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A "History of Computer Graphics and Art"
Project
By Anna Ursyn (bio)
ursyn@unco.edu
Terrence Masson
tman@visualfx.com
It's a big challenge to
carry out the first step of action that would put past works in relevance to
new creations. This is the case with the history of computer graphics and art.
There are many reasons for archiving such a young discipline. People who made
history of this branch of knowledge are still creating new works. Data accessible
today may be difficult to be retrieved tomorrow. Approaches and assessments
change along with the progressive advances in technology. With all these factors
considered, this action calls for interaction between people representing various
fields, from software/hardware programmers to scientists and artists.
A data bank of computer
graphics and art is currently being assembled at the "History of Computer
Graphics and Art" project as a part of the ACM/ SIGGRAPH resources. It
documents the evolvement of computer graphics, art, and the thought about art
in relation to the progress of technology. A collection of images and essays
created by artists, scientists, art historians, people shaping the museum and
gallery display and those who influenced these disciplines reflects the unfolding
of computer art due to technical achievements (hardware, software, languages,
etc). With this approach, computer art and graphics are related to the history
of inventions in concurrent periods of time. The artists' web sites, along with
the existing materials cumulated in various collections, complement this project.
Those who feel their work
contributed to the fields of computer graphics and computer art are invited
to describe their areas of action and accomplishments. Being a part of this
project may be interesting both on a personal level and because it involves
a great potential for new approaches in teaching and provides materials for
visual learning. This call and the release form is posted on the ACM SIGGRAPH
website: http://www.siggraph.org/education/cgHistory/history.html
A Prospective Book
Terrence Masson and Anna
Ursyn are working on a collaborative project for a book by linking the text
with an online database (http://www.kascope.com/cgibook/cgibookinfo.htm). The
major idea for writing this book is to create a data bank that viewers can use
to study first-hand comparative data gathered as a resource for art history,
scientific visualization and technology-related education. Most of the people
who developed progress in these disciplines are still reachable. Terrence Masson's
book, "CG 101: A Computer Graphics Industry Reference" (1999, new
Riders Publishing) is a comprehensive resource guidebook about people and the
companies that formed the computer graphics industry. He is planning to divide
a new edition into two sections: a reference for CG Professionals and the history
book with an online component. The Artists' responses will provide interested
parties (either readers and/or the users of the web site) with the source materials.
This will enable them to relate artist's philosophy to technical resources and
inventions, which influenced and made possible new ways of thinking about electronic
art. For example, concepts and techniques such as morphing, topology, randomness,
probability, fractals, laser light technology as affecting computer-based creation
(both of art and graphics) might be introduced. Many times, an access to computer-controlled
devices helped the artists working on algorithmic works to see the images they
created. The idea of following the development of thought in relation to technical,
political, 2289 cultural and social events can be applied in a similar way as
in many fields of historical studies, such as cultural anthropology or history
of mainstream art.
The ideas for further work
on organizing materials that might be related to the current project are:
- Mutual relationship between
the disciplines (Computer Science, Dance, Visual Arts etc)
- Selecting technological
solutions most relevant to a particular problem.
- Print vs. display art
(presentation quality)
- Programming and Art
- Criticism - phases -
artistic quality, Artist as a Critic
- Thematic Work (e.g. Fractal
Graphics)
- Classification of the
product
- Grouping work (location,
cultural tradition)
- Process in developing
a project (involving collaborative efforts)
- Copyright related issues
(detail as a form of representation, watermark, resolution)
- Perception of the field
(biases, preferences)
- Abstract thinking
Rationale for the
Project
There is no sole comprehensive
resource describing this fascinating and important history of the inventions
in computer graphics and computer art.. There are many books on the history
of computers and computing that cover relevant topics but it is hard to find
a single book entirely focused on and covering the topic of the history of computer
graphics and computer art. There are not many web sites with a comprehensive
list of people whose work has contributed to the fields of computer graphics
and computer art. Also, there are no collections of syllabi that would be helpful
in teaching the subject. The "Birds of a Feather" gathering at the
ACM/ SIGGRAPH 2002, San Antonio, Texas (organized by Anna Ursyn and Anne Morgan
Spalter) generated a helpful feedback to this online collection.
What did become clear was
that the need for good resources in the field grows more urgent with every passing
day. Needless to say, the need to establish a base for the subject is growing
every day, as more technologies are developed. It seems like it will be harder
to develop a documented history the longer we wait. The history written now
will become what students of the future read and experience in whatever book,
web site, or CD is ultimately created. It is up to communities like SIGGRAPH
to ensure that this history is complete and correct. Some students might think
that computer art began with Photoshop. Some people find it challenging that
the invention of the hidden line removal helped to shape TV. Even for knowledgeable
practitioners, putting together a package of materials for students containing
a history of computer art requires a lot of research and funding for reproduction
of article and papers. Most educators have accumulated a set of slides, articles,
course notes, and conference proceedings over time. For new teachers putting
together a course in this subject, the materials assembly task is daunting.
In addition to not having a single book or web resource that covers the topic,
teachers cannot go to a school's slide library and pull slides as they would
for, say Renaissance architecture -- they just aren't there yet.
