Edward Zajec (Slovenian-American, 1938–2018) RAM 8 V. I, plotter drawing, 1969
Ink on Paper
21 × 21 cm
Collection of Bre Pettis
PION.2018.008
Description
RAM takes its title from the random-number-generator subroutine at the heart of the series: 'My compositions consist in various arrangements of a given number of units in a square format,' Zajec wrote in the Tendencies 4 catalog; 'with the use of the Random Number Generator subroutine (RAM), the computer arranges the units randomly itself.' Then teaching at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, Zajec programmed the series in FORTRAN IV on an IBM 1620 and drew it in india ink on a Houston Instruments ComPlot DP-1 plotter — among the earliest computer-plotted artworks made in the United States. The drawings were shown at Tendencies 4 in Zagreb (1969), the landmark New Tendencies exhibition on computers and visual research; the 'V. I' designation marks one variation among the many the program generated.
Sources: http://dada.compart-bremen.de/item/artwork/714 · https://www.edwardzajec.com/ram2/index.html · https://spalterdigital.com/artworks/ram-10/