Digitala pionjärer : Datorkonstens introduktion i Sverige

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to study Computer Art in Sweden from 1966 to 1986. The first Swedish artists who used computers in their work appeared during this period and the art arena was technically transposed into something new and infrequently scrutinised. The origins of Swedish Computer Art came from various avant-garde groups and individuals, some of them encouraged and influenced by associated artists' experiences abroad. In the late sixties and early seventies Sweden was at the forefront of art development in new media.The initial part of the study approaches some of the more general issues - how the development of graphical user-interface design moves along with the aesthetics that appear in the context of the art forum. The problems are dealt with in an overview of Swedish artists: Beck & Jung, Lars-Gunnar Bodin, Wolfgang Huebner, Sven Hoglund(Sven Inge de Moner),Ann-Charlotte Johannesson, Sture Johannesson,Jan W Morthenson,Torsten Ridell and Ture Sjolander. Some of the most important technicians are presented, and some of them created Computer Art themselves, for instance Göran Sundqvist.From different viewpoints an outline of Swedish Computer Art history is presented combined with a discussion of the similarities between the art arena during this period and the digital revolution that followed. The art arena was to become linked not only to exhibition halls, art galleries or museums; artists of new media could just as well be presented in other forums, e.g. design work, the consulting computer sector of commerce,television, or video. The analysis includes a discussion of art structure, contents, dematerialization and cultural resonance. In relation to these notions, terms and theories of visuality and communication are discussed.