinchen, Munich. He
worked for the computing department of
Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB) in Munich.
,
1971/1972 worked on computer graphics at MBB.
'97' made a set of computer graphics in collabo­
ration with Sylvia Roubaud. He lives in Bad
Reichenhall, DE.
Exhib. and lit.: See: MBB Computer Graphics.
5
John H. Whitney
(1917. Pasadena, CA, USA - 1995, Los Angeles, CA,
USA) studied at the Pomona College and Claremont
University. 1937—'939 lived in Paris. 1957-1959 joined
^ 1957
'he Charles and Ray Eames Studio to work as a film
specialist, i960 founded Motion Graphics Inc.
'965-1969 IBM sponsorship to make computer-
animated films. 1966 first artist to receive IBM
artist-in-residence grant.
Lit.: Jack P. Citron and J. H. W.,"CAMP - Computer
Assisted Movie Production," in: Fall joint Computer
Conference, 1968, pp. 1301-1305. Austin Lamont,"An
Interview with John Whitney," in: Film Comment, vol.
6, no. 3, Fall 1970; reprinted in: Robert Russett and
Cecile Starr (eds.), Experimental Animation, New York,
1976, pp. 180-187.
— Ludwig Wilding
(1927, Grunstadt, DE - 2010, Buchholz, DE) studied
art history at the University of Mainz (1948-1950) and
painting at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden
Kiinste Stuttgart under Willi Baumeister (1950-1953).
1969-1992 professor at the Hochschule fur bildende
Kiinste Hamburg.
Exhib.: 1965, The Responsive Eye, The Museum of
Modern Art, New York.
— RolfWolk
('939. Vienna, AT) studied mathematics and physics
at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of
Frankfurt am Main (Ph.D.). From 1966 mathematician
in the data processing and mathematics department
of Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB). Primary
working fields were applications in the area of
physics and mathematical optimization occurring in
the process of aircraft development, including
graphical applications. 1970-1972 collaboration with
Gerhard von Graevenitz. 1971/1972 worked on
computer graphics at (MBB). He lives in Munich, DE.
Exhib. and lit.: See: MBB Computer Graphics.
— Jose Maria Yturralde
(1942, Cuenca, ES) studied fine arts at the Escuela
Superior de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia
(1958-1963). 1968-1973 participated in the seminars
"Generacion automatica de formas plasticas" at the
computer center of the University of Madrid. 1975
research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Center for Advanced Visual Studies,
Cambridge, MA, USA. Since 1993 professor in the
Faculty of Fine Arts at the Universidad Politecnica
de Valencia. He lives in Valencia, ES.
Exhib.: 1969, Formas computables, computer center of
the University of Madrid. 1971, The Computer Assisted
Art, Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones, Madrid.
1971, Formas computadas, Ateneo, Madrid.
Lit.: J. M. Y.,"Sistematizacion del analisis pictorico
con vistas a la generacion plistica con ordenador,"
in: Ernesto Garcia Camarero (ed.), Ordenadores en el
arte. Generacidn automdtica de formas pldsticas,
Madrid, 1969, pp. 35-4«.
— Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely/Vasarhelyi)
(1934, Paris, FR - 2002, Paris) studied graphic design
at the Ecole des Arts Appliquees, Paris, i960
founding member of the Centre de Recherche d Art
Visuel. 1961 founding member of the Groupe de
Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV), Paris.
Exhib.: i960, motus, Galleria Azimut, Milan. See also:
Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV).
Lit.: Y.,"Declaration," in: GRAV (ed.), L'lnstabiliti,
exhib. cat., Maison des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1962, n. p.
See also: Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV).
— Edward Zajec
(1938, Trieste, IT) studied fine arts at the Cooper
School of Art, Cleveland, OH (1959-1961), the
Akademija za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje,
Ljubljana (grad. 1966), and at Ohio University,
Athens, OH (M.F.A. 1968). 1968 instructor at Carleton
College, Northfield, MN, where he began working
Biographies and Group Chronologies
with computers. 1969 teaching position for painting
at St. Olaf College, Northfield. 1970 returned to
Trieste where he continued artistic work with
computers. 1980 professor of computer art at the
Transmedia Center at Syracuse University, where
he instituted computer graphics for the fine arts
program. He lives in Syracuse, NY, USA.
Exhib.: 1968, RAM Li, Boliou Gallery, Northfield,
MN. 1969, exhib. accompanying the "Fall Joint
Computer Conference," Las Vegas, NV. 1970, RAM,
Galleria La Cappella, Trieste.
Lit.: E. Z.,"The Cube: Theme and Variations," in:
PAGE, 20, 1972, p. 4.
— Walter Zehringer
(1940, Memmingen, DE) studied at the Akademie
der Bildenden Kiinste Miinchen, Munich. 1965-1969
member of Effekt. He lives in Herbertsfelden, DE.
Exhib.: 1964, Mouvement 2, Galerie Denise Rene,
Paris. 1965, The Responsive Eye, The Museum of
Modern Art, New York. See also: Effekt.
Lit.: See: Effekt.
— ZERO
was founded in 1957 by Heinz Mack and Otto Piene.
Mack and Piene formed the group's core together
with Giinther Uecker who joined them in 1961. The
group existed until 1966 and published three issues
of a magazine with the group's name as a title from
1958 to 1961.
Exhib.: 1957,1. Abendaustellung, Atelier Gladbacher
Str. 69, Diisseldorf. 1958, 7. Abendausstellung. Das rote
Bild, Atelier Gladbacher Str. 69, Diisseldorf. 1958, 8.
Abendausstellung. Vibration, Atelier Gladbacher Str.
69, Diisseldorf. 1961, Zero. Edition Exposition
Demonstration, Galerie Schmela, Diisseldorf. 1962,
Nul, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Lit.: Otto Piene, "The Development of Group 'Zero',"
in: TLS, September 3,1964, pp. 812L
— Joseph Ziegler
([-], Kansas City, MO, USA) was a computer scientist
employed at the Magnetic Resonance Institute,
Kansas City, MO. 1966 founding member of the Art
Research Center (ARC). He lives in the Los Angeles
area.
Exhib. and lit.: See: Art Research Center (ARC).
— Vilko Ziljak
(1946, Sveti Ivan Zelina, YU, today HR) studied
electrical engineering at the Faculty of Electrical
Engineering and Computing at the University of
Zagreb (Ph.D. 1981). From 1999 professor of graphic
technology and head of the department of
typography and computer graphics at the Faculty of
Graphic Art at the University in Zagreb. He lives in
Zagreb.
(1933, Munich, DE) studied electrical engineering at
the Technische Universitat Miinchen, Munich. From
theoretical work in radar technology, especially
in information processing in complex radar systems.
From 1970 production of computer graphics using a
Siemens computer and CalComp plotter. He lives in
Compiled by Simon Bieling.
 Appendix
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Le mouvement = The movement, exhib. brochure, Galerie Denise Rene, fid.
Rene, Paris, 1955.
Denise
Stringenz. Nuove tendenze tedesche, exhib. cat., Galleria Pagani del Grattacielo,
Milan, 1959.
Kinetische Kunst. Alexander Colder, Mobiles und Stabiles aus den letzten jahren. Ed.
MAT, Paris, Kunstwerke, die sich bewegen oder bewegen lassen, exhib. cat,
Kunstgewerbemuseum Zurich, Zurich, 1960.
Konkrete Kunst. 50 jahre Entwicklung, exhib. cat., Helmhaus, Zurich, 1960.
Monochrome Malerei, exhib. cat., Stadtisches Museum Leverkusen, Schloss
Morsbroich, 1960.
Bewogen beweging, K. G. Pontus Hulten (ed.), exhib. cat., Stedelijk Museum,
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nuova tendenza 2, Fondazione Scientifica Querini Stampalia and Giovanni
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nova tendencija 3, exhib. cat., international version, Galerija suvremene
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The Responsive Eye, William C. Seitz (ed.), exhib. cat., The Museum of Modern
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Directions in Kinetic Sculpture, exhib. cat., University of California Printing
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Kunstverein fur die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Diisseldorf, 1966.
Programm-lnformation PI-21. Herstellung von zeichnerischen Darstellungen,
Tonfolgen und Texten mit elektronischen Rechenanlagen, Deutsches
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Weiss auf Weiss, exhib. cat., Kunsthalle Bern, 1966.
Art cinitique d Paris. Lumiire et mouvement, exhib. cat., Musee d'Art Moderne de
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 Appendix
nuova tendenza. arte programmata italiana, exhib. cat., Galleria della Sala di
cultura, Modena, and Sala comunale delle esposizioni, Reggio Emilia, 1967.
Vow Konstruktivismus zur Kinetik. 191 7 bis 1967, exhib. cat., Galerie Denise Rene,
Paris, Hans Mayer, Krefeld, 1967.
computer graphic, exhib. cat., Dum umeni mesta Brna, Brno, 1968.
Plus by Minus. Today's Half-Century, exhib. cat., Albright-Knox Art Gallery,
Buffalo, NY, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Buffalo, NY, 1968.
public eye. kinetik, konstruktivismus, environments, exhib. cat., Kunsthaus
Hamburg, 1968.
Some More Beginnings, exhib. cat., Brooklyn Museum, New York, and The
Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1968.
The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age, K. G. Pontus Hulten (ed.),
exhib. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1968.
Biennale 1969 Niirnberg. Konstruktive Kunst: Elemente und Prinzipien. Bild-Band,
exhib. cat., Institut fiir moderne Kunst Niirnberg (ed.), Kunsthalle Niirnberg,
Nuremberg, 1969.
Computer-Kunst. On the Eve of Tomorrow, Kathe Schroder (ed.), exhib. cat.,
Galerie Kubus, Hannover, Schafer, Hannover, 1969.
Event One, Computer Arts Society (ed.), exhib. cat., Royal College of Art,
London, Bracknell, 1969.
Formas computables, exhib. cat., Centro de calculo de la Universidad de Madrid,
1969.
Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja, exhib. cat., Likovna galerija kulturnog centra,
Belgrade, 1969.
Kunst und Computer, exhibit, brochure, Datenzentrum der Zentralsparkasse
Wien, Vienna, 1969.
Auf dem Wege zur Computerkunst, exhib. brochure, Fachhochschule fiir
Gestaltung, Kiel, 1970.
Generacion automdtica de formas pldsticas, exhib. cat., Centro de calculo de la
Universidad de Madrid, 1970.
Impulse Computerkunst. Graphik, Plastik, Musik, Film, Kathe Schroder (ed.), exhib.
cat., Kunstverein Munchen, Munich, 1970.
kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja, exhib. cat., Ruder Boikovic Institute, Galerija
suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1970.
Ricerca e progettazione. Proposte per una esposizione sperimentale. 35. Biennale
Internazionale d'Arte di Venezia, exhib. cat., Venice, 1970.
Software. Information Technology. Its Meaning for Art, exhib. cat., Jack W. Burnham
(ed.), The Jewish Museum, New York, 1970.
Art & Technology. A Report on the Art and Technology Program of the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art. 1967-1971, Maurice Tuchman (ed.), exhib. cat.,
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, Viking Press, New York,
1971.
Arte concreta. Der italienische Konstruktivismus, exhib. cat., Westfalischer
