Tendencies 4: Computers and Visual Research at Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb

Tendencies 4: Computers and Visual Research was a groundbreaking exhibition held at the Gallery of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, today the Museum of Contemporary Art, showcasing the convergence of art and digital technology. It featured the latest computer graphics and computer-programmed work of the time, featuring prominent artists such as Frieder Nake, Georg Nees and A. Michael Noll.

The previous three Tencencies exhibitions earlier in the ’60s focused on op art, cybernetic art and lumino-kinetic sculpture, highlighting the importance of those movements in the genealogy of computer art and digital generative art.

By Tendencies 4 in 1969, the focus had shifted away from the material and toward the digital, spurring the dematerialization of art. Tendencies 4 showcased computer-generated graphics, information theory and conceptual works.

Listen to Peter Bauman’s interview with A. Michael Noll (transcript).