Born in 1924, Vera Molnár has always had a focus on minimalism, numbers, and creating systematic ways in which she creates art- often creating pre-defined rule sets according to which she transposed shapes.
She called the method her “machine imaginaire.”
Molnár’s breakthrough came in 1968 when she finally got access to a computer, at this time they were reserved for scientific computing.
Having taught herself Fortran she began entering punch cards in a process known as blind computing, where outputs could take hours to days.
Through the process Molnár discovered ways to manipulate the algorithm to get favorable outcomes, though not without many being ripped up along the way.
Molnár’s experiments were met by claims from her peers that she was “dehumanizing art.”
This only fueled her passion!
By 1974 a new computer with a screen was installed, this allowed Molnár to see what her code would produce instantly, find mistakes, and correct them.
Less than 10 years later personal computers came to market.
This changed everything!
Molnár still executes works to this day with the help of her assistance from the walls of her nursing home in Venice, Italy.
Despite troubles with her eyesight Molnár stays up to date with the digital art scene and is ecstatic at the continued interest in the medium!