Joseph Nechvatal (born January 15, 1951) is an American

post-conceptual Post-conceptual, postconceptual, post-conceptualism or postconceptualism is an art theory that builds upon the legacy of conceptual art in contemporary art, where the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work takes some precedence over traditional ...

digital artist 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 ...

and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

s, often using custom-created

computer virus A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a compu ...

es.

Life and work

Joseph Nechvatal was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He studied fine art and philosophy at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

Philosophy of Art Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

and Technology at the

Planetary Collegium The Planetary Collegium (a.k.a. CAiiA / Centre for Advanced Inquiry in Integrative Arts) is an international transcultural and transdisciplinary new media art educational research platform that promotes on the doctorate level the integration of a ...

University of Wales, Newport The University of Wales, Newport ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd), was a university based in Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university had two campuses in Newport, Caerleon ...

KM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe lecture page ''Joseph Nechvatal: Immersion Into Noise'' and has taught

art theory Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, ...

and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

. He has had many solo exhibitions, including one in

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 ...

His work in the early 1980s chiefly consisted of

postminimalist Postminimalism is an art term coined (as post-minimalism) by Robert Pincus-Witten in 1971Chilvers, Ian and Glaves-Smith, John, ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art'', second edition (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. ...

gray graphite drawings that were often photomechanically enlarged. Beginning in 1979 he became associated with the artist group

Colab Colab is the commonly used abbreviation of the New York City artists' group Collaborative Projects, which was formed after a series of open meetings between artists of various disciplines. History Colab members came together as a collective in ...

, organized the Public Arts International/Free Speech series, he was a member of

in the 1980s and helped established the non-profit group

ABC No Rio ABC No Rio is a collectively-run non-profit arts organization on New York City's Lower East Side. It was founded in 1980 in a squat at 156 Rivington Street, following the eviction of the 1979-80 Real Estate Show. The centre featured an art gal ...

. In 1983 he co-founded the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

electronic art music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means (electroaco ...

audio project

Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine Launched from the Lower East Side, Manhattan in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the ''Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine'' utilized the audio cassette medium to distribute no wave downtown music and audio art and was in activity f ...

. In 1984, Nechvatal began work on an opera called '' XS: The Opera Opus'' (1984-6) with the no wave musical composer

Rhys Chatham Rhys Chatham (born September 19, 1952) is an American composer, guitarist, trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist (flutes in C, alto and bass, keyboard), primarily active in avant-garde and minimalism, minimalist music. He is best known for his "g ...

. He began using computers and robotics to make

paintings in 1986 and later, in his signature work, began to employ self-created

computer viruses A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a compu ...

. From 1991 to 1993, he was artist-in-residence at the

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

Atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

Arbois Arbois () is a Commune in France, commune in the Jura (département), Jura Departments of France, department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region, eastern France. The river Cuisance passes through the town, which centres on ...

, France and at the Saline Royale/

Ledoux Ledoux or LeDoux is a surname, and may refer to: * Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806), French architect. * Abraham Ledoux (1784-1842) and Antoine Ledoux (1779 - 1849), two French brothers born in Québec, who became trappers and settled in Mora ...

Foundation's computer lab. There he worked on ''The Computer Virus Project'', his first artistic experiment with

and computer virus

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

. He exhibited computer-robotic paintings at

Documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultura ...

8 in 1987. In 2002 he extended his experimentation into viral

artificial life Artificial life (often abbreviated ALife or A-Life) is a field of study wherein researchers examine systems related to natural life, its processes, and its evolution, through the use of simulations with computer models, robotics, and biochemistry ...

through a collaboration with the programmer Stephane Sikora of music2eye in a work called the ''Computer Virus Project II''. Nechvatal has also created a

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

work called ''

viral symphOny viral symphOny is a collaborative electronic noise music symphony created by the postconceptual artist Joseph Nechvatal. It was created between the years 2006 and 2008 using custom artificial life C++ software based on the viral phenomenon model. ...

'', a collaborative sound symphony created by using his computer virus software at the Institute for Electronic Arts at

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in Alfred (village), New York, Alfred, New York. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The ...

. From 1999 to 2013, Nechvatal taught art theories of

immersive virtual reality Immersion into virtual reality (VR) is a perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total enviro ...

and the viractual at the

in New York City (SVA). A book of his collected essays entitled ''Towards an Immersive Intelligence: Essays on the Work of Art in the Age of Computer Technology and Virtual Reality (1993–2006)'' was published by Edgewise Press in 2009. Also in 2009, his book ''Immersive Ideals / Critical Distances'' was published. In 2011, his book ''Immersion Into Noise'' was published by

Open Humanities Press Open Humanities Press is an international open access publishing initiative in the humanities, specializing in critical and cultural theory. OHP's editorial board includes scholars like Alain Badiou, Jonathan Culler, Stephen Greenblatt, Jean-Cla ...

in conjunction with the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Library's Scholarly Publishing Office.

Viractualism

''Viractualism'' is an

concept developed by Nechvatal in 1999 from Ph.D. research Nechvatal conducted at the University of Wales College. There he developed his concept of the ''viractual,'' which strives to create an interface between the actual and the virtual.

Footnotes

, ''Art et Internet'', Editions Cercle D'Art / Imaginaire Mode d'Emploi, pp. 48 –51 * Wayne Enstice & Melody Peters, ''Drawing: Space, Form, & Expression'', New Jersey: Prentice Hall, pp. 312–313 * Ellen K. Levy, ''Synthetic Lighting: Complex Simulations of Nature'', Photography Quarterly (#88) 2004, pp. 7–9 * Marie-Paule Nègre, ''Des artistes en leur monde'', volume 2, la Gazette de l'Hotel Drout, 2008, pp. 82–83 * Corrado Levi, ''È andata così: Cronaca e critica dell'arte 1970-2008'', ''Joseph Nechvatal intervistato nel suo studio a New York (1985–86)'', pp. 130–135 *

, ''Del Atre Analogico al Arte Digital'' in ''Arte Digital Y Videoarte'', Kuspit, D. ed., Consorcio del Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, pp. 33–34 & pp. 210 – 212 *

, ''Nechvatal's Visionary Computer Virus'', in Gruson, L. ed. 1993. ''Joseph Nechvatal: Computer Virus Project'',

Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans The Saline Royale (Royal Saltworks) is a historical building at Arc-et-Senans in the department of Doubs, Eastern France. It is next to the Forest of Chaux and 29.2 kilometres (18.1 miles) to the southwest of Besançon. The architect was Claude- ...

: Fondation

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...

, pp. 8–15 * Sarah J. Rogers (ed), ''Body Mécanique: Artistic Explorations of Digital Realms'', Columbus, Ohio, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University *

Edward A. Shanken Edward A. Shanken (born 1964) is an American art historian, whose work focuses on the entwinement of art, science and technology, with a focus on experimental new media art and visual culture. Shanken is Professor, Arts Division, at UC Santa Cru ...

, ''Art and Electronic Media''. London: Phaidon, 2009. , pp. 42, 285, 160

External links

Joseph Nechvatal's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nechvatal, Joseph 1951 births Living people 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists School of Visual Arts faculty American conceptual artists American digital artists American expatriates in France American experimental musicians Artists from Chicago Artists from New York (state) Cellular automatists Experimental composers Genetic programming American installation artists Mass media theorists New media artists American noise musicians Postmodern artists Robotic art American sound artists Male classical composers 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American contemporary painters 20th-century American male artists

Life and work

Viractualism

Footnotes

Further reading

External links