For people interested in the history of computer graphics, my colleagues and I at CHM just learned about a recent online reunion meeting of the community around an annual Valentine’s Day computer “Graphics Gathering” in the Bay Area that started in 1981. It appears to have been quite a heterogeneous group: Attendees at the recent reunion included Ted Nelson, Dan Kotkke, Liza Loop, and many others. The reunion was a multi-hour Google Meet that was recorded. More on the Graphics Gathering here: http://ecocre8.com/ <http://ecocre8.com/> I thought that someone interested in the history of computer graphics might want to dig into this, get a copy of the recording from the reunion organizers, etc. All the best, David +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb@dcbrock.net 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock Pronouns: he, him, his
Thanks for posting this news about the Graphics Gathering, David. The whole, unedited recording will not be released because we didn't ask for permission to do this from all attendees. However, excerpts covering specific topics with confidential material redacted can be requested. (I'll get in touch with the organizers and let you know who to contact or you can reach out to the attendees directly) The "party" ran for more than 13 hours with participants from California to Singapore. Conversations were wide-ranging with a wonderful recounting of the early history of customized printing by 96 year-old Marvin Pearlmutter. Marvin pioneered digital control of a linotype machine and showed this at the New York World's Fair, Bell Labs and Princeton. His son, Howard Pearlmutter, founder of the Gathering in 1981, and others displayed many posters and illustrations from the Graphics Gathering and Peoples' Computer Company. We talked about which were hand-drawn, why, and what computer tools were used. Other highlight topics were: who worked with whom in the '60s and '70s, what access to computing kids had back then, how young techies are interacting with government today and, of course, what we anticipate for the future of tech. Ecology and ethics came up almost as much as graphics and computing. I managed to stay awake for the whole 13 hours and was fascinated by the volume of, most likely, undocumented history that was aired. Let's get these stories preserved and make sure they are accurate while we have the opportunity to interact with the people who lived them. Cheers, Liza On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 6:12 AM David C. Brock <dcb@dcbrock.net> wrote:
For people interested in the history of computer graphics, my colleagues and I at CHM just learned about a recent online reunion meeting of the community around an annual Valentine’s Day computer “Graphics Gathering” in the Bay Area that started in 1981. It appears to have been quite a heterogeneous group: Attendees at the recent reunion included Ted Nelson, Dan Kotkke, Liza Loop, and many others. The reunion was a multi-hour Google Meet that was recorded. More on the Graphics Gathering here: http://ecocre8.com/
I thought that someone interested in the history of computer graphics might want to dig into this, get a copy of the recording from the reunion organizers, etc.
All the best,
David +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb@dcbrock.net 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock Pronouns: he, him, his
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- Liza Loop Executive Director, LO*OP Center, Inc. Guerneville, CA 95446 www.loopcenter.org 650 619 1099 (between 8 am and 10 pm Pacific time only please)
Liza, I appreciated the invite to this, though I got it late enough that I was unable to attend. Sounds like a rollicking good time! Chuck From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of "LO*OP CENTER, INC." <lizaloop@loopcenter.org> Date: Monday, February 22, 2021 at 8:54 AM To: "David C. Brock" <dcb@dcbrock.net> Cc: members <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Graphics Gathering Thanks for posting this news about the Graphics Gathering, David. The whole, unedited recording will not be released because we didn't ask for permission to do this from all attendees. However, excerpts covering specific topics with confidential material redacted can be requested. (I'll get in touch with the organizers and let you know who to contact or you can reach out to the attendees directly) The "party" ran for more than 13 hours with participants from California to Singapore. Conversations were wide-ranging with a wonderful recounting of the early history of customized printing by 96 year-old Marvin Pearlmutter. Marvin pioneered digital control of a linotype machine and showed this at the New York World's Fair, Bell Labs and Princeton. His son, Howard Pearlmutter, founder of the Gathering in 1981, and others displayed many posters and illustrations from the Graphics Gathering and Peoples' Computer Company. We talked about which were hand-drawn, why, and what computer tools were used. Other highlight topics were: who worked with whom in the '60s and '70s, what access to computing kids had back then, how young techies are interacting with government today and, of course, what we anticipate for the future of tech. Ecology and ethics came up almost as much as graphics and computing. I managed to stay awake for the whole 13 hours and was fascinated by the volume of, most likely, undocumented history that was aired. Let's get these stories preserved and make sure they are accurate while we have the opportunity to interact with the people who lived them. Cheers, Liza On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 6:12 AM David C. Brock <dcb@dcbrock.net> wrote: For people interested in the history of computer graphics, my colleagues and I at CHM just learned about a recent online reunion meeting of the community around an annual Valentine’s Day computer “Graphics Gathering” in the Bay Area that started in 1981. It appears to have been quite a heterogeneous group: Attendees at the recent reunion included Ted Nelson, Dan Kotkke, Liza Loop, and many others. The reunion was a multi-hour Google Meet that was recorded. More on the Graphics Gathering here: http://ecocre8.com/ I thought that someone interested in the history of computer graphics might want to dig into this, get a copy of the recording from the reunion organizers, etc. All the best, David +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb@dcbrock.net 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock Pronouns: he, him, his _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org -- Liza Loop Executive Director, LO*OP Center, Inc. Guerneville, CA 95446 www.loopcenter.org 650 619 1099 (between 8 am and 10 pm Pacific time only please) _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Thanks. Was there much talk about how the Univ. of Utah became a hotbed of activity after Evans recruited Sutherland, who together formed E&S? Much of that is discussed here <https://www.es.com/news/featured/the-birth-of-computer-graphics/>. Brian Berg On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 9:09 AM Chuck House <housec1839@gmail.com> wrote:
Liza, I appreciated the invite to this, though I got it late enough that I was unable to attend. Sounds like a rollicking good time!
Chuck
*From: *Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of "LO*OP CENTER, INC." <lizaloop@loopcenter.org> *Date: *Monday, February 22, 2021 at 8:54 AM *To: *"David C. Brock" <dcb@dcbrock.net> *Cc: *members <members@sigcis.org> *Subject: *Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Graphics Gathering
Thanks for posting this news about the Graphics Gathering, David.
The whole, unedited recording will not be released because we didn't ask for permission to do this from all attendees. However, excerpts covering specific topics with confidential material redacted can be requested. (I'll get in touch with the organizers and let you know who to contact or you can reach out to the attendees directly) The "party" ran for more than 13 hours with participants from California to Singapore. Conversations were wide-ranging with a wonderful recounting of the early history of customized printing by 96 year-old Marvin Pearlmutter. Marvin pioneered digital control of a linotype machine and showed this at the New York World's Fair, Bell Labs and Princeton. His son, Howard Pearlmutter, founder of the Gathering in 1981, and others displayed many posters and illustrations from the Graphics Gathering and Peoples' Computer Company. We talked about which were hand-drawn, why, and what computer tools were used. Other highlight topics were: who worked with whom in the '60s and '70s, what access to computing kids had back then, how young techies are interacting with government today and, of course, what we anticipate for the future of tech. Ecology and ethics came up almost as much as graphics and computing.
I managed to stay awake for the whole 13 hours and was fascinated by the volume of, most likely, undocumented history that was aired. Let's get these stories preserved and make sure they are accurate while we have the opportunity to interact with the people who lived them.
Cheers,
Liza
On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 6:12 AM David C. Brock <dcb@dcbrock.net> wrote:
For people interested in the history of computer graphics, my colleagues and I at CHM just learned about a recent online reunion meeting of the community around an annual Valentine’s Day computer “Graphics Gathering” in the Bay Area that started in 1981. It appears to have been quite a heterogeneous group: Attendees at the recent reunion included Ted Nelson, Dan Kotkke, Liza Loop, and many others. The reunion was a multi-hour Google Meet that was recorded. More on the Graphics Gathering here: http://ecocre8.com/
I thought that someone interested in the history of computer graphics might want to dig into this, get a copy of the recording from the reunion organizers, etc.
All the best,
David
+++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb@dcbrock.net
40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock
Pronouns: he, him, his
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
--
Liza Loop
Executive Director, LO*OP Center, Inc.
