The Bre Pettis Collection of Computer Art
Research

Bre Pettis Computer Art Library

A reference shelf for researchers, curators, and the curious — records, books, scanned books, articles, and magazine issues that document the people and ideas behind the works in the collection. Most paper entries link to a downloadable PDF. References are organized by the artist they discuss; a piece that touches more than one artist appears in each section.

The library opens with the record shelf: computer and electronic music was pressed to disc as much as it was printed, from the Illiac Suite and the Bell Labs demonstration records to the ICA's Cybernetic Serendipity LP. Each record links to its catalog entry, and from there to its Discogs release — where there is often audio to listen to.

Books bought whenever possible with the hope of scanning them someday. Internet bitrot is real — PDFs have been collected while doing research on the artists as a way to maintain this information for research and future generations.

241 on the shelf · 151 digital references across 35 artists

Read Notes → — writing and project notes.

On the shelf (continued)

Tracing the Line: The Art of Drawing Machines and Pen Plotters
Generative Hut, Vetro Editions · 2023
BookOn the shelf
Variable Conditions: Para-computational Arts in Canada, 1965–1995
2023
BookOn the shelf
Various Painting Devices
Bond Truluv · 2023
BookOn the shelf
CryptoPunks: Free to Claim
CryptoPunks: Free to Claim
Zak Kyes (ed.) · 2024
BookOn the shelf
Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet
Val Ravaglia (ed.) · 2024
BookOn the shelf
Anni and Josef Albers: Art and Life
Anni and Josef Albers: Art and Life
Julia Garimorth (ed.) · 2025
BookOn the shelf
The Guerilla Art Guide: Everything You Need to Put Your Message Out into the World (for Fun, Nonprofit, and World Domination)
Keri Smith · 2025
BookOn the shelf
原健 作品集 (Takeshi Hara: The Works)
Takeshi Hara · 2026
BookOn the shelf
Abstract Affinities: Aurélie Nemours, Geneviève Claisse, Cruz-Diez, Manfred Mohr
Abstract Affinities: Aurélie Nemours, Geneviève Claisse, Cruz-Diez, Manfred Mohr
BookOn the shelf
Alan Rath: Plants, Animals, People, Machines
Alan Rath
BookOn the shelf
Algorithmen & Zeichen: Frieder Nake zur Gegenwart des Computers
Algorithmen & Zeichen: Frieder Nake zur Gegenwart des Computers
Frieder Nake
BookOn the shelf
An Incomplete and Subjective List of Terms and Topics Related to Art and Social Practice, Volume 1
An Incomplete and Subjective List of Terms and Topics Related to Art and Social Practice, Volume 1
Harrell Fletcher
BookOn the shelf
Arno Beck: Down the Rabbit Hole
Arno Beck: Down the Rabbit Hole
Arno Beck
BookOn the shelf
Art at the Dawning of the Electronic Era: Generative Systems
Sonia Landy Sheridan (ed.)
BookOn the shelf
ASCII Graphic Glitch Art - Volume Two: Technology, Art & Design
ASCII Graphic Glitch Art - Volume Two: Technology, Art & Design
BookOn the shelf
ASCII Graphic Glitch Art: Technology + Art + Design
ASCII Graphic Glitch Art: Technology + Art + Design
BookOn the shelf
Bilder Digital (Barke Verlag)
Bilder Digital (Barke Verlag)
BookOn the shelf
Cézanne
Vera Molnar
BookOn the shelf
Collection Variations Sur (4 coffrets livre-DVD: Nil Yalter, Yona Friedman, Bernard Heidsieck, Jean-Luc Godard)
Collection Variations Sur (4 coffrets livre-DVD: Nil Yalter, Yona Friedman, Bernard Heidsieck, Jean-Luc Godard)
Various
BookOn the shelf
