View source for John Dunn (software developer)

{{short description|American music and art software developer}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = John Dunn
| native_name        =
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| image              = John_Dunn_(software_developer).jpg
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| alt                =
| caption            = At exhibition Making Waves Art and Science in Chicago 1986
| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1943|06|06}}
| birth_place        = Philadelphia, [[Pennsylvania]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2018|06|27|1943|06|06}}
| death_place        = Fort Worth, [[Texas]]
| body_discovered    =
| nationality        =
| citizenship        =
| education          = [[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]] in [[Generative Systems: Art, Science and Technology|Generative Systems]]
| alma_mater         = {{hlist|[[University of Florida]]|[[ School of the Art Institute of Chicago]]}}
| occupation         = Music and art [[software developer]]
| years_active       =
| employer           =
| organization       = Algorithmic Arts
| known_for          =
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| spouse             =
| children           =
| parents            =
| relatives          =
| website            = {{URL|http://algoart.com/}}
| footnotes          =
}}
'''John Francis Dunn''' (June 6, 1943 - June 27, 2018) was an American music and art [[software developer]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.burnettcountysentinel.com/obituaries/john-f-dunn/article_8ab28294-8474-11e8-8e38-839c26d77400.html|title=John F. Dunn|work=burnettcountysentinel.com|access-date=2018-07-12|language=en}}</ref> He created several visual art, music, and design software programs, including Lumena, MusicBox, SoftStep, and others. He has also written and performed a variety of electronic music compositions throughout his career. He was a graduate of [[Sonia Landy Sheridan]]'s [[Generative Systems: Art, Science and Technology|Generative Systems]] program at the [[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]]. He also founded Time Arts, Inc. and Algorithmic Arts.
==Education==
Dunn attended the [[University of Florida]].<ref name="Waves">{{cite book | last =Kirkpatrick | first =Diane | title =Making Waves: An Interactive Art/Science Exhibition | date =October 17, 1986 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=tKTpAAAAMAAJ&q=%22John+dunn%22+%22generative+systems%22}}</ref> In 1977,<ref name="SAIC">{{cite news| last=Esangga| first=Bridget| title=Appetite for Disruption| publisher=School of the Art Institute of Chicago| url=http://www.saic.edu/150/appetite-disruption| access-date=July 8, 2018| archive-date=July 3, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703032025/http://www.saic.edu/150/appetite-disruption| url-status=dead}}</ref> he received an [[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]] from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) after completing Sonia Landy Sheridan's Generative Systems program. While at the program, Dunn served as a graduate teaching assistant. He also helped Sheridan with work on an early computer graphic system<ref name="Waves"/><ref name="Modern">{{cite book | last1 =Kennedy | first1 =Brian |last2 =Burke| first2 =Emily| title =Modern and Contemporary Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art | publisher =Hood Museum of Art | date =October 30, 2009 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=KYw0AQAAIAAJ&q=%22John+dunn%22+%22generative+systems%22| isbn =978-1584657873}}</ref> and assembled the program's first image-making computer using algorithmic software he designed.<ref name="SAIC"/> Also while at SAIC, he began working on a paint software program prototype that later would be expanded into SlideMaster, then EASEL and Lumena.<ref name="Disappearing">{{cite book | last =Garner | first =Gretchen | title =Disappearing Witness: Change in Twentieth-Century American Photography | publisher =Johns Hopkins University Press | date =July 30, 2003 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=aSBCEr1aFmcC&dq=%22john+dunn%22+%22easel%22+%22lumena%22&pg=PA145| isbn =978-0801871672}}</ref><ref name="LangloisSheridan">{{cite web |url=http://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=2011 |title=Sonia Sheridan fonds|publisher=Daniel Langlois Foundation |access-date=July 8, 2018}}</ref>
==Career==
After graduating, Dunn took a job at [[Atari]] where he worked as one of the company's first game developers.<ref name="ComHist">{{cite web |url=http://www.first-image.com/_/computer-history.html|title=David's History with Computer Graphics & Desktop Publishing|publisher=First Image |access-date=July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Mindspring">{{cite news | last =Ball | first =Randy | title =Super Ideas: An Interview with John Dunn | publisher =Mindspring | date =November 2000 | url =http://www.mindspring.com/~rhball/gcDunn.htm | access-date =July 8, 2018 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20161226170658/http://www.mindspring.com/~rhball/gcDunn.htm | archive-date =December 26, 2016 | url-status =dead }}</ref> In 1978, he programmed the [[Atari 2600]] ''[[Superman (Atari 2600)|Superman]]'' video game, a tie-in game to the [[Superman (1978 film)|1978 film of the same name]].<ref name="ForbesSuper">{{cite news | last=Wilson| first=William| title ='Superman' Soars On Atari 2600 | work =Forbes| date =March 25, 2016 | url =https://www.forbes.com/sites/archenemy/2016/03/25/superman-soars-on-atari-2600/#7f4707dd1a63 | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="GeekSuper">{{cite news | title =John Dunn, créateur du premier jeu Superman | publisher =Geek-O-Matick| date =August 17, 2016 | url =https://geekomatick.com/2016/08/17/john-dunn-createur-du-premier-jeu-superman/ | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref> Dunn designed the gameplay and graphics and wrote both the story and the game manual. In 2017, ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' identified it as the first superhero video game and the first video game/movie tie-in. [[Superman]] was also recognized as the longest-running video game character.<ref name="GWR2017">{{cite news | last=Daultrey| first=Stephen| title =Release of Injustice 2 sees Superman take Longest-running character in videogames record | publisher =Guinness World Records| date =May 17, 2017 | url =http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/5/release-of-injustice-2-sees-superman-take-longest-running-character-in-videogames-472260 | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="GWRBook">{{cite book | title =Guinness World Records 2018 Gamer's Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Gaming Records | publisher =Guinness World Records | edition =11 | date =August 29, 2017 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=eqQoDwAAQBAJ&dq=Guinness+Dunn+Superman+Atari&pg=PT112| isbn =978-1910561744}}</ref>
His work on ''Superman'' drew interest from [[Cromemco]]. In 1980, Dunn developed Cromemco's SlideMaster software which was considered the first professional paint program for a microcomputer. SlideMaster used the company's Super Dazzler graphics board.<ref name="Waves"/><ref name="Mindspring"/><ref name="GeekSuper"/> Dunn also continued developing a graphics arts program of his own called "EASEL." The software was initially designed for S-100 PCs like the Cromemco, and was later ported to the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]].<ref name="Waves"/><ref name="IW1983">{{cite news | last=Shea| first=Tom| title =Personal Computer Graphics: Pushing Technology to the Limit | publisher =InfoWorld| date =December 19, 1983 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=5C8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22john+dunn%22+%22time+arts%22&pg=PA35 | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref> In 1982, he founded Time Arts, Inc. in [[Glen Ellen, California|Glen Ellen]], [[California]] to further develop the EASEL software. The software was eventually renamed "Lumena."<ref name="Waves"/><ref name="ComHist"/> Updated versions of the Lumena software continued to be made throughout the 1980s. It is considered one of the most important pieces of software in terms of improving graphics capabilities. Dunn left his position at Time Arts Inc. and moved to [[Hawaii]] in the late 1980s.<ref name="IW1986">{{cite news | last=Moran| first=Tom| title =Low-Cost Graphics Wares Stand Out at Siggraph | publisher =InfoWorld| date =August 25, 1986 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=XC8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22time+arts%22+%22lumena%22+%22john+dunn%22&pg=PA5 | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="PCMag1985">{{cite news | title =Time Arts's Lumena Sets a Standard For Graphics Packages to Follow with its Extensive Array of Features | publisher =PC Magazine| date =October 1, 1985 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=xsMx9D2s6y0C&dq=%22time+arts%22+%22lumena%22&pg=PA114 | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref>
