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ABSTRACT had generated drawings by programming a computer.The a programming by drawings generated had cian, Nees, working for Siemens in Erlangen, Germany, who he shared with some others. mathematician on his way to becoming an artist, a biography an artist by profession but rather a mathematician. He was a not was who artist artist—an the was Nees Georg surprise. and variation never-ending for allowed features random lines straight of rigor the features; constructed but rather were playful, with apparently random strictly not were drawings The polygons. fanciful small by filled grids arrangements, appealing in lines straight ture, na- geometric a of drawings black-and-white walls: the on and concrete art. experimental ofexhibitions for rooms those used regularly Bense, Max Professor Institute, the of director The many. the Ger- UniversityScience at Stuttgart in of of Theory and Instituterooms the ofseminar the Philosophyof in opened exhibitionfirst the 1965, February of 4 “GenerativeOn Art” Pionee expressing hisphilosophyofanonreligious,human-madeculture. and researchedissuesofdigitalcoloringbutalsowroteseveralnovels Siemens inErlangen,heagainconcentratedoncomputer-generatedart Afterretiringfromhisresearchpositionat displays ofcomputerart. inmanyearly,mathematician, Neesparticipated butalsorecent, anddesign.Trainedof thenewmovementgenerativeart asa Itstitle,GenerativeComputergraphik,isanexpression (in German). Shannon’s NeescompletedhisPhDthesisin1968 theory), information aesthetics(arationaloftheobjectbasedon information 1965.InfluencedbyMaxBense’s inFebruary drawings, inStuttgart 2016, attheageof89.Hewasfirsttoexhibitcomputer-generated GeorgNeespassedawayon3January The pioneerofcomputerart s r The Pioneerof e P l a c i r o t s i H ©2018 ISAST associated withthisissue. See
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in acts ofin acts drawing. than usual because of the moreclaimed involvement even of computerscuriosity their aroused have may event ticular par- this announcement of The poetry. and art concreteon ally followed Bense’s activities in the arts that focused mainly essay.readhis presentwas Arts Bense Fine when usu- They manifesto of computer art. first the as essayprogrammatic short this consider may we of an avant-garde series of booklets under the title ics). At the exhibition, it was available in print as issue no. 19 generativeaesthet- generativerAesthetik”ofjekte (Projects often-provocative short speeches. This one had the title “Pro- historic put they when fact up show. the this of aware were Bense and Nees whether know not do world the of computer-generated algorithmic drawings. We Automation [3]. in note another written had Mezei [2]. ist” dian Art under the title “TheElectronic Computer as an Art- in appeared had Mezei Leslie and Rockman Arnold “computerby called article anusually it, Before (then art”). third (more or less scientific) publication onalgorithmic art Geisteswissenschaft avant-gardejournal, Nees’s“Statistischearticle shortGrafik”Bense’s in appeared context.impact beyond local the peared in public space and generated an event of significant ap- drawings those Now Stuttgart. in drawings those hibit ex- paper,to shortand a write to Neesinvitedimmediately computer with a high degree of randomness involved, Bense tiful rationalist aesthetics, under the title matic drawings! Asensation. paper. auto- Programmed on drawings were products final computer’s output in turn controlled a drawing machine. Its A sizable group of artists from the Stuttgart Academy ofAcademy Stuttgart the from artists of group sizable A As heopened the show usually did, Bense with one of his exhibitionThe 1965, however, in February firstthe in was show, the before bit a just 1964, December in Already, his of volume fourth the published recently had Bense . When he learned that Nees was creating drawings by drawings creating was Nees that learned he When . LEONARDO, V [1]. This paper was probably only the the only probably was paper This [1]. GrundlagenstudienKybernetikaus und ol. 51,No. 3,pp.277–279, 2018 Programming the Beau Computers and Computers rot. Today, Cana
277
pioneers and pathbreakers PATHBREAKERS After Bense’s remarkable presentation, Nees got up to ex- against bombings. He learned much about physics while AND
plain in simple and sober words what was required to prepare he experienced the bombing of the city. He finished high a digital computer to make drawings. At that time, no one school by the end of World War II and studied mathematics had yet imagined or believed that computers might be pro- and physics at the University of Erlangen from 1946 to 1951,
PIONEERS grammed for such a purpose. Computers were supposed to graduating with the degree of a Diplom-Mathematiker. Nees calculate and not to draw. Was drawing a kind of computing? was married in 1949, and in 1950 and 1955 his two sons were Such an idea was hard to grasp for the artists as well as for born. The Siemens Schuckertwerke (later Siemens AG) in the rest of the audience. Erlangen hired him right after graduation. When Nees ended his largely technical explanations, Until 1959 he calculated the physics of high-voltage trans- one of the artists (it was Heinz Trökes) asked him: “This all mission lines. Because of his interest in computers, he even- sounds quite interesting—but tell me, can you also make tually became the lead specialist on technical problems at your machine paint the way I do it by hand?” Comparing the Engineering Computer Center. Siemens was interested the drawings on the walls with the paintings of the artist, any in engineering graphics, which, at that time, meant develop- such comparison would appear as nothing but ridiculous. ing every piece of software from scratch. Nees acquired for Trying to give an answer to this obviously provocative Siemens one of the first Zuse Graphomat Z64 machines. This question, Nees pondered for a moment, but then said: “Oh flatbed plotter, the last invention of Konrad Zuse, was capable yes, of course I can do this—under one condition: you must of generating high-quality drawings. For this, Nees created tell me how you yourself do it, painting!” the first library of drawing routines in Algol 60. He and his In retrospect, this was an absolutely fantastic and deeply team had to solve hardware problems, such as balancing out insightful reply! At this very first moment of computer art’s the trembling of pens when they moved too fast and started