Computers and Automation, Vol. 17 No. 8 (August 1968) — Sixth Annual Computer Art Contest

Notes

Berkeley Enterprises, Newtonville MA, August 1968. 72 pp., OCR'd scan from bitsavers.org (Computers_And_Automation/196808.pdf), the source link. Sixth Annual Computer Art Contest: pp. 8–27. Cover: Printed in color, the cover shows "Hummingbird" by Kerry Strand and Gary Craigmile of California Computer Products, Inc. (Anaheim) -- a symmetrical bird-like form built from overlaid plotted lines in three widths and colors -- captioned "6th Annual Computer Art Contest -- First Prize: 'Hummingbird'". The section (pp. 8-27) opens with a note by Associate Editor Sharry Langdale rather than Berkeley: first prize to CalComp's Kerry Strand and Gary Craigmile for "Hummingbird", all else printed as honorable mention, equipment named where it arrived before the July 5 close. She finds computer art "becoming more sophisticated, more creative, and more visually appealing", notes "a widespread use of color", and singles out Tokyo's Computer Technique Group (CTG), "eight individuals whose professions vary from architectural design to behavioral science to systems engineering". CTG supplies nine IBM 7090/CalComp 563 pieces -- "Star Kennedy", "Monroe in the Net", "Return to Square", "Upheaval Collection", "Tragedy of Seven", "March of Polygons", "Deformation of Sharaku" -- described as "computer improvisation by random number". An ICA ad for Cybernetic Serendipity closes the section. Otherwise it is mostly CalComp drum plotters (Milojevic's four McGill drawings, Sumner's B5500 pieces, Strand's "Fisherman" and "Plexus"), with S-C 4020 microfilm CRT work from Sandia, JPL and Brooklyn Poly, a CDC 280 recorder at Bettis, and Craven's "Abraham Lincoln" cut in 1200 APT statements onto mylar with a light beam. Notable: Leslie Mezei's five-picture "Tower of Babel" (BABEL stacked twenty times, distorted via Sparta on an IBM 7094-II), Walker's "Idealized Brush Strokes" (random rectangles with Munsell codes executed in acrylic on canvas), and H. Philip Peterson's full-page "Cybernumerics", Norbert Wiener as a gray-scale of numerals. The 32 artists' addresses are listed on p. 27. First prize: Kerry Strand and Gary Craigmile, "Hummingbird", California Computer Products, Inc., Anaheim, Calif. (designed and programmed by Strand; color coordination and plotting by Craigmile; an extension of the "three bug problem", three line widths in three colors overlaid). Also: All other computer art published in the issue receives honorable mention (no ranked second or third prize).. Artists and works as credited: Kerry Strand -- California Computer Products, Inc., Anaheim, Calif. -- "Hummingbird" (with Gary Craigmile, first prize), "The Fisherman", "Plexus" (with Larry Jenkins and Gary Craigmile) -- GE 425 computer and CalComp 760/502 incremental plotter (The Fisherman) · Gary Craigmile -- California Computer Products, Inc., Anaheim -- "Hummingbird" (color coordination and plotting techniques), "Plexus" · Larry Jenkins -- California Computer Products, Inc., Anaheim -- "Plexus" (designed and programmed with Kerry Strand) · Petar Milojevic -- McGill University Computing Center, Montreal -- "A Sea Star", "Labyrinth in Motion", "Peek-a-Boo Circles", "Ring Motif" -- Fortran, plotted off line on a CalComp 565 digital plotter · Lloyd Sumner -- Computer Creations, Charlottesville, Va. -- "Spires of Contribution", "The Orbit Tree" -- Burroughs B5500 computer and CalComp 565 plotter · A. M. France (listed as Alan M. France) -- International Computers and Tabulators, Ltd., London -- "Inspiralation" -- Fortran on an I.C.T. 1905 computer and a CalComp 31" plotter · Leslei Mezei [sic; listed as Leslie Mezei], Artist -- Associate Professor, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Toronto -- "Tower of Babel" (series of five distortions) -- Sparta language (Fortran IV subroutines) on an IBM 7094-II · David Payne, Programmer -- Institute of Computer Science, University of Toronto -- "Tower of Babel" (with Mezei) · Dr. Evan Harris Walker -- NASA Electronics Research Center, Cambridge, Mass. -- "Idealized Brush Strokes" -- Fortran on an IBM 7040; printout pattern with Munsell color codes, executed in acrylic on canvas · Masao Komura -- Computer Technique Group, Tokyo -- "Star Kennedy" (design; programmed by Haruki Tsuchiya), "Return to Square" (design; programmed by Kunio Yamanaka), "Upheaval Collection" (idea; program by Kunio Yamanaka) -- IBM 7090 computer and CalComp 563 plotter · Haruki Tsuchiya -- Computer Technique Group, Tokyo -- "Star Kennedy" (program), "Monroe in the Net", "Tragedy of Seven", "March of Polygons", "Deformation of Sharaku" (idea) -- IBM 7090 computer and CalComp 563 plotter · Kunio Yamanaka -- Computer Technique Group, Tokyo -- "Return to Square" (program), "Upheaval Collection" (program) -- IBM 7090 and CalComp 563 · Koji Fujino -- Computer Technique Group, Tokyo -- "Deformation of Sharaku" (program) · Kamoto Ohtake [caption; listed as Makoto Ohtake] -- Computer Technique Group, Tokyo -- "Deformation of Sharaku" (data) · Michael H. Craven -- Kent, Wash. -- "Abraham Lincoln" -- hand-digitized, 1200 APT statements, drawn onto mylar film with a beam of light of varying size · Maughan S. Mason -- Saratoga, Calif. -- "Christmas Wreath -- Computer Style" -- no equipment stated · (Mrs.) Leigh Hendricks -- Sandia Corp., Albuquerque, N. Mex. -- "Whirlpool" -- Fortran program bug in a polar equation; exposed on an S-C 4020 CRT modified for color · H. Philip Peterson -- Control Data Corp., Burlington, Mass. -- "Cybernumerics" (digigram of Prof. Norbert Wiener) -- scanned photograph plotted as a shaded number set · Paul H. Sobel -- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena -- "The Sun Bather" -- Fortran on an IBM 7094, plotted off line on an SC 4020; hidden lines removed · D. J. DiLeonardo -- Westinghouse Electric Corp., Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, West Mifflin, Pa. -- "Sliced Nuclear Reactor" -- CDC-6600 computer and CDC Model 280 Microfilm Recorder · Lawrence Nolan -- Granite City, Ill. -- "Concentric Circles" -- Fortran IV on an IBM 360/50, CalComp 750 off-line tape unit and CalComp 566 plotter · Bob Schultz -- Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Dept. of Electrical Engineering -- "Output Vs. Input" -- IBM 360/50 and SC 4020 (digital filter output vs. input) · L. David Anderson -- California Computer Products, Inc., Anaheim -- "Lindy Star" -- GE 425 with CalComp 770/702 incremental plotter · Donald Robbins -- Div. 9424, Sandia Corp., Albuquerque -- "Op Art Computerized" (after a Jeffry Steele op art picture) -- no equipment stated · Takeshi Hasegawa, Junichiro Kakizaki, Fujio Niwa -- Computer Technique Group, Tokyo -- listed among the computer artists in this issue without an individually credited work. Rest of the issue: Editorial "How to Spoil One's Mind -- as Well as One's Computer" by Edmund C. Berkeley; "Communications Data Processing or Time-Sharing?" by Lester A. Probst; "Game Playing with Computers" by Donald D. Spencer; "Machine Translation in Review" by Harry H. Josselson; Report from Great Britain by Ted Schoeters; "Computers in the Factory (Part 2)" by David W. Brown; Ideas: Spotlight by Richard W. Hamming; Multi-Access Forum items by George Sadowsky (ACM SICSOC), Congressman William S. Moorhead (Congress and the computer age), the NAS Computer Science and Engineering Board, and Daniel T. Langdale's "Is the Computer an Artist's Paintbrush?"; Problem Corner and departments.