Catherine Mason

The first comprehensive account of the history of media arts in Britain. 

Based on four years of research and numerous interviews with artists and practitioners, this book uncovers the little known history of early British computer art and has been hailed by Roy Ascott: “You have done us all proud! Wonderful book, superbly researched, written, designed and produced. ” Roy Ascott, Emeritus Professor, School of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Plymouth

This book records the history of an artistic practice that has been under-researched and in particular the crucial role played by a number of art schools and polytechnics in fostering the cross-disciplinary collaborations which continue to contribute to Britain’s leading role in the education and production of contemporary art. The complexity and rarity of computers during the period meant that any art form based around them was bound to be a specialised branch of art, highly dependent upon support and funding to exist. New frameworks for collaboration between arts and sciences were established during this period evident particularly in academic institutions and artist-led initiatives. A re-organisation of the educational system, an expanded notion of the art object encouraged by the artistic counter-culture of the 1960s and for a brief time, a sympathetic governmental framework enabled art with a techno-scientific basis to flourish particularly within schools of art and design. The field of early British computer arts with its emphasis on craft, materiality, process and interactivity, is a rare example of inter-disciplinary collaboration within the history of modernism.

With a foreword by Professor Clive Richards, Coventry School of Art & Design, and over 150 pictures, many published for the first time.

A Computer in the Art Room: The Origins of British Computer Arts 1950-1980

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