[ISEA2013] Paper: Esteban Garcia – Stretch: An early software art framework by Aldo Giorgini

ABSTRACT

‘Stretch’ provided Aldo Giorgini (1934-1994) with a framework for manipulating vector primitives using his own mathematical model. Although ‘Stretch’ was technically reported in 1981, Giorgini had a prior body of work from 1976 that demonstrated the use of stretching algorithms to make art, resulting in works that resembled checkerboards, stripes, polka dots and swiss cheese. Despite exhaustive primary source research at Giorgini’s estate in Lafayette, Indiana, there is no evidence that the manuscript for ‘Stretch’ was actually published. However, the Stretch framework was found in a manuscript form, and this paper will unveil the methods that Giorgini created for his own artistic production. The program was written in Fortran IV and intended for a CDC-6600 computer.

  • Esteban Garcia, Purdue University, United States