László Csízy: Programmed drawings

Exhibition Opening

From my childhood, I engaged in freehand drawing, pastels, and watercolors. I always had a dual interest: alongside physics and mathematics, drawing and painting were my favorite activities.

After graduating from the Budapest University of Technology, I joined the activities of the reorganized Pécs Visual Workshop, led by Ferenc Lantos.

In the mid-1970s, the computer was seen by few as a magical force. However, the computer is just a tool capable of versatile functions. Its precision, reliability, variation possibilities, memory, data access, and much more constitute its values.

From the mid-1970s, I had the opportunity to program and display graphics on paper using the Hungarian EMG 666 mini computer, a small desktop plotter, and later a console typewriter. Even with the modest technical capabilities at the time, I was fascinated by the precision and reliability of the drawings and the multitude of variations I could create. I could think in hundredths of millimeters on the drawing surface and generate a large number of variations. This creative, experimental process could not have been achieved with freehand drawing. Later, it turned out that these computer experiments were among the first in Hungary.

I pondered often during those years about when the drawn line-group becomes a surface and how this surface will affect the viewer, what is the individual character of the surface structure. Plastic curves can be perceived in one, while the other evokes abstract emotional effects: associating the drawing with music, the mood of a landscape, the experience of light effects. The line-surfaces can become independent images or just parts of a complex visual structure.

In mathematics, the concept of limit deals with the world of small changes. Small changes strongly impact every aspect of life. Development, aging, transformation are present everywhere. We often don't notice that we are part of slow changes until we suddenly "discover" the unalterable, finding ourselves in a new world. I drew point sets in which slow changes occurred inside. Starting from straight lines, the points slowly turned into undulating lines, the elements standing at equal distances began to condense. The overlapping point systems created dissonance or harmony.

Wave motion, cyclic repetition, from our daily events to the vibration of atomic particles, are present everywhere. A power engineer encounters sinusoidal waves frequently in his profession. The undulating water, the atmosphere of lakes and rivers are experiences for many.

In those years, I often discussed that the basic functions used in the world of technology and science represent systems of proportions that have deeply embedded into our consciousness through daily experiences. These systems of proportions are well expressed in visual arts. The basic functions I used for programming drawings included the straight line, sine wave, exponential growth or decrease, and the random function.

The random function generates random numbers, essentially creating "errors." On multiple drawings, I aimed to demonstrate how random events transform the harmonic system. The random intervention could be skipping the current drawing element, distorted drawing, color changes, etc. Random interventions can make the overly precise drawing more exciting, human-like, and friendly. The use of the random (RND) function has another significant consequence. Since the generated number sequence has no repeating sections, when rerunning the program, the same graphic cannot be produced again. The graphics become unique, unrepeatable.

Each element of computer graphics is controlled by a program, created according to rules, but many variations can be made. We can modify the drawing, adjust the structure that can be produced, and the parameters that set the magnitude of individual effects. The final version of the graphics is chosen from many variations, requiring artistic decisions influenced by our visual culture, emotions, experiences, and thoughts.

In addition to creating unique plotter graphics, I also worked on computer animations for short films. Gábor Bódy invited me to collaborate on computer graphics for the MAFILM production "Industrial Vision." The experimental film is titled "THE... HUMAN FIGURE IN MOTION... IN MEMORY OF EDWEARD MUYBRIDGE." I also created computer motion lines for Károly Kismányoky's short film "Psychorealism." Both films are available on YouTube.

In addition to using the plotter, I was also interested in the possibilities of the typewriter. When creating typewriter graphics, I considered the letters of the typewriter – devoid of their symbolic content – merely as graphic elements. I built on these letter elements. The fixed spacing between lines and letters was a strong constraint. I shaped the structure of the drawing surfaces using functions. Besides programming, the character set of the typewriter offered additional possibilities for variation.

The explosive development of information technology brought new tools. Personal computers became widespread. After 2010, I create my graphics using a MAC PC, which I print on professional printers. I prefer the canvas carrier. The 100 x 100 cm canvas prints presented at the exhibition continue the work started in the 1980s, mainly based on line structures.