Kunio Yamanaka

Kunio Yamanaka is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and computer artist who played a foundational role in the development of early computer-generated art in Japan. As a founding member of the Computer Technique Group (CTG), established in late 1966, Yamanaka collaborated with fellow artists and engineers to explore the creative potentials of emerging computer technologies. CTG, with members including Masao Komura, Haruki Tsuchiya, Junichiro Kakizaki, and others, worked in close cooperation with IBM Japan at the IBM Scientific Data Centre in Tokyo. The group utilized large-scale calculators and plotters to produce some of Japan’s first computer graphics artworks. Their practice focused on manipulating objective motifs through geometric transformations, linear and nonlinear interpolation, and algorithmic processes inspired by contemporary Pop Art and Op Art movements. Yamanaka is notably credited for programming Return to a Square, a seminal computer metamorphosis artwork conceived by Masao Komura. The piece, created between 1967 and 1968 using FORTRAN IV on an IBM 7090 mainframe and a CalComp plotter, demonstrates a square transforming into a woman’s profile and back, embodying CTG’s blend of artistic innovation and computational precision. This work was published by Motif Editions in connection with the 1968 Cybernetic Serendipity exhibition at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts. The Victoria & Albert Museum holds a print donated by the Computer Arts Society.

In 1968, CTG gained international recognition by participating in Cybernetic Serendipity, the world’s first major computer art exhibition held at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, curated by Jasia Reichardt. Their works have since been regarded as classical masterpieces of early digital art, influencing the trajectory of media art in Japan and worldwide. Though CTG was active for less than three years, disbanding in 1969, Kunio Yamanaka’s contributions continue to be studied and celebrated for their pioneering role in combining technology with creative expression in the early development of computer art.