Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 6: Personal Computer Era (1980s)
1989
Vent Noir II, by Jean-Pierre Hébert
These plotter drawings, which are among Hébert’s most well-known works, were created using extremely precise and closely drawn lines. These pieces took several days to plan and were inspired by Bauhaus and Benoit Mandelbrot’s fractal papers. In other words, Hébert took Bauhaus concepts and applied the self-similarity of fractals to these works.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.
Sources
People
Benoit Mandelbrot, Jean-Pierre Hébert
Movements
Bauhaus, computer art
Filed under
- Ideas
- self-similarity
- Technologies
- computer art, fractals, plotter, Plotter Art
- People
- Benoit Mandelbrot, Jean-Pierre Hébert
- Works
- Vent Noir II
- Organisations
- Bauhaus
Related moments
Echoes across time
- 1967 · Charles Csuri Enters the Computer Art Scene with Series of Important Works
- 1964 · 23-Ecke by Georg Nees
- 1960 · William Fetter Creates the First Computer Graphics
Le Random editorials
- Mat Dryhurst on Becoming Infinite, Peter Bauman, October 24, 2024
- Demystifying Generative Aesthetics, Peter Bauman, March 21, 2024
- Christiane Paul on Curating Cohen’s AARON, Peter Bauman, January 29, 2024
- Casey Reas on the History of Generative Art - Part 2, Peter Bauman, July 5, 2023
Le Random podcast
- Discussing Digital Art in 1Q 2025 — listen with transcript on Le Random (01 Apr 2025, 79 min). Transcript mentions Jean-Pierre Hébert. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Timeline Ch 6—Personal Computer Era (1980s) with Mark Wilson, Copper Giloth, Dan Sandin, David Em, William Latham, Stephen Todd, Darcy Gerbarg & Geoff Davis — listen with transcript on Le Random (08 Feb 2024, 85 min). Chapter 6’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify