A lot of books deal with the subject, notablay those of Couchot and Popper. See our bibliography.
Art using algorithms is probably as old as algorithms themselves. Musician composers thought of it early (Mozart, it is said). At the end of the XIXth, the idea is several times evoked. For instance, finishing the Parsifal score, Wagner covers pages with figures and says "Anybody could now finish the work instead of myself". Algorithmis music is explicity mentioned in La journée d'un journaliste américain en 2889, by Jules Verne.
The theory was largeley developed by the teacher-composer Joseph Shillinger, and the serial music was for a part the realization of his views. And he created also the word "graphomaton" for an algorithmic system of drawing (The mathematical basis of the arts, Philosophical library, New York 1948. The published book is posthumous and the manuscripts dates certainly back to the 1930's). Here an example given in the book.
(Let us note that the word had anoter meaning around 1000 AD, whet algorists and abacists debated about computing methodes (see"notation positionnelle" sur wikipedia).
Among the forerunners, we may quote :
- Howard Cohen (Aaron code), still active in 2009 and pushing along his development
and theoretical woks,
- Manfred Mohr
- the Oupeinpo group
- Jean-Pierre Hébert (member and co_founder of the French association)
- Roman Verotsko
A summary of the sityuation by 2006 is available on wikipedia .
Elise Aspord has presented, at the end of 2007, a PhD thesis, titled "L'art évolutif et comportemental". We propse here a resume.
We try to design and update a directory , as exhaustive as possible, of all Algorists around the World.
As for the Frenche association Les Algoristes, a first work group project had been worded at the beginning of 2006. It then appeared better to create a specific non-profit body. The first meeting was held in Paris on july 10, 2006, called by Pierre Berger and Alain Lioret. The other participants weree : Chan, Pierre Kueny, Anne-Sarah Le Meur, Jean-Christophe Levet , Alain Montesse, Guy Rabiller, Eve Ramboz et Frank Verpillat. Jean-Pierre Hébert, from Santa-Barbra (CA) sent his support.
The staturory fouding Assembly was held in december 2006, with a legal publication in the Journal Officiel dated du 27 january 2007.
From this date, the Association has held regular meetings, on a monthly basis. It has launched two cooperative projects : Primeval and Alkwarel.