Marco Barnig

Harold Cohen was a pioneer at the confluence of artificial intelligence and the visual arts, creating AARON in 1972, a groundbreaking computer program designed to autonomously generate paintings and drawings. His innovative intersection of computational creativity and traditional artistry led to international acclaim, with his work being featured in numerous exhibitions at prestigious museums worldwide. In recognition of his contributions, Cohen was the recipient of multiple accolades throughout his career.

Born in the United Kingdom in 1928, Cohen relocated to the United States, where he shared his expertise and passion for art and technology at the University of California from 1968 until his retirement in 1998. Even after retiring, he remained actively engaged in the development of AARON, enhancing its capabilities and complexity. Initially, the program was developed in C, but it later transitioned to LISP to leverage its powerful features for AI development.

In the weeks leading up to his passing in 2016, Cohen embarked on a new endeavor with AARON, ambitiously titled “Fingerpainting for the 21st Century.” While the early years saw him utilizing x-y plotters to bring AARON’s creations to life, by the 1990s he had devised a series of digital painting machines. His continuous evolution in the medium saw a shift to inkjet printers and ultimately to touch screens in his final project, always seeking to blend technology with the tactile essence of painting.

Ray Kurzweil, a distinguished American computer scientist and futurist, further brought Cohen’s legacy into the digital age by developing an AARON screensaver program in 2000, tailored for Windows computers. I have utilized the imagery produced by this application to train a public model known as @aaron_by_harold_cohen for the Luxembourg-based platform, letz.ai. The subsequent images showcase some of the compelling results achieved through this collaboration, demonstrating the enduring impact of Cohen’s work and the intriguing possibilities of AI in the realm of fine art (5 original artworks and 5 images created by LetzAI).