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 take some precedence over traditional ...

digital artist Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names have ...

and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

s, often using custom

computer virus A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and Code injection, inserting its own Computer language, code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas ...

es.

Life and work

Joseph Nechvatal was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He studied fine art and philosophy at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

Philosophy of Art Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

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 ar ...

University of Wales, Newport The University of Wales, Newport (), was a public university based in Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was founded as a mechanics' institute in 1841 ...

KM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American and Philippine English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is the preferred measure ...

lecture page ''Joseph Nechvatal: Immersion Into Noise'' and has taught

art theory Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

and

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

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 Silas ...

. He has had many solo exhibitions and is one of five artists that art historian Patrick Frank examines in his 2024 book ''Art of the 1980s: As If the Digital Mattered''. His work in the late 1970s and early 1980s chiefly consisted of

postminimal 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

palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off in preparation for reuse in the form of another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid ski ...

-like drawings that were often photo-mechanically 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, and helped established the non-profit group

ABC No Rio ABC No Rio is a collectively-run nonprofit arts organization on New York City's Lower East Side. Founded in 1980 in a squat at 156 Rivington Street, following the eviction of the 1979–80 Real Estate Show, the center featured an art gallery s ...

. In 1983 he co-founded the

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

electronic art music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

audio project

Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine ''Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine'' was an audio cassette magazine publication on cassette active from 1983 to 1993. Originally intended as a subscription bimonthly, it was launched on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to create an avant-guard med ...

. In 1984, Nechvatal began work on an opera called '' XS: The Opera Opus'' (1984-6) with the

no wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...

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 minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orche ...

. 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 malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" wit ...

. 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, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...

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 vi ...

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 o ...

, France and at the Saline Royale/ Ledoux Foundation's computer lab. There he worked on ''The Computer Virus Project'', his first artistic experiment with

and computer virus

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

. He exhibited computer-robotic paintings at

Documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

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

artificial life Artificial life (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. The discipline ...

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. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

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, New York, United States. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the statutory New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The In ...

. In 2021 Pentiments released Nechvatal's retrospective audio cassette called ''Selected Sound Works (1981-2021)'' and in 2022 his ''The Viral Tempest'', a double vinyl LP of new audio work. In 2025, he joined the roster of artists/musicians at

Table of the Elements Table of the Elements is an avant-garde record label created by Jeff Hunt and co-owned by Hunt and producer/writer Paul Williams. Begun in 1993, the label’s 150-plus releases form a significant contemporary chronicle of American experimental ...

with two CD/book releases: ''Selected Sound Works (1981-2021)'' and ''The Marriage of Orlando and Artaud, Even''. From 1999 to 2013, Nechvatal taught art theories of

immersive virtual reality In virtual reality (VR), immersion is the 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 Richard Milazzo is a critic, curator, publisher, independent scholar and poet from New York City. In the 1970s, he was the editor and co-publisher of ''Out of London Press''. He is the co-founding publisher and editor of Edgewise Press. In the 198 ...

in 2009. Also in 2009, his

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

art theory and art history 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 The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Library's Scholarly Publishing Office. Nechvatal has also published three books with Punctum Books: ''

Minóy Stanley Keith Bowsza (October 30, 1951 — March 19, 2010), better known by the pseudonym Minóy, was an American electronic musician and sound artist. He was a major figure in the DIY noise music and homemade independent cassette culture scene of ...

'' (noise music—ed.—2014), ''Destroyer of Naivetés'' (poetry—2015) and ''Styling Sagaciousness'' (poetry—2022). In 2023 his

cybersex Cybersex, also called Internet sex, computer sex, netsex, e-sex, cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more people have long distance sex via electronic video communication (webcams, VR headsets, etc.) and other electronics (such as ...

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

Fales Library New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South (off of Washington Square Park) between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwi ...

''Downtown Collection'' at the

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

Special Collections Library in New York City.

Viractualism

''Viractualism'' is an

concept developed by Nechvatal in 1999 from Ph.D. research Nechvatal conducted at the

. There he developed his concept of the ''viractual,'' which strives to create an interface between the actual and the virtual.

Footnotes

''Joseph Nechvatal : Critical Pleasure'' * Robert C. Morgan, ''Voluptuary: An algorithmic hermaphornology'', Tema Celeste Magazine, volume #93, p. 94 * Bruce Wands, ''Art of the Digital Age'', London: Thames & Hudson, p. 65 * Robert C. Morgan, ''Laminations of the Soul'', Editions Antoine Candau, 1990, pp. 23–30 *

Margot Lovejoy Margot Lovejoy (21 October 1930 – 1 August 2019)

, ''Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age'' Routledge 2004 * Joseph Nechvatal, ''Immersive Excess in the Apse of

Lascaux Lascaux ( , ; , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, Dordogne, Montignac, in the Departments of France, department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 Parietal art, parietal cave painting, wall paintin ...

'', Technonoetic Arts 3, no3. 2005 * Joseph Nechvatal
Into Noise''
Open Humanities Press in conjunction with the

Library's Scholarly Publishing Office. Ann Arbor. 2011 *

, ''Joseph Nechvatal : Critical Pleasure'', Redaktion Frank Berndt, 1996, pp. 10–13 * Mario Costa, ''Phenomenology of New Tech Arts'', Artmedia, Salerno, 2005, p. 6 & pp. 36 – 38 *

Dominique Moulon Dominique Moulon (born 1962) is a historian of art and technology, art critic and curator, specializing in French digital art. He is the author of the books ''Art contemporain nouveaux médias'' and ''Art Beyond Digital''. Background Dominique ...

, ''L'art numerique: spectateur-acteuret vie artificielle'', ''Les images numeriques'' #47-48, 2004, pp. 124–125 *

Christine Buci-Glucksmann Christine Buci-Glucksmann is a French philosopher and Professor Emeritus from University of Paris VIII specializing in the aesthetics of the Baroque and Japan, and computer art. Her best-known work in English is ''Baroque Reason: The Aesthetics of ...

, ''L'art à l'époque virtuel'', in ''Frontières esthétiques de l'art'', Arts 8, Paris: L'Harmattan, 2004 * Brandon Taylor, ''

Collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

'', Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2006, p. 221 *

''Conférence Report : Media Art in France'', Un Point d'Actu, L'Art Numerique, pp. 124–125 *

Edmond Couchot Edmond Couchot (16 August 1932 – 26 December 2020) was a French digital artist and art theoretician who taught at the University Paris VIII. Life and work Couchot was a Doctor of aesthetics in the visual arts. From 1982-2000 he headed the depa ...

, ''Des Images, du temps et des machines'', édité Actes Sud, 2007, pp. 263–264 *

Fred Forest Fred Forest (born July 6, 1933) is a French new media artist. He makes use of video, photography, the printed press, mail, radio, television, telephone, telematics, and the internet in a wide range of installations, performances, and public interv ...

, ''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 * Robert C. Morgan, ''Nechvatal's Visionary Computer Virus'', in Gruson, L. ed. 1993. ''Joseph Nechvatal: Computer Virus Project'', Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans: 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; ...

, 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 of digital arts & new media at ...

, ''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 Artists from Chicago Artists from New York (state) Cellular automatists American experimental composers Genetic programming American installation artists Mass media theorists American new media artists American noise musicians American postmodern artists Robotic art American sound artists American male classical composers 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American contemporary painters 20th-century American male artists Techspressionist artists

Life and work

Viractualism

Footnotes

Further reading

External links