Basic Information
Title: Panel of Human Figures
Artist(s):
William Alan Fetter
Date Created: 1968
Edition Info:
1 - from the complete set
2 - from the complete set
3 - from the set missing the colophon page and original box
4 - from the framed set
Framed Dimensions: 24.5 x 34.5 in.
Unframed Dimensions: 20 x 30 in.
Medium: lithograph on paper
Inventory ID: Fetter-1968-01 / Serendipity-1968-04
Description
from the Cybernetic Serendipity portfolio containing a colophon page and seven lithographs all after original unique computer-generated plotter drawings in a custom made box
printed and published by Motif Editions, London in 1968
artist name, title, date, associated company/location, and publishing information printed along the lower left edge of the paper
the artist was associated with Boeing Computer Graphics
generated in 1968
hardware: keypunch, IBM reader printer, IBM 7094
output machine: Gerber plotter
paper: Conqueror Paper, London watermark visible throughout paper
text from the Cybernetic Serendipity colophon page:
The Boeing Computer Graphics Organization has been working on direct application of projects within the company. They produce a final product which is used by engineers and management to visualize specific problems. There are various studies involving Boeing aircraft and its immediate environment, such as airports, flight etc. These are in the form of pilot visibility in cockpit configurations and various perspective and isometric drawings of aircraft done with a computer plotter.
This project involves the animation of the human figure by the computer and includes a sequence of film showing the various limbs in motion. The man is a creation of Air Force data interpreted by the Boeing designers, and he represents the 50 percentile pilot in the U.S. Air Force. The figure is used to determine human capabilities in cockpit configurations, and for studies of cockpit instrument location and arrangement for easier uses of controls.
This drawing is a rearview sequence. Due to the inability of the programme to eliminate hidden lines, the figure appears to be transparent. This figure is seated looking away from you, with arm movement to the right and body movement to the left.
It is now a seven-system figure. Each movable part is a system—the head and neck, the torso, the legs, right upper arm, left upper arm, right lower arm, left lower arm. The aim is to have a 21 system where the complete figure can be manipulated.
Detail images of the work
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