Kunstverein, Munster, and Haus Deutscher Ring, Hamburg, Miinster, 1971.
Arteonica. O uso criativo de meios eletrdnicos nas artes. ldealizaqdo e realizafdo,
Waldemar Cordeiro (ed.), exhib. cat., loose-leaf book, Funda?ao Armando
Alvares Penteado, Sao Paulo, Editora das Americas, Sao Paulo, 1971.
arte y cibernetica. san francisco, londres, buenos aires, exhib. cat., Centro de Arte y
Comunicacion, Buenos Aires, 1971.
Neue Tendenz: 10 Kunstler aus Zagreb, exhib. cat., Burgermeister Ludwig-Reichert-
Haus, Ludwigshafen/Rhein, and Mittelrheinisches Landesmuseum Mainz,
1971.
Maskinens konsekvenser: Nye tendenser i jugoslavisk billedkunst, exhib. brochure,
Danmarks Tekniske Museum, Helsingor, 1972.
De consequenties van de machine: dertien joegoslavische kunstenaars, exhib.
brochure, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1973.
Gorgona, Nena Dimitrijevic (ed.), Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb,
1977. 6 E., D„ "Kompjutor crta. U Zagrebu 1969: internacionalna likovna manifestacija
The New Art Practice in Yugoslavia 1966-1978, Marijan Susovski (ed.), exhib. cat.,
Galerija suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 1978.
Exat 51. 1951-1956, exhib. cat., Galerija Nova, Zagreb, 1979.
Arte programmata e cinetica. 1953-1963. L'ultima avanguardia. Lea Vergine (ed.),
exhib. cat., Palazzo Reale, Milan, Gabriele Mazzotta, Milan, 1983.
Zur Geschichte und Asthetik der digitalen Kunst, Peter Weibel, supplement to the
exhib. cat., Ars Electronica, Linz, 1984.
Digital Visions. Computers and Art, Cynthia Goodman, exhib. cat., Everson
Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY. H. N. Abrams, New York. 1987
Arte geomitrico en Espaha 1957-1989. Arte sistemdtico y constructivo, 2 vols., exhib.
cat., entro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid, Ayuntamiento de Madrid, 1989.
Constructivism and Kinetic Art. Exat 51. New Tendencies. From the Collection of the
Gallery of Contemporary Art Zagreb towards the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Zagreb, exhib. cat., Galerije grada Zagreba, Muzej suvremene umjetnosti,
Zagreb, 1995.
Konstruktivizam i kinetiika umjetnost. Exat 51. nove tendencije. Iz zbirke Galerije
suvremene umjetnosti Zagreb u susret Muzeju suvremene umjetnosti Zagreb,
exhib. cat., Galerije grada Zagreba and Muzej suvremene umjetnosti,
Zagreb, 1995.
53/85. Ricerche artistiche a Rimini nel secondo Novecento, exhib. cat., Musei Comunali,
Rimini, Silver Books Edizioni, Misano Adriatico, 1998.
GRAV, Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel. Strategies de participation. 1960-1968,
Magasin - Centre National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, 1998.
Arte programmata e cinetica in Italia. 1958-1968, Marco Meneguzzo (ed.), exhib.
cat., Galleria d'arte Niccoli, Parma, 2000-2001, Museo d'Arte Nuoro, 2001.
Force Fields. Phases of the Kinetic, Josep M. Basart i Munoz (ed.), exhib. cat.,
Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona and Hayward Gallery, London,
Actar, Barcelona, 2000.
1 am Still Alive, Darko Fritz (ed.), exhib. brochure, Galerija PM, Zagreb, 2000.
ZERO aus Deutschland 1957-1966. Und heute / ZERO out of Germany 1957-1966.
And today, Renate Wiehager (ed.), exhib. cat., Galerie der Stadt Esslingen,
1999-2000, Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern, 2000.
Denise Rent, Tintrepide. Une galerie dans I'aventure de Tart abstrait, 1944-1978,
exhib. cat., Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2001.
Luce, movimento & programmazione. 1958-1968. Kinetische Kunst aus Italien,
Volker W. Feierabend and Marco Meneguzzo (eds.), exhib. cat., Ulmer
Museum, Ulm, 2001, Stadtische Kunsthalle Mannheim, 2001, and
Alpen-Adria-Galerie, Klagenfurt, 2002/2003, Silvana, Cinisello Balsamo,
Ulmer Museum, 2001.
Andalucia y la modernidad. Del Equipo 57 a la Generacidn de los 70, exhib. cat.,
Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Monasterio de la Cartuja de Santa
Maria de las Cuevas, Seville, 2002
Exat 51, 1951-1956. Novas Tendencias, 1961-1973 I Exat 51 & New Tendencies.
Avant-garde and International Events in Croatian Art in the 1950s and 1960s,
Marijan Susovski, Salvato Telles de Menezes, and Muzej suvremene
umjetnosti (eds.), exhib. cat., Centro Cultural de Cascais, Lisbon, Fundai;ao
D. Luis I, Lisbon, 2001, and Muzej suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, 2002.
Beyond Geometry. Experiments in Form, 1940s-70s, exhib. cat., Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, Miami Art Museum, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2004.
L'oeil moteur. Art optique et cindtique, 1950-1975, exhib. cat., Musee d'art moderne
et contemporain de Strasbourg, Editions des Musees de Strasbourg, 2005.
Anfange der Computergraphik aus der Sammlung Etzold, exhib. cat., Stadtisches
Museum Abteiberg, Monchengladbach, 2006.
Die neuen Tendenzen. Eine europaische Kunstlerbewegung. 1961-1973, Tobias
Hoffmann (ed.), exhib. cat., Museum fiir Konkrete Kunst Ingolstadt,
2006/2007, and Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Diiren, 2007, Edition Braus,
Heidelberg, 2006.
Lichtkunst aus Kunstlicht. Licht als Medium der Kunst im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert
Light Art from Artificial Light. Light as a Medium in 20th and 21st Century Art,
Peter Weibel and Gregor Jansen (eds.), exhib. cat., ZKM | Karlsruhe, Hatje
Cantz, Ostfildern, 2006.
The Expanded Eye. Stalking the Unseen, Bice Curiger, Kunsthaus Zurich (eds.),
exhib. cat., Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich, Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern. 2006.
bit international. (Nove] tendencije - Computer und visuelle Forschung. Zagreb
1961-1973, Peter Weibel (ed.), exhib. cat., Neue Galerie Graz, 2007.
Lo(s) cinetico(s), exhib. cat., Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Ma
20°7. . (1965-1975)," in: Leonardo, vol. 19, no. 2, 1986, pp. 159-169.
Op art, exhib. cat., Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Konig.
2007' fArt
Optic Nerve. Perceptual Art of the 1960s, exhib. cat., Columbus Museum o
Columbus, OH, Merrell Publishers, London, 2007.
bit international: [Novel tendencije - Computer und visuelle Forschung. Zagre
1961-1973, Peter Weibel and Margit Rosen (eds.), exhib. cat., ZKM
Karlsruhe, 2008/2009.
p r
Zero 2008 (also: Zero NY 1957-1966], Mattijs Visser (ed.), exhib. cat.,
Kunsthalle, Ghent, 2008. Weibel
Materialbild / Material picture / Immagine materiale. Italia 1950-1965, e
(ed.), exhib. cat., ZKM | Karlsruhe, Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 200 .
Articles
Anonymous (Jon Borgzinner), "Op Art: Pictures That Attack the Eye," in: Time,
October 23, 1964, pp. 78-84.
Anonymous, "Computer Art Goes to Zagreb," in: Computer Weekly, London, May
22, 1969.
Anonymous, "Statements by Kineticists Working in Paris," in: Studio
International, vol. 180, no. 926, October 1970, pp. 140-142.
Apollonio, Umbro, "Del fattore cinetico nell'arte contemporanea," in:
La Biennale di Venezia, no. 42, January-March 1961.
Argan, Giulio Carlo, "La ricerca gestaltica," in: II Messaggero, August 24, 1963.
Argan, Giulio Carlo, "Le ragioni del gruppo," in: II Messaggero, September 21,
1963.
Beckmann, Otto, "Symposium 'Computer and Visual Research,"" in: Alte und
Moderne Kunst, no. 105, Zagreb, 1969, p. 54.
Bense, Max, "projekte generativer asthetik," in: Max Bense and Elisabeth
Walther (eds.), computer-grafik, edition rot, 19, Stuttgart, 1965, pp. 11-13.
Benthall, Jonathan, "Commentary," in: The Times Literary Supplement, London,
May 22, 1969.
Berlyne, Daniel E., "On Aesthetic Preference." communication to the "Colloque
international d'esthetique experimentale" (International Colloquium on
Experimental Aesthetics|, Paris, June 1965.
Birkhoff, George David, "Quelques elements mathematiques de 1'art," in: Atti del
Congresso Internazionale dei Matematici. Bologna. 3-10 Settembre 1928, vol. 1,
Nicola Zanichelli, Bologna. 1929, pp. 315-333.
Bonk, Siegfried, "Bildnerische Traume von einer besseren Welt, 'neue
tendenzen' im Leverkusener Musuem'in: Leverkusener Anzeiger, no. 83, May
9. 1964.
Burger, Kamilo, "Kompjuterska grafika Sto je to? Simpozij Novih tendencija
o temi 'Kompjuteri i vizuelna istraiivanja," in: VeCernji list, no. 2794.
August 8, 1968.
Burger, Kamilo, "Kompjuter i vizuelna istraiivanja," in: Velernji list, no. 2924,
January 14, 1969, p. 8.
C., E, Sto pripremaju zagrcbacke galerije i muzeji. Od Cranacha do 'novih
tendencija,m in: Veiernji list, Zagreb, February 2, 1973, p. 5.
Colberg, Klaus, "Wird es eine Computer-Kunst geben? Jugoslawiens 'documenta'
in Zagreb - Programmierte Objekte, visuelle Poesie," in: Sudwestpresse, Ulm,
May 30, 1969.
Davis, Douglas, "Art 81 Technology. The New Combine," in: Art in America,
vol. 56, no. 1, January-February 1968.
Denegri, Jerko, "Exat 51,"in: Exat 51. 1951-1956, exhib. cat., Galerija Nova,
Zagreb, 1979, pp. 94-134.
Denegri, Jerko, "Inside or Outside 'Socialist Modernism?' Radical Views on the
Yugoslav Art Scene, 1950-1970," in: Dubravka Djuric and MiSko Suvakovic
(eds.), Impossible Histories. Historic Avant-gardes, Neo-avant-gardes, and
Post-avant-gardes in Yugoslavia, 1918-1991, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA,
2006, pp. 70-208.
Denegri, Jerko, "Kontinuitet umetnosti konstruktivnog pristupa EXAT 51 - Nove
tendencije," in: Sveske DruStva Istorifara Umetnosti Srbije, vol. 11, no. 19,
1988, pp. 49-55.
Denegri, Jerko, "Nove tendencije - £etvrt stoljeca poslije," in: Dometi, vol. 23,
no. 9, pp. 563-575.
Depolo, Josip, "Nova tendencija," in: Vjesnik, August 8, 1965.
Depolo, Josip, "Nova Tendenzija na prekretnizi," in: Politika, August 22, 1965, p. 17.
^ Massironi, Manfredo, "Ricerche visuali," conference at the Galleria Nazionale
Dietrich, Frank, "Visual Intelligence. The First Decade of Computer Art
|n
Dorfies, Gillo, "Preambolo all'arte programmata," in: II verri, Milan, no. 2, 1962.
'Tendencija 4,™ in: Subota, no. 7701, August 27, 1968.
Eco, Umberto, "Arte Programmata," in: arte programmata, exhib. brochure, Milan,
1962, n. p.
Eco, Umberto, "La forma del disordine", in: Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 1962.
Le applicazioni dei calcolatori elettronici alle scienze morali e alia letteratura,
Bompiani, Milan, 1961, pp. 175-188.
Francalanci, Ernesto, "A Zagrabia: 'Nuova Tendenza 4' e 'Computers e ricerche
visuali.' 11 difficile futuro,"in: NAC. notiziario arte contemporanea, no. 16, June
1, 1969, p. 8.
Franke, Herbert W„ "Die 'Neuen Tendenzen' in Zagreb - Computerkunst" / "The
'New Tendencies' in Zagreb - Computer Art," in: Tobias Hoffmann (ed.), Die
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Fritz, Darko, "Paralelne stvarnosti - pluralitet likovne scene u Hrvatskoj 1960-ih
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Heinz, Stephan, "Zwischen Kunst und Spieltrieb. Zwei neue Ausstellungen in
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Horvat-Pintaric, Vera, "Slika u jednadzbi. U povodu izlozbe Cybernetic
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568 Appendix
Index

