Solid Objects is a three-dimensional replica of two overlapping shapes originally drawn by Dr. Lawrence Roberts using the computer program Sketchpad. Created in 1963 by Dr. Ivan Sutherland at Lincoln Laboratory at MIT, Sketchpad was the first ever computer drawing program.
In Solid Objects, Gaviria has physically recreated Dr. Roberts’ illustration on a large scale, which depicts two intersecting, three-dimensional shapes. Although the illustration was originally designed for the small square screen of the TX-2 computer, in Gaviria’s hands, it becomes an exaggerated, symbolic gesture that appears in its very absurdity to want to answer the question: What is a fitting monument to a computer program?
