Title: Lillian Schwartz’s work at Bell Lab
Introduction
Pixillation(1970)
- Technical and Visual Features
Technical: Lillian Schwartz used a combination of traditional and experimental techniques to create the film. She drew patterns on graph paper and used a programming language called EXPLOR to code pixel-like blocks and create various shapes. Also, she produced seventeen hundred frames of 16-mm film by pouring and spreading pigment on glass plates, lit from below and shot from above with a mounted camera 1. Additionally, she worked with a chemist to capture the forming process of crystals and add it to her work.
Visual: Vibrate colors, abstractions of shapes and dynamic composition.
- The Artist’s Background and Intentions
Background: Lillian Schwartz is an American artist considered a pioneer of computer-mediated art. She created several ground-breaking works of art, which have huge impact on digital art and technological innovation. As a female artist, she also paved the way for more recognition of women in this field.
Intentions: “I wanted them to be together,” Schwartz said of her desire to meld the three distinct image types: black-and-white computer imagery, painted frames, and mineral growth.2
Discussion
- The Significance of the Work
Made before computers were widely available, Pixillation showcased the early exploration of computer-generated imagery and leaped from traditional art and digital art. The artist used programming language to create images, which inspires future artists and scientists to explore more about the intersection of art and technology, and greatly promote the development of digital art.
- Connections with the Concept in CCLab
The artwork was produced with the aid of a computer-animation language. And the images we created using JavaScript in CCLab closely resemble the form in which this artwork was created. In her works, the shapes of pixel blocks undergo constant transformations, lines extend to form new shapes, and crystals and microorganisms under the microscope grow irregularly. In CCLab we can also create symmetry and some random changes by using certain functions. When making project A, we an refer to the color and shape changes as well as the randomness and dynamic movements in this artwork.
- What we can learned from and get inspired
Through her work we can learn to blend different techniques and approaches to art. We can get inspired to push technological boundaries by sometimes even taking a step back and getting creative through incorporating traditional and physical tools. The artist uses various elements that make her work stand out like: motion and animation, algorithmic shapes and digital image processing. What’s interesting about this project are the transitions between frames and the careful selection of a blend of the technical instruments listed above. Moreover, the artist further enhanced her work through the use of sound and a well thought through coloristic scheme. “The “colorlessness” of the EXPLOR images had stimulated an “obsession with color,” Schwartz said, leading her to invent a technique of inserting frames with black or pale backgrounds into stretches of vibrantly colored frames in order to maintain the viewer’s capacity to tolerate saturated color.”
Individual Conclusion
In summary, Schwartz’s creation of “Pixillation” involved a combination of traditional painting techniques, experimental animation methods, and the use of emerging computer technology, thus unlocking a new chapter in the evolution and maturation of digital art. From my perspective, the artwork display the beauty and dynamics of geometry through a digital way. And the transformation of the shapes aligns with the random and irregular variations often found in generative art, serving as inspiration for the creation of Project A. Personally, I’m impressed and inspired by the dazzling colors in this work and consider involve the changes of colors in my project. 😀
Appendix
Presentation slides
References
1.Schwartz, The Computer Artist’s Handbook, 152–53.
2.Schwartz, discussion, September 15, 2013.
3.https://www.artforum.com/features/painting-by-numbers-the-art-of-lillian-schwartz-230796/
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