Mueller, Robert E., "Idols of Computer Art," in: Art in America, vol. 60, no. 3, Dissertations
May-June 1972, pp. 68-73.
Noll, A. Michael, "The Beginnings of Computer Art in the United States. de Yta Ortiz, Antonio, "Computers and Visual Research Zagreb. 1968-1973.
Index Beckett — 35
Beckmann, Oskar —18 39 478 521 522 523 542
Bremer — 403
Briones — 459 489 551
549 BriSka — 504
A Memoir," in: Leonardo, vol. 27, no. I, 1994, pp. 39-44- A Virtual Reconstruction as an Archaeological Approach to a Digital Media
A Beckmann, Otto — 39 332 361 362 385 478 489 Brouwn — 489
P., B. "Kroz beogradcke likovne gaerlije. Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja" Footprint Hypermedia Prototype," master thesis, University of Bremen, 2009.
Aalto — 427 522 523 54' 549 Brunelleschi — 194
(transliteration from Serbian), in: Politika, October 6, 1969. Dezeuze, Anna, Art cinetique, participation du spectateur, poesie et politique. Une
Abbick — 332 347 442 542 Beckmann, Richard — 385 523 Buchler — 447
Pias, Claus "Hollerith 'Feathered Crystal.' Art, Science, and Computing in the lecture de l'art des annees 1960 a travers la revue Robho (1967-1971), master
Accame — 403 Bedaux — 361 369 375 406 542 549 Bujas — 454 55'
Era of Cybernetics," in: Grey Room, no. 29, Fall 2007, pp. 110-134. thesis, Paris-Sorbonne University, 1999, unpublished.
Adrian —20 22 38 47 61 82 87 107 111 122 Beer — 446 Buren — 478 481 542
Pierce, John R., "Portrait of the Machine as a Young Artist," in: Playboy, June Hillings, Valerie L., Experimental Artists' Groups in Europe, 1951-1968. Abstraction,
>45 '49 '53 '59 '79 >80 192 243 245 254 261 Beethoven, van — 220 222 274 Burnham — 39
1965, p. 124. Interaction and Internationalism, Ph.D. thesis, New York University, 2002,
'77 33' 344 36' 366 369 378 379 380 403 405 Bek — 20 28 40 62 63 182 226 237 238 241 Buturlin — 542
Popper, Frank, "Premier bilan de l'art cinetique," in: Revue d'esthetique, University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI, 2002.
535 539 263 285 286 287 294 335 344 363 405 459
October-December 1967, pp. 453-455.
Popper, Frank, "The Luminous Trend in Kinetic Art," in: Studio International, vol.
Hohlfeldt, Marion, Grenzwechsel. Das Verhaltnis von Kunst und Spiel im Hinblick
aufden veranderten Kunstbegriff in der zweiten Halfte des zwanzigsten
Agam — 48 460 534 c
Agnetti — 548 Beke — 521 549 Cairoli —95 535
173, no. 886, February 1967, pp 72-77. Jahrhunderts mit einer Fallstudie: Groupe de recherche d'art visuel, Ph.D. thesis, Aguilera-Cemi — 23 Belloli — 403 Calderara — 60 62 535
Premerl, Tomislav, "Dijalog masine i umjetnika. Povodom casopisa BIT br. 1, 2, i University of Cologne, 1996, VDG, Weimar, 1999. Akulinin — 542 Belohradsky — 332 334 542 California Computer Products (CalComp) — 361 542
3, zagreb, galerije grada zagreba, 1968," in: Vijesti muzealaca i konzervatora Kliitsch, Christoph, Computergrafik. Asthetische Experimente zwischen zwei Alexanco —478 495 542 548 Beltrame — 405 406 549 544 545 546 55'
hrvatske, vol. 18, no. 1, 1969. Kulturen. Die Anfange der Computerkunst in den 1960er Jahren, University of Allende — 446 Benedit — 478 542 550 Campos, de — 403
Preston, Stuart, "Reputations Made and in Making," in: New York Times, April 18, Bremen, 2006, Springer, Vienna, New York, 2007. Alsleben — 9 18 44 243 245 248 261 262 270 Beniaminov — 542 Cankovid —179 183 184 542
1965, p. 23. Lambert, Nicholas, A Critical Examination of Computer Art. It's History and 285 286 287 361 366 405 406 432 542 548 Benkert — 179 212 213 234 332 342 542 Cant — 403
Putar, Radoslav, "Treca manifestacija novih tendencija," in: Borba, September 14, Application, Ph.D. thesis, Oxford University, 2003, unpublished. Alton —478 542 Bense — 29 30 32 35 38 39 44 45 46 47 59 Carlini —332 354 542 551
1965. Pereira, Alexandrina, Formation et premier dtveloppement du mouvement Alviani —18 23 31 97 107 111 112 122 125 145 63 222 270 287 296 297 298 300 309 320 321 Carmi — 112
R., D. [Radosavljevic, Dragisa], "Kompjuteri i vizuelna istrazivanja. Saradnja international "Nouvelle tendance," master thesis, Paris-Sorbonne University,
'49 153 '59 '79 191 "9 '3' 332 403 535 536 Benthall — 361 405 421 459 461 466 488 461 Carrain — 226 228
tehnologije i umetnosti," in: IT NOVINE, no. 344, October 10, 1969. 2004, unpublished. 537 Bentham — 447 Caruso — 403
Radosavljevic, Dragisa, "Potreba da se zivi prisutno u svom veku,"in: IT Piehler, Heike M., Die Anfange der Computerkunst, Ph.D. thesis, University of Kiel, Anceschi, Giovanni — 36 44 95 97 98 107 112 Benzi — 542 Carvao — 61 535
NOVINE, no. 312, February 28, 1969. 2000, dot Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2002. •45 '49 '59 '66 175 179 214 215 536 542 Berger — 179 521 542 550 Casadei — 332 542
Reichardt, Jasia, "A Perspective of Kinetic Art," in: Studio International, vol. 173, Taylor, Grant D., The Machine that Made Science Art. The Troubled History of Anceschi, Luciano — 98 Berlyne — 287 Castellani — 20 21 23 60 63 78 82 95 tit 145
no. 886, February 1967, pp. 58f. Computer Art. 1963-1989, Ph.D. thesis, University of Western Australia, 2004, Anonima Group —179 212 229 231 234 332 342 Bernardi — 19 267 149 '53 156 344 536 537 54'
Rickey, George, "Scandale de Succes," in: Art International, vol. 9, no. 4, May unpublished. 542 544 545 548 Berni — 478 501 542 550 Cavin — 243 361 542 551
1965, pp. 16-23. Viculin, Marina, Histoire de la nouvelle tendance, Ph.D. thesis, Paris-Sorbonne Anonymous Collective — 478 542 543 544 545 Berry — 368 CAYC - Centro de Arte y Comunicacion — 478
Rickey, George, "The Morphology of Movement. A Study of Kinetic Art," in: The University, 2010. 546 547 Bertoldo — 268 Ceccato — 405 551
Art Journal, vol. 22, no. 4, Summer 1963, pp. 220-231. Anselmo — 478 542 Bettetini — 550 Celant — 183
Rickey, George, "The New Tendency (Nouvelle Tendance - recherche Cezanne — 139
Links Apollonio —108 179 190 228 229 232 332 346 Betti — 542
continuelle)," in: Art Journal, vol. 23, no. 4, Summer 1964, pp. 272-279. 54' 548 Chamberlain — 23
