Koji Fujino

Koji Fujino is a Japanese systems engineer and early pioneer of computer-generated art. In 1966, he joined the Computer Technique Group (CTG), a Tokyo-based collective of artists, designers, and engineers working at the IBM Scientific Data Centre. CTG was founded by Masao Kohmura and Haruki Tsuchiya and became one of Japan’s most influential early digital art groups, known for combining computational techniques with visual design.

Fujino is best known for his programming work on Running Cola is Africa (1967–68), a groundbreaking computer graphic featured in the Cybernetic Serendipity exhibition at London’s ICA in 1968. The image, recognized as one of the earliest examples of digital morphing, transforms the outline of a running man into a cola bottle and then into the map of Africa. Fujino programmed the transformation in FORTRAN IV on an IBM 7090, outputting the image with a Calcomp 563 plotter. The work was later included in the Motif Editions portfolio, alongside computer artworks by Charles Csuri, William Fetter, Kerry Strand, and others.

Fujino participated in CTG’s larger body of work, which focused on using geometric transformations and computational methods to explore the visual language of Pop Art and image manipulation. CTG also contributed computer poetry and graphics to international exhibitions and won the 6th Annual Computer Art Contest held by Computers & Automation magazine in 1968. Fujino’s role in CTG represents an early chapter in computer graphics history, when programming and systems engineering became tools for image-making.