In 1986, Dunn created the electronic music software, MusicBox. He released it as "freeware" in the public domain. At the time, it was the only electronic music software of its kind to be available on PC platforms.<ref name="EMCB">{{cite book | last =Train Adams | first =Robert | title =Electronic Music Composition for Beginners | publisher =Brown & Benchmark | date =January 1, 1992 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=YQJMAAAAYAAJ&q=%22musicbox%22+%22john+dunn%22| isbn =9780697124920}}</ref><ref name="EM1990">{{cite news | title =Electronic Musician, Volume 6, Issues 7-12 | publisher =Electronic Musician| date =1990 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=TrgpAQAAIAAJ&q=%22musicbox%22+%22john+dunn%22 | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref> In the 1990s, Dunn founded Algorithmic Arts, an online company that primarily produces electronic music software.<ref name="NIME"/> He released a variety of software programs in the 1990s and early 2000s, including the Kinetic Music Machine, SoftStep, BankStep, and ArtWonk, all of which incorporated details of visual art and design.<ref name="NIME">{{cite news | last=Burt| first=Warren| title =Packages for ArtWonk: New Mathematical Tools for Composers | publisher =University of Wollongong| date =2010 | url =http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2010/nime2010_493.pdf | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref> SoftStep was a [[Windows]]-based [[MIDI]] step sequencer and "algorithmic-composing program."<ref name="EMSoft">{{cite news | last=Hamlin| first=Peter| title =Algorithmic Arts SoftStep Pro 2.06A Review | publisher =Electronic Musician| date =December 1, 2001 | url =https://www.emusician.com/gear/algorithmic-arts-softstep-pro-206a-review | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref> ArtWonk, another algorithmic composition program, implemented algorithmic visual art, the use of mathematical functions, and DNA and protein sequencing with contributions from expert users.<ref name="NIME"/><ref name="EMWonk">{{cite news | last=Hamlin| first=Peter| title =ALGORITHMIC ARTSARTWONK 1.2 (WIN) | publisher =Electronic Musician| date =September 1, 2004 | url =https://www.emusician.com/gear/algorithmic-artsartwonk-12-win | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref>
In 1997 he has collaborated to ''netOper@'', the first Italian interactive work for the web, by the composer [[Sergio Maltagliati]].<ref>[http://www.visualmusic.it/netopera netOper@] Accessed August 24, 2015</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040104144729/http://www.algoart.com/links.htm Algorithmic Music & Images-John Dunn's links] Accessed January 4, 2004</ref>
The Kinetic Music Machine, SoftStep, and BankStep were three of Dunn's programs that could make musical renderings of [[DNA]]. Dunn's wife, biologist Mary Anne Clark, helped in the creation of these programs.{{r|NYT}} Dunn and Clark used both DNA and amino acid protein sequences to produce renderings.<ref name="NIME"/><ref name="NYT">{{cite news | last=Greenman| first=Catherine| title =Now, Follow the Bouncing Nucleotide | newspaper =The New York Times| date =September 13, 2001 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/technology/now-follow-the-bouncing-nucleotide.html | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Wired">{{cite news | last=Shachtman| first=Noah| title =A Good Sequence, Easy to Dance To | publisher =Wired| date =May 21, 2002 | url =https://www.wired.com/2002/05/a-good-sequence-easy-to-dance-to/ | access-date =July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="InfoArts">{{cite book | last =Wilson | first =Stephen | title =Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology | publisher =The MIT Press | date =February 28, 2003 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=sHuXQtYrNPYC&dq=%22John+Dunn+and+Mary+Anne+Clark%22&pg=PT127| isbn =978-0262731584}}</ref> They wrote an article on the subject of "sonifying" protein sequences ("Life Music: The Sonification of Proteins") that appeared in the February 1999 edition of the journal, ''[[Leonardo (journal)|Leonardo]]''.<ref name="InfoArts"/><ref name="Leo">{{cite journal |last1=Dunn |first1=John |last2=Clark |first2=Mary Anne |date=February 1999 |title=Life Music: The Sonification of Proteins |journal=Leonardo|volume=32 |issue=1 |pages= 25–32|doi=10.1162/002409499552966 |s2cid=57562936 }}</ref> The two later rendered music from the DNA of vampire bats, sea urchins, slime molds, and the human sex hormone.<ref name="Wired"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.musica-spirito.it/musica-scienza/musica-genetica-genetic-music/|title=Musica genetica (Genetic Music)|date=2011-04-24|work=Musica e Spirito|access-date=2018-07-11|language=it-IT}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
*{{URL|http://algoart.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, John F}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:American computer programmers]]