Cybernetic Serendipity: A Walk Around the Exhibition
Cybernetic Serendipity: A Walk Around the Exhibition
Jasia Reichardt
BookOn the shelf
Digital Art: 1960s-Now (V&A)
Digital Art: 1960s-Now (V&A)
Victoria and Albert Museum
BookOn the shelf
DIGITAL BITES デジタル・バイツ — アート&テクノロジーの摂り方 (Digital Bites: How to Take In Art & Technology)
DIGITAL BITES デジタル・バイツ — アート&テクノロジーの摂り方 (Digital Bites: How to Take In Art & Technology)
BookOn the shelf
DOM
DOM
Aaron Koblin, Ben Tricklebank, Charlotte Colbert
BookOn the shelf
Drawing with Computers
Drawing with Computers
Mark Wilson
BookOn the shelf
Future Relic (Signed Edition): Failures, Disasters, Detours, and How I Made a Career as an Artist
Future Relic (Signed Edition): Failures, Disasters, Detours, and How I Made a Career as an Artist
Daniel Arsham
BookOn the shelf
Genesis — Die Kunst der Schöpfung / The Art of Creation
Genesis — Die Kunst der Schöpfung / The Art of Creation
Zentrum Paul Klee Bern
BookOn the shelf
Harold Cohen (Gazelli Art House)
Harold Cohen (Gazelli Art House)
Gazelli Art House
BookOn the shelf
Harrell Fletcher & Michael Rakowitz (Between Artists)
Harrell Fletcher & Michael Rakowitz (Between Artists)
Harrell Fletcher, Michael Rakowitz
BookOn the shelf
Harrell Fletcher: Everyday Sunshine
Harrell Fletcher: Everyday Sunshine
Harrell Fletcher
BookOn the shelf
Hibino: Katsuhiko Hibino interactive exhibition (Digitalogue home museum series)
Hibino: Katsuhiko Hibino interactive exhibition (Digitalogue home museum series)
Katsuhiko Hibino
BookOn the shelf
Horizontales, verticales, seules : Art concret (Nemours — Knifer, Honegger, Vacossin, Molnar, Morellet)
Vera Molnar, Julije Knifer, Gottfried Honegger, Marie-Thérèse Vacossin, François Morellet
BookOn the shelf
IF/THEN — Chance, (Un)certainty, and the Search for True Randomness
IF/THEN — Chance, (Un)certainty, and the Search for True Randomness
Timo Arnall, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Jürg Lehni, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Vera Molnár, Katie Paterson, Tale of Tales
BookOn the shelf
Journaux intimes
Vera Molnar
BookOn the shelf
Kiyoshi Furukawa, Masaki Fujihata und Wolfgang Münch: Small Fish
Kiyoshi Furukawa, Masaki Fujihata und Wolfgang Münch: Small Fish
Kiyoshi Furukawa, Masaki Fujihata, Wolfgang Münch
BookOn the shelf
Kontextus és kronológia / Context and Chronology
Vera Molnar
BookOn the shelf
L'art et l'ordinateur
L'art et l'ordinateur
Vera Molnár, Horst Bartnig, et al.
BookOn the shelf
La Tourette / Dialogue(s) — Rencontre Le Corbusier
Vera Molnar, Stéphane Couturier, Ian Tyson
BookOn the shelf
LOGO入門 (電子計算機のプログラミング 10) — An Introduction to LOGO
LOGO入門 (電子計算機のプログラミング 10) — An Introduction to LOGO
Hiroshi Kawano
BookOn the shelf
Manfred Mohr: Laserglyphs
Manfred Mohr
BookOn the shelf
Manfred Mohr: Neue Arbeiten
Manfred Mohr
BookOn the shelf
Music at the Threshold from the Sacred to the Dangerous
Music at the Threshold from the Sacred to the Dangerous
BookOn the shelf
Natürlich künstlich: das virtuelle Bild (with CD-ROM)
Natürlich künstlich: das virtuelle Bild (with CD-ROM)
Gerhard Mantz, Gero Gries, Martin Dörbaum, Yves Netzhammer, Yoichiro Kawaguchi
BookOn the shelf
Olaf Metzel: 13.4.1981 (with DVD)
Olaf Metzel
BookOn the shelf
Out of square
Vera Molnar
BookOn the shelf
P. Struycken (Groninger Museum)
Groninger Museum, Peter Struycken
BookOn the shelf
Participation. À la recherche d'un nouveau spectateur (GRAV)
