Herbert W. Franke (14 May 1927 – 16 July 2022) was an Austrian scientist and writer. ''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

'' calls him "the most prominent German writing Science Fiction author". He is also one of the important early computer artists (and collectors), creating

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...

and early

digital art Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names ...

since the late 1950s. Franke was also active in the fields of future research as well as

speleology Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). ...

. He used his pen name Sergius Both as this

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

name in

Active Worlds Active Worlds is an online virtual world, developed by ActiveWorlds Inc., a company based in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and launched on June 28, 1995. Users assign themselves a name, log into the Active Worlds universe, and explore 3D virtual wo ...

and

Opensimulator OpenSimulator is an open-source server platform originally launched in 2007 for hosting virtual worlds and metaverse environments. It is largely compatible with the virtual world ''Second Life'' but full compatibility is not a design goal. Fe ...

grids. The Sergius Both Award is given for creative scripting in Immersionskunst by Stiftung Kunstinformatik, first time issued at Amerika Art 2022.

Biography

Franke was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on 14 May 1927. Franke studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, mathematics,

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, psychology and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in Vienna. He received his doctorate in

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

in 1950 by writing a dissertation about

electron optics Electron optics is a mathematical framework for the calculation of electron trajectories along electromagnetic fields. The term ''optics'' is used because magnetic and electrostatic lenses act upon a charged particle beam similarly to optical lense ...

. Since 1957, he worked as a freelance author. From 1973 to 1997 he held a lectureship in "Cybernetical Aesthetic" at

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

(later computer graphics – computer art). In 1979, he co-founded

Ars Electronica Ars Electronica Linz GmbH is an Austrian cultural, educational and scientific institute active in the field of new media art, founded in Linz in 1979. It is based at the Ars Electronica Center (AEC), which houses the Museum of the Future, in the ...

in Linz/Austria. In 1979 and 1980, he lectured in "introduction to perception psychology" at the Art & Design division of the

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences The Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Bielefeld) is the second largest education institution in Bielefeld. It divides itself into six faculties (Fachbereiche): Divisions * Faculty 1: Design (Gestaltung) The Faculty of Desig ...

. Also in 1980 he became a selected member of the German

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whic ...

club. A collection of short stories titled "The Green Comet" was his first publication. In 1998, Franke attended a

SIGGRAPH SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference on computer graphics (CG) organized by the ACM SIGGRAPH, starting in 1974. The main conference is held in North America; SIGGRAPH Asia ...

conference in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

and was a juror at the "VideoMath Festival"

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He also took part in innumerable performances and presentations. Th
archvie Herbert W. Franke
is at ZKM , Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. Franke died in

Egling Egling is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is ...

on 16 July 2022 at the age of 95.

Publications

* 1963 "Planet der Verlorenen" (Planet of the lost) as Sergius Both. * 1964 ''The Magic of Molecules'' (Magie der Moleküle, 1958) * 1973 ''The Orchid Cage'' (Der Orchideenkäfig, 1961) * 1974 ''The Mind Net'' (Das Gedankennetz, 1961) * 1974 ''Zone Null'' (Zone Null, 1970) * 1979 ''Ypsilon minus'' (Ypsilon Minus, 1976) * 1971 ''Computer Graphics: Computer Art'' (Computergraphik – Computerkunst, 1971) * 2003 "Vorstoß in die Unterwelt – Abenteuer Höhlenforschung" (Approach to the Underworld – Adventure Cave Research) was published. * 2004 "Sphinx_2" released. * 2005 "Cyber City Süd" released. * 2006 "Auf der Spur des Engels" released. * 2007 "Flucht zum Mars" released.

Awards and honours

*1985 and 1991:

Deutscher Science Fiction Preis Deutscher Science Fiction Preis is a German literary award. Together with the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis, it is one of the most prestigious awards for German science fiction literature. The award was established in 1985 by the , a German Science Fiction ...

(best novel) *1985, 1986, 2007:

Kurd Lasswitz prize ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

*1987 Computer art award of the German software manufacturer Association *1989

Phantastik-Preis der Stadt Wetzlar Phantastik-Preis der Stadt Wetzlar is a literary prize of Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden ...

*1992 Karl Theodor Vogel Prize for technology journalism *200
Dr. Benno-Wolf-Preis by VdHK
(

German Speleological Federation The German Speleological Federation (german: Verband der deutschen Höhlen- und Karstforscher, VdHK) is an umbrella organisation for speleologists in Germany and a point of contact for the issues connected with caves and karst landscapes. 90 regio ...

) – for merits in

*2007

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

*200
Collection of projects in honor of Herbert W. Franke's 80's birthday on May 14th
*2016 Life Time Award of the European Science Fiction Society "European Grand Master of Science Fiction"

Museum collections and exhibitions

Abteiberg Museum The Museum Abteiberg is a municipal museum for contemporary art in the German city Mönchengladbach. Since the 1970s, the museum has been known for its experimental and avant-garde exhibitions, starting with director Johannes Cladders (1967-1985 ...

ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe The ZKM , Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (until March 2016: ZKM Center for Art and Media Technology), a cultural institution, was founded in 1989. and since 1997 is located in a listed industrial building in Karlsruhe, Germany, a former muni ...

Kunsthalle Bremen The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in Bremen, Germany. It is located close to the Bremen Old Town on the "Culture Mile" (german: Kulturmeile). The Kunsthalle was built in 1849, enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister, and expanded ...

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

References

External links

Franke at the AVA International agency

Franke's home page at the University of Munich
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franke, Herbert W. 1927 births 2022 deaths Writers from Vienna Austrian artists Digital artists Austrian digital artists Austrian male writers Computer graphics researchers Austrian scientists Austrian science fiction writers Scientists from Vienna Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class