Guerneville, CA 95446
www.loopcenter.org
650 619 1099 (between 8 am and 10 pm Pacific time only please)
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Hello friends, Just a note about computer graphics: CG pioneer and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith has completed an amazingly comprehensive book on the origins and development of computer graphics. It is in press right now with MIT Press and is named, “A Biography of the the Pixel.” It will be available in Sept 2021. I have a pre-press version and it’s superb, its coverage of humankind’s expressiveness in art ranging from the cave paintings of Altamira to Toy Story. Read more at MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel To Infinity and Beyond! Dag —— Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 dspicer@computerhistory.org<mailto:dspicer@computerhistory.org>
This is exciting, thank you for sharing Dag! If I can I'd like to also flag my own forthcoming book on the early history of computer graphics from 1950-1980, with a focus on the University of Utah program. It will be released in August 2021 from MIT Press: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/image-objects -- Jacob Gaboury Assistant Professor of New Media History and Theory Dept. of Film & Media, University of California, Berkeley jacobgaboury.com/ <http://www.jacobgaboury.com/> On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 4:04 PM Dag Spicer <dspicer@computerhistory.org> wrote:
Hello friends,
Just a note about computer graphics: CG pioneer and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith has completed an amazingly comprehensive book on the origins and development of computer graphics. It is in press right now with MIT Press and is named, “A Biography of the the Pixel.” It will be available in Sept 2021. I have a pre-press version and it’s superb, its coverage of humankind’s expressiveness in art ranging from the cave paintings of Altamira to *Toy Story*.
Read more at MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel
To Infinity and Beyond!
Dag —— Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 dspicer@computerhistory.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
hi Jacob, did you look into graphics displays on the Whirlwind computer built at MIT in the early 1950's? We have good evidence that there were limited interactive graphics running there before 1952, but I don't know how that fits into work by other researchers Thanks /guy On 2/22/2021 8:08 PM, Jacob Gaboury wrote:
This is exciting, thank you for sharing Dag! If I can I'd like to also flag my own forthcoming book on the early history of computer graphics from 1950-1980, with a focus on the University of Utah program. It will be released in August 2021 from MIT Press: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/image-objects <https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/image-objects>
-- Jacob Gaboury Assistant Professor of New Media History and Theory Dept. of Film & Media, University of California, Berkeley jacobgaboury.com/ <http://www.jacobgaboury.com/>
On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 4:04 PM Dag Spicer <dspicer@computerhistory.org <mailto:dspicer@computerhistory.org>> wrote:
Hello friends,
Just a note about computer graphics: CG pioneer and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith has completed an amazingly comprehensive book on the origins and development of computer graphics. It is in press right now with MIT Press and is named, “A Biography of the the Pixel.” It will be available in Sept 2021. I have a pre-press version and it’s superb, its coverage of humankind’s expressiveness in art ranging from the cave paintings of Altamira to /Toy Story/.
Read more at MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel <https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel>
To Infinity and Beyond!
Dag —— Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 dspicer@computerhistory.org <mailto:dspicer@computerhistory.org>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <http://sigcis.org>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Have any of you come across an early machine at MIT called 'Ollie's Folly"? Family lore says that it was something my father, Oliver H. Straus, worked on in, probably, the early '50s. Straus was on the team that developed the Cesium Clock but what he really loved were computers. There were two Olivers on campus at the time, Oliver Straus and Oliver Selfridge. I didn't know my father very well and went on a pilgrimage to find out about him in the early '90s. When I met with Selfridge he didn't have much information except that my father was known as Ollie and Selfridge insisted on being called Oliver. I'm very curious whether there is anything more to find out about him. Thanks, Liza On Tue, Feb 23, 2021 at 4:46 PM Guy Fedorkow <guy.fedorkow@gmail.com> wrote:
hi Jacob, did you look into graphics displays on the Whirlwind computer built at MIT in the early 1950's? We have good evidence that there were limited interactive graphics running there before 1952, but I don't know how that fits into work by other researchers Thanks /guy
On 2/22/2021 8:08 PM, Jacob Gaboury wrote:
This is exciting, thank you for sharing Dag! If I can I'd like to also flag my own forthcoming book on the early history of computer graphics from 1950-1980, with a focus on the University of Utah program. It will be released in August 2021 from MIT Press: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/image-objects
-- Jacob Gaboury Assistant Professor of New Media History and Theory Dept. of Film & Media, University of California, Berkeley jacobgaboury.com/ <http://www.jacobgaboury.com/>
On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 4:04 PM Dag Spicer <dspicer@computerhistory.org> wrote:
Hello friends,
Just a note about computer graphics: CG pioneer and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith has completed an amazingly comprehensive book on the origins and development of computer graphics. It is in press right now with MIT Press and is named, “A Biography of the the Pixel.” It will be available in Sept 2021. I have a pre-press version and it’s superb, its coverage of humankind’s expressiveness in art ranging from the cave paintings of Altamira to *Toy Story*.
Read more at MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel
To Infinity and Beyond!
