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Portrait Virus

Print
29/10/1992-01/11/1992 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is an image from a portfolio of information about the Portrait Virus event. The portfolio also includes the following text description of the project:

"The inaugural PORTRAIT VIRUS event took place at CYBERARTS, Pasadena Convention Center, Oct. 29 - Nov. 1, 1992. The event was organised to create digital portraits via a computer network.

The Amiga computer system, operated by Michael Wright, was established as the first link of the network and was used to scan in black and white portraits of participants in real time.

Next file formats containing portrait data were converted to Macintosh file formats and transferred to a second link, a Mac workstation. Artist, Liz Crimzon, painted backgrounds for the portraits.

A second Macintosh, linked to the first Mac by an internal network, was operated by Paras Kaul who sent the computer enhanced portraits by modem from a phone line at the Convention Center to Paras Productions in Washington, D. C.

At this location computer graphic campaign buttons for the democratic party were added. Portraits were then sent back to the Amiga workstation which was connected to a 16 monitor video wall at the Convention Center where they were viewed by CYBERARTS participants."

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read Patric D. Prince: digital art visionary Patric D. Prince (1942 – 2021) was a pioneering American collector of digital art. As a key figure in early computer and digital art, she was one of the first to recognise the importance and potential of these new art forms. Over the course of her career, she had many different roles: as c...

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePortrait Virus (series title)
Materials and techniques
Colour ink-jet print on paper of a computer altered digital photograph
Brief description
Inkjet print, being part of portfolio of a documentation of the event / exhibition, 'Portrait Virus', curated by Patric Prince for CyberArts, Pasadena Convention Centre, 1992.
Physical description
Colour ink-jet print depicts a black and white portrait of a woman's upper body with painted background drawings in colour. In the right top corner are the outlines of a white and a red clown-like face, appearing like masks. There is a blue colourfield above the portrait with white inscription inside, stating: 'Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty'.
Dimensions
  • Length: 28cm
  • Width: 21.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
'Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.' (White inscription in blue colour-field above portrait.)
Gallery label
(14/08/2023-15/09/2024)
Patric Prince: Digital Art Visionary

Patric D. Prince, Liz Crimson,
Paras Kaul, Tom Pike,
Beverly Reiser, Michael Wright
Portrait Virus
1992
Print of a computer-altered digital photograph

This image was made in 1992 during the ‘PORTRAIT VIRUS’ event at the ‘CYBERARTS’ festival in California. Photographs taken at the event were transferred between computers with artists adding to each image. At a time when internet use was limited, this collaborative occasion was enabled by Prince, who is pictured in the image.

Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity
of Patric D. Prince
Museum no. E.987:4-2008
Credit line
Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Patric Prince
Object history
The inaugural Portrait Virus event, curated by Patric D. Prince, took place at Cyberarts, Pasadena Convention Centre, Oct. 29 - Nov. 1, 1992. The event was organised to create digital portraits via a computer network.
The Amiga computer system, operated by Michael Wright, was established as the first link of the network and was used to scan in black and white portraits of participants in real time.
Next file formats containing portrait data were converted to Macintosh file formats and transferred to a second link, a Mac workstation. Artist Liz Crimzon, painted backgrounds for the portraits,
A second Macintosh, linked to the first Mac by an internal network, was operated by Paras Kaul who sent the computer enhanced portraits by modem from a phone line at the Convention Centre to Paras Productions in Washington, D. C.
At this location computer graphic campaign buttons for the democratic party were added.
Portraits were then sent back to the Amiga workstation which was connected to a 16 monitor video wall at the Convention Centre where they were viewed by Cyberarts participants.
Subject depicted
Summary
This is an image from a portfolio of information about the Portrait Virus event. The portfolio also includes the following text description of the project:

"The inaugural PORTRAIT VIRUS event took place at CYBERARTS, Pasadena Convention Center, Oct. 29 - Nov. 1, 1992. The event was organised to create digital portraits via a computer network.

The Amiga computer system, operated by Michael Wright, was established as the first link of the network and was used to scan in black and white portraits of participants in real time.

Next file formats containing portrait data were converted to Macintosh file formats and transferred to a second link, a Mac workstation. Artist, Liz Crimzon, painted backgrounds for the portraits.

A second Macintosh, linked to the first Mac by an internal network, was operated by Paras Kaul who sent the computer enhanced portraits by modem from a phone line at the Convention Center to Paras Productions in Washington, D. C.

At this location computer graphic campaign buttons for the democratic party were added. Portraits were then sent back to the Amiga workstation which was connected to a 16 monitor video wall at the Convention Center where they were viewed by CYBERARTS participants."
Collection
Accession number
E.987:4-2008

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Record createdJune 8, 2009
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