What is Digital Art?

Digital art is defined as art created using tools such as computers and digitally coded information

The History of Digital Art:

Click this weblink to explore an online interactive timeline of the history of Digital Art

Some Important Figures

The Pioneers (1960-1970):

Georg Nees

A German academic who was a pioneer of computer art and generative graphics.

Schotter by Nees

Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.)

A non-profit and tax-exempt organization, was established in 1967 to develop collaborations between artists and engineers.

Manfred Mohr

A German artist considered to be a pioneer in the field of digital art.

Piece "P-777_D" (2002/04). LCD Screen and PC by Manfred Mohr

Desmond Paul Henry

One of the first British artists to experiment with machine-generated visual effects at the time of the emerging global computer art movement of the 1960s.

Picture produced by Drawing Machine 1 by Desmond Paul Henry

Ken Knowlton

an American computer graphics pioneer, artist, mosaicist and portraitist

Domino Portraits: Groucho by Ken Knowlton

Robert W. Mallary

an American abstract expressionist sculptor and pioneer in computer art.In 1968, Mallary created one of the first (perhaps the first) digitally modeled sculptures, Quad 1.

Quad 1, 1968. Computer-designed sculpture

Frieder Nake

an American abstract expressionist sculptor and pioneer in computer art.In 1968, Mallary created one of the first (perhaps the first) digitally modeled sculptures, Quad 1.

Lillian Schwartz

an American artist considered a pioneer of computer-mediated art. Many of her ground-breaking projects were done in the 1960s and 1970s, well before the desktop computer revolution made computer hardware and software widely available to artists.

From Pixillation by Schwartz 1970

Pixillation by Schwartz 1970 16mm colour, sound 4 min.

Harold Cohen

a British-born artist who was noted as the creator of AARON, a computer program designed to produce paintings and drawings autonomously, which set it apart from previous programs

Harold Cohen, AARON KCAT, 2001. Screenshot. Artificial intelligence software. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

The Paint Program Era (1980-1990):

Andy Warhol

an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol is generally considered among the most important American artists of the second half of the 20th century.[n 1] His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, and filmmaking.