Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 4: Digital Era (1960s)
1968
The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth

The first volume of a foundational seven-volume series of books seeks to “train the reader in various skills that go into the programmer’s craft.” Knuth continues publishing additional volumes to this day, as the series is still incomplete; the most recent is Volume 4B (2023). This consequential series helped to establish the theoretical ground on which programming was based.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.
Sources
- TAOCP, p. v
People
Movements
computer art, generative art
Filed under
- Ideas
- computation, computing history, generative art
- Technologies
- algorithms, computer art, programming
- People
- Donald E. Knuth
- Works
- The Art of Computer Programming
Echoes across time
- 1938 · Konrad Zuse Creates the Z1
- 1936 · Alan Turing Describes the Turing Machine
- 1947 · Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Established
Le Random editorials
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). Chapter 4’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Timeline Ch 4—Digital Era Pt II (1960s) with Michael Spalter — listen with transcript on Le Random (21 Sep 2023, 77 min). Chapter 4’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify