The Future of Computer Art

"The use of computers in art leads to a compatibility of the instrumentarium - to a closer link between the different art forms which, owing to the different classical methods and instruments, have been separated and taught in different institutions. It is one of the decisive aspects of the new situation brought about by the introduction of the computer that there is no longer a reason for dividing art into different forms, be they classical or modern."

Herbert W. Franke, scientist and German artist, wrote a piece describing the future of computers in the arts in 1987. By all accounts he predicted almost everything precisely. Which is extremely interesting due to the fact that its quite hard for me to even imagine what the internet and computers will be doing for us even five or ten years from now.

The author explains that computer art is still in its initial stages of development, for it has been in existence but a short time and the underlying technology is not yet fully mature. He anticipates that high-resolution screens will lead to better images and that improved computer performance will permit real-time animation of photorealistic images. Three-dimensional representation will stimulate visual artists to work and think in new ways, for their concern will no longer be the problem of perspective, which will be handled by the computer, but rather the spatial design of objects and sceneries that can he expanded at will beyond the image on the screen. In its final stage of development, computer art might also be able to include elements of literature and to develop a plot in which the user, through interaction, can play a part.

~B~