BERLIN, GERMANY.- Last year the d.velop digital award [ddaa] was initiated and is in its second round. Five artists are nominated: one from Germany, one from England and three from the US. The jury will decide on the winner for 2006 at the end of June. This year [DAM] Berlin presents for the first time in its summer exhibition the nominated artists with a selection of their artworks and documentary films. At the same time Kunsthalle Bremen shows the first winner of the [ddaa] 2005, Vera Molnar, with a retrospective of her digital career which will run until 13th August 2006.

Here are the nominations for the [ddaa] 2006:

Charles Csuri, USA
Nominated by Prof. Peter Weibel, director of the ZKM, Karlsruhe

Professor at the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) and Professor Emeritus at the Ohio State University. He was born in 1922 and is internationally recognized as one of the most important pioneers of computer generated art. In 1964 he started writing his first programs with an IBM computer, which had to be transferred to punchcards for further information processing. He produced a wide range of artwork like plotter sketches, interactive objects and digital films. In 1965 he began creating computer animated films. He directed basic research in computer graphics for over 22 years. The results of the research have been applied to flight simulators, computer-aided design, visualization of scientific phenomena, magnetic resonance imaging, architecture, and special effects for television and films. Charles Csuri received international honours and awards. He has participated in a large number of international exhibitions.

Paul DeMarinis, USA
Nominated by Steve Dietz, curator and leader of the ISEA 2006

Paul has worked from 1971 as a multimedia artist. He is interested in the interactive utilization of the computer in the capacity of a large amount of operations for a huge amount of data. His first interactive work was generated in 1979. His artwork is characterized by numerous performance-pieces, sound and computer installations and interactive electronic inventions. Paul DeMarinis has taught computer, video and audio art at Mills College, Wesleyan University, San Francisco State University and the New York State College of Ceramics. He has performed internationally and created music with numerous artists. His interactive artworks have been shown around the world. He has received major awards and fellowships.

William Latham, UK
Nominated by Keith Watson, gallery owner and curator of Digital Art, London

Born in 1961, he was a student at Oxford University and at the Royal College of Art. Before becoming a research fellow at IBM UK, he lectured at the School of Art in Middlesex and the St. Martin’s College of Art. Between 1987 – 1994 at IBM, Latham established his unique artistic style and began working with IBM mathematician Steven Todd. William Latham's work is inspired by his fascination with the processes of Evolution and Mutation; influenced by Charles Darwin and H.R. Giger he deloped the program "Mutator", which creates evolutionary and organic forms.
Latham's work has been exhibited in the UK, Japan, Germany, Australia, Spain, France and Hong Kong to much critical acclaim. He is co-author of "Evolutionary Art and Computers" with Stephen Todd (Academic Press 1992).

Manfred Mohr, D-USA
Nominated by Jasia Reichardt, curator and author, London

Born 1938 in Pforzheim, Germany, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and was introduced to the first computer in 1969. His computer generated art was presented in the first museum exhibtion at the ARC, Museé d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Manfred Mohr developed a hermetical concept for the representation of cubes in a more-dimensional space. In 2000 he started to use colour, after using black and white for more than three decades. He created several series of drawings, paintings, reliefs and objects. Since 2000 he presents his algorithms as well as a process on a screen. Manfred Mohr has received numerous international awards. His work is represented in various important museums and private collections.

Roman Verostko, USA
Nominated by Bonnie Mitchell, Associate Professor and SIGGRAPH 06 Art Show Chair

Professor Emeritus, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, trained as a painter and art historian, was born in 1922 in Tarts, Pennsylvania, USA. He studied at the Art Institute Pittsburgh, in Latrobe (Pennsylvania) and in New York and afterwards in studio 17, Paris. He exhibited his first application of electronics in 1967, The "Psalms in Sound and Image". Since 1982 he concentrated on plotter sketches. He has experimented with and perfected the art of brush technique with a plotter, in addition to the usual ink-pen and developed his own software. Based on philosophical topics his work provides his very own aesthetics. A recipient of major awards, his work has been shown in art and technology exhibitions on four continents. Roman Verostko has published articles and lectured internationally on the subject of Art and Algorithm. 1993 he was the director of ISEA.