What is the universe? Is it a great 3D movie in which we are the unwilling actors? Is it a cosmic joke, a giant computer, a work of art by a Supreme Being or simply an experiment? The problem in trying to understand the universe is that we have nothing to compare it to - Heinz Pagels

For a time, computers were only able to produce 2D images, however this would not always be the case. In 1960, William Fetter coined the term computer graphics and would go on to create the first computer generated model of a human. Since then, computers began to be used to generate 3D images.

The 90's marked an interesting time for CGI, while it started to see more mainstream use such as in world of cinema, it still needed refinement before it could achieve photorealism. Because of this, much of the art from around this time is incredibly stylised, leaning heavily into the absurd and abstract.

This type can be seen in a plethora of different mediums, Pixar produced several CGI short films around this time and artist Phil Wolstenholme would create 3D images to be used as album covers for the record label Warp Records.

90's 3D art truly captures the technological zeitgeist of the time.

Dying planet submerged in water

My first experiment with 3D art, I used Bryce 4 to create all of these pieces as the limitations of the software allowed me to produce work that would be authentic to the 90's. I was very particular about creating art that could of existed in the 90's, not art inspired by the 90's.

  

Kubrick's Lawyer

This Kubrick inspired piece was created with the intention of portraying a digital persona in a physical form, something that us humans could understand. My thought process was that if digital personas were living beings, they would be on a higher plane of existence compared to us. Because of this, they would need to take a corporal form so we could interact with them.

  

The Chiseled Man

Playing on the theme of digital personas being alive, I started experimenting with the idea of them trying to replicate humans from within the digital world. For example, this piece depicts a 'perfect' human being chiseled out of a rock face.

  

Dalism

Due to the surrealistic nature of the art I was researching, It felt only natural that I would create something Dali inspired. The piece is completely nonsensical and means both nothing and absolutely eveything. Comme ci, comme ca.   

For the Love of ***

This experiment marks my first test with importing models into Bryce 4, I choose a skull as I it linked well the digitally grown human idea I had previously focused on. The difference between the skull and the environment created an interesting juxtaposition.   

Virtual Genesis

This piece was made to parallel my previous one, it essentially depicts the same concept, a skull rising out of the digital primordial soup. I was still experimenting with the skull model and wanted to see how else I could implement it. I felt that having it rise out of water really captured the theme of creation I was going for.

  

R A D I C A L

I attempted to create a piece in the style of Wolestenholme's album covers. I wanted the computers to resemble a row of houses in an urban area, conveying the idea of living a digital life