A. Michael Noll Creates some of the First Creative Graphics with a Digital Computer; Terms Phrase Programmer-Artist

The First Computer Art

Experimenting on the side with computer-generated creative expression while at Bell Labs, Noll avoided calling the works he documented and produced “art.” He referred to them instead as “patterns” in order to avoid controversy. Patterns by 7090, as Noll named them, are among the first known algorithmically generated art on a digital computer.

These are among the first-known digital generative graphics.

These were programmed on FORTRAN with an IBM 7090 mainframe computer. Noll printed the patterns on a Stromberg-Carlson 4020 Microfilm Printer.

In a 1962 Technical Memorandum describing the process and showcasing the pieces, Noll coined the term “programmer-artist.”

In the Technical Memorandum, Noll speculated that with greater study, “the programmer-artist might be better prepared to produce not just haphazard patterns, but ‘true art.’”

Thus, these experiments paved the way for further exploration, particularly at Bell Labs.

Noll would go on to display the work publicly three years later, at the Howard Wise Gallery in April 1965.

Le Random’s Monk Antony has interviewed Dr. Noll about this series and the decade of the ’60s. Listen to Peter Bauman’s interview with A. Michael Noll (transcript).

Image is copyrighted by A. Michael Noll and courtesy of The Anne and Michael Spalter Digital Art Collection.