Edward Zajec (Slovenian-American, 1938–2018) TVC 70 [TVC 70 , impact print], 1973
Impact Print / Ink on Paper
26 × 26 cm
Collection of Bre Pettis
PION.2018.009
Description
TVC — The Cube: Theme and Variations — was developed by Zajec with programmer Matjaž Hmeljak at the University of Trieste's computing center between 1970 and 1973, coded in FORTRAN IV for the university's IBM 7040. The program derives a small vocabulary of elements from a cube projected on a square grid and recombines them under rules of probability and chance, generating families of related compositions. This impact print was output on a computer-driven line printer, in which repeated typographic characters — some in bold — build the cuboid forms and their three-dimensional effect. Works from the series were shown at Tendencies 5 in Zagreb (1973), and TVC impact prints are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.