Basic Info
Name: Koji Fujino
Country of Origin: JP
Description
Koji Fujino is a Japanese systems engineer and early pioneer of computer-generated art. In 1966, he became a member of the Computer Technique Group (CTG), a collective based in Tokyo that brought together artists, designers, and engineers at the IBM Scientific Data Centre.
Founded by Masao Kohmura and Haruki Tsuchiya, CTG emerged as one of Japan’s most significant early digital art collectives, distinguished by its integration of computational methods with visual design. Operating from their Tokyo headquarters, the group balanced commercial graphic design projects and gallery sales with theoretical research into computer analysis and aesthetics.
Fujino’s most renowned contribution is his programming of Running Cola is Africa (1967–68), a pioneering computer graphic that appeared in the landmark Cybernetic Serendipity exhibition at London’s ICA in 1968. Widely regarded as among the earliest instances of digital morphing, the image presents a fluid transformation from the silhouette of a running figure into a cola bottle, which then morphs into the African continent. Fujino created the transformation sequence using FORTRAN IV on an IBM 7090 computer, with output generated through a Calcomp 563 plotter. The piece was subsequently featured in the Motif Editions portfolio alongside works by pioneering computer artists Charles Csuri, William Fetter, and Kerry Strand.
Beyond this signature work, Fujino contributed to CTG’s broader investigations into geometric transformations and computational approaches to visual language, particularly their engagement with Pop Art imagery and experimental image manipulation. The collective’s work extended to computer-generated poetry and graphics for international exhibitions, including their recognition in the 6th Annual Computer Art Contest organized by Computers & Automation magazine in 1968. Fujino’s work with CTG marks a formative moment in computer graphics history, when programming and systems engineering first emerged as viable artistic tools.
CTG disbanded in 1969. In the group’s farewell statement Good-bye, Computer art!, co-founder Haruki Tsuchiya reflected on their dissolution: “My primary interest lies in understanding what art means for humanity and how that meaning manifests in our society. It may sound extreme, but I believe computer art represents a challenge to technology itself….For me, it has become history.“