Dag —— Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 dspicer@computerhistory.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- Liza Loop Executive Director, LO*OP Center, Inc. Guerneville, CA 95446 www.loopcenter.org 650 619 1099 (between 8 am and 10 pm Pacific time only please)
I haven't! Though most of my archival research is from Salt Lake and California in the 1960s and 70s. Daniel Cardoso Llach's book on the CAD group at MIT and early graphics is a wonderful resource though, and may have material related to this period: https://www.routledge.com/Builders-of-the-Vision-Software-and-the-Imaginatio... _Jacob On Tue, Feb 23, 2021 at 9:54 PM LO*OP CENTER, INC. <lizaloop@loopcenter.org> wrote:
Have any of you come across an early machine at MIT called 'Ollie's Folly"? Family lore says that it was something my father, Oliver H. Straus, worked on in, probably, the early '50s. Straus was on the team that developed the Cesium Clock but what he really loved were computers. There were two Olivers on campus at the time, Oliver Straus and Oliver Selfridge. I didn't know my father very well and went on a pilgrimage to find out about him in the early '90s. When I met with Selfridge he didn't have much information except that my father was known as Ollie and Selfridge insisted on being called Oliver. I'm very curious whether there is anything more to find out about him.
Thanks,
Liza
On Tue, Feb 23, 2021 at 4:46 PM Guy Fedorkow <guy.fedorkow@gmail.com> wrote:
hi Jacob, did you look into graphics displays on the Whirlwind computer built at MIT in the early 1950's? We have good evidence that there were limited interactive graphics running there before 1952, but I don't know how that fits into work by other researchers Thanks /guy
On 2/22/2021 8:08 PM, Jacob Gaboury wrote:
This is exciting, thank you for sharing Dag! If I can I'd like to also flag my own forthcoming book on the early history of computer graphics from 1950-1980, with a focus on the University of Utah program. It will be released in August 2021 from MIT Press: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/image-objects
-- Jacob Gaboury Assistant Professor of New Media History and Theory Dept. of Film & Media, University of California, Berkeley jacobgaboury.com/ <http://www.jacobgaboury.com/>
On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 4:04 PM Dag Spicer <dspicer@computerhistory.org> wrote:
Hello friends,
Just a note about computer graphics: CG pioneer and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith has completed an amazingly comprehensive book on the origins and development of computer graphics. It is in press right now with MIT Press and is named, “A Biography of the the Pixel.” It will be available in Sept 2021. I have a pre-press version and it’s superb, its coverage of humankind’s expressiveness in art ranging from the cave paintings of Altamira to *Toy Story*.
Read more at MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel
To Infinity and Beyond!
Dag —— Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 dspicer@computerhistory.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- Liza Loop Executive Director, LO*OP Center, Inc. Guerneville, CA 95446 www.loopcenter.org 650 619 1099 (between 8 am and 10 pm Pacific time only please)
Hello Guy, I discuss this work a bit in the chapter on early framebuffer technology, which has been published in article form here: http://www.greyroom.org/issues/70/79/the-random-access-image-memory-and-the-... However, the book mostly deals with 3D graphics and object modeling at Utah, with the bulk of the archival material from the 1960s and 1970s. That said, I believe Alvy's book will cover a very broad swath of computer history, and he has been particularly interested in the origins of the pixel at MIT and elsewhere in the late-40s and early-50s. You can see that work in this piece from the IEEE: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=7119886 _Jacob On Tue, Feb 23, 2021 at 4:46 PM Guy Fedorkow <guy.fedorkow@gmail.com> wrote:
hi Jacob, did you look into graphics displays on the Whirlwind computer built at MIT in the early 1950's? We have good evidence that there were limited interactive graphics running there before 1952, but I don't know how that fits into work by other researchers Thanks /guy
On 2/22/2021 8:08 PM, Jacob Gaboury wrote:
This is exciting, thank you for sharing Dag! If I can I'd like to also flag my own forthcoming book on the early history of computer graphics from 1950-1980, with a focus on the University of Utah program. It will be released in August 2021 from MIT Press: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/image-objects
-- Jacob Gaboury Assistant Professor of New Media History and Theory Dept. of Film & Media, University of California, Berkeley jacobgaboury.com/ <http://www.jacobgaboury.com/>
On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 4:04 PM Dag Spicer <dspicer@computerhistory.org> wrote:
Hello friends,
Just a note about computer graphics: CG pioneer and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith has completed an amazingly comprehensive book on the origins and development of computer graphics. It is in press right now with MIT Press and is named, “A Biography of the the Pixel.” It will be available in Sept 2021. I have a pre-press version and it’s superb, its coverage of humankind’s expressiveness in art ranging from the cave paintings of Altamira to *Toy Story*.
