In this talk, Dr Francesca Franco will reflect on the remarkable legacy of Vera Molnar.
Speaker
Dr Francesca Franco
Agenda
6:00pm - Welcome and introduction by Sean Clark
6:10pm - Presentation by Francesca Franco
7:00pm - Discussion and questions and answers
7:30pm - Reception
9:00pm - Event ends
Synopsis
In this talk, Dr Francesca Franco will reflect on the remarkable legacy of Vera Molnar, who left an indelible mark on the world of computer art, and whose vision continues to resonate profoundly today.
A year since her passing, Molnar’s work still speaks volumes about the transformative possibilities of computational art, particularly through her late project, Icône 2020. This collaboration with Murano glassmakers, which Franco had the privilege of producing and curating, bridges Molnar’s early explorations with her enduring pursuit of art’s material and conceptual boundaries.
Icône 2020 encapsulates her genius: blending the precision of algorithms with the unpredictability of Venetian glass, it embodies her fascination with the notion of order and disorder, rationality and chaos.
This talk will explore how Molnar’s projects, particularly Icône 2020, illustrate the vast, still-unfolding ramifications of computer art, uniting tradition and technology. Through this lens, Franco would like to honour her legacy as a visionary whose work continually shapes our understanding of art in the digital age.
About the speaker
Francesca Franco
Francesca Franco, PhD, is an independent curator, art historian and producer based in the UK and Italy. Her research on the history of early computer art and its pioneers has been widely published and translated.
Her recent books include Generative Systems Art (Routledge, 2018), The Algorithmic Dimension (Springer, 2022), and Computer Art at the Venice Biennale (Springer, 2025). Notable curatorial projects include Vera Molnár: Icône 2020 at the 59th Venice Biennale, Algorithmic Signs (Venice, 2017), and Vera Molnár: Variazioni Icône (Rome, 2023).
She has commissioned significant new works, such as Molnár's first glasswork in Murano, Icône 2020 (2021), Roman Verostko's St Mark's Apocalypse (2017), and Ernest Edmonds’s Growth and Form (2017). Francesca will serve as the 2025 SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Chair.
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This event is brought to you by: Computer Arts Society