Beuys — 39
Rimanelli, David, "Beautiful Loser. Op Art Revisited," in: Artforum, Denville, NJ, Archer — 449 Chapanis — 450
Bann, Stephan, "Nouvelle Tendance," Grove Art, Oxford University Press, Biasi — 31 37 38 76 77 84 86 95 97 107 I"
vol. 45, no. 9, 2007, pp. 312-327. Argan —23 38 194 521 Charoux — 202
available online at: http://www.groveart.com/shared/views/article. 145 149 151 159 168 179 181 243 261 268 270
Rockman, Arnold, and Leslie Mezei, "The Electronic Computer as an Artist," in: Arman — 20 Chase — 442 478 506 542 551
html?section=art.062903. 271 33'
Canadian Art, vol. 21, no. 6, 1964, pp. 365-367. Armando — 95 535 Chermayeff — 448
Fowkes, Maja and Reuben, "Croatian Spring. Art in the Social Sphere, paper Bielecki — 332 339 54'
Rose, Barbara, "Beyond Vertigo. Optical Art at the Modern," in: Artforum, vol. 3, ars intermedia — 361 405 478 521 522 542 544 Bielowski — 433 Chiari — 478 543
given at the Tate Modern conference "Open Systems: Art C. 1970,
no. 7, April 1965, pp. 30-33. 548 Chiggio —84 95 97 '07 I" 13' '45 '49 '59
September 2005, available online at: http://www.translocal.org/research/ Bill — 44 61 411 446 534
Rosen, Margit, "Die Maschinen sind angekommen. Die (Neuen) Tendenzen - Art Research Center (ARC) — 332 334 405 406 Birkhoff — 142 "9 '96 297 '98 439 268 535 536 543
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visuelle Forschung und Computer," in: bit international. JNoveJ tendenicje. 44' 478 521 542 543 544 546 547 549 Bitt — 542 Chomsky — 218 312 462
Franke, Herbert W„ "Das Wunder von Zagreb," in: Telepolis, May 28, 2007,
Computer und visuelle Forschung. Zagreb 1961-1973, exhib. brochure, Neue Arveiller — 521 527 549 Blackman — 478 542 Christen —61 74 76 82 m 122 145 149 151 153
available online a t : h t t p ://www. h e i s e . d e / t p / r 4 / a r t i k e l / 2 5 / 2 5 2 9 9 /Lhtml,
Galerie Graz, 2007, pp. 32-57, ZKM | Karlsruhe, 2008, pp. 31-57. Asch — 413 Blaine — 403 '59 535 537 543 55'
05/10/2010.
Rosen, Margit, "Programmed Attacks on Reality. Marc Adrian's Computer Attalai — 478 542 Christo — 20
Blaiek — 393 54' 550
Fritz, Darko, "A Brief Overview of Media Art in Croatia (Since 1960s), in:
Generated Work," in: Anna Artaker and Peter Weibel (eds.), Marc Adrian, Attneave — 287 Bleckert — 153 537 54' Cihankova — 332 350 543
culturenet.hr web portal to Croatian culture, available online at: http://www.
Ritter, Klagenfurt, 2007, pp. 69-84. Aubertin — 103 104 Bode — 537 Cikalovski — 33' 333 543
culturenet.hr/default.aspx?id=23391&pregled=18tdatum=18.12.2008%20
Rosen, Margit and Peter Weibel, "The Future of an Artistic Medium," in: Barbara Aue — 179 542 Bohm —159 '79 180 188 33' 54' Cimerman — 18 52 53 55 373 543
9:43:18, 02/25/2010. Cizmek —179 180 208 531
Nierhoff-Wielk and Wulf Herzogenrath (eds.), Ex Machina - Friihe Azimut — 534 Bojanic — 294
Merenik, Lidija, "Before the Art of New Media," in: Metamute, available online at: Clair — 288
( omputergrafik bis 1979, Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich, 2007, pp. 182-210. Bonafic — 12 24 36 39 4» 47 49 50 5' 52 53
http://www.metamute.org/en/Before-the-art-of-new-media, 01/22/2010.
Schon, Wolf, "Kunst oder Zauberei. 'Neue Tendenzen' im Leverkusener Museum B 54 55 243 256 261 272 285 286 287 335 361 Clapp —33' 44' 543 55'
Walther, Elisabeth, "Max Bense und die Kybernetik," available online at: hup: Clark —61 535
SchloB Morsbroich," in: Rheinischer Merkur, April 10, 1964. Bach — 419 362 363 364 366 369 370 37' 37' 373 405 434
www.netzliteratur.net/bensekybernetik.htm, 02/25/2010. Bachmann — 380 Claus — 5"
Selz, Peter, "Arte Programmata," in: Arts Magazine, vol. 39, no. 6, March 1965 pp 459 464 478 481 489 531
16-21. Claus-Jansen —179 180 193 33' 543
Badibanga Ne Mwine — 521 549 Bonaiuto — 229 230 550
Clausman — 361 369 375 406 543 551
Shannon, Claude E„ "A Mathematical Theory of Communication,"in: Bell Bak —478 542 Bonies (Bob Nieuwenhuis) — 179 54'
Clay — 464
System Technical Journal, vol. 27, July 1948, pp. 379-423, October 1948, pp. Bakic —22 24 59 in 125 145 153 332 334 459 Bonsiepe — 446 550
623-656. Colombo —31 95 97 '07 '" '34 145 149
478 536 542 549 Borgzinner — 27
159 160 167 175 '79 'S3 '86 226 332 353 363
Spear, Athena Tacha, "Arte Programmata," in: AMAM Bulletin, vol. 23, no.l, Fall Baldessari — 478 517 542 Boriani — 18 28 36 95 97 107 '33 '45
1965, pp. 17-20. Balestrini — 298 149 159 165 175 179 '83 '86 214 215 226 229 536
Columbus — 416
Sperka, Martin, "The Origins of Computer Graphics in the Czech and Slovak Balzac, de — 137 194 233 536
Compos 68 —38 361 366 369 375 377 406 539
Republics," in: Leonardo, vol. 27, no. 1, 1994, pp. 45-50. Baranyay — 478 542 Bory — 403
542 543
Stiegler, Josef Hermann. "Retortenkunst. Zu Ausstellungen'Rationale As.hetik' in Barbadillo — 478 497 542 549 Boschi — 403
Computer Arts Society of London — 489
Barbaud — 220 222 224 Boto — 22 103 107 til 127 145 '53 '59 '79 '93
London, Zagreb und Wien," in: Die Furche, no. 38, September 20, 1969, p. 12. Computer center of the Boris Kidric Institute of
Barilli — 549 542
Usselmann, Rainer, "The Dilemma of Media Art. Cybernetic Serendipity at the
Nuclear Sciences — 543 559
CA London, in: Leonardo, vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 389-396. Barros, de — 202 Bottger — 478 5'o 54' 55«
Conard—478 543
V.go, Nanda. "Arte programmata a Zagrabia." in: Domus, no. 431, October 1965. BaSifevic — 28 183 206 228 237 238 294 335 Botticelli — 194
Constant — 411
vnes Herman de, "bibliografie nieuwe konseptie/zero/nul/nieuwe tendenzen / 403 459 Bozzolla — 478 542
Contreras-Brunet — 282
Baudot — 380 Brahms — 30 221
> ' "ographie/nouvelle conception/zero/O/nouvelles tendances" in: Corak — 4°3
Bauermeister — 62 535 Bregovac — 19 267
Museun,,,oumaal, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, vol. 9, no. Cordeiro —47 61 179 202 204 241 33' 36' 362
5/6, 1964, pp. 114-133. bed cybernetic art team — 52 53 54 55 Brejc — 550
570 Appendix
Index

366 387 405 478 489 503 521 535 539 543 551 535 543 Goeritz — 403

Erdely — Goethe, von — 217 325

Hertlein — 478 489 493 521 544 554 Kohler —478 544 555 M
Costa — 76 84 95 97 107 145 149 159 243 268 478 516 543
Hertz — 412 KoUf — 403
Mac Entyre — 478 501 545 556
332 536 543 Eronda — 179 543 Gogh, van —139
Hewitt —179 212 213 228 229 231 234 332 544 Kbnig -Klingenberg — 179 544
Eschbach — Goldberg — 368 381 Mack — 20 21 22 59 60 61 63 76 79 83 95
Couffignal — 47 361 389 543 552
554 Kops — 226
Espace — Gomez Perales — 478 107 m 113 145 153 332 344 537 545
Crlenjak — 262 19 544 553
Hiller — 220 222 224 298 309 KoJdevid — 403 405 478 521 531 544
Mahlmann — 332 343 545
Cruz-Diez — 22 103 107 ill 120 145 153 159 Estenfelder—179 180 188 543 Gomringer — 403
Hillings — 20 24 Kounellis — 478 514 545
Gorgona — Mahlmann-Piper — 332 343 545
536 543 Evans — 426 543 24 67 553
Hilmar — 332 544 Krampen — 37 287 363 368 369 405 4" 4'6 Major —478 545
Csiky — 478 543 Exat 51 — 19 22 24 28 267 Gotovac — 531
Hlavadek — 405 406 438 554 418 Makanec — 36 261 262
Csuri — 9 39 243 245 258 283 361 362 366 Export — 378 Gotz — 219 223
Hmeljak — 490 Kranenbrock, van — 508
Maldonado — 446 556
367 400 489 543 Graaff —179 544
Horvat —77 206 415 478 489 504 544 555 Krasinski — 179 205 545 Malevich —
Cuenca—107 in 145 149 159 179 F Grabenko — 544
Horvat-Pintarid —
94 322 392
37 294 368 369 405 407 473 Kratina —332 334 545 Malina — 179 200 545
Custoza — 268 Fadat —179 187 332 538 543 Graeser — 61
474 Kren — 378 Mallary — 361 362 366 401 545 556
Cygra 4 (Cybernetic Graphics and Animation Group) Faraday — 412 Graevenitz, von — 21 37 60 61 67 81 83 95 107
Hudson, Dee — 243 361 544 555 Kriesche — 332 341 531 Manzoni — 20 21 24 60 63 78 268 535 545
— 489 Fare — 536 in 132 145 147 149 153 159 160 161 179 183
Hudson, Tom — 179 544 Kristl —19 22 24 45 59 61 107 in 118 145 Marey — 464
Fasnacht — 179 186 543 184 536
Huebler — 478 544 149 '59 267 332 536 545 Margolies —
D Fechner — 312 438 449 GraBl — 361 362 385 405 406 522 544 553
Huitric —459
556
478 481 499 521 527 544 555 Kritovac — 262 459 521 531 545 Mari — 23 35 46 95 97 98 107 in 112 145 147
Dadamaino — 103 107 159 170 179 332 536 543 Fee — 368 381 Gravenhorst — 332 357 365 544 553 Huizinga — 223 Krivdikov — 545 149 151 153 '59 '75 226 228 229 232 478 485
Dakic — 531 Fejer — 202 Greenham —159 172 537 544 Husserl — 203 Kriwet — 403 521 535 536 537 545 556
Damnjanovic-Damnjan — 61 478 515 543 Ferrandez — 495 Greussay — 521 527 553 Hyde —421 555 Kriz —254 277 545 556 Marino — 478 500 545 556
D'Augusta — 332 Ferro — 403 Grigorjev — 544
Krizmar — 403 Markov — 44 45 47 142 218 222 310 311 312
Debourg —107 159 161 536 543 Fetter — 361 366 368 381 543 552 Gropius — 194 I Krleia —454 456 385 4'9
Decroux — 300 Feurer — 179 543 Groupe Art et Informatique de Vincennes Ibarrola —107 111 145 149 139 179 Kubrick — 36 Marquette — 459 478 498 521 531 545
Deira — 478 543 551 Fischer — 297 478 489 543 553 (GAIV) — 459 460 478 488 489 521 527 543 Icko — 544 Kuhlmann — 220 Martin — 179 198 545
Delalle — 531 Flanagan — 478 481 543 544 545 553 Iliopoulou — 531 Kulmer — 61 Marulid — 454 456
Delaunay — 139 Forma Uno — 19 Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuei infante-Arana — 179 188 544 Kultermann — 63 83 Marx — 25 116 138 139 264 269
Delgado — 478 496 543 551 Fra Angelico — 194 (GRAV) —12 21 22 23 28 35 36 45 46 48 82 Ingres — 194 Kusama — 95 535 Maser — 435
Demarco — 94 95 in 127 145 149 153 159 170 Francalanci — 24 92 94 95 101 in 145 159 224 534 535 536 537 Ivandic — 61
Kutter — 83 Mason — 489
535 543 France — 361 366 396 543 553 543 544 545 546 547 Ivanoff — 268
Massironi — 22 23 24 76 82 85 95 97 107 in
Denegri —12 13 19 38 306 531 Frank —321 368 435 436 438 439 440 467 Groys— 13
L 131 145 159 179 '81 229 231 268 332 536 545
Denis — 265 300 Franke — 12 18 35 36 261 270 286 332 357 359 Griin — 363 J Lakner — 478 545 557
Devecchi —95 97 107 111 133 145 149 159 165 365 405 406 435 459 460 478 488 489 508 Griinwald — 179 262 544 Jackson — 212 Matanovic —
Landi — 85 95 97 107 ill 145 151 159 268 332 403
175 179 183 184 332 353 363 543 521 Grupo de Arte y Cibernetica Buenos Aires — 489 lager—18 332 333 356 365 544 Matausek — 366
334 352 403 536 545
Dias — 478 543 Fried — 59 60 61 542 543 544 545 546 547 554 Jenkins —243 361 Mathieu —
Langer — 309 300
Di Luciano — 179 Fritz — 12 13 49 Gruppo di ricerca cibernetica — 179 216 332 542 Jerman — 531 Maticevid —
La Pietra — 531 545 531
Dimitrijevid, Braco — 478 481 514 521 540 543 Fucks — 220 224 544 545 546 547 554 Jochims —179 332 338 544 Lassus — 179 200 226 228 545 Matisse — 313 314
551 Gruppo MID —28 45 >79 183 "85 "99 229 332 Johannesson — 478 Matkovic —
502 544 555 Latham—478 481 514 545 478 521 545 557
Dimitrijevid, Nena — 521 540 552 G 544 Johns — 23 Lazzaretti — 368 Maurer — 478 545
Dine — 23 Gabo — Gruppo N / enne 65 — 20 21 22 23 28 )i 35 45 Jones — 447 Mavignier —13
44 Leblanc —63 '49 '53 '56 159 '7° 537 545 18 20 24 32 35 37 44 59 60
Diodorov — 543 Galerija Studentskog centra — 46 67 82 95 98 107 ill 113 '22 145 '49 '59 Jovanovics — 478 61 62 63 66 70 71 76 83 95 107 m 119 145
547 544 Lecci — 361 366 394 478 489 507 545 556
Dobes —332 478 521 543 552 Galeta — 531 175 179 229 231 268 344 534 535 536 537 542 Julesz — 313 365 Lefebvre — 140 '49 '53 332 344 345 478 534 535
Dobovisek — 504 Galilei — Jiirgen-Fischer — 63 535 Legendy — 545 Maxwell — 412
195 543 544 545 554 478
Dobrovic — 24 179 181 332 478 543 Galkin — 179 543 Gruppo ricerca cibernetica — 216 Leibniz — 217 Mayer — 403

Doesburg, van — 44 76 Gallizio — 38 Gruppo T —21 23 28 35 36 45 46 95 98 "' K Leider — 43

Mazzetti — 411

Donassy-Bonacic — 18 52 53 54 55 Galois — 50 373 145 '59 '79 229 233 535 536 537 542 Kahlen —332 338 544 Leisberg — 534 535 MBB Computer Graphics — 478 543 545 546 547

Donat — 552
Gambone — 332 543 Guenzani — 531 Kallin —478 502 544 555 Lenin — 137 140 557
Dorazio — 20 21 22 24 60 63 70 95 in 145 Kammer — in Le Pare — 21 3' 46 94 95 McLuhan — 461
Gamulin — 405 553 Guevara — 409 22 81 95 107 123 145 153 179 23 48 67 72 82 91

'53 4H 534 537 543 III 147 '49 Mecoind — 287

Gappmayr — 403 Gulyas — 478 544 180 181 198 332 333 544 555 97 103 104 105 107 123 130 145

Dorfles — 552 Kant — 36 537 Meertens — 489

Garcia Miranda — 22 94 95 in 127 145 153 159 Gundulic — 454 456 159 160 161 165 332 478 481 536

Douglas — 463 Lescure — Menna — 24

173 535 543 Gunzenhauser — 288 Kawano —32 243 257 309 361 366 391 459 489 220

Dragan —478 544 MeStrovic — 13 '8 20 21 22 24 25 29 30 59

521 531 543
Garcia Rossi — 48 91 94 95 103 104 105 107
Levi-Strauss — 221

Druckrey — 13 61 63 67 68 114 145 147 149 '82 226 228 229

in 145 153 159 535 537 543 H Kawara — 519 544 Lewin — 413
230 231 232 233 261 285 286 294 335 344 363
Duarte —103 104 107 in 131 145 149 159 179 Gamier — 403 Haacke — 531 Kelemen — 28 30 35 67 182 226 237 238 262 LeWitt — 478 545
332 334 543 Lichtenstein — 461
459 534 53' 535 536 537
Haar — "63 267 270 285 286 287 288 294 335 365 368
Garrison — 361 366 388 442 478 521 544 553 202
Metzger—38 361 421 422 424 426
Duchamp — 48 Hacker —18 ill '45 '49 "53 '59 569 375 405 406 459 471 531 Limena — 268
Gattin — 13 61 119 226 229
Meyer — 298
Dupre, Fanie —459 478 543 552 Kellogg —418 Lindenmayer — 375
Gauguin — 139 232 332 334 348 536 544 554
Mezei —35 243 245 255 283 287 288 335 361
Dupre, Jacques — 459 478 521 527 543 552 Kerekes — 478 544 Lippold — 95 535
Gayor — 478 544 Haks — 406
362 366 466
Durante — 95 535 Keserii — 478 544 Lissajous — 365
Geister Plamen — 403 Halgand — 459 478 498 527 544 554 Mieczkowski —179 212 234 332 545
Dutschke — 380 Kiender — 179 544 Llull — 217
Geitlinger — 63 534 535 Hallowell — 4'3 Mikulic —47« 481 506 545 557
Dvizenije 179 486 542 543 544 545 546 552 Klaus — 433 Loewensberg — 61
Gerstner —18 20 31 37 46 48 60 67 73 82 Hanauer — 382 Miller — 400
Klee—139 324 Lohse — 61
95 107 in 112 113 122 145 149 153 159 161 162 Hanzek — 403 Mills — 449
E Klein — 60 62 63 535 Lombardini — 332 545
179 191 332 337 344 355 368 369 Haraszty — 478 544 Milojevid —35 243 252 361 366 397 489 521
E.A.T. — 43 46 Kleint — 103 105 Lopakov — 179 545
Gerz — 403 Harke —361 366 389 544 554 Mimica — 294
Eco — 46 47 98 Klimova — 332 544 Lora-Totino — 403
35 36 37 40 45 265 287 288
Geurts — 489 Harmon —361 362 367 369 383 544 554 Mitscherlich — 409
363 368 369 Kmet — 505 Louis — 23
Gibbon — 553 Harries — 332 365 544 Mohr — 47« 489 49' 545 557
Effekt — 179 229 232 543 552 Knezevic — 531 Luciano — 98 545
Gilbert 8i George — 478 544 Hegel —137 '38 194 222 296 Moineau — 403
Egbert — 24 Knifer — 21 22 24 61 67 88 95 in 119 145 153 Lucie-Smith — 403
Giotto — 196 Heibel —332 350 544 Moles —28 29 30 38 4° 44 45 47 '4» 217
Einstein — 508 '54 332 478 536 544 Ludwig — 18 179 332 346 545
226 229 230 231 233 261 262 263 270 284 285
Glasmeier — 332 351 544 Heider — 413
Engels — 139 Knowlton — 243 315 361 362 367 369 383 464 Lukacs — 139
Glattfelder — 332 544 Hencze — 478 544 Molnar —13 23 46 94 '36 287 288 459 557
489 544 555 Lumiere — 4'9
Equipo 57 28 95 107 in 122 .45 149 159 179
Godel — 218 Herbin — 141
 Appendix

Index

Mondrian — 35 76 94 273 274 315 316 317 375 Paula, de — 60 Revoil — 94

Skarid — 561
Tinguely — 20 48 60 62 535
Moon — 243 245 361 366 545 558 Pavlin —18 478 481 489 504 546 559 Rice —442 559 Weibel —11 12 13 43 378
Skurjeni — 61
Titian —137
Moore — 194 Pecchini — 268 Richter—19 22 24 28 111 124 126 145 149 153 Weiss —478 547 563
Snow — 408 Tito — 363
Morandini — 332 339 545 Pedrosa — 61 159 '79 180 181 182 226 229 231 233 238 261 Weissmann—61 535
Soavi — 98
Tobey — 300 324
Morellet —13 18 20 21 23 24 28 32 35 37 46 Peeters — 22 95 103 105 107 in 145 179 535 267 285 286 288 294 332 333 335 405 406 Welland — 368
Sobrino —48 91 94 95 97 103 104 105 107 III
Tomasello — 95 103 107 111 127 145 149 153 159
47 48 60 70 76 77 83 91 92 93 94 95 97 536 478 536 537 Whitney —315 478 511 521 547 563
112 125 145 149 153 159 535 161 537
16! 338 535 547
103 104 107 m 123 130 136 142 145 149 153 Peirce — 45 296 297 416 Rickey — 537 Wiener—30 217 307 336 413 442
Sochor — 283
Tomid —363 403 521 531 547
159 160 165 179 181 189 281 283 332 Penone — 478 546 Riley —159 171 179 315 537 538 546 Wilding —20 111 124 145 149 153 i59 |70 ,79
Soloviev — 287
Tornquist — 340 547
Moretti — 380 Perfetti — 403 Robba — 407 344 547 563
Sommer—179 183 184 228 229 230 231 232
Tot —478 516 547
Morgan — 403 Pesce — 268 Rocher — 403 Wilson — 368 381
546 561
Trbuljak — 478 518 547
Morris — 140 309 Pevsner — 44 Roeckenschuss — 179 208 546 Wise — 440
Sommerrock — 22 145 153 159 166 226 546
Trivulzio —179 547
Moscati — 362 387 545 558 Pezzato — 332 334 546 Romberg —478 501 546 560 Wladyslaw — 202
SoSkic — 478 546
Tse Tung — 409
Mosso — 405 406 427 428 429 558 Philipp — 179 190 332 334 546 Rosen — 9 12 27 534 Wolk — 478 510 547 563
Soto —60 62 103 105 478 535 540 546 Turing —315 317
Movimento Arte Concreta — 19 47 129 Philippot — 220 222 224 Wolk, van der — 489
Roth —74 95 '79 205 403 546 Soudek — 272
Turk —478 547 Wols — 300
Moyano — 94 Picasso — 194 206 323 Rothko — 20 Sousa.de — 521 561
Tuyl, van — 531 547 Wotruba — 277
Muffato — 268 Piccardo — 201 Roubaud — 18 478 510 546 560 Spatola — 403

u
Muljevic — 261 335 558 Wright — 108
Picelj —13 18 19 21 22 24 28 29 59 60 63 Rowe — 366 424 546 560 Spoerri — 537
Miiller, Gotthart — 60 61 80 95 m 123 145 149 Wundt — 449
65 83 88 95 103 105 107 ill 123 126 145 149 Ruptura — 202 241 Springer — 380
Uecker —21 22 30 63 67 78 83 95 113 124 Wyss —61 74 535 547
'53 '59 '72 545 558 '53 '59 179 181 185 226 237 238 243 267 272 Ruthenbeck — 478 546 Smec —19 22 24 45 145 154 z4, 26? 332 478
'45 '53 155 '59 '66 536 537 547
Miiller, Johannes — 449 285 286 287 294 33' 332 334 335 35° 361 364 536 546 56!
Munari — 31 46 97 98 107 175 176 179 201 535 s Ulrichs — 403 X
37' 477 478 534 535 536 S'audt — 18 61 95 107 111 121 145 149 153 159 Urbandid — 61
Munk — 182 537 Xenakis — 219 300
Piehler — 12 Sacilotto — 202 179 180 181 184 243 259 334 535 536 546 561 Urbasek — 547
Munro — 441 Piene — 20 21 22 59 60 61 63 79 83 95 107 Sandfort — 332 333 349 546
Musatti — 98
Stein 21 48 60 70 83 91 94 95 97 103 104 Utamaro — 366 Y
111 124 145 153 179 183 185 332 334 344 537 Sapgir-Zanevskaja — 546 107 111 112 134 145 149 159 161 165 168 161
Muybridge — 464 Yturralde — 478 496 547 563
183 546 Saporta — 222 537 V Yvaral — 48 91 94 95 97 103 105 107 in 112
Pintaric — 13 Sarenco — 403 Steinbuch — 408 409
Vaccari — 403
N Pisanski — 505 Sartre — 141 203 Steiner — 67
120 124 145 149 153 332 334 535 537 547 56,
Valentini — 547
Nahas — 478

Nake —13 31
481

32
499

35 47
521

243
545

245
558

251 261 262

Pizzo—179

Plotnikov — 287
210 546 Scarpa —332 333 Stella — 23

Stepanov — 179 546

Valery — 222 223 z
Scerbakov — 546 Vallari — 403 Zadkine — 277
270 283 285 286 287 288 298 335 361 365 366 Pogadnik — 403 478 546 Schaeffer — 560 Stephens, Nancy A. — 332 334 347 405 406 442 Valmaggi — 332 547 Zajec —361 366 392 459 478 489 490 521 525
398 405 4" 419 459 464 466 Pohl — 18 20 60 66 80 95 103 107 in 124 Scheggi — 179 226 228 332 403 546 478 546 561
Valoch — 34 35 261 283 287 288 547 563
Nannucci —332 334 352 403 545 Schenk — 508 Stephens, Thomas Michael — 332 334 405 442
'45 '49 '53 '59 167 337 344 546 559 VanDerBeek — 315 Zarahovic — 19 267
Nedelyko — 545 478 506 521 546 561
Polesello — 478 546 559 Scherchen — 217 Vaniita — 61 67 Zatopek — 417
Nees —32 243 250 270 283 296 298 320 323 Pollock — 20 Scheugl — 378 Sternberg 261 285 287 288 335 405 406 561 Vardanega —103 104 107 ill 145 153 159 168 Zehringer—18 20 81 95 107 111 113 124 126
324 361 365 366 367 435 478 489 491 505 545 Polya — 449 Schiller — 197 Stevens — 511
'79 547 145 '49 '53 '59 344 547 563
Negroponte — 465 Stibbs — 366 426 546 561
Popovic — 531 Schlemmer — 369 378 379 380 539 546 560 Varisco — 95 97 107 111 132 145 149 159 175 Zenkis — 223
Nelkin — 442 Stiegler —358 365 405 546 561
Popper — 24 Schmidt — 378 403 560 179 183 184 334 547 ZERO —23 30 47 534 535 536
Nervi — 288 Stilinovic — 531
Potocka — 531 Schnaidt — 560 Vasarely—38 94 103 105 220 243 287 363 438 Ziegler — 442 478 506 547 563
Neumann — 521 558 Stojanovid — 459 561
Poulard — 504 Schneider — 332 354 546 560 439 478 481 484 540 Zielinski — 13
Nevelson — 300 StoSic — 531
Prelog — 531 Schnelle — 432 Vedova — 179 547 Ziljak — 478 509 547 563
Nietzsche — 137 Strand —243 245 253 361 546 561
Prokuratova — 546 Schoener — 319 Veen —361 369 375 406 547 562 Zottl — 478 492 547 563
Niikuni — 403 Struycken — 489
Putar—24 28 29 30 31 39 43 67 76 145 182 Schoffer — 36 Vejvoda — 562 Zuse — 298
Noland — 23 Subotid — 521 561
226 229 237 238 262 267 270 287 294 335 336 Scholl — 13 534 Vergine, Adamo — 226
Noll —32 35 36 47 243 249 273 283 287 288 Suci — 297
375 4'9 459 53' Schoonhoven — 95 535 Vergine, Lea — 24 25 226
298 313 315 3'6 318 361 365
Schroder — 142 Sumner—243 245 252 361 464 547 562 Vesalius — 266
Novak —179 181 .88 332 353 478 487 545 Q Schroeder — 361 367 369 382 546 560
Susovski — 512 531 547 Vico — 194
Nul — 536 SuitarSid — 61
Quejido —478 494 546 559 Schwartz —478 502 546 560 Viculin — 19 20
Nusberg —179 459 47g 52I 545 W9 Sutcliffe — 361 366 386 489 547 562
Quinte — 179 546 Searle — 496 Vidal — 478 500 547 562
Nutbourne — 426 Sutej — 22 24 111 118 145 149 153 332 478 536
Seder — 61 67 Vieira — 61 62 535

R Segui —478 494 521 546

547 Vigo — 179 180 193 547
o
Rabuzin — 61 Sykora — 35 47 179 181 210 283 361 366 393 Villani — 547
Segui, Ana — 560
Oehm 22 44 61 63 80 83 m i45 153 155 Racine — 218 440 441 489 539 547 Vinci, da — 140 194 222 266 420
Segui, Javier — 560
534 535 545 Szalma — 478 547 Vogelsang — 438
Radic — 19 267 Seitz — 23 27 537
Ogburn — 265 Szandai' — 179 332 547 Voorst, van — 332 347 442 547 562
Radovic — 243 245 332 359 365 478 521 546 Selina — 478 481 546
Oldenburg — 23 Szentjdby — 478 547 vries, de — 32 46 47 180 209 243 246 247 433
559 Serpa — 61 535
Orebic — 179 545 Szombathy — 478 521 531 547
Raimann — 359 Serrano —107 ill '45 '49 '59 '79 536 547 562
Osgood — 297 Vulidevid — 67
Ramirez — 494
Ovcadek — 403
Servanes — 94
T Vulin — 179 208 547
Ramos — 494 496 Seurat — 309
Talman — 60 67 75 76 77 83 95 107 ill 135
P Rase — 478
Rasica — 19
505
267
521 546 559 Sevilla — 478

Shaffer — 258
546

400
561
'45 149 '59 332 547 w
Palmer — 559 Tannenbaum — 297 Walker — 361 363 366 399 547 563
Rath, vom — 438 Shan — 489
Palyka 361 367 395 546 559 Tatlin — 47 Walther — 47
Rauschenberg — 20 23 47 461 Shanken —13
Paolini — 478 546 Taylor — 450 Warhol — 419 461
Ravnikar — 478 481 505 546 559 Shannon —30 44 45 296 297 ?°9 310 ''
Pape — 61 535 Tchaikovsky — 221 Warszawski — 478 510 547 563
Reichardt — 296 Silberman — )02
Parini —332 34, 546 Tedioli — 332 547 Watson — 414
Reinhardt — 153 537 546 Simeti — 179 546
Parmiggiani — 403 Tefak — 261 335 405 406 562 Weaver — 44
Reinhartz —107 m 121 145 149 153 159 226 Simonetti — 403
Pasinovic — 531 Thogmartin — 332 347 406 442 478 547 562 Weber — 449
332 334 546 Simunovid — 59
Passow 9 245 248 36. 432 546 559 Thorn — 179 547 Wedewer — 228 229 230 563
Rene — 18 94 537 Sitta — 403
Pauer —478 546 Tingley — 368 381 Wegscheider — 277 369 378 379 539 547 563
Restany — 23 Skala — 13
574

bit international A Little-Known Story about a Movement, a Magazine,

[Nove] tendencije. Computer und visuelle Forschung and the Computer's Arrival in Art:
Zagreb 1961-1973 New Tendencies and Bit International, 1961-1973

Exhibitions Publication

Neue Galerie Graz ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
am Landesmuseum Joanneum February 23, 2008 - January 18, 2009
April 28 - June 17, 2007

Director: Christa Steinle Director and CEO: Peter Weibel
Curator: Darko Fritz Curators: Darko Fritz, Margit Rosen, and Peter Weibel
Scientific advisors: Margit Rosen, Peter Weibel, and Marija Gattin Scientific advisor: Marija Gattin
Project management: Peter Peer Project direction: Bernhard Serexhe
Assistance: Daniela Eder, Lana Pavlovic, Birgit Prack Assistance: Sonia Alves, Adam Rafinski, janja Sesar
Conservation: Peter Erlacher, Helmut Fuchs, Kasimir Werschitz Fundraising: Margit Rosen
Public relations: Jorg Kaiser, Peter Peer Registrar: Regina Linder
Museum communication: Peter Peer and his team Technical management: Christiane Ostertag
Office: Jorg Kaiser, Gertrude Leber Construction team: Gregor Gaissmaier, Ronald Haas, Martin Boukhalfa,
Raphael Dobler, Silke Fehsenfeld, Lutz Fezer, Helge Grey, Akiro Hellgardt,
Heiko Hoos, Bernd Ponzer, Esther Stephan, Manfred Stiirmlinger
Technicians: Werner Hutzenlaub, Mirco Frass, Gisbert Laaber, Christian
Neue Galerie Graz Nainggolan, Dirk Heesakker, Claudius Bohm, Volker Becker, Marco Preitschopf,
Silke Fehsenfeld
Joanneumsviertet
Conservators: Cornelia Weik, Franziska Herzog, Hanna Holling, Fenna Y. Tykwer
Universalmuseum Joanneum Office: Elke Cordell, Anna ReiG
IT support: Joachim Schiitze, Volker Sommerfeld
Building services engineering: Martin Braun, Matthias Herlan, Hartmut
Editor: Margit Rosen
© 2011 ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany
in collaboration with Peter Weibel. Darko Fritz, and Marija Gattin
Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and images © the individual authors and
ZKM | Publications
their right holders.
Editors: Jens Lutz, Miriam Sturner
Assistant editor: Katharina Holas
Despite intensive research and best intentions, it was not possible in every
Editorial team and text and image research: Natalie Kraus, Simon Bieling,
case to establish the right holders. We ask holders of such rights who feel they
Adam Rafinski, Martina Metz
have not been properly acknowledged to contact us.
The book was realized in cooperation with
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any
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Scientific advisors: Marija Gattin, Jasna Jakiic publisher.
Copy editing: Gloria Custance
Proofreading: Gloria Custance, Isaac Custance
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Agnieszka Gratza, Irena Hill, Susan Jakopec, Jasna JakSi£, Andy Jeldic-IvanoSic, Street, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Stuart Kendall, David Kerr, Graham McMaster, Jasminka Milovac, Justin Morris,

Kampe, Christof Menold, Peter Kuhn, Peter Futterer Jennifer Orth, Margit Rosen, Lisa Rosenblatt, Chris Turner. Jonathan Uhlaner Printed and bound in Germany.
Design: Renata Sas
Media library: Claudia Gehrig, Hartmut Jorg, Christiane Minter, Regina
Lithography: COMYK Roland Merz, Karlsruhe
Strasser, Petra Zimmermann
Museum communication: Janine Burger, Marianne Spencer, Carolin Knebel Printed and bound: EBERL PRINT GmbH, Immenstadt, Germany ISBN: 978-0-262-51581-8
Typeface: Athelas, Veronika Burian & Jose Scaglione
Exhibition graphics: Renata Sas, Claudius Bohm
Paper: Profibulk I.I, 150 g/m' Library of Congress Control Number: 2010928510
Public relations: Irina Koutoudis, Karin Bellmann
Marketing: Barbara Schierl, Sebastian Steinert
Website: Heike Borowski, Silke Altvater
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0

///// zI< 1 1 1 i
The exhibitions were developed in cooperation with
MSU | Muzej suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb,
s , 1 ./
Director: Snjezana Pintaric
Conservation: Mirta Pavic, Zlatko Bielan
Founders of ZKM

M wSUVREMENE
suMUMJETNOSTI
ZAGREB MUSEUM OF
CONTEMPORARY ART
Baden-Wiirttemberg
MINISTERIUM FUR WISSENSCHAFT. FORSCHUNG UND KUNST
A
Karlsruhe

Partners of ZKM

LBEBW EnBUJ
Funded by the Federal Cultural Foundation, Germany

KULTURSTIFTUNG
DES
BUNDES
576 Appendix
Photo Credits
Photo ©
Jose Luis Alexanco: 495 top | Archive Antje von
Graevenitz: 132 bottom |Archive Davide Boriani: 165
bottom, 186 center | Archive Dieter Hacker: 119 top
left | Archive Ennio Chiggio: 131 top left, 149 center,
149 bottom | Archive Enzo Mari: 151 bottom |
Archive Ernst Benkert: 213 top, 342 | Archive Estate
Bielecky: 339 top | Archive Francois Morellet: 130
bottom | Archive Gianni Colombo: 97, 353 top right |
Archive Gunther Uecker: 155 bottom | Archive Inge
Claus-Jansen: 193 top | Archive Ivan Picelj: 104-105 |
Archive Joel Stein: 134 bottom, 169 | Archive Jo
Gotthart Muller: 172 right |Archive Julio Le Pare,
Cachan: 160 top, 161 bottom, 162 |Archive Hartmut
Bohm: 188 bottom right | Archive Karl Reinhartz:
166 top left | Archive Koloman Novak: 188 top left |
Archive Marc Adrian: 180 top, 181 top right | Archive
Marina Apollonio: 346 bottom | Archive Massironi:
131 top right | Archive Matko MeStrovi£: 59-61, 67
bottom right | Archive MSU Zagreb: 34, 63, 66 top
left, 66 bottom left, 66 bottom right, 67 bottom left,
67 top, 112 center, 112 bottom, 113 top, 113 bottom
left, 119 bottom left, 127, 154, 184 top center, 184 top
right, 184 bottom, 186 top, 188 top left, 199, 208
bottom right, 216, 226-227, 243-247, 249 left, 250,
289, 291, 293, 305, 316, 323-324, 327-328, 347,
368-369, 424 bottom, 445, 453, 471, 473-474, 479,
527-528, 531-532 | Archive Musee des Arts
Decoratifs: 161 top, 173 bottom | Archive Otto
Beckmann: 523 bottom right | Archive Paul Frank
Talman: 135| Archive Uli Pohl: 167 bottom | Atelier
Cruz-Diez: 103 | Suzanne Baumann: 186 bottom |
Richard Beckmann: 385, 523 left | Antonio Berni /
V8tA Images / Victoria and Albert Museum, London:
501 top | Alberto Biasi: 86| Ennio Chiggio: 84
bottom right, 149 center, 149 bottom | Analivia
Cordeiro: 503 | Courtesy of D. Wigmore Fine Art: 213
bottom | Courtesy of rittergallery: 192 | Charles
C.suri, Ohio: 400 | Radomir Damnjanovic-Damnjan:
515 | Gerardo Delgado: 496 bottom | Dieter Roth
Foundation: 74 bottom | Dunja Donassy-Bonacic:
right | Dunja Donassy-Bonafic, bed cybernetic art
team: 52 | Darel D. Eschbach: 389 bottom | Estate
Martin: 198 bottom | Estate of Robert Mallary: 401
right | Family Malina: 200 top | Foundation Walter &
Nicole Leblanc: 170 top right | Bernd Franck,
Dusseldorf: 155 top | Herbert W. Franke: 508|
Generali Foundation, Vienna: 424 top | Karl
Gerstner: 191 top, 355 | Haus Konstruktiv: 150 |
Karen Hewitt: ,181 top left |Gottfried Jiiger: 356 |
Sture Johannesson: 502 bottom | Richard Kriesche:
341 bottom | Kunsthalle Mannheim: 349 | Edoardo
Landi: 151 top left |Eduardo MacEntyre / V8tA
Images / Victoria and Albert Museum, London: 501
center | Enzo Mari: 485 | Mario Marino: 500 right J
Almir Mavignier: 80 bottom | Tomislav Mikulic: 506
left | Marcello Morandini: 339 bottom | Francois
Morellet: 70 top left, 93, 112 top, 113 bottom left. 160
bottom, 189 | Leonardo Mosso: 428-429 | MSU
Zagreb: 30, 33. 50-51, 53, 54 left, 69, 70 bottom, 71,
79 iop, 79 bottom, 84 bottom left, 87, 88 top, 118 left,
125 bottom left, 126 bottom right, 168 bottom right, '
187, 193 right, 251, 254-255, 331-334, 340 top, 343
bottom, 348 top, 350 bottom right, 352, 353 top left,
354 bottom, 357-358, 359 bottom, 361, 362 top left,
362 bottom left, 363, 364 top, 364 bottom left, 370,
372-374, 381-384, 387-388, 389 top, 390-398, 400
top, 401 left, 403, 405-406, 426 top, 426 bottom left,
459, 460 top, 477, 480, 481 bottom, 484, 486-487,
490-493, 495 bottom, 498 bottom, 504 top, 505 top,
506 right, 507, 509, 514 bottom left, 516-519 | MSU
Zagreb, Estate Vladimir Bonadic: 256 | Bruno Munari
and Marcello Piccardo: 201 | Museum fiir Konkrete
Kunst Ingolstadt: 209 |Monique Nahas: 499 right |
Neue Gaierie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz:
1 72 left | A. Michael Noll: 249 right | Edvard
Ravnikar: 505 bottom | Bridget Riley. All rights
reserved. Courtesy Karsten Schubert London: 171 |
Osvaldo Romberg / V&A Images / Victoria and
Albert Museum, London: 501 bottom |Margit Rosen:
107 | Bernhard Schneider, Alessandro Carlini: 354
top | Lillian F. Schwartz: 502 top |Sprengel Museum,
Hannover: 258, 399 |Stiftung fiir Konkrete Kunst
und Design Ingolstadt: 351 | Jorrit Tornquist: 340
bottom | Gunther Uecker: 78 top left | Miguel Angel
Vidal / V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum,
London: 500 left | ZKM | Karlsruhe: 15-17, 45, 72-73,
75, 81 bottom left, 84 top, 85 left, 85 top right, 85
bottom, 120-121, 125 top, 126 top, 131 bottom, 132
top, 133 top, 167 top, 168 top, 170 bottom left, 253,
338 top left, 338 top right, 346 top, 348 bottom, 353
bottom, 364 bottom right, 376-377, 386, 460 bottom,
494, 496 top, 497, 498 top, 499 left, 51 1, 523 top right
Photographers
Marc Adrian: 180 top, 181 top right | Fabio
d'Ambrosio: 78 bottom | Valerio Anceschi: 214
bottom | Jorg Anders: 208 left | Marina Apollonio:
190 top, 346 bottom | Archives Cruz-Diez: 103|
David Auner: 190 bottom | Branko Balic: 66 top left,
66 bottom left, 67 top, 67 bottom left, 67 bottom
right, 113 top, 154, 183 top | Bauer, Ingolstadt: 364
54 bottom left | Helmut Bauer: 74 top left, 209, 351 |
Darko Bavoljak: 69, 70 bottom, 118 left, 119 bottom
left, 187, 340 top, 348 top, 352 bottom | Otto
Beckmann: 523 left| Ernst Benkert: 213 top |
Vladimir Bonacic: 52 |Marija Braut: 50-51, 53,
244-246, 347, 354 bottom left, 364 top, 372-373, 389
top, 426 top | Jarmila Cihankova: 350 bottom left |
Inge Claus-Jansen: 193 top | Boris Cvjetanovic: 30,
88 top, 179 top, 186 top left, 188 top left, 205 top,
250-251, 254-255, 293, 305, 316, 323-324, 327-328,
352 top, 357, 374, 381-384, 387-388, 390-391, 392
bottom, 394, 396-398, 400, 426 bottom left, 477,
490-492, 495 bottom, 504 top, 505 top, 509, 516-519
Petar Dabac: 54 left | Braco Dimitrijevic: 514 top |
May Fasnacht: 186 bottom | Herbert W. Franke: 508 |
Giorgio Furla: 165 top left, 182 top right | Nenad
Gattin: 126 bottom left | Gruppo MID: 185 right, 199
|Steffen Harms: 15-17,45, 72-73, 75. 81 bottom left,
84 top. 85 left, 85 top right, 85 bottom, 120-121, 125
top, 126 top, 131 bottom, 133 top, 167 top, 168 top,
1 70 bottom left, 253, 338 top left, 338 top right, 346
top, 348 bottom, 353 bottom, 364 bottom right, 424
top, 494 top right | Hein Engelskirchen GDL: 78 top
left | Karen Hewitt: 181 top left | Francisco
Infante-Arana: 188 bottom left | Gottfried Jiiger: 356
Mimmo Jodice: 514 bottom right |Sture
Johannesson: 502 bottom | Wolf Kahlen: 338 bottom
| Max Kammer: 80 top right |Rudolf Kammer: 81 to|
left, 81 top right, 198 top | Hiroshi Kawano: 460
bottom | Mitja Koman: 87, 480, 481 bottom, 514
bottom left |Eustach Kossakowski: 205 bottom |
Nicolas Lackner: 200 top | N. Lackner/ Bild und
Tonarchiv, Graz: 172 left | Bernard Lassus: 200
bottom | Julio Le Pare: 161 bottom center | Robert
Mallary: 401 right | Almir Mavignier: 66 top right, 80
bottom | Francois Morellet: 112 top, 113 bottom left,
160 bottom | Leonardo Mosso: 428-429 |Jo Gotthart
Muller: 172 right |ONUK: 18 (images 1-6, 9-11, 13) |
Ana Opalic: 79 bottom, 168 bottom right |Rocco
Palinuro: 165 bottom | Ivan Picelj: 104, 105 top, 105
bottom right | Raul Prokop, Prague: 339 top | Michael
Rademacher: 350 top| Johnny Ricci: 133 bottom |
Margit Rosen: 18 (images 7-8) | Heini Schneebeli,
London: 74 bottom | Luc Schrobiltgen: 156 bottom,
170 top right | Karsten Schubert London: 171 |Joel
Stein: 134 bottom, 169 | Fenna Yola Tykwer: 18
(image 12) | Heinz Unger: 74 top right, 150 | Joao
Urban: 186 center | Kreso Vlahek: 71, 79 top, 84
bottom left, 126 bottom right, 359 bottom |Goran
Vranid: 208 top right |Franz Wamhof: 54 right, 132
top, 385, 494 top left, 494 bottom, 497, 498 top, 499
left | Jose Maria Yturralde: 496 top |Walter
Zehringer: 81 bottom right
VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2011 for:
Marc Adrian, Jose Luis Alexanco, Max Bill (max,
binia + jakob bill stiftung), Hartmut Bohm, Martha
Boto, Daniel Buren, Gerardo Delgado, Piero Dorazio,
Miklos Erdely, Rolf Glasmeier, Gerhard von
Graevenitz, Axel Heibel, Gottfried Jager, Sture
Johannesson, Wolf Kahlen, Julije Knifer, Radoslav
Kratina, Richard Kriesche, Vlado Kristl, Walter
Leblanc, Julio Le Pare, Wolfgang Ludwig, Heinz
Mack, Max Hermann Mahlmann, Piero Manzoni,
Francois Morellet, Henk Peeters, Otto Piene, Uli
Pohl, Manuel Quejido, Lothar Quinte, Sylvia
Roubaud, Bernhard Sandfort, Bernhard Schneider,
Soledad Sevilla, Francisco Sobrino, Jesus Rafael
Soto, Klaus Staudt, Joel Stein, Luis Tomasello,
Gunther Uecker, Gregorio Vardanega, Victor
Vasarely, Marcel Wyss, Yvaral
p. I 7, bottom left and bottom right
Vladimir Bonacic
GF. E(16,4) - N S C M
1969-1971
Computer-controlled light and sound object
Metal construction, aluminum elements, electronics,
electric lamps, color glass, loud-speakers, remote
control; 178 x 178 x 50 cm
Developed on a SDS-930. computer program
implemented in special-purpose hardware
Produced at Ruder BoSkovic Institute, Zagreb
Dunja Donassy-Bonadic, bed cybernetic art team