Poemfields by Stan VanDerBeek

Having studied with the poet M.C. Richards and composer John Cage at Black Mountain College, artist Stan VanDerBeek begins developing Poemfields, a series of eight computer-generated films that introduce his “image-based poetry language.” In collaboration with computer scientist Ken Knowlton at Bell Labs, VanDerBeek uses Knowlton’s BEFLIX and an IBM 7094 from 1966-1971.

-Sasha Stiles

Casey Reas also mentions Poemfields to Le Random as an important early generative film that played a role dematerializing art.

Listen to Peter Bauman’s interview with A. Michael Noll (transcript) where he discusses Knowlton, BEFLIX and the early days at Bell Labs.

*Image credit: The Stan VanDerBeek Archive. Courtesy of the artist