Georg Nees (23 June 1926 – 3 January 2016) was a German academic who was a pioneer of computer art and generative graphics. He studied mathematics, physics and philosophy in Erlangen and Stuttgart and was scientific advisor at the SEMIOSIS, International Journal of semiotics and aesthetics. In 1977, he was appointed Honorary Professor of Applied computer science at the University of Erlangen Nees is one of the "3N" computer pioneers, an abbreviation that has become acknowledged for Frieder Nake, Georg Nees and A. Michael Noll, whose computer graphics were created with digital computers.
Early life and studies
Georg Nees was born in 1926 in Nuremberg, where he spent his childhood. He showed scientific curiosity and interest in art from a young age and among his favorite pastimes were viewing art postcards and looking through a microscope. He attended a school in Schwabach near Nuremberg, graduating in 1945. From 1945 to 1951, he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Erlangen then worked as an industry mathematician for the Siemens Schuckertwerk in Erlangen from 1951 to 1985. There he started to write his first programs in 1959. The company was later incorporated into the Siemens AG.
From 1964 onwards, he studied philosophy at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart (since 1967 the University of Stuttgart), under Max Bense. He received his doctorate with his thesis on Generative Computergraphik under Max Bense in 1969. His work is considered one of the first theses on Generative Computer Graphics. In 1969, his thesis was published as a book entitled "Generative Computergraphik" and also included examples of program code and graphics produced thereby. After his retirement in 1985 Nees worked as an author and in the field of computer art.
Computer art
In February 1965, Nees showed - as works of art - the world's first computer graphics created with a digital computer. The exhibition, titled computer graphik took place at the public premises of the "Study Gallery of Stuttgart College". In 1966, he started to work on "computer-sculptures". In the catalog of the Biennale 1969 Nuremberg, Nees describes how the computer program controlled the milling machine so that instead of a workpiece, a sculpture was created. Three painted wooden sculptures and several graphics were shown at the Biennale 1969 Nuremberg. In 1970 at the 35th Venice Biennale his work was part of the special exhibition "Research and Design. Proposals for an experimental exposure" and showcased his sculptures and graphics of art and architectural design.
In 1963, Nees was instrumental in the purchase of a flatbed plotter, the Zuse Graphomat Z64 designed by Konrad Zuse, for the data center at the Schuckertwerke in Erlangen. At the exhibition Georg Nees – The Great Temptation at the ZKM Nees said: ″There it was, the great temptation for me, for once not to represent something technical with this machine but rather something ‘useless’ – geometrical patterns.″
Using the ALGOL language, Nees created drawings and graphics for production, art and architectural drawings. He wrote the new graphics libraries G1, G2 and G3 with ALGOL, for controlling the Z64 and random number generation. In 1965 Nees experimented with random numbers and circle arcs (Kreisbögen). The graphic Kreisbogengewirre (Arc confusion) was a graphic of this series, also known as Locken. Frieder Nake explains how this graphic was created: ″In fact, the picture does consist of one continuous path of arcs. … The length and radius of the individual arcs are randomly chosen within the limits defined by the programmer … The picture in it present form is due to a fairly serious programming error … It was designed to be less complex and it had to be ended manually because of the error.″
Nees worked with the Siemens System 2002 to create aesthetic graphics, such as the graphic ″gravel ″ (Schotter) in 1968. This artwork is well known and can be seen on the website of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. When writing the program Nees introduced commands for random numbers, which produced from a designated point on the resulting chaos. This causes the graphic to develop from order to disorder or vice versa, if the graphic is turned through 180 degrees (upside down).
Robert J. Krawczyk wrote in his text A Shattered Perfection: Crafting a Virtual Sculpture: ″Georg Nees’s Gravel Stones … What attracted me to this piece was the simplicity of the concept and the overall interpretation of transforming order into disorder. … What intrigues me with this "ancient" piece was the use of exact mathematical computations to model a chaotic image and the progression from the ordered to the disordered.″