4. Frieder Nake (b. 1938)
When Frieder Nake was a mathematics major at the University of Stuttgart, he wore high-level programming languages FORTRAN and ALGOL in 1958 and 1959 respectively. He had great skill in machine code programming as well and was entrusted with the task of developing the software package of graphics drawing in 1963 (12). At the time, Nake's interest was not only in the basic graphics functions but also in the software for artworks. As a result of his computing aptitude, along with the information aesthetics of Professor Max Bense of the university, a very important computer artist was born before long.
Nake had been busy until the early 1970s in creative activities and exhibitions in various locations from the time when in 1965 he had his first exhibition with Georg Nees in Stuttgart. His works were much different from those of other computer graphics creators because they closely reflected Bense's aesthetics. Frieder Nake was the artist of the digital computer. Although his artist activity was shorter, the degree of perfection of his works reached to a very high standard.
Worldwide political activities prominent in the 1960s were also in the art world but the computer graphics pioneers were quiet, except Frieder Nake. His note "There should be no computer art"(13) provoked a lively discussion in the following issues. (Y.Abe)
Frieder Nake part 1 - in 1958 - How a mathematician came into computer art?
9 minFrieder Nake part 2 - Algorithm and Randomness - Unrepeatable random source changes algorithmic art?
11 minFrieder Nake part 3 - Why could Stuttgart produce pioneers? - Algorithmic art
12,5 min
12/7/65 Nr.2Random bundles of lines, 1965
13/9/65 Nr.2Hommage to Paul Klee, 1965
13/9/65 Nr.7 Random Polygon, 1965
Walk Through Rasther 2,1-5, 1966
Matrix multiplicationNr.29, 1967
Matrix multiplicationNr.34, 1968
Images: (c)Frieder Nake
(1) artist, Izu, Japan y.abe@ieee.org (2) composer, London, UK akemi.i@virgin.net (12) for the system of Zuse Graphomat Z64 precision plotter and SEL ER56 computer. (13) PAGE 18: Bulletin of the Computer Arts Society, UK, Oct. 1971 PAGE 8,18,19,21,22,24,25,27, from May 1970 to Dec. 1972
REFERENCE: 1. Exhibition catalog "Frieder Nake: Die praezisen Vergnuegen -- Die fruen grafischen Blaetter und neue interaktive Installationen 9.11.2004-16.1.2005" from Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany 2. DER SPIEGEL magazine, Nr.18 1965, pp.151-152
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