Nr. 6

Name: Ragnar Digital, LLC
Price range: $

Frieder Nake

1965

Plotter Drawing

5.5"x3.5"

Historical Firsts Highlights

Description

In 1965 some of the first works created with digital computers were exhibited both in the US and in Europe. Nr. 6 (1965) by Frieder Nake, is from one of the first ever exhibits of computer art: the November, 1964 computer grafik exhibit by Nake and Georg Nees.

The work is not only one of the earliest works of computer art, but it also exemplifies the philosophy of Max Bense, which informed the earliest works of German/European computer art.

Bense believed that beauty was a science. That aesthetics could be measured, analyzed, documented, and most importantly, created, by algorithms. Many early computer artists believed that a set of rules could be programmed, that if executed correctly, would result in artwork that was aesthetically and intellectually appealing.

This philosophy was in part a strong reaction to Hitler and the Nazi party, whose ability to use strong emotions to manipulate the masses led Bense to say that “rationality is humanity’s first defense against fascism.”