Kerry Strand

Kerry Strand, born in 1940, is an American pioneer in computer-generated art. He studied engineering and physics at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he also worked as a programmer. In 1965, Strand produced his first computer artwork, The Shell, written in Algol and plotted on a CalComp Model 563. From 1966 to 1972, he was employed by California Computer Products Inc. (CalComp) in Anaheim, a company instrumental in developing early computer hardware like the CalComp plotters.

Strand’s artistic output balances representational and abstract forms. His notable works include Hummingbird, The Snail, The Fisherman, and Crest. In 1968, he won first prize in CalComp’s 6th Annual Computer Art Contest with Hummingbird, a competition designed to promote creative uses of computing technology through scholarships for artists and universities. That year, his works were shown in the New York Room of the Statler Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, where CalComp announced further support for computer artists. His pieces appeared under the CalComp artist group name, representing the joint efforts of the company’s programmers and artists working together on early computer art.

Strand’s work gained international exposure through key exhibitions of the late 1960s. In 1968, his works were included in Cybernetic Serendipity at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, the UK’s first major exhibition on art and technology. A lithograph of The Snail was published by Motif Editions and sold during the exhibition and its U.S. tour. The same year, Strand’s computer graphics were shown at the Computer and Art exhibition at the Prague Film Club, curated by Miroslav Klivar, alongside early European pioneers Frieder Nake and Georg Nees. In 1969, his work was included in Tendencies 4: Computers and Visual Research in Zagreb, further solidifying his role in the formative years of computer art.