Spiral 5 PTL by Dan Sandin, Tom DeFanti and Mimi Shevitz

This early computer graphics art video by Dan Sandin, Tom DeFanti and Mimi Shevitz uses the image processor as a musical instrument, generating variations on a spiral motif synchronized with an eclectic audio track. Created in 1980 and 1981 by combining Tom DeFanti’s GRASS system and the Sandin Image Processor, this innovative piece was among the first video art works included in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. The work thus stands as an important achievement in not only early computer animation but in digital art and more broadly the intersection of technology and visual art.