New Acquisitions

Detail of Manfred Mohr, P-049 Formal Language, IR1=2, 1970 (printed 1979), plotter drawing, ink on paper. Image courtesy of the artist and bitforms gallery nyc.		C. E. B. Reas, Process 6 (Image 3), 2005, inkjet print on paper. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 2007.22.4. Image courtesy of the artist and bitforms gallery nyc.		James Paterson, Untitled VI, 2005, digital chromogenic print. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 2007.22.2. Image courtesy of the artist and biforms gallery nyc.

The exhibition Imaging by Numbers: A Historical View of the Computer Print provides an opportunity for the Block to acquire, through purchase and donation, important examples of historical and contemporary computer-generated prints. They represent a range of artists whose work has significantly contributed to the history and practice of computer art. Included among the artists are Manfred Mohr, C. E..B. Reas, and James Paterson.

The works suggest a range of types of expression and visual languages, from rigorous formal experiments to riotously colorful objects. Mohr has been an important force in computer-generated art since the 1960s. P-049 Formal Language (1970) is an elegant and intellectual exercise, exploring seemingly endless permutations of geometric forms. Reas develops and uses software as his primary medium with strikingly original results. Within his nonrepresentational imagery are soft, irregular structures that have visual kinship with natural forms. In general his works appear based in the organic and sensuous, subverting stereotypes about formulaic qualities and sterility of computer-generated media. Paterson is similarly interested in the expressive potential of algorithmic artwork. With whimsical and contemporary elements, his works are visually akin to vernacular art forms, including graffiti and animation.

The works will serve both the exhibition and collection well. In addition to strengthening the museum’s core mission and focus on works on paper, they will foster scholarship in the relatively young area of computer printmaking.

Corinne Granof, Curator

Gift of Richard Helmick

Richard Helmick, American Sunset, 1982, screenprint. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Gift of the artist, 2007.10.

Richard Helmick is considered to be one of the pioneers of computer graphics and will be included in the upcoming Block Museum exhibition Imaging by Numbers: A Historical View of the Computer Print (January 18–April 6, 2008). Helmick received his BFA in graphic design and art education in 1962 and his MFA in sculpture and printmaking in 1964, both from Ohio University in Athens. He is currently professor emeritus at the University of Missouri in the Department of Environmental Design, where he taught computer graphic applications in art and design.

Helmick is most recognized for developing some of the first attempts at creating landscapes through algorithmic programming. The software for the print American Sunset, which he has donated to the Block collection, was written by Helmick in BASIC.

According to the artist,  “I'm fascinated by the organic, expressive quality I can obtain with an essentially mechanical device . . . Using a pseudo random generator, the program created variations on a theme each time it ran on an Apple II Plus. From dozens of runs, the program generated only one variation I deemed acceptable. I deliberately exaggerated the grid of pixels and printed the result [in black ink] on a dot matrix printer.” Helmick then enlarged the image and transferred it to fabric for screenprinting, adding color before printing it on rag paper.

American Sunset is just one of several computer prints joining the Block's permanent collection in conjunction with the exhibition Imaging by Numbers.