August 1969: the computer art contest that predicted we'd learn to love machine art
Merzmensch · x · 2026-11-13
Merzmensch shares the August 1969 issue of Computers and Automation, covering the 7th Annual Computer Art Contest — first prize went to work generated on an Adage Graphics Terminal.
Editor Berkeley already asked why computer art lacked the emotional pull of the best painting and photography, attributing it to human familiarity with depicted objects — while predicting people would eventually find machine art as pleasing as human art. The issue also features UNIVAC 1107-generated oil paintings, IBM 1401 dot-matrix portraits, and FORTRAN-generated floral plots: a genuine prehistory of generative art.
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