Computer Arts Society
Encyclopedia
The Computer Arts Society (CAS) was founded in 1968, in order to encourage the creative use of computers in the arts.
– had been involved with computing and its related concepts for some time. They knew Jasia Reichardt
, the curator of Cybernetic Serendipity
(1968) and had participated in or advised on aspects of the exhibition. Sutcliffe was involved with the exhibition through his collaboration with composer Peter Zinovieff
and Electronic Music Studios (EMS)
. Mallen was working with the English Cybernetician Gordon Pask
at Systems Research and assisted on the production of the interactive robotic work Colloquy of Mobiles shown at the exhibition. Although not mentioned in the catalogue credits, Reichardt knew and respected Lansdown, who from 1963, had used computing techniques in architectural design and planning.
The original idea for a society dedicated to the computer arts (which was to become the Computer Arts Society) was instigated by Sutcliffe, at the IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing
) Congress in August 1968 in Edinburgh. Sutcliffe and Zinovieff had won second prize with ZASP, their piece of computer-composed music. Members of the Congress suggested to Sutcliffe that he might like to convene a meeting of people working in a similar field whilst they were all together at the Congress, as most had not had a chance to meet like-minded persons outside their own team before. Sutcliffe collated the names of interested individuals and the group formed out of this, with the first meetings in London held in a room belonging to University College London
, in or near Gower Street
in September 1968. Subsequent meetings were often held at the offices of Lansdown’s architectural practice (he became the Secretary with Sutcliffe the Chairman and Mallen, Treasurer.)
The Computer Arts Society was founded to encourage the creative use of computers and to allow the exchange of information in this area. It was recognised that this was an area where there had been increasing activity, but with little formal publication of methods and results and little communication between artists in different fields (music, visual, performing arts, and so on).
, Berkshire
with the official title of Manager of New Series Branch. His area of expertise and responsibility covered what today is called research and development of software. He has commented that ICL was always supportive of his outside artistic endeavours, offering for example, allocation of time on the mainframes, which he undertook mostly outside of peak hours. As the Bracknell branch of ICL did not initially have a mainframe computer, Sutcliffe would occasionally travel to the Putney
, London branch. This was located across the River Thames from EMS and this facilitated his collaboration with Zinovieff. Sutcliffe brought the paper tape of a music program he had written at ICL to Zinovieff to “realise” and thus began their collaboration, with Sutcliffe assisting the Studio by writing software for the synthesizers they produced. Zinovieff is recognised as having revolutionised electronic and avant-garde music and EMS was used by Sir Harrison Birtwistle
, Stockhausen
and Pink Floyd
among others.
CAS supported practitioners through a network of meetings, conferences, practical courses, social events, exhibitions and occasionally, through funding. It ran code-writing workshops, held several important exhibitions, co-operated with the Scottish Arts Council
at the Edinburgh Festival
and produced a bulletin. PAGE was initially published from April 1969 until 1985 and was named after the concept of paging (the use of disk memory as a virtual store which had been introduced on the Ferranti
Atlas
Computer). It featured major British and international computer artists and hosted some fundamental discussions as to the aims and nature of computer art. Its first editor was Gustav Metzger
(who named the journal), thereby establishing from the beginning an association with the avant-garde. Metzger was ‘excited’ to discover CAS and ‘people coming together’ as he had ‘felt quite isolated.’ As early as 1961, Metzger had stated that ‘…the artist may collaborate with scientists, engineers.’ As many members were outside of London or overseas, PAGE was an important disseminator of information.
CAS had international input early on in its history. A Dutch Branch (CASH) was formed in 1970 in Amsterdam and CAS US, formed in 1971 was based in the Mathematics Department of Eastern Michigan University
. An early issue was devoted to the American branch activities and included ‘A proposal and manifesto’ by Stan Vanderbeek
, pioneer of light shows and computer animation. By 1970, the CAS membership list listed three hundred and seventy-seven members in seventeen countries, including fifteen libraries and institutional members.
During the early years of its existence, the Society acquired a large number of works by pioneers in the field, including Manuel Barbadillo, Charles Csuri
, Herbert W. Franke
, Edward Ihnatowicz
, Ken Knowlton
, Manfred Mohr
, Georg Nees
, Frieder Nake
, Lillian Schwartz
and Alan Sutcliffe. The artworks, and the archives of the Society itself, were acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum
in 2007. Works by Sutcliffe are also held by the Kunsthalle Bremen
, which included them in an exhibition entitled Ex machina: early computer graphics up to 1979.
