"Pix-Art"
By Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsanna Molnar
1981


This article covers ZGrass and specifically talks about several pieces of
art that have been written using the language.  Pictures of some of the
art is included.

The "Pix-Art" article seems to have been printed in "Computer Graphics and 
Art," 1980-1981 Yearbook 5.

This version of the article is from the Bob Fabris collection.  It doesn't 
appear to be a photocopy of the "Computer Graphics and Art" article.  Given 
Bob's ties to the Bally Arcade community, perhaps this version was what was 
submitted to the magazine that eventually printed it.

A similar article to "Pix-Art" was published in "Creative Computing" (June
1981) as ""Pictures by Funny Numbers."  Credit in the article is give to
"Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsa Molnar."  I'm not sure which is the correct 
spelling of the names.


Here is most of the first page of the 11-page document:


PIX-ART

Frank Dietrich
Zsuzsanna Molnar
Electronic Visualization Laboratory
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
Departments of Art & Information Engineering
Box 4348
Chicago, Il 60608


Introduction

Approaching a computer graphics system like the Bally Arcade, the user should 
understand the basic contradiction inherent in this machine-- while it offers 
rich options conceptually, it also produces poor graphics, at least compared to 
state-of the art computer graphics. So you shouldn't expect this small computer 
to generate close to real-life images with smooth shading, hidden surfaces, 
simulated highlighting end the like. Instead-- you will have to "buy the 
pixels," those blocky constituents of every raster system which most people try 
to hide. Once you become acquainted with the needlepoint effect all the Bally 
images show, you can go ahead appreciating the smart design of a personal 
computer system which is a major step towards a computer-literate society 
rather than a computer controlled one.

The manufacturer of the Arcade, Bally Corporation, gained its experience 
building interactive and easy to use slot and pinball machines played by 
millions of people, regardless of their age or previous knowledge. Continuing 
their orientation towards mass entertainment, Bally started designing a 
microprocessor controlled home video game in 1975. The result is the Bally 
Arcade, whose extreme low cost and TV orientation has placed computers in over 
100,000 homes.

The system includes the computer, a calculator keypad, four hand controls, an 
interface for storing programs on an audio-cassette recorder, a modulator to 
hook up to any TV and a ROM with the Bally Basic language. Its price of $350 
makes it an affordable personal and educational tool. Like a portable 
typewriter, the Arcade offers anyone the opportunity to create their own 
reality instead of simply consuming it.

An entire community of Bally users exists in Chicago, who could otherwise never 
afford, because of finances or little computing background, to work with 
computer graphics. Computer art classes are being taught at both the University 
of Illinois and the Art Institute of Chicago using the Bally. Since you see 
what you are programming, a small graphics computer like this is especially 
educational for beginners.