NETworking 

Net Art From the Computer Fine Arts Collection  

John F. Simon, Jr. 

www.computerfinearts.com/collection/simon/everyIcon/

John F. Simon, Jr.'s seminal work Every Icon, Edition No. 92 (1997), is composed of a 32 x 32 square grid that appears on screen. Using Java software, it presents a constantly flickering image programmed to represent every possible combination of black and white-colored squares by means of a mathematical formula. According to calculations, the presentation of all possible icons based on these combinations would last approximately 10,298 years; the appearance of a distinct image would take hundreds of trillions of years. Simon's basic invention gives clear expression to the principles of flow, change and accumulation that shape the virtual sphere. This invention also relates to the process described by Paul Klee in his 1925 book "Pedagogical Sketchbook," by which Klee attempted to create various visual combinations within a grid of squares.

Born in Louisiana, 1963; lives and works in New York