appearance in public, Nees’s daring answer summarized in to deviate from drawing straight lines. one sentence the problem inherent in all machinic art: No Nees recognized the potential of the new technology not operation can be implemented on a machine unless it has only for technical applications but also for the arts. Because been described explicitly beforehand. Making something ex- of his position at Siemens, he was allowed to use the Grapho- plicit is the first and necessary step to formalizing it, which, mat at night for his artificial art. During such nights, he cre- in turn, is the precondition for turning it into a computable ated the drawings that he later sent to Bense to present at the form. Nees had given the answer to all speculations about first exhibition in Stuttgart. what computer software could or could not do. At various occasions in West Germany (as, in parallel, in The artists present at the event, however, did not appreci- the United States and elsewhere), a discourse soon emerged ate the intellectual rigor of Nees’s answer. It is, of course, about possible future scenarios for the arts and beyond. In unknown to which extent they understood the depth and the 1960s, Nees discussed with Herbert W. Franke simulated impact of the remark. It seems that they found it outrageous, 3D worlds and games. Could this become appealing and en- if not an insult, for they left immediately, slamming doors. gaging entertainment, or would it rather be peril? For auto- Bense rushed to hold them back, telling them that it was only mating industrial processes, Nees drafted an early specialized “Artificial Art” that they saw here. Was he aware that, in this programming language. He saw the necessity for industry crisp moment of art history, he was coining another term of, standards and was for years engaged in international stan- perhaps, interesting distinction for the fine arts? Did he do it dards development. in agreement to “Artificial Intelligence,” then nine years old? In computer graphics, one of Nees’s main interests was In any case, his attempt failed to bring the artists back to the exploration of the creative potentials of randomness. This show. They had disappeared. had to be algorithmic randomness, of course, a contradiction Computer art, however, would proceed on its slow but in terms: pseudorandom numbers. For example, he gener- steady and eventually broad path to success. Nees stood in ated orange areas by randomly positioning yellow and red the center of events during its origin. But another first is also dots. Irregular patterns looked better than regularly placed connected to his name. In all likelihood, he later presented smooth colors. the first doctoral dissertation on computer art, under the title In 1977, Nees became an Honorary Professor of applied of Generative Computergrafik. It was accepted by the Univer- computer science at the University of Erlangen. He taught sity of Stuttgart as a doctoral thesis in philosophy in 1968. there until his retirement, in 1985, from Siemens. He then picked up generative art again, producing hundreds of color- Georg Nees Biography ful images on the latest equipment. He continued this work On 3 January 2016, Georg Nees passed away after a long pe- until about 2012. riod of suffering. He had reached an age of almost 90 years. Nees published on computer graphics and programming He leaves behind his two sons, grandchildren and great- languages as well as on issues of aesthetics and semiotics. He grandchildren. was a scientific adviser to the journalSemiosis, International Born on 23 June 1926, in Nuremberg, Nees went to school Journal for Semiotics and Aesthetics. His most prominent in Schwabach near Nuremberg. He did well in math and mu- book, Formel, Farbe, Form (1995), was one of several that sic, and he played several musical instruments. During the he wrote, including Grenzzeichen (2010), Die Gassenhauer- war, he served as “Luftwaffenhelfer” to protect Nuremberg Ontologie (2014) and Design—Menschenwerk (2014). Nees
278 Nake, The Pioneer of Generative Art: Georg Nees
Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/leon_a_01325 by guest on 25 September 2021 PATHBREAKERS also produced an early animated film, Spuren von Bedeu Revolution, ZKM Karlsruhe, 2004–2007; and Ex Machina, AND
tung, in 1970. Kunsthalle Bremen, 2007. His work is also represented Nees was a member of the informal Stuttgart School, led in collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; by Max Bense, and of the similarly informal group the Al- Kunsthalle Bremen; Sammlung Etzold at Museum Abteiberg,
gorists—an international group of artists developing algo- Mönchengladbach; and the Anne & Michael Spalter Collec- PIONEERS rithms for their works of art. tion in the U.S.A. ThroughoutHe contributed 2018, to numerous Leonardo exhibitions of computer2018 GeorgCELEBRATIONS Nees’s impact on computer art and, thereby, on the art, prominently to the famous Cybernetic Serendipity, Lon- history of art in general, is not yet fully recognized. We, who isdon, partnering 1968; Tendencies with 4, organizationsZagreb, 1968; the Nuremberg Bi he has left behind, are called upon to convey to the younger 50th Celebration Day 50th Celebration at ennale, 1969; the Venice Biennale, 1970; Die algorithmische generations his legacy of modesty, precision, and brilliance. around the world to celebrate in Mexico City, Mexico ACM SIGGRAPH 50 years of growing the with Universidad Autónoma Vancouver, BC, Canada Metropolitana and Universidad 12–16 August References Manuscript received 15 March 2016. art/science community. Nacional Autónoma de México 1 Georg Nees, “Statistische Grafik,”Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik19 April The Convening und Geisteswissenschaft 5, Nos. 3–4 (1964). Frieder Nake is a computer scientist, who specialized For more information and to San Francisco, CA 2 Arnold Rockman and Leslie Mezei, “The Electronic Computer asDigifest an in 2018 computer celebrates graphics. He did early3–4 work November in algorithmic art Artist,” Canadian Art 21, No. 6, 365–367 (1964). find an event near you, visit Leonardo’sand has50th exhibited Anniversary his works since 1965. He is a professor at 3 “Artistic Design by Computer,” Computers and Automation 13, No.Toronto, the ON, University Canada of Bremen, Germany and a lecturer at the 8, 12–15 (August 1964). University of the Arts in Bremen. leonardo.info/50th-anniversary 26–28 April
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