October 1969 magazine ran a dedicated Computer Art column with plotter-drawn DAISIES
Merzmensch · x · 2026-11-14
The author digs up the October 1969 issue of Computers and Automation: swamped with submissions, the magazine launched a dedicated 'Computer Art' column featuring William A. Carpenter's DAISIES—programmed in ALGOL on a Burroughs 5500 and drawn with a CalComp 570 plotter, with randomly placed flowers and three-tier star shapes shrinking by controlled random amounts. The contest drew a record 165+ pieces, and an eighth annual contest was announced for 1970. The author speculates DAISIES nods to IBM 7094's 1961 rendition of 'Daisy Bell', plus a September 1969 essay on the philosophy of computer art by Haruki Tsuchiya of Tokyo's CTG group.
Related event: 1969 Magazine Ran a Computer Art Column, Decades Before AI Art(2 posts)→
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