Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1962-2022 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
9 cm of textual records
184 photographs (prints, slides, transparencies, .TIF)
2 video recordings (MP4; 140.5 MB)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Leslie Mezei (born 1931 in Budapest, Hungary) is a former computer scientist who did pioneering work in the theory and practice of computer art and graphics while he was a professor at the University of Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s. His computer art experiments and writings thereon are among the earliest explorations of the medium. In 1972, Mezei completed the manuscript of a book, Computer Art: An International Portfolio, containing a history and overview of the medium illustrated with reproductions of early computer artwork from around the world.
Archival history
The materials now constituting the Leslie Mezei fonds were transferred directly from Leslie Mezei to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2022.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
AGO Credit line: Gift of Leslie Mezei, 2022
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of a set of published writings on Leslie Mezei's work in computer art; the typescript and accompanying photographic illustrations of his book Computer Art: An International Portfolio; and digitized images and films that document his practice.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is held by the creator or their heirs. Copyright belonging to other parties, such as that of photographs, may still rest with the creator of these items. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Leslie Mezei's annotated bibliography and inventory of his archive is available on request.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
A copy of the typescript of Leslie Mezei’s Computer Art: An International Portfolio (printed in 2022 with a 2019 foreword by the author) accompanied the donation of the fonds, and has been added to the Rare Books collection of the Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives. Link to bibliographic record: https://ago.ent.sirsidynix.net/client/en_GB/agolibrary/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:140873/ada?qu=mezei&d=ent%3A%2F%2FSD_ILS%2F0%2FSD_ILS%3A140873%7EILS%7E1&te=ILS&lm=ALLITEMS
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
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Subject access points
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Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Created 22 February 2023
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Description created by Amy Furness, 2022; uploaded 2023.