Charles A. Csuri

Birthyear
1922
Website
https://www.charlescsuri.com/
About

Charles A. Csuri is an artist and computer graphics pioneer and Professor, at The Ohio State University. He exhibited his paintings in New York City from 1955-1965. His early work is in the collections of Walter P. Chrysler, movie actor Jose Ferrer, pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and sculptor George Segal. In 1964, he experimented with computer graphics technology and in 1965 he began creating computer animated films. The 4th International Experimental Film Festival, Brussels, Belgium, 1967, awarded him the prize for animation. His work was highlighted in the exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity held at The Institute for Contemporary Art, London, England, 1968. One of Charles Csuri's computer films is in the collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art. His research activity in computer animation and graphics has received international recognition and acclaim. He has been interviewed twice on the Today Show. CNN's Portrait of America featured him on a program and he has been on Entertainment Tonight. He received additional television coverage involving interviews about his work in Sweden, England, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany, and Japan. Csuri has lectured and presented his work in Sweden, England, France, Spain, Holland, Italy and Japan. With support from the National Science Foundation, the Navy, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, he directed basic research in computer graphics for over 22 years. This research activity involved 15 major projects and over eight million dollars. More than forty graduate students in computer science were engaged in the research. In addition, there were over fifty students from the field of art. The results of the research have been applied to flight simulators, computer-aided design, visualization of scientific phenomena , magnetic resonance imaging, education for the deaf, architecture, and special effects for television and films. Graduates from his program are employees of Industrial Light and Magic, Pacific Data Images, Metro Light, Pixar, Rezn8, Silicon Graphics Inc., USA Today, Rhythm and Hues, Xaos, Walt Disney Productions and others. His former students have worked on such films as Star Wars, Terminator 2, Lawnmover Man, Jurrasic Park, Casper, and Toy Story. Douglas Davis the noted art critic included Csuri's work in his book Art and the Future. He also wrote about his work in Newsweek magazine. Davis used Csuri's work as a means to make an important commentary about the future and the significance of computers and art. Csuri received the Distinguished Research Award from The Ohio State University in 1983. He was the keynote speaker at Nicograph, Tokyo, Japan, 1984 and 1992, an international computer graphics conference. He co-founded Cranston / Csuri Productions, which produced animation for all three major U.S. television networks, commercial clients, and The Living Body, a series of 24 television programs which the BBC has distributed worldwide. The Visual Communications Congress, New York, gave him the Golden Eagle award in 1985. He exhibited at the 42nd Biennale de Venezia, Italy, 1986 and the Smithsonian in Washinton D.C., 1990. Ars Electronica a major international competition on computers and the arts held in Austria each year, awarded him prizes in 1989 and 1990. (This competition is sponsored by Siemans with over $100,000 in prizes.) Dr. Maurizio Calvesi, the highly regarded art historian and art critic wrote a very supportive commentary about his artwork in the prestigious Italian magazine Art and Dossier, November, 1990. A Ph.d dissertation was completed on Charles Csuri's Art and Research at New York University in 1991. The dissertation documents the historical significance of Csuri's work and it represents the first attempt to develop a phenomenological tool for evaluating computer images. The Smithsonian Magazine, February, 1995 used one of his images for the cover and included a major article about his work and career. Siggraph the International Computer Graphics Conference in 1996 (50,000 attendees) exhibited his art work, used one of his images on the cover of their proceedings, and honored him at a special reception. Siggraph has also offically recognized him as a computer graphics pioneer. A photographic portrait of Charles Csuri is now in the Computer Museum, Boston, Massachusetts. (source: http://www.siggraph.org/artdesign/profile/csuri/)

CV
2006 Professor at the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design ( ACCAD)

2006 Exhibition Charles Csuri: Beyond Boundaries,
1963–present

2000 Awarded the Joseph Sullivant Medal, Ohio
State University’s highest honor

2000 Virtual Glass exhibition, Riley Hawk Gallery,
Columbus, Ohio

2000 Charles A. Csuri: In Search of Meaning,
1948–2000 exhibition at the Canzani Center
of the Columbus College of Art and Design

1999 Highlighted in History of Computer Graphics
at SIGGRAPH conference

1996 exhibition at Siggraph the International Computer Graphics Conference exhibited his art work, used one of his images on the cover of their proceedings, and honored him at a special reception.

1995 Csuri’s work appears on the cover of
Smithsonian magazine

1991 Ph.D. dissertation on Csuri’s art and research
completed at the New York University

1990 Feature article in Art E Dossier by Dr. Maurizio
Calvesi

1995 The Smithsonian Magazine, February, 1995

1990 Exhibited at the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.

1990 commentary by Dr. Maurizio Calvesi / Dr. Maurizio Calvesi, the highly regarded art historian and art critic wrote a very supportive commentary about his artwork in the prestigious Italian magazine Art and Dossier, November, 1990.

1990 Awarded Distinction Prix Ars Electronica,
International Compendium of the Computer
Arts, for Gossip

1989 Awarded Distinction Prix Ars Electronica,
International Compendium of the Computer
Arts, for Mask of Fear

1986 Exhibited at the 42nd Biennale de Venezia,
Venice, Italy

1986 Founded ACCAD; served as Director through 1990

1986 Professor of Computer and Information Science

1985 Golden Eagle award,Visual Communications
Congress, New York

1984 and 1992 Keynote speaker at Nicograph, Tokyo, Japan

1983 Distinguished Research Award, The Ohio
State University

1978 Professor of Art Education

1971 Founded Computer Graphics Research Group
(CGRG), OSU; served as Director through 1986,
when CGRG became the Advanced Computing
Center for Art and Design (ACCAD)

1970 Csuri published one of the first papers related to the complex issue of animating objects in real time,

1969 Awarded National Science Foundation (NSF)
grant; first grant awarded to an artist; grants
continue through 1987

1968 Hummingbird animation is purchased by the
Museum of Modern Art, New York

1968 Work highlighted in the exhibition Cybernetic
Serendipity, held at the Institute for Contemporary
Art, London, England

1967 Awarded prize for animation at the 4th International Experimental Film Festival, Brussels, Belgium for Hummingbird

1966 Begins creating computer animated films

1964 Experiments with computer graphics technology. Uses IBM 7094 with FORTRAN, IBM 1130 to control plotter

1955 - 1965 exhibited his paintings in New York City,
CNN's Portrait of America

1949 Joins faculty of the Department of Art, OSU

1948 M.A. in Art, OSU

1947 B.F.A., Art, The Ohio State University
(OSU)

1943–46 Military service

1943–45 Certificate in Engineering, Newark College
of Engineering, Newark, New Jersey

1922 Born Grant Town, West Virginia
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