Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 8: Tooling Era (2000s)

2009

A Philosophy of Computer Art by Dominic Lopes

Publication

The cover of Dominic McIver Lopes's A Philosophy of Computer Art (Routledge, 2009), showing a wall of tiled, pixelated repetitions of a single face.
The cover of Dominic McIver Lopes's A Philosophy of Computer Art (Routledge, 2009), showing a wall of tiled, pixelated repetitions of a single face. Cover of Dominic McIver Lopes, A Philosophy of Computer Art (London: Routledge, 2009). Cover scan via Open Library / Internet Archive.

This book critically examines the unique characteristics of computer art, setting a new theoretical foundation for understanding its place in the art world. Lopes challenges traditional art concepts like meaning, form and expression, positing that computer art requires a shift in focus towards interactivity and user engagement. His analysis underscores the distinct roles of the computer artist and the user, which diverge significantly from those of conventional artists and viewers, reflecting ideas that extend to cybernetics and the information theory of Abraham Moles and Norbert Weiner.

Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.

Sources

People

Abraham Moles, Dominic Lopes, Norbert Wiener

Movements

computer art, Interactive Art

Filed under

Ideas
aesthetics, Interactive Art, interactivity
Technologies
computer art, cybernetics, information theory
People
Abraham Moles, Dominic Lopes, Norbert Wiener
Works
A Philosophy of Computer Art, Abraham

Echoes across time

Le Random editorials

Explore all Le Random editorials and artist interviews

Le Random podcast