Ben Francis Laposky

Ben Francis Laposky was born in 1914 in Cherokee, Iowa. He trained as a mathematician and began his career as a draftsman, running a sign shop in his hometown. His fascination with mathematics and geometry, combined with an interest in electronic technology, led him to explore the artistic potential of electronic waveforms.

Laposky is best known for his groundbreaking work creating abstract designs known as Oscillons or Electronic Abstractions by manipulating electronic waveforms on an analogue cathode-ray oscilloscope. By controlling oscillators and other electronic circuits, he generated intricate geometric and mathematical patterns, which he then photographed to capture fleeting moments of visual harmony. He saw these compositions as a form of “visual music,” abstract rhythms and harmonies of light comparable to the auditory beauty found in sound. His approach removed these mathematical curves from purely scientific contexts and placed them within an aesthetic framework, making them some of the earliest examples of computer-related art, even though his work predated modern digital computers

His pioneering work was first publicly exhibited in 1952 at the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, Iowa, marking the earliest major show of electronic abstract art. Electronic Abstractions toured extensively across more than 200 museums and galleries in the United States, including the Des Moines Art Center, Joslyn Art Museum, and the Buffalo Museum of Science. Internationally, his work was exhibited throughout Europe and Japan as part of major international computer art exhibitions. Recognized as a foundational figure in computer art, Laposky received awards such as a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and honors from electronic arts organizations. He was cited in Herbert W. Franke’s seminal 1971 book Computer Graphics, Computer Art and referenced in Douglas Davis’s Art and the Future. Laposky passed away in 2000.