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Adfera

Print
1972 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This screenprint is the outcome of a series of visuals trials carried out using a computer and a bespoke program (for an example of the original computer print out, see E.158-2008). Barbadillo wrote a computer program that would enable him to rotate the U-shaped forms within a grid, to produce any number of different patterns. The artist assigned the forms numerical values and used a series of rules to alter these values and to explore the relationship between the forms. Barbadillo would then compare the different outcomes in a sequence to decide which one was visually the most effective, and should be developed further into a screenprint, as with this work, or into a painting. By using the computer as a tool, Barbadillo was able to process much larger quantities of information than would otherwise have been possible.

Barbadillo began undertaking computer research in 1968 at the Centro de Cálculo de la Universidad de Madrid. This rational approach to the creative process can be seen as something of a backlash against Abstract Expressionism, a style that flourished in the 1950s, and which put great emphasis on subjective self expression, over and above form and composition.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAdfera (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Screenprint on paper
Brief description
Screenprint on paper, mounted on board, 'Adfera', 1972, by Manuel Barbadillo.
Physical description
Screenprint on paper, mounted on board.
Dimensions
  • Height: 60.8cm
  • Width: 44.9cm
Style
Copy number
46 of 50
Marks and inscriptions
  • '46/50' (Edition number in pencil in lower left side.)
  • 'Barbadillo' (Artist's signature in pencil in lower right side.)
Credit line
Given by the Computer Arts Society, supported by System Simulation Ltd, London
Subject depicted
Summary
This screenprint is the outcome of a series of visuals trials carried out using a computer and a bespoke program (for an example of the original computer print out, see E.158-2008). Barbadillo wrote a computer program that would enable him to rotate the U-shaped forms within a grid, to produce any number of different patterns. The artist assigned the forms numerical values and used a series of rules to alter these values and to explore the relationship between the forms. Barbadillo would then compare the different outcomes in a sequence to decide which one was visually the most effective, and should be developed further into a screenprint, as with this work, or into a painting. By using the computer as a tool, Barbadillo was able to process much larger quantities of information than would otherwise have been possible.

Barbadillo began undertaking computer research in 1968 at the Centro de Cálculo de la Universidad de Madrid. This rational approach to the creative process can be seen as something of a backlash against Abstract Expressionism, a style that flourished in the 1950s, and which put great emphasis on subjective self expression, over and above form and composition.
Other number
CAS/A/0163 - Previous owner's number
Collection
Accession number
E.194-2008

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Record createdApril 7, 2008
Record URL
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