1979
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
BIGDIM is a 1979 by Paul Brown, depicting Writing, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This is a computer-made drawing by Paul Brown from 1979. It’s abstract, using lines to create patterns controlled by code. The title’s numbers were picked by the program itself. Brown wrote the code that ran a pen plotter—a machine that drew the lines. One program could make many drawings, not just this one. This early experiment shows how art and computers first teamed up. Want to see more? Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.
A plotter drawing in black ink on paper, titled *BIGDIM / 0 4 4 4 0 0 0 / 200, 140 / 11,969*, was created by Paul Brown using a computer program he wrote to control a pen plotter. The work is part of a series where the same code generated multiple drawings, with the title’s numerical sequence reflecting the data used to structure the composition. Brown, an Anglo-Australian artist trained at the Slade School of Fine Art, developed an early interest in generative and systematic art processes, beginning his computer-based work in 1974. The reverse side of the sheet contains an unfinished drawing.
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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