ter's usefulness as a tool to the art world has become so important that it has invaded art schools (Frank 97). The field of computer art is currently dominated by technologically inclined prestidigitators making intricate geometries and surreal montages (Frank 96). More people are becoming exposed to the power of the computer to change the way they do business and work. The computer is used by some artists as a tool for the production of art. Other artists use it primarily as a business tool for controlling the organizational aspects of their art business or for disseminating information about themselves and their works of art for sale, on exhibit, or in archival collections.
The next renaissance in art could be the result of the computer (Dery 97). The two worlds of technology and art are finally coming together. In 1996, the Second Annual Cyber Fair for Artists at New York's Cooper Union was held (Dery 97). Its purpose was to demystify the world of cyberspace as it pertains to art works and artists.
The computer was first used by engineers to create images in the 1950s (Trachtman 56). Not until 1964, when Charles Csuri, an art professor, saw in a publication created by the Electrical Engineering Department of Ohio State University the profile of a female face generated by computer, did an artist also want to use a computer to generate works of art. Csuri was forced to learn to program and enter data by punch card; then he would wait for the printer to put his images on paper before he could see them. His exploration of computer-generated art was furthered in 1968 by a grant from the National Science Foundation to "investigate the potential of computer graphics for the visual arts" (Trachtman 62). Currently, he is a recognized expert in using the computer for visual art works. He has also completed 3-D computer animations for the military to use to train helicopter and tank crews (Trachtman 62).
Csuri strong...