1977
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
A-B Modulars is a 1977 by Paul Brown, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This drawing shows simple lines arranged in repeating tiles. The small pieces fit together in a way that feels alive. It’s not perfectly even—some bits bulge out, making it look deeper than it really is. Brown used a computer plotter to draw this. That means the machine moved the pen for him. He was testing how simple rules can create complex patterns. Check out more of Brown’s work next at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Paul Brown's 1977 computer-generated plotter drawing *A-B Modulars* features simple linear forms arranged in modular tiles, with visually intense patterns emerging from their interactions. The work explores cellular automata, systems that evolve through self-propagation, resulting in a complex weaving of lines akin to Islamic patterning. The protruding knots create an illusion of depth, while the repetition and rhythm in the composition avoid symmetry.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Paul Eugene Brown was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL).
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