Page 33 - Studio International - June 1970

Technology and triviality or vagueness. His paper 'On for language—a uniquely and essentially
Generative Aesthetics—Two Picture-Generat- human capacity, according to Wiener, Chom-
art 15: Computer ing Programs' seemed to me to possess an sky and others. When computer scientists have
had a little more success in modelling human
intellectual rigour and integrity which is
tragic in its misdirectedness. In saying this I language (`natural language', as they call it),
graphics at am criticizing not Mr Nake personally but the it will be worth considering the possible
whole school of aestheticians, many of them application of the information sciences to the
Brunel German, who have attempted to apply mathe- study of human creativity. At present all the
matical principles to art and poetry. This
computer scientist and the information-
school seems to have originated with the work theorist can do is provide very crude arithmeti-
of an American mathematician G. D. Birkoff zations of natural language. Since we all
in the 1930s, and its most distinguished possess in our brains a built-in automatic
exponent is Max Bense. It is little followed in capability for operating probabilistically on
this country, and is unlikely to be taken up by inputs from the environment, most of us will
people who believe that the task of criticism be happy to carry on that way rather than
is essentially a registering of particular experi- arduously learn a plainly inadequate mathe-
ences as faithfully as possible. matical notation and method. Mr Nake
In the course of his paper Nake defines some eludes this criticism by abstracting all
of his assumptions : semantic content from aesthetics. It applies,
`Each given object of the real world, it may however, to another paper presented at the
be produced by nature or man, has its symposium, 'Art as Function of Subject,
aesthetic aspects besides its physical aspects. Cognition and Time' by Vladimir Bonacić of
At the large and elaborate Computer Its aesthetic aspects are examined by the Zagreb group. How admirable is the
Graphics symposium held at Brunel Uni- aesthetics. A particular object may be of intention of the New Tendencies group, with
versity, near London, in April, there were no aesthetic "value" or "relevance" or which both Nake and Bonacić have been
two sessions devoted to papers on computer "significance" or "merits" whatsoever. associated, to desist from 'art' for several
art, and an exhibition of graphic prints to add, But nevertheless, it becomes an object of years and concentrate on visual research !
as the Computer Weekly put it, 'a touch of light aesthetic investigation, i.e. it belongs to the And yet how amateurish it is to bring to bear
relief'. Among hundreds of sober-suited dele- universe of all objects to be investigated or on artistic experience a pseudo-rigorous string
gates the sprinkling of art-oriented figures "evaluated" by aesthetics.' of formulae! (I refer to Dr Bonacić's theories,
seemed like a troupe of licensed entertainers, I find this puzzling. One might as well say not to the mathematical transformations with
surviving on the fat of a huge and flourishing 'Every given object... has its divine aspects which he programmes his light-sculptures;
industrial market. This is not the first time besides its physical aspects. Its divine aspects these from what I know of them—one was
that art has put on the cap and bells; and we are examined by divinity. This is necessary illustrated here last July—are interesting.)
should not complain because, so far, few because there are a large number of chairs Those who expect artists to be visionaries
artists using computer graphics have come up and lectureships in divinity endowed in uni- would have been disappointed by the sym-
with anything that really deserves more re- versities throughout the world.' Aesthetics is posium—except for the two characteristically
verent attention. a rather newer discipline than divinity—the original papers by Gustav Metzger. One of
The potential that was so evident at the 1968 word 'aesthetics' came into use in the nine- them outlined the role of computer graphics
ICA exhibition is still there, but the actuality teenth century to describe the judgement of art in the planning and co-ordination of his
has hardly advanced at all, and this is —but there are presumably a number of gigantic auto-destructive sculptural project
depressing. There was always a danger that university faculties to keep going. I would ask Five Screens with Computer. The total project
the phenomenon called computer art would Mr Nake if it is meaningful or helpful to would cost two million pounds at least to
come to be looked back on as a fad of the speak of objects having 'aesthetic aspects', if realize and is open to the criticism that it is
1960s. The vitality of such a project as they may at the same time be completely lack- rather grandiose. It is best seen as a framework
Edward Ihnatowicz's cybernetic sculpture— ing in aesthetic value, relevance, significance for ten or twenty years of research into com-
which I hope to discuss in a later issue—is or merits. My own feeling is that there are no puter techniques. Metzger's second paper,
evidence that it is possible for artists to use aesthetic properties independently of a specific `New Ideas in Plotter Design, Construction
computer technology successfully. But as far sociocultural context, and aesthetics as Mr and Output', suggested how existing tech-
as computer graphics are concerned it looks Nake conceives it is a false science. niques for drawing with computers could be
as if something near a dead end has been As for the attempt to model aesthetic prefer- replaced by more sophisticated systems, for
reached. The correct moral to draw is simply ence using statistical information theory, I am instance using fibre optics and light-sensitive
that there is great scope here for new talent sure it is true that the human brain possesses paper :
and for thinking a little harder. a statistical or quasi-statistical filter which, by `The hand is a delicate thing; paper is
A feature of computer technology as a whole distinguishing coincidences from meaningful delicate; ink, pencil, chalk, are delicate—
is that everyone talks about what they are connections, permits learning to take place. It why imprison all this in a steamroller? The
going to do so long in advance that the real is therefore likely that aesthetic appreciation stylus must have the capacity to act very
thing when exhibited always seems some years depends on some system for detecting im- much like the hand. It must be able to press
out of date. This is particularly true of probabilities in the environment. The aesthe- hard, or gently touch a surface. It must
computer-based art, and if one rejects (as I do tic or critical criterion would then be a bend at any required angle. Drawing is
totally) the theory that mere description of a search for maximum meaning—or, to put it texture, tone and a range of difficult-to-
project is as interesting as its eventual realiza- another way, minimum cliche—within given describe actions and qualities; it is not
tion, one is forced to the conclusion that there constraints. The ability of the human brain merely that bland line of uniform density
is too much talk about computer art and not to make very powerful probabilistic assess- and texture that emerges from today's
enough action. ments must be a prime reason for the evolu- plotter.'
Not that one could accuse an artist like tionary success of the species; but this ability He also suggests that laser-beam manipulators,
Frieder Nake, from Stuttgart University, of cannot be separated from the human capacity such as those developed for bone surgery,