Frieder Nake

Frieder Nake is a mathematician, computer scientist and one of the pioneering figures in the history of computer-generated art. Widely regarded as a founding founding father of digital and algorithmic art, he created his first works in 1963, drawing early inspiration from Max Bense’s theory of Information Aesthetics, which sought to develop objective scientific measures for aesthetic experience. Nake created his artwork using early programming languages and machines to create generative drawings, and in 1965, he held his first exhibition at Galerie Wendelin Niedlich in Stuttgart. His work was thereafter exhibited at many important international exhibitions of early computer art. In 1971, Nake stepped away from producing computer art for political reasons, only returning to the practice in the mid-1980s. In 1999, Nake launced compArt: a space for computer art, a research project to document and record early computer art history. Since 2005, he has served as a professor of computer science at the University of Bremen and has has also taught at the University of the Arts in Bremen.