The article examines two historical uses of oscilloscopes as interactive displays. The first is the work of American artist Ben F. Laposky, who employed early oscilloscopes to perform “light drawings” in the 1950s. The second is a 1964 proposal by computer scientists Ivan and Bert Sutherland at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for an oscilloscope display that would “perform drawings.” I analyze the two cases using the interpretive concept of body techniques, borrowed from sociology. Body techniques allow for an empirical analysis of screen’s instrumentality that does not distinguish between representations and operations, but rather includes representations to an irreducible series of embodied actions. I argue that examining the embodiment of graphic techniques can lead to an innovative understanding of design-computing techniques as co-shaped by both the affordances of novel technologies and the visual culture of existing design practices.
Published in: Gerber, D., Pantazis, E., Bogosian, B., Nahmad, A., Miltiadis, C. (eds) Computer-Aided Architectural Design. Design Imperatives: The Future is Now. CAAD Futures 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1465. Springer, Singapore.
Eliza Pertigkiozoglou 