Vera Molnar, pioneer of computer art, dies at 99
Vera Molnar, a Hungarian-born artist who has been called the godmother of generative art for her pioneering digital work, which began with the towering computers of the 1960s and evolved throughout the current era of NFTs, died on December 7 in Paris. She was 99 years old.
Her death was announced on social networks by the Center Pompidou in Paris, which is due to present a major exhibition of her work in February. Ms. Molnar had lived in Paris since 1947.
While her computer-aided paintings and drawings, inspired by the geometric works of Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee, were eventually exhibited in major museums like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, his work was not always recognized early in his career.
"Vera Molnar is one of the few artists who had the conviction and perseverance to create computer-assisted visual art at a time when it was not taken seriously as an art form, "Critics denouncing this emerging form because they did not believe the artist's hand was evident in the work," wrote Michael Bouhanna, global head of digital art at Sotheby's, in an email.
Ms. Molnar actually began using calculus principles in her work years before she had access to a real computer.
In 1959, she began to implement a concept she called "Machine Imaginaire" - imaginary machine. This analog approach involved using simple algorithms to guide the placement of lines and shapes for the works she produced by hand, on graph paper.
She took her first steps in silicon. in 1968, when she gained access to a computer in a university research laboratory in Paris. Back when computers were generally reserved for scientific or military applications, it took a combination of courage and '60s idealism for an artist to attempt access to a "very complicated and expensive" machine, a- she once said, adding: "They were selling computing time in seconds."
Vera Molnar, a Hungarian-born artist who has been called the godmother of generative art for her pioneering digital work, which began with the towering computers of the 1960s and evolved throughout the current era of NFTs, died on December 7 in Paris. She was 99 years old.
Her death was announced on social networks by the Center Pompidou in Paris, which is due to present a major exhibition of her work in February. Ms. Molnar had lived in Paris since 1947.
While her computer-aided paintings and drawings, inspired by the geometric works of Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee, were eventually exhibited in major museums like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, his work was not always recognized early in his career.
"Vera Molnar is one of the few artists who had the conviction and perseverance to create computer-assisted visual art at a time when it was not taken seriously as an art form, "Critics denouncing this emerging form because they did not believe the artist's hand was evident in the work," wrote Michael Bouhanna, global head of digital art at Sotheby's, in an email.
Ms. Molnar actually began using calculus principles in her work years before she had access to a real computer.
In 1959, she began to implement a concept she called "Machine Imaginaire" - imaginary machine. This analog approach involved using simple algorithms to guide the placement of lines and shapes for the works she produced by hand, on graph paper.
She took her first steps in silicon. in 1968, when she gained access to a computer in a university research laboratory in Paris. Back when computers were generally reserved for scientific or military applications, it took a combination of courage and '60s idealism for an artist to attempt access to a "very complicated and expensive" machine, a- she once said, adding: "They were selling computing time in seconds."
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