In Search of a City: Come See Some Scribbles
Columbus is home to many innovators. Few have changed art and technology as much as Charles Csuri, a pioneer in computer animation. Smithsonian Magazine recognizes him as the “father of digital art and animation.”
His work is being exhibited at the OSU Urban Arts Space in the former Lazarus Building through October 9. The exhibition includes more than 85 computer works dating from 1963 to 2010.
One of my favorite pieces is “Scribbles and Smears in Space,” an animation projected in a “black box.” The area, which has a seat in the middle, is cordoned off with blackout curtains. Walking into the space will make you forget all your troubles and will measurably lower your blood pressure.
Charles Csuri became a well-known neighborhood name after I first moved to the Short North in 1980. In 1981, he formed a company called Cranston/Csuri Productions at Neil and 8th Avenues to find commercial applications for computer-generated art. The result of his work can be found in movie theatres each time a feature-length animation hits the big screen.
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