Computers and Automation, Vol. 18 No. 9 (August 1969) — Seventh Annual Computer Art Contest

Notes

Berkeley Enterprises, Newtonville MA, August 1969. 68 pp., OCR'd scan from bitsavers.org (Computers_And_Automation/196908.pdf), the source link. Seventh Annual Computer Art Contest: pp. 12–32. Cover: The cover reproduces "Circus" -- a swirling green-on-black figure of dots and lines photographed from an Adage Graphics Terminal by Tom Childs (submitted by Adage, Inc., Boston) -- captioned "7th Annual Computer Art Contest -- First Prize: 'Circus'". Berkeley's editorial "Computer Art -- The Annual Contest" (p. 6) reports a record 165 entries, promises more through the year, and sets out his "half a dozen classes" of computer art (line patterns, contoured areas, controlled-plus-random mixtures, portraits in lines or letters, successive transformations), adding that "very little so far in computer art seems to have the profound interest and emotional appeal of the best paintings or photography. Why not?" The section (pp. 12-32) gives first prize to "Circus", generated on an Adage Graphics Terminal and photographed by Tom Childs -- a display-screen rather than plotter image -- with all else honorable mention; the close was July 3. CalComp drum plotters still dominate (France's ICL 1905 drawings, Milojevic's "Seasons", Carpenter's ALGOL/Burroughs 5500 figures), joined by S-C 4020 work from Sandia, a CDC 280 recorder at Bettis, CalComp's CRT microfilm system for the "Hebrew Alphabet", and two character portraits (Rockefeller on a Burroughs 5500, Martin Luther King on an IBM 1401). Historically notable: Hiroshi Kawano's "Pattern of Flow", a 40 x 200 black/white field generated by Monte Carlo from a transition-probability matrix on a HITAC 5020 and "coded by human hand"; Auro Lecci's "Slant No. 1" (Florence); Kerry Strand's "Mask"; the Meyfarths' super-ellipse faces trending toward "squareness and conformity"; and E. M. Pass's pictures that "resulted from bugs in the program". The art is followed by Roger Ives on Alfred Duca's computer-cut steel spheroid and diRoccaferrera's "Poetry by Computer". First prize: Tom Childs, "Circus", submitted by Adage, Inc., Boston, Mass.; generated on the Adage Graphics Terminal and photographed by Childs (line end points computed as frequencies and phases of sine and cosine functions). Also: All other computer art published in the issue receives honorable mention (no ranked second or third prize).. Artists and works as credited: Tom Childs -- c/o Adage, Inc., Boston, Mass. -- "Circus" (first prize) -- Adage Graphics Terminal, photographed from the display · Darel D. Eschbach, Jr. -- University of Toledo -- "The Lines", "Expanding Universe" -- IBM 1620-1627 system · Kerry Strand -- CalComp, Anaheim, Calif. -- "Mask" -- CalComp 718 flatbed plotter (Copyright 1969 by CalComp) · George H. Meyfarth III (Tufts University Computation Center) and Philip F. Meyfarth (Cambridge, Mass.) -- "Progress?" -- super-ellipse faces, FORTRAN, IBM 1130 driving an IBM 1627 plotter on-line · A. M. France -- International Computers Ltd., London -- "Sketch for a Mural", "Connections #3", "Hot Rod" -- FORTRAN on an ICL 1905, CalComp 563 plotter · (Mrs.) Leigh Hendricks -- Sandia Corp., Albuquerque -- "Ellipses" -- Stromberg Datagraphics S-C 4020 plotter · William A. Carpenter -- Charlottesville, Va. -- "The Litely Lit Lamp", "Mollusk" -- ALGOL on a Burroughs 5500, CalComp 570 plotter · Sidney Robertson -- Fairfax, Va. -- "Scorpion", "Levitation" (spherical harmonics, hidden lines removed) -- CDC 3600 and CalComp 564 plotter · David Caulkins (contents: "Dayid Caulkins") -- Los Angeles -- "Billows" -- Univac 1108 and CalComp plotter · Michael Davis -- Berkeley, Calif. -- "Flying Dutchman" -- CalComp plotter at Stanford University · James S. Lipscomb -- Belmont, Mass. -- "Aspirations" -- FORTRAN on an IBM 1620, CalComp 565 on-line · E. M. Pass -- Rich Electronic Computer Center, Atlanta -- "Control Theory" (three pictures, two resulting from program bugs) -- Univac 1108, CalComp 770/763 offline incremental plotter · Petar Milojevic -- Information Science Ind. Ltd., Ottawa -- "Seasons" (three drawings: "Early Spring", "Winter Harmony", "Nature at Sleep") -- FORTRAN with random generators, CalComp 565 · Steve Derby -- Tecumseh, Mich. -- "Spears" -- CDC 3600 and CalComp plotter · Auro Lecci -- Centro Ricerche Estetiche F Uno, Florence, Italy -- "Slant No. 1" -- IBM 7090 and CalComp plotter · Anton G. Salecker -- State of New York, Dept. of Transportation, Albany -- "Portrait (Nelson Rockefeller)" -- ALGOL, Burroughs 5500, CalComp 563 (16 preset patterns per grid square) · Hiroshi Kawano -- Aoto, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo -- "Pattern of Flow" -- FORTRAN 4 on a HITAC 5020; 8000-element random series from a transition probability matrix (Monte Carlo); line-printer output, final work coded by hand · William S. Maloney, S.J. (list: William R. Maloney) -- Jesuit Faculty Residence, St. Louis -- "Resurrection" -- CDC 3300 and CalComp plotter · Hendrikus J. Nolle and Emilio D. Rodriguez -- E. Detroit, Mich. -- "Portrait (Martin Luther King, Jr.)" -- programmed and run on an IBM 1401 system (printer portrait) · Donald Robbins -- Sandia Corp., Albuquerque -- "Octagonal Well" -- Univac 1108, Stromberg Datagraphics S-C 4020 · J. A. Elenbaas -- Midland, Mich. -- "Impact", "Christmas 2001" -- IBM 1130 and CalComp 565 · John Cope and Ronnie Shiver (list: Shriver) -- Computer Center, Auburn Univ., Ala. -- "Lady" (four-bar mechanism) -- IBM 360/50 on a CalComp 663 plotter · James Daly, S.J. -- St. Louis University, Yalem Scientific Computer Center -- "Distorted Circle" -- FORTRAN 4 on a CDC 3300, CalComp 563 · Harold Minuskin and Bill Scott -- CalComp, Anaheim -- "Hebrew Alphabet" -- CalComp CRT Microfilm Digital Graphics System, program in DAP · David J. DiLeonardo -- Westinghouse Electric Corp., Bettis Atomic Power Lab., West Mifflin, Pa. -- "Eruption" -- CDC-6600 and CDC Model 280 Microfilm Recorder. Rest of the issue: Two editorials by Edmund C. Berkeley ("The Value of Computer People, and 'Who's Who in the Computer Field'" and "Computer Art -- The Annual Contest"); "Computer-Aided Sculpture" by Roger Ives; "Poetry by Computer" by Dr. Giuseppe M. Ferrero diRoccaferrera; "Underestimates and Overexpectations" by Dr. J. C. R. Licklider; "The Role of EDP Equipment in the Accounting System of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" by William J. Carlin; Ideas: Spotlight "The Technical Iron Curtain" by Peter Hall; Report from Great Britain by Ted Schoeters; Multi-Access Forum on computer censuses, IBM's "unbundling", programmer trainees (Helen Solem), ADAPSO pricing, and Lou Ellen Davis's "The Perfect Program".