Imaging by Numbers Art Exhibit

Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art

Today I visited the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University. I was there to see the Imaging by Numbers: A Historical View of the Computer Print art exhibit.

Quoting from the Imaging by Numbers exhibition flyer:
“This groundbreaking exhibition examines the intersection of digital technology and the graphic arts by surveying the use of computers in printmaking and drawing. From electronic waveforms and plotter printer drawings to experiments with computer code and software and inventive combinations of digital and traditional printing techniques, Imaging by Numbers features approximately 60 works by nearly 40 artists… from the 1950's to the present.”

There were works by Manfred Mohr, Jean-Pierre Hébert, Ben Laposky, Otto Beckmann, Michael Noll, Kamran Moojedi, C. E. B. Reas, and Richard Helmick to name a few. There were also two works by Joan Truckenbrod who taught the first computer graphics class at Northern Illinois University. I am happy to say that I was fortunate enough to get into that graduate level course. You can read more about this in my article Recollections of my Introduction to Computer Graphics.

Another smaller exhibit that is running concurrently is Space, Color, and Motion which features animated images and one very cool computer controlled magnetic ball creating patterns in a sandbox.

If you are in the Chicago area and art thinking of seeing the show, do it now because the exhibit ends April 6. Admission is free! The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art is located on the grounds of Northwestern University at 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL.

I found out about this art exhibit by way of the American Art American City Exhibit Calendar web site created by the Terra Foundation for American Art. The calendar consists of listings of current exhibitions in Chicago area art museums.

Here is a list of links you may find useful.

Ad Astra, Jim

| Return to the Blog Index | This entry was posted on Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 10:56 pm and is filed under Algorithmic Art, Art and Artists, Art Shows, Digital Art.