Read more at MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel
To Infinity and Beyond!
Dag —— Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 dspicer@computerhistory.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
This may be irrelevant to the discussion about pixels, but Russell Kirsch of the then-National Bureau of Standards has a discussion of early -- and I mean early -- computer graphics on the NBS SEAC: SEAC and the Start of Image Processing at the National Bureau of Standards<https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/an/1998/02/man1998020007/13rRUB7a130> Russell A. Kirsch MagazineIEEE Annals of the History of Computing Year: 1998, Volume: 20, Issue: 02, Pages: 7-13 ________________________________ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Dag Spicer <dspicer@computerhistory.org> Sent: Monday, February 22, 2021 7:04 PM To: members <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Graphics External Email - Exercise Caution Hello friends, Just a note about computer graphics: CG pioneer and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith has completed an amazingly comprehensive book on the origins and development of computer graphics. It is in press right now with MIT Press and is named, “A Biography of the the Pixel.” It will be available in Sept 2021. I have a pre-press version and it’s superb, its coverage of humankind’s expressiveness in art ranging from the cave paintings of Altamira to Toy Story. Read more at MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/biography-pixel<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fbiography-pixel&data=04%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C9ecdec5e2dc44184b3f908d8d78e8ef3%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C1%7C637496354593999145%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=x46SNqquMzpNMywGbA2Wz9aA14YjrD%2FbYlk1LQWsxOI%3D&reserved=0> To Infinity and Beyond! Dag —— Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 dspicer@computerhistory.org<mailto:dspicer@computerhistory.org>
Hello folks, I have been conducting research on an early effort at photo scanning, saving to a computer and output to a hardware device (in this case a CalComp plotter) by H. Philip Peterson in 1965 at Control Data Labs, at their Burlington, Massachusetts “Digigraphics" facility. Mr. Peterson worked with Wes Clark, Ken Olson, Larry Roberts, the Sutherlands, Jack Gilmore and others at MIT’s Lincoln Labs in the late 1950’s, through the early 1960’s. The item Mr. Peterson produced was known as the Mona By the Numbers, and aka Digital Mona Lisa. Over the years I have aggregated a fair amount of information on Peterson and the Mona, but am always looking to add more to my knowledge base. High resolution photos of the DML/MBTN can be seen at my website, www.digitalmonalisa.com <http://www.digitalmonalisa.com/>, along with a few documents from my research collection, and a promotional video from Calcomp from 1968, with the DML hanging in the background. I have made direct contact with Ted Nelson, Wes Clark, Larry Roberts and others, regarding their time alongside Mr. Peterson either at MIT or Control Data. Might folks on this listserv be aware of this project from H. Philip Peterson, and be able to add to my knowledge base, or direct me to others that may have information on this item? Thank you for your time and consideration. Regards, Andy Patros 1127 Pennsylvania Ave. Elmira, NY 14904 Cell- 607-742-5428 apatros@stny.rr.com <mailto:apatros@stny.rr.com> www.digitalmonalisa.com <http://www.digitalmonalisa.com/>
On Feb 22, 2021, at 9:12 AM, David C. Brock <dcb@dcbrock.net> wrote:
For people interested in the history of computer graphics, my colleagues and I at CHM just learned about a recent online reunion meeting of the community around an annual Valentine’s Day computer “Graphics Gathering” in the Bay Area that started in 1981. It appears to have been quite a heterogeneous group: Attendees at the recent reunion included Ted Nelson, Dan Kotkke, Liza Loop, and many others. The reunion was a multi-hour Google Meet that was recorded. More on the Graphics Gathering here: http://ecocre8.com/ <http://ecocre8.com/>
I thought that someone interested in the history of computer graphics might want to dig into this, get a copy of the recording from the reunion organizers, etc.
All the best,
David +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb@dcbrock.net <mailto:dcb@dcbrock.net> 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock Pronouns: he, him, his
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participants (9)
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andy patros -
Brian Berg -
Ceruzzi, Paul -
Chuck House -
Dag Spicer -
David C. Brock -
Guy Fedorkow -
Jacob Gaboury -
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