Computer Art in the Eighties

In the 1980s, the spread of personal computers transformed computer science into a mass phenomenon and gave impetus to the birth of a varied computer-based art scene. The artists used the computer in different ways, ranging from the use of programming language to the preference for user-friendly devices such as graphics tablets. For some artists, the technical limits of the machine became the core of a new aesthetics in a nod towards videogames, for others, collaboration with research centers offered an opportunity to use more sophisticated computers. Moreover, some artists worked on the correspondence between sounds and images, creating audio-visual compositions that built on the lessons from abstract cinema. Italian computer art in the 1980s ended with the appearance of new themes such as interactivity and virtual reality, which would become central in the following decade.