George Mallen and the Early Computer Arts Society
Catherine Mason
Summary
Catherine Mason presents the early history of computer, interactive and generative art through the career of George Mallen and the founding of the Computer Arts Society. Drawing on her book *Creative Simulations*, she explains that Mallen, a physics graduate who worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, joins Gordon Pask’s cybernetic think tank, Systems Research, in the mid-1960s. There he learns how digital simulation can model thought processes and serve the public good. In 1968 Mallen co-founds the Computer Arts Society with Alan Sutcliffe and John Lansdown, following the IFIP conference in Edinburgh and the influence of *Cybernetic Serendipity* and experiments in art and technology. Around 1971 he establishes System Simulation Limited, a software firm that supports museums and cultural organisations and safeguards the Society’s large collection of plotter drawings and prints, later donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2007. Mason highlights Gordon Pask’s conversation theory and the *Colloquy of Mobiles* installation as key inspirations, showing how cybernetic ideas about communication, control and machine learning shape Mallen’s technological optimism and creative practice.
This AI summary was generated by kimi-k2.7-code (13th August 2026).