Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 5: Artist-Programmer Era (1970s)
1970
Lillian Schwartz and Ken Knowlton Make “Pixillation”
A legendary piece that sits in MoMA, Pixillation is one of the most famous works of computer-generated film. The piece is by icons Lillian Schwartz and Ken Knowlton made at none other than Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey.
Pixillation is a short film that alternates computer-generated mosaics made with Knowlton's EXPLOR language with hand-animated sequences, set to music by Gershon Kingsley on the Moog synthesizer.
Schwartz colored the black-and-white computer output through the optical printer, giving the film a vivid, shifting palette. It was among the first films to combine computer animation and traditional techniques as art.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.
Sources
- Lillian Schwartz and Ken Knowlton, Pixillation, 1970. Photograph, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O205546/pixillation-photograph-schwartz-lillian/
People
Ken Knowlton, Lillian Schwartz
Movements
computer animation, Computer Film
Filed under
- Ideas
- women artists
- Technologies
- computer animation
- People
- Ken Knowlton, Lillian Schwartz
- Organisations
- Bell Labs, MoMA
- Other subjects
- EXPLOR, Gershon Kingsley, Pixillation
Le Random editorials
- Casey Reas on the History of Generative Art - Part 1, Peter Bauman, June 22, 2023
- London Digital Art Guide, Le Random & guests, October 13, 2025
- A. Michael Noll on When It All Started, A. Michael Noll, March 25, 2025
- The Algorithmic Gaze: Representations of Women in AI Art, Danielle King, June 5, 2024
Le Random podcast
- Timeline Ch 4—Digital Era Pt I (1960s) with Dr A Michael Noll — listen with transcript on Le Random (07 Sep 2023, 60 min). Transcript mentions Ken Knowlton. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- New York Frieze Week—Michael Connor, Regina Harsanyi & Karyn Nakamura with Peter Bauman — listen with transcript on Le Random (12 May 2026, 47 min). Transcript mentions Ken Knowlton. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Digital Curators Series 01—Douglas Dodds on Collecting and Valuing Emerging Technologies — listen with transcript on Le Random (30 Sep 2024, 49 min). Transcript mentions Lillian Schwartz. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Timeline Ch 5—Artist-Programmer Era (1970s) with Joan Truckenbrod, Hans Dehlinger & Anika Meier — listen with transcript on Le Random (14 Jan 2024, 65 min). Chapter 5’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify