Untitled, Desmond Paul Henry, 1964, UK. Museum no. E.378-2009. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Given by Elaine O’Hanrahan
In the 1960s, Desmond Paul Henry constructed three drawing machines using parts obtained from analogue bombsight computers. Fascinated by the swinging motion of the machines, he adapted them to accommodate pen and paper. The devices could not be programmed, and their technical limitations sometimes created unexpected results. Henry’s second machine was displayed in Cybernetic Serendipity
Computer Composition with Lines, A. Michael Noll, 1964, US. Museum no. E.35-2011. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London/A. Michael Noll. Given by the artist
A. Michael Noll created this computer-generated version of Piet Mondrian’s composition in line to determine whether computers could mimic artistic creativity. He showed a copy of Mondrian’s artwork alongside the machine- made image and asked 100 participants to guess which was the original. Only 28% of them correctly identified the Mondrian. Noll observed that people associated ‘the randomness of the computer-generated picture with human creativity’.
P-122, from the portfolio ‘Scratch Code: 1970–1975’, Manfred Mohr, published by Éditions Média, made 1972, printed 1976, Paris, France. Museum no. E.977:3-2008. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Patric Prince
Manfred Mohr began his career as a jazz musician and expressionist painter. He started exploring the use of geometric imagery in the mid-1960s, producing his first computer-generated drawings in 1969. In this series of prints produces from plotter drawings, the computer program creates a range of geometric shapes that echo some of his earlier artworks. Mohr went on to examine the possibilities presented by the cube.
http://cyberneticserendipity.net/
https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/chance-and-control-art-in-the-age-of-computers
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