title: Art in the Digital Age
abstract: The genre of “computer art” began in the 1950s, when long exposure photography was used to capture images created by an oscilloscope manipulating electronic waves on a small fluorescent screen. Through the 1960s, most works of computer art were created using plotters and impact printers by the scientists and engineers who had access to emerging computing technology. By the 1970s, artists were learning to program, and some universities began to integrate computers into the fine arts curriculum. The widespread adoption of computers and the availability of off-the-shelf paint programs in the 1980s brought computer art to the masses. At the same time, computer graphics and special effects were beginning their takeover of the entertainment industry through Hollywood films, TV shows, and video games. By the 1990s, the term computer art was fading, and computers were becoming a mainstream part of arts and entertainment.