. It holds its own meetings in London and supports the EVA Conferences
in London too.
Foundation
The three founder members of the Society – Alan Sutcliffe, George Mallen, and John LansdownJohn Lansdown
Robert John Lansdown was a British computer graphics pioneer, polymath and Professor Emeritus at Middlesex University Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts, which was renamed in his honour in 2000....
– had been involved with computing and its related concepts for some time. They knew Jasia Reichardt
Jasia Reichardt
Jasia Reichardt is a British art critic, editor, curator, and gallery director with an interest in art and its intersection with other fields, especially technology.-Career:...
, the curator of Cybernetic Serendipity
Cybernetic Serendipity
"Cybernetic Serendipity" was an exhibition of computer art curated by Jasia Reichardt, shown at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London in 1968, and then touring the United States.-Content:...
(1968) and had participated in or advised on aspects of the exhibition. Sutcliffe was involved with the exhibition through his collaboration with composer Peter Zinovieff
Peter Zinovieff
Peter Zinovieff is a British inventor of Russian ethnicity, most notable for his EMS company, which made the famous VCS3 synthesizer in the late 1960s...
and Electronic Music Studios (EMS)
Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd
Electronic Music Studios Ltd. is a synthesizer company formed in 1969 by Dr. Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell....
. Mallen was working with the English Cybernetician Gordon Pask
Gordon Pask
Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask was an English cybernetician and psychologist who made significant contributions to cybernetics, instructional psychology, experimental epistemology and educational technology....
at Systems Research and assisted on the production of the interactive robotic work Colloquy of Mobiles shown at the exhibition. Although not mentioned in the catalogue credits, Reichardt knew and respected Lansdown, who from 1963, had used computing techniques in architectural design and planning.
The original idea for a society dedicated to the computer arts (which was to become the Computer Arts Society) was instigated by Sutcliffe, at the IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing
International Federation for Information Processing
The International Federation for Information Processing is an umbrella organization for national societies working in the field of information technology. It is a non-governmental, non-profit organization with offices in Laxenburg, Austria...
) Congress in August 1968 in Edinburgh. Sutcliffe and Zinovieff had won second prize with ZASP, their piece of computer-composed music. Members of the Congress suggested to Sutcliffe that he might like to convene a meeting of people working in a similar field whilst they were all together at the Congress, as most had not had a chance to meet like-minded persons outside their own team before. Sutcliffe collated the names of interested individuals and the group formed out of this, with the first meetings in London held in a room belonging to University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, in or near Gower Street
Gower Street
Gower Street may refer to:*Gower Street *Gower Street...
in September 1968. Subsequent meetings were often held at the offices of Lansdown’s architectural practice (he became the Secretary with Sutcliffe the Chairman and Mallen, Treasurer.)
The Computer Arts Society was founded to encourage the creative use of computers and to allow the exchange of information in this area. It was recognised that this was an area where there had been increasing activity, but with little formal publication of methods and results and little communication between artists in different fields (music, visual, performing arts, and so on).
Early activities
At this time Sutcliffe was a programmer at International Computers Limited (ICL) in BracknellBracknell
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
with the official title of Manager of New Series Branch. His area of expertise and responsibility covered what today is called research and development of software. He has commented that ICL was always supportive of his outside artistic endeavours, offering for example, allocation of time on the mainframes, which he undertook mostly outside of peak hours. As the Bracknell branch of ICL did not initially have a mainframe computer, Sutcliffe would occasionally travel to the Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, London branch. This was located across the River Thames from EMS and this facilitated his collaboration with Zinovieff. Sutcliffe brought the paper tape of a music program he had written at ICL to Zinovieff to “realise” and thus began their collaboration, with Sutcliffe assisting the Studio by writing software for the synthesizers they produced. Zinovieff is recognised as having revolutionised electronic and avant-garde music and EMS was used by Sir Harrison Birtwistle
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
, Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
and Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
among others.
CAS supported practitioners through a network of meetings, conferences, practical courses, social events, exhibitions and occasionally, through funding. It ran code-writing workshops, held several important exhibitions, co-operated with the Scottish Arts Council
Scottish Arts Council
The Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
and produced a bulletin. PAGE was initially published from April 1969 until 1985 and was named after the concept of paging (the use of disk memory as a virtual store which had been introduced on the Ferranti
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
Atlas
Atlas Computer (Manchester)
The Atlas Computer was a joint development between the University of Manchester, Ferranti, and Plessey. The first Atlas, installed at Manchester University and officially commissioned in 1962, was one of the world's first supercomputers, considered to be the most powerful computer in the world at...
Computer). It featured major British and international computer artists and hosted some fundamental discussions as to the aims and nature of computer art. Its first editor was Gustav Metzger
Gustav Metzger
Gustav Metzger is an artist and political activist who developed the concept of Auto-Destructive Art and the Art Strike. Together with John Sharkey, he initiated the Destruction in Art Symposium in 1966...
(who named the journal), thereby establishing from the beginning an association with the avant-garde. Metzger was ‘excited’ to discover CAS and ‘people coming together’ as he had ‘felt quite isolated.’ As early as 1961, Metzger had stated that ‘…the artist may collaborate with scientists, engineers.’ As many members were outside of London or overseas, PAGE was an important disseminator of information.
CAS had international input early on in its history. A Dutch Branch (CASH) was formed in 1970 in Amsterdam and CAS US, formed in 1971 was based in the Mathematics Department of Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
. An early issue was devoted to the American branch activities and included ‘A proposal and manifesto’ by Stan Vanderbeek
Stan Vanderbeek
Stan Vanderbeek was an American experimental filmmaker.- Life :VanDerBeek studied art and architecture first at Cooper Union College in New York and then at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where he met architect Buckminster Fuller, composer John Cage, and choreographer Merce Cunningham...
, pioneer of light shows and computer animation. By 1970, the CAS membership list listed three hundred and seventy-seven members in seventeen countries, including fifteen libraries and institutional members.
During the early years of its existence, the Society acquired a large number of works by pioneers in the field, including Manuel Barbadillo, Charles Csuri
Charles Csuri
Charles Csuri , aka Chuck Csuri, is a pioneer in the field of computer art and a former All American college football player.-Digital art:...
, Herbert W. Franke
Herbert W. Franke
Herbert W. Franke is an Austrian scientist and writer. He is considered one of the most important science fiction authors in the German language....
, Edward Ihnatowicz
Edward Ihnatowicz
Edward Ihnatowicz was a cybernetic sculptor active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.His sculptures explored the interaction between his robotic works and the audience.....
, Ken Knowlton
Ken Knowlton
In 1963, Knowlton developed the BEFLIX programming language for bitmap computer-produced movies, created using an IBM 7094 computer and a Stromberg-Carlson 4020 microfilm recorder. Each frame contained eight shades of grey and a resolution of 252 x 184....
, Manfred Mohr
Manfred Mohr
Manfred Mohr is a digital art pioneer. He has lived and worked in New York since 1981.-Life & career:...
, Georg Nees
Georg Nees
Georg Nees is a pioneer of computer art, an honorary professor of computer science at the University of Erlangen, Germany. Nees and his fellow pioneers Frieder Nake and A. Michael Noll have been called the "3N" of computer art....
, Frieder Nake
Frieder Nake
Frieder Nake is a professor for computer graphics at the department for computer science at the University of Bremen and visiting professor for hypermedia design at the University of the Arts Bremen. He lives and works in Bremen, Germany.He has taught in Stuttgart, Toronto and Vancouver, and has...
, Lillian Schwartz
Lillian Schwartz
Lillian F. Schwartz is an American artist who is known for being a creator of 20th century computer-developed art. One notable work she created is Mona Leo, where she morphed the image of a Leonardo da Vinci self-portrait with the Mona Lisa.She made one of the first digitally created films to be...
and Alan Sutcliffe. The artworks, and the archives of the Society itself, were acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in 2007. Works by Sutcliffe are also held by the Kunsthalle Bremen
Kunsthalle Bremen
The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in the Hanseatic City Bremen, Germany.The Kunsthalle was built in 1849 and enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister....
, which included them in an exhibition entitled Ex machina: early computer graphics up to 1979.
Current status
The Computer Arts Society is now a Specialist Group of the British Computer SocietyBritish Computer Society
The British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...
. It holds its own meetings in London and supports the EVA Conferences
EVA Conferences
The Electronic Visualisation and the Arts conferences are a series of international interdisciplinary conferences mainly in Europe, but also elsewhere in the world, for people interested in the application of information technology to the cultural and especially the visual arts field, including...
in London too.