Quite a new approach can
be developed, by relating the history of inventions to computer art and computer
graphics created in concurrent periods of time. In educational terms, a curriculum
for teaching history of computer graphics and art could be formatted according
to technological progress and possibilities that have emerged from it. Also,
the collection of artwork (access to images) and artists' approaches to their
work resulting from the tools accessible makes it possible to develop a new
curriculum for visual learning of computer art with the core of this approach
based on cognitive study and semiotic analysis of technological thought, not
just historical chronology.
Bonds Uniting the
History, Actuality, and Education in Computer Graphics
-- Learning of computer
art with illustrated and annotated resources. Unlike the history of the science
of computers, an art history cannot simply report facts and put them into chronological
order and historical perspective. The challenge also lies in interpreting the
meaning of the work so far, in hazarding a guess as to what works will be seen
and referred to 50 years form now, which will fade away, and in relating the
work of computer artists to the rest of the art world and the cultures in which
they were created. Although some large museums are now curating computer shows,
a historical understanding of the field often seems lacking. Just as Clement
Greenberg brought Abstract Expressionism into the art canon with his seminal
essays in the 1960s, so we need modern critics and historians to help museum
goers understand the vital role that the computer now plays in visual image
creation. All we know is that there is an audience waiting.
-- Education in computer
graphics must evolve every year to be current and effective. The uniqueness
of computer graphics is in its dynamic changes going parallel to the developments
in computer technology. Generally, with electronic computers being over 50 years
old (the first-generation computer UNIVAC 1 was produced in 1951), personal
computers for 20 years (microcomputers became popular in the late seventies),
and the World Wide Web known to the public for less than 10 years, the computer
competency demands are shifting from a proficiency in some computer applications,
such as word processing, through the e-mail, to "visual literacy"
which is essential for data mining and web visualization.
-- An increasing demand
for education in computer graphics, intensifying with the ongoings in the time-based
and interactive technologies in communication media. Understanding processes
present in various disciplines becomes more and more intertwined with computer
graphics. Both those people who want to gain better understanding of the tools
they use and those who feel they are underutilizing them need a better preparation
in computer graphics. Exploring options for the integrative learning environment
involves collaborative, interdisciplinary learning and teaching with the use
of web based 2-D, 3-D, motion, gaming and sound-supported visuals.
-- The time-based and interactive
projects (such as websites). Computer graphics are essential for developing
the container: how the story is being delivered. Every discipline -- archeology,
history, geology, online environment, a game, to name just a few -- can be seen,
or even should be seen as a set of stories, moreover, visual stories. The way
we unfold and deliver the story depends on the needs and the environment. We
have to analyze cultural implications of our products from the perspective of
the user, not only in the artist's frame of reference. Website artistic quality
is often affected by unintended presence of a banner, therefore a web page developer
should not only design a product but also make it fit for the changing environment
as perceived by the user. One needs to remember that every color coexists with
others. The developer should be trained interdisciplinary, equipped to not only
produce pretty pictures but also a cross-cultural impact, since the product
delivery is often tested under specific technical or cultural conditions.
-- Computer graphics support
mutual inspiration between art and other disciplines and enhance one another.
Visual quality is of utmost significance, as people visually arrange and present
knowledge by shifting from digits to pixels, even in specialized areas, for
example, by creating artwork for financial analysis with the use of an information
visualization technique, applying a 3D city metaphor for software production
visualization, or making visual tools for editing and browsing semantic web
resources. To be workable, every website must not only be visual, simple and
effective, but also delightful to look at.
-- As for animation, it
seems important not only how a story is expressed, but also how appealing it
is, with visual metaphors, cognitive shortcuts, and actions aimed to compress
time without telling stories in an ply-by-play manner. Every single frame in
an abstract or a character-based animation should be a masterpiece. In interactive
3D interactive environments (a website, virtual reality environment, interactive
publication, TV, animation) the recipient might feel encouraged to be an active
part of the world and control how a story unfolds.
-- Visual learning is becoming
a way of life for all of us. The Internet is a perfect vehicle for visual thinking,
as it stimulates new art forms and visualization techniques, and intensifies
collaboration between interested people such as artists, scientists, and engineers.
It is becoming more demanding on everyone to grow in terms of the ability to
think abstractly, compare/contrast and digest data quickly.
-- Many technical conferences include exploration of the relationship between
visual arts, mathematics, and science, for example, the Symposium on Digital
Art, and Online Gallery - CGIV05-Dart (http://www.graphicslink.demon.co.uk/cgiv05/DART.htm),
the Art + Math = X Conference at the University of Colorado at Boulder (http://math.colorado.edu/Art&Math/revised_announcement.htm),
the Bridges Conference Mathematical Connections in Art, Music and Science (http://www.sckans.edu/~bridges/)
or the Mathematics and Design Conference (http://www.nexusjournal.com/CFP-MD2004.html).
Organizations and journals, such as Art and Science Collaborations, Inc. (http://www.asci.org/),
Leonardo, the Journal of the International Society of the Arts, Sciences and
Technology and Leonardo On-Line: Art, Science and Technology (http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/),
Wired Magazine (http://www.wired.com/wired/)
or YLEM, Artists Using Science and Technology (http://www.ylem.org/), increase
collaboration and communication between scientists and artists using science
and technology.
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