The diverse and experimental œuvre of Lily Greenham (b. 1924, Vienna – d. 2001, London) includes sound and concrete poetry, which she recited in radio broadcasts and performances, Op Art paintings, kinetic light objects and computer art. In the exhibition Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960–1991 we are showing her Homecomputer Graphics (1982) and preparatory material from the Lily Greenham Archive at Goldsmiths, University of London. After participating in seminars on computer language in 1969 and 1970, Greenham acquired a personal computer in 1982, using it to produce abstract graphics. Their dynamic geometric patterns play out principles of movement and variation that also characterize her language art. In the 1950s, she began writing sound poems in contact with the Wiener Gruppe. From the 1970s onwards, she created polyglot-electronic compositions called “lingual music”, which combine language play with analysis and social criticism.
After a video lecture by Andrew Walsh-Lister about his work with the Lily Greenham Archive, Jörg Piringer will introduce us to Greenham’s sound poetry. We’ll listen to some audio pieces and learn about possible approaches for the programming of Greenham’s graphic works. Followed by a talk with Jörg Piringer and LIA (“the translation process between machine and artist can be viewed like a conversation”) about digital art in correspondence with Lily Greenham.
The event is free of charge with a valid exhibition ticket and will be held in German (video lecture by Andrew Walsh-Lister in English) at Kunsthalle Wien Atelier.
LIA is an Austrian artist and pioneer of software and net art. Since 1995, she has been using code to create generative works in the form of videos, installations, performances and sculptures. The focus is on a creative dialog between artist and machine. Her minimalist, conceptual art arises from the translation of ideas into code.
Jörg Piringer is an author, musician and programmer who creates sound poetry and digital art. He is a member of the Institute for Transacoustic Research and the Vegetable Orchestra. Recently published projects (a.o.): darkvoice (CD, 2019), günstige intelligenz (Ritter Verlag, 2022), Linear B (digital audio, 2023), fünf minuten in die zukunft (Limbus Lyrik, 2024), verbrenner (Ritter Verlag, 2025).
Andrew Walsh-Lister is a typographer, writer and curator based between the UK and US, where he is a Senior Critic at Yale School of Art. He is currently cataloguing the Lily Greenham Archive at Goldsmiths, University of London and in 2024 co-curated Lily Greenham: An Art of Living, a large-scale retrospective at the Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe.