Thesis Contents

A basic timeline of Art and Technology through the 20th century

Hypothesis

Definitions

• Why use the term ‘Computer Art’?
• Metaphors as a basis for understanding technology
• Limitations of the term ‘computer art’
• Previous attempts to define Computer Art
• Definitions based on procedure
• The computer’s role in fine art
• Distinguishing “art” from “graphics” part 1 and part 2
• A functional difference between ‘art’ and ‘graphics’

The Development of Computer Art

• The interrelation of Computer Graphics and Computer Art
• The Progress of Computer Graphics technology
• Was ‘Computer Art’ an inevitable development?
• Linking historic Computer Art to previous artforms
• Abstract Animation
• Mathematics and systems in art
• Ben Laposky’s Oscillons
• John Whitney’s use of analogue computers
• Use of analogue computers in other contexts
• The influence of Constructivism and the Bauhaus
• The Last Stance of Abstract Art?
• The Influence of Kinetic Art
• Art and technology in the 1960s: the broader context
• Expectations of Computer Art in the 1960s
• The Perception and Reception of Computer Art
• Conclusion to Historical Section

The Computer as a Platform for Art

• The computer as medium
• The digital space
• The material traces of Computer Art
• The position of the ‘original’ in Computer Art
• Applying Nelson Goodman’s theories to Computer Art
• Problems with Goodman: Lydia Goehr etc
• Physical Computer Art – a contradiction?
• Notation and Performance
• The “work” of Computer Art
• Case study: Harold Cohen and AARON
• The physical trace as a record of artistic process
• The status of Computer Art as a musical “work”

Artistic Approaches to the Computer

• Does the status of ‘Computer Art’ depend on its production?
• Factors in the Computer’s Artistic Usage
• Computer Art and craft
• Gibson’s tool functions applied to the computer
• The act of using the GUI
• Metaphors connecting the GUI with older media
• Case study: Catherine McIntyre
• Conceptual frameworks imposed by GUI and the artist
• Non-linear elements and the concept of risk
• Alternative approaches to real-time image manipulation
• Specialised vs. standardised interfaces
• Drawbacks with the GUI

Artist-Programmers

• The historic importance of artist-programmers
• Case study: William Latham’s pre-Computer Art and his computer artworks
• Algorism and the Algorists
• Jean-Pierre Hébert’s physicalised Computer Art
• Hébert’s aesthetic
• Drawbacks of programming to create digital art
• Section conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography

• Manuscript and Archival Sources
• Printed Primary Sources
• Printed Secondary Sources
• Unpublished papers, theses and interviews
• Web References