HISTORY OF GENERATIVE ART - Cybernetics
In our History of Generative Art series, we focus on cybernetics, which emerged as an interdisciplinary field in the mid-20th century. Cybernetics, developed by Norbert Wiener, studies how systems regulate themselves through feedback and communication. Its principles have been applied in various areas, from governance to artificial intelligence, architecture, and design. The field also influenced art, inspiring interactive and generative works, especially the cybernetic sculptures of Nicolas Schöffer.
Norbert Wiener at MIT, Source: researchgate.net
McCulloch (right) and Pitts (left) in 1949, Source: Semantic Scholar
Cybernetics is the study of systems that regulate and communicate within themselves and their environment through feedback loops. It examines how information is processed, controlled, and transmitted in both living organisms and machines. It began with the publication of Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine by American computer scientist, mathematician, and philosopher Norbert Wiener in 1948. However, before Wiener’s book, key ideas had already been explored by Warren McCulloch and Arturo Rosenblueth, whose contributions are often overlooked.
In 1943, McCulloch and Walter Pitts introduced a theoretical model of neural network in their paper A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity, showing how neurons process information using binary logic. Around the same time, Rosenblueth, working with Wiener and Julian Bigelow, studied purposive behavior and feedback mechanisms in both biological and artificial systems.
The Macy Conferences 1946–1953, Source: press.uchicago.ed
Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine by Norbert Wiener, Source: sciencebookaday.com
Cybernetics was further developed at the Macy Conferences, held between 1946 and 1953. These conferences brought together researchers from various disciplines, including biology, psychology, and engineering. Participants such as Warren McCulloch, John von Neumann, and Norbert Wiener, explored commonalities in feedback mechanisms across different systems.
The term “cybernetics” was chosen by Wiener and his colleagues from Ancient Greek kubernētikē, meaning "steersmanship" or "governance." The term appears in Plato’s Republic and Alcibiades, where the metaphor of a steersman is used to signify the governance of people.
Project Cybersyn Operations Room, Source: mitpress.mit.edu
This idea of control and regulation was soon extended to governance, urban planning, and social organization, particularly during the second wave of cybernetics, which emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s and emphasized self-organization and adaptive systems. One of the most well-known projects was Chile's Project Cybersyn in the early 1970s, an ambitious plan to use cybernetic methods to manage the national economy. The system aimed to optimize decision-making through real-time data analysis and feedback loops. The project was discontinued after the 1973 military coup.
Nicolas Schöffer, CYSP1, 1956, © Adagp, Paris – Éléonore de Lavandeyra-Schöffer
Cybernetics also influenced the arts. Nicolas Schöffer was one of the first artists to integrated it into his work. In the 1950s, he created cybernetic sculptures equipped with sensors that allowed them to react to sound, movement, light, or even meteorological phenomena in their environment. Schöffer saw his works as living systems that constantly moved, changed, and adapted to their surroundings.
Contemporary art continues to be influenced by the legacy of cybernetics. In 2024, the French creative studio u2p050 created Action Reaction, a work exploring cybernetics and the role of machines in shaping the world. The piece reflects on the dual nature of cybernetics: how it can be used for control and regulation, but also for creativity, efficiency, and artistic expression. The work is currently on view at our Interthinking exhibition at Budapest Art Factory.
Studio u2p050, Action｜Reaction, 2024
Cybernetic principles have influenced many other fields. In the 1950s and 60s, they helped shape systems theory, informing models of complex interactions in ecosystems and organizational structures. In medicine, biofeedback techniques were developed to help people control bodily functions like heart rate and muscle tension. Cybernetics also played a key role in early AI research, contributing to the development of neural networks.