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Hommage à Paul Klee, 13/9/65 Nr.2

Print
1965 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This screenprint was created from a plotter drawing produced using a computer program, or algorithm, written by the artist Frieder Nake (born 1938, Germany). It is based on a painting by Paul Klee, entitled 'High Roads and Byroads', 1929, now in the Ludwig Museum, Cologne. Nake took Klee's exploration of proportion and the relationship between the vertical and horizontal lines of the painting as the starting point for his algorithm. Nake then generated the drawing using a pen plotter. A plotter is a mechanical device that holds a pen or brush and is linked to a computer that controls its movements. Nake was able to set the parameters of the drawing to dictate the horizontal and vertical framework. By deliberately writing random variables into the process, Nake also allowed the computer to make certain choices within a given number of options. At this time, computers would have had no screen on which the image could be visualised. Nake underpinned the foundations of his image making with a mathematical logic. In so doing, the artist demonstrates the impact of Max Bense's theories of Information Aesthetics that considered a more scientific approach to the study of aesthetics, and which heavily influenced many of the early computer art practitioners.

Nake studied mathematics at the Technical University, Stuttgart, and went on to receive his PhD in probability theory from the same institution in 1967. He is currently Professor of Interactive Computer Graphics at the University of Bremen

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Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleHommage à Paul Klee, 13/9/65 Nr.2 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Screenprint on paper
Brief description
Screenprint from a plotter drawing, 'Hommage à Paul Klee', 1965, by Frieder Nake.
Physical description
Screenprint on paper, from a computer-generated drawing.
Dimensions
  • Height: 49.2cm
  • Width: 49.2cm
  • Frame height: 59cm
  • Frame height: 59cm
  • Frame depth: 3.5cm
Copy number
edition of 40, unnumbered
Credit line
Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Patric Prince. Copyright Frieder Nake
Production
Attribution note: Software: COMPART ER56
Hardware: SEL ER56
Output device: ZUSE-Graphomat Z64
Summary
This screenprint was created from a plotter drawing produced using a computer program, or algorithm, written by the artist Frieder Nake (born 1938, Germany). It is based on a painting by Paul Klee, entitled 'High Roads and Byroads', 1929, now in the Ludwig Museum, Cologne. Nake took Klee's exploration of proportion and the relationship between the vertical and horizontal lines of the painting as the starting point for his algorithm. Nake then generated the drawing using a pen plotter. A plotter is a mechanical device that holds a pen or brush and is linked to a computer that controls its movements. Nake was able to set the parameters of the drawing to dictate the horizontal and vertical framework. By deliberately writing random variables into the process, Nake also allowed the computer to make certain choices within a given number of options. At this time, computers would have had no screen on which the image could be visualised. Nake underpinned the foundations of his image making with a mathematical logic. In so doing, the artist demonstrates the impact of Max Bense's theories of Information Aesthetics that considered a more scientific approach to the study of aesthetics, and which heavily influenced many of the early computer art practitioners.

Nake studied mathematics at the Technical University, Stuttgart, and went on to receive his PhD in probability theory from the same institution in 1967. He is currently Professor of Interactive Computer Graphics at the University of Bremen
Bibliographic reference
Herzogenrath, Wulf and Nierhoff-Wielk, Barbara, eds. Ex-Machina-Frühe Computergrafik bis 1979. Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2007. ISBN 978-3-422-06689-2. p.425 (cat. 263), ill.
Collection
Accession number
E.951-2008

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Record createdMarch 30, 2009
Record URL
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