Frieder Nake

Frieder Nake is a mathematician, computer scientist and a pioneering figure in the development of computer-generated art. He is considered one of the founding fathers of digital or algorithmic art, producing his first works in 1963. His early work was influenced by Max Bense’s Information Aesthetics, which sought to develop objective scientific measures for aesthetic experience. Nake created his artwork using various programming languages from the earliest machines. In 1965, he exhibited his drawings at the Galerie Wendelin Niedlich in Stuttgart. His work was thereafter exhibited at many important international exhibitions of early computer art. Nake stopped producing computer art in 1971 due to political reasons. He did not resume his practice until the mid-1980s. Beginning in 1999, Nake established a project called "compArt: a space for computer art" to help document and record the significant early history of computer art. Since 2005 he has served as professor of computer science at the University of Bremen and also lectured at the University of the Arts in Bremen.