Schotter thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MB2E, Shelf DR52

Schotter

Print
1968-1970 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Georg Nees (born 1926, Nuremberg) is considered one of the founders of computer art and graphics. He was also one of the first people to exhibit his computer graphics, at the studio gallery of the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart in February 1965.

Nees studied mathematics and physics at the universities of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Stuttgart. He subsequently worked for Siemens as a software engineer, and was instrumental in their purchasing a 'Zuse Graphomat', a drawing machine operated by computer-generated punched tape. The machine was capable of creating geometric patterns and, although the programming language that Nees used (ALGOL) was designed specifically for scientific computers, Nees used it to create aesthetic images such as this one.

In 1969 he received his doctorate on the subject of Generative Computer Graphics under Max Bense, the German philosopher and writer.

Along with a number of other practitioners working at this time, Nees was interested in the relationship between order and disorder in picture composition. Here he introduced random variables into the computer program, causing the orderly squares to descend into chaos.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSchotter (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Lithograph on paper
Brief description
Lithograph in black ink from a computer-generated graphic, 'Schotter', 1968-1970, by Georg Nees.
Physical description
Lithograph in black ink on paper, mounted on board.
Dimensions
  • Height: 28cm
  • Length: 21.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
'Computergrafik mit Siemens-System 4004' (Printed as part of the work. Refers to the computer used to generate the design.)
Gallery label
Chance and Control: Art in the Age of Computers (2018) GEORG NEES (1926–2016) Gravel (Schotter) Germany, 1968–70 Georg Nees studied mathematics and physics at the universities of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Stuttgart. He subsequently worked for Siemens, where he created some of the first computergenerated images. Nees was fascinated by the relationship between order and disorder in picture composition. To create this work, he introduced random variables into the computer program, causing orderly squares to descend into a heap. Lithograph, after a computer-generated image Given by the Computer Arts Society, supported by System Simulation Ltd., London Museum no. E.217-2008(07/07/2018-19/11/2018)
Credit line
Given by the Computer Arts Society, supported by System Simulation Ltd, London
Subject depicted
Summary
Georg Nees (born 1926, Nuremberg) is considered one of the founders of computer art and graphics. He was also one of the first people to exhibit his computer graphics, at the studio gallery of the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart in February 1965.

Nees studied mathematics and physics at the universities of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Stuttgart. He subsequently worked for Siemens as a software engineer, and was instrumental in their purchasing a 'Zuse Graphomat', a drawing machine operated by computer-generated punched tape. The machine was capable of creating geometric patterns and, although the programming language that Nees used (ALGOL) was designed specifically for scientific computers, Nees used it to create aesthetic images such as this one.

In 1969 he received his doctorate on the subject of Generative Computer Graphics under Max Bense, the German philosopher and writer.

Along with a number of other practitioners working at this time, Nees was interested in the relationship between order and disorder in picture composition. Here he introduced random variables into the computer program, causing the orderly squares to descend into chaos.
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. 440, ill (cat. 341).
Other number
CAS/A/0006 - Previous owner's number
Collection
Accession number
E.217-2008

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Record createdApril 8, 2009
Record URL
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