Participation. À la recherche d'un nouveau spectateur (GRAV)
Museum am Ostwall Dortmund, Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel
BookOn the shelf
People's Biennial 2014
People's Biennial 2014
Harrell Fletcher, Jens Hoffmann
BookOn the shelf
Peter Vogel (modo Verlag)
Peter Vogel (modo Verlag)
Peter Vogel
BookOn the shelf
Portable Postcard Exhibition
Students and Faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
BookOn the shelf
Prints — Zdeněk Sýkora
Prints — Zdeněk Sýkora
Lenka Sýkorová, Jaroslav Vančát
BookOn the shelf
Promenades aléatoires
Vera Molnar
BookOn the shelf
Right Click Save
Right Click Save
Vetro Editions
BookOn the shelf
Roman Verostko and the Cloud of Unknowing
Roman Verostko and the Cloud of Unknowing
Roman Verostko
BookOn the shelf
rot #22: en gros & en detail
rot #22: en gros & en detail
Konrad B. Schäuffelen, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #26: alphabetenquadrate
rot #26: alphabetenquadrate
Hansjörg Mayer, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #28: 5 beliebige fassungen
rot #28: 5 beliebige fassungen
Franz Mon, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #30: praxis der sprache aus malherbe
rot #30: praxis der sprache aus malherbe
Francis Ponge, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #31: bruchsünden und todstücke
rot #31: bruchsünden und todstücke
Witold Wirpsza, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #32: 80 wolken. 1965 bis 1967
rot #32: 80 wolken. 1965 bis 1967
Dieter Roth, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #36: vorlesungen über die ästhetik
rot #36: vorlesungen über die ästhetik
G. W. F. Hegel, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #37: einige mathematische elemente der kunst
rot #37: einige mathematische elemente der kunst
George D. Birkhoff, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #38: kleine abstrakte ästhetik
rot #38: kleine abstrakte ästhetik
Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #39: der weg eines zeichens
rot #39: der weg eines zeichens
Aloisio Magalhães, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #40: poem structures in the looking glass
rot #40: poem structures in the looking glass
Klaus Burkhardt, Reinhard Döhl
BookOn the shelf
rot #41: konkrete poesie international 2
rot #41: konkrete poesie international 2
Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #42: minimalerzählungen
rot #42: minimalerzählungen
Friederike Roth, Gabbo Mateen
BookOn the shelf
rot #43: semiotik
rot #43: semiotik
Bernard Bolzano, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #44: graphen und zeichen
rot #44: graphen und zeichen
Charles S. Peirce, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #51: gruppen — netzwerke
rot #51: gruppen — netzwerke
Yona Friedman, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
rot #52: zur semiotischen grundlegung von logik und mathematik
rot #52: zur semiotischen grundlegung von logik und mathematik
Charles S. Peirce, Max Bense, Elisabeth Walther
BookOn the shelf
Rouges
Vera Molnar
BookOn the shelf
Ryoji Ikeda: Formula (book + DVD)
Ryoji Ikeda: Formula (book + DVD)
Ryoji Ikeda
BookOn the shelf
Sharing Code
Sharing Code
BookOn the shelf
The Cory Arcangel Hack: Digital Culture and Aesthetic Practice (Leonardo)
The Cory Arcangel Hack: Digital Culture and Aesthetic Practice (Leonardo)
BookOn the shelf
The Policeman's Beard Is Half Constructed (Bonner Kunstverein)
The Policeman's Beard Is Half Constructed (Bonner Kunstverein)
Bonner Kunstverein
BookOn the shelf
The World of Digital Art
The World of Digital Art
Wolf Lieser
BookOn the shelf
Vera Molnar (Open Structures Society)
Vera Molnar
BookOn the shelf
Vera Molnar, Une ligne (Musée des beaux-arts de Caen)
Vera Molnar, Une ligne (Musée des beaux-arts de Caen)
Vera Molnár
BookOn the shelf
Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely
BookOn the shelf
What Can You Learn From Talking to Someone? (Art + Social Practice Conversations)
What Can You Learn From Talking to Someone? (Art + Social Practice Conversations)
Harrell Fletcher
BookOn the shelf
アート&テクノロジーの過去と未来 (The Past and Future of Art & Technology)
アート&テクノロジーの過去と未来 (The Past and Future of Art & Technology)
BookOn the shelf
アートとコンピュータ: 新しい美術の射程 (Art and Computers: The Range of a New Art)
アートとコンピュータ: 新しい美術の射程 (Art and Computers: The Range of a New Art)
Masaki Fujihata
BookOn the shelf
イマジナリー・ナンバーズ (Imaginary Numbers)
イマジナリー・ナンバーズ (Imaginary Numbers)
Keiko Kimoto, Mitsuo Katsui
BookOn the shelf
コンピュータ・グラフィックスの世界 — 映像革命の最前線をさぐる (The World of Computer Graphics)
コンピュータ・グラフィックスの世界 — 映像革命の最前線をさぐる (The World of Computer Graphics)
Hideki Mitsui
BookOn the shelf
コンピュータアート (Computer Art) — 新コンピュータサイエンス講座
コンピュータアート (Computer Art) — 新コンピュータサイエンス講座
Kiyoe Fuchigami
BookOn the shelf
コンピュータ画家アーロンの誕生 (The Birth of AARON, the Computer Painter)
コンピュータ画家アーロンの誕生 (The Birth of AARON, the Computer Painter)
Pamela McCorduck
BookOn the shelf
ネットワーク美学の誕生 — 「下からの綜合」の世界に向けて (The Birth of Network Aesthetics)
ネットワーク美学の誕生 — 「下からの綜合」の世界に向けて (The Birth of Network Aesthetics)
Hiroshi Kawano
BookOn the shelf
モノミナヒカル展 — 佐藤慶次郎の振動するオブジェ (Keijiro Sato's Vibrating Objects, exhibition catalogue)
モノミナヒカル展 — 佐藤慶次郎の振動するオブジェ (Keijiro Sato's Vibrating Objects, exhibition catalogue)
Keijiro Sato
BookOn the shelf
図の体系 — 図的思考とその表現 (A System of Diagrams: Diagrammatic Thinking and Its Expression)
図の体系 — 図的思考とその表現 (A System of Diagrams: Diagrammatic Thinking and Its Expression)
BookOn the shelf
形とシンメトリーの饗宴 I (A Feast of Form and Symmetry I)
形とシンメトリーの饗宴 I (A Feast of Form and Symmetry I)
BookOn the shelf
芸術・記号・情報 (Art, Sign, Information) — 現代美学双書 5
芸術・記号・情報 (Art, Sign, Information) — 現代美学双書 5
Hiroshi Kawano
BookOn the shelf

PDF Library

Digital references — books, scans, articles, and magazine issues collected while researching the artists, kept against internet bitrot. Grouped by the person they document; a piece that touches more than one artist appears in each section.

A. Michael Noll3 references

Alex Galloway1 reference

Andy Deck1 reference

boredomresearch1 reference

Casey Reas1 reference

Chihaya Shimomura1 reference

Ed Burton1 reference

Elout de Kok1 reference

Erwin Steller1 reference

François Morellet1 reference

Frieder Nake2 references

Georg Nees4 references

Harold Cohen2 references

Herbert W Franke1 reference

Horst Bartnig1 reference

Jodi1 reference

John F. Simon Jr.1 reference

John Whitney1 reference

LIA1 reference

Manfred Mohr1 reference

Mark Napier1 reference

Mark Tribe1 reference

Mark Wilson1 reference

Max Bense1 reference

MTAA1 reference

Nam June Paik1 reference

Otto Beckmann1 reference

Peter Beyls1 reference

Roman Verostko1 reference

Stanza1 reference

Thomson & Craighead1 reference

Vera Molnar4 references

Vuk Ćosić1 reference

Yoshi Sodeoka1 reference

Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries1 reference