Untitled from Drawing Machine One

Name: Ragnar Digital, LLC
Price range: $

Desmond Paul Henry

1961

Machine/Robot Drawing

10"x15"

Highlights Historical Firsts NotAComputer

Description

In 1961, Desmond Paul Henry built what would become known as his drawing machine. Henry modified a World War II computer used to calculate the precise release of bombs by attaching a motor-driven pen arm. It worked in harmony with a moving drawing table to produce curving lines that echoed the trajectories of explosives. He constructed this machine at his home workshop in Manchester. With little to no control over the outcomes, he relied heavily on the “mechanics of chance.”

In 1961, artist Laurence Stephen Lowry visited Henry’s home and became so fascinated with his drawing machine that he suggested including some of its outputs in his exhibition at Reid Gallery in London in August 1962.

This untitled work from the first iteration of Henry’s drawing machine is a brightly colored abstract image made of repetitive lines that build upon each other. We can clearly see some lines, while others blur together and create even sheets of color.

Untitled from Drawing Machine Two (b&w) Desmond Paul Henry 1964 Machine/Robot Drawing

Untitled from Drawing Machine Three Desmond Paul Henry 1967 Machine/Robot Drawing

"Ideographs" Exhibition Brochure Desmond Paul Henry 1962 Ephemera

Reid Gallery Invitation (One Man Show) Desmond Paul Henry 1962 Ephemera

The Logic of Saint Anslem Desmond Paul Henry 1963 Machine/Robot Drawing

Untitled from Drawing Machine Two Desmond Paul Henry 1963 Machine/Robot Drawing

Cameraless Photography #109 Desmond Paul Henry 1977 Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Cameraless Photography Desmond Paul Henry 1979 Oscilloscope/Light Photo