6:30pm for 7:00pm Wednesday 2 September 2009

Speaker: Barbara Nessim

Birbeck College
Centre for Film and Visual Media
43 Gordon Square
London
WC1H 0PD

Nearest tubes: Euston Square, Warren Street & Russell Square.

"My introduction to the computer began when Peter Spackman, the then Director of the Council of the Arts at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, invited me to present my work to the students at The Visible Language Workshop, a new MIT graduate program. In turn, the students would teach me how to use the computer to create my work. I was both excited by the challenge and skeptical as to how a computer could be used to create art. This was 1980, before the Mac and the IBM PC. I already had 20 years experience as a fine artist and illustrator. This talk takes us through the years before and after the introduction of the computer, as an added artistic "super" tool. It covers the early computers from 1981 to the present, as well as detailing the many creative ways the art developed into hardcopy. I will also discuss the ideas central to my fine art exhibitions as well as reveal the anatomy and concept behind my published illustrations."

Internationally-renowned artist, illustrator and educator Barbara Nessim has been a visionary in the art world for decades. Original in her creativity, she has an extensive resume of accomplishments, and a portfolio of work that's been showcased in prominent museums, galleries and private collections worldwide. Educated at Pratt Institute in New York, Barbara was quickly recognized for her distinctive style, and became one of the first female freelance illustrators of her time. In 1980, she embraced the use of the computer in her fine art and illustration, a topic upon which she has frequently lectured. Barbara has also taught at the School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute and Parsons The New School for Design, where she served as Chairperson of Illustration. Today Barbara's focus is on several commissions for buildings in New York City.

• www.barbaranessim.com