Paintboxed World Tour Basel Exhibition

VernissageTV

The Paintboxed exhibition, part of the Paintboxed – Tezos World Tour, comes to Basel during Art Basel 2025, following stops in Miami, Paris, and New York, presented by ArtMeta, Objkt, the Tezos Foundation, and the Adrian Wilson Archive. Presented at Basel’s Digital Art Mile, it celebrates the Quantel Paintbox, a pioneering 1980s digital painting device that shaped film, television, and pop culture, influencing iconic visuals like the MTV logo, Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” music video, and album covers like Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and movie posters for “Silence of the Lambs”, “Pulp Fiction”, and “JFK”. This video offers a tour of the Paintboxed exhibition and features an insightful interview with artists Adrian Wilson and Matthias Paeper, who discuss the artistic innovation and technical intricacies of the Quantel Paintbox.   Before Photoshop, “Paintboxed” was the term for digital image manipulation. In 1987, the BBC’s “Painting with Light” series showcased artists like David Hockney, Jennifer Bartlett, and Sidney Nolan using Paintbox, marking Hockney’s first digital art, decades before his iPhone/iPad works.   The Basel exhibition features contemporary artists Grant Yun, Bryan Brinkman, Justin Aversano, and Ivona Tau, creating new works on an original Quantel Paintbox, curated by Adrian Wilson. These artworks are displayed as physical lightboxes and paired with NFTs minted on the Tezos blockchain, available for purchase on Objkt, the leading digital art platform.  The video has three chapters:  00:00 – Exhibition  05:25 – Interview with Adrian Wilson and Matthias Paeper  49:46 – Exhibition Paintboxed World Tour Basel Exhibition.   Basel (Switzerland), June 16 & 19, 2025.

Transcript

00:00That's good!

00:02Do you want to try?

00:04No, no, no.

00:10It's like, yeah.

00:12Again, it's a little...

00:14It's a boat.

00:16Is this a boat?

00:18Not a boat.

00:20You can't do this.

00:22No.

00:24How funny is that?

00:26This is 30 years old.

00:28It's like, it means that the model is working with the end side.

00:32So the main piece says that they're empty, though.

00:36Yeah, should I make up?

00:38It's fantastic.

00:40Yeah, it's an awesome machine.

00:44So the only cost of this is $125,000.

00:48Wow.

00:50The original one was $950,000.

00:52Yeah, the original one was $950,000.

00:56So that could have been like $1050,000.

00:58Oh, yeah, yeah.

01:00But when you say the end of the sequel,

01:02it's like $100,000.

01:04Because it made everyone's life easier,

01:08faster, faster.

01:10And all your artists could do that work.

01:12Yes.

01:14You have a lot of people who need people at the time.

01:16Yeah.

01:18So this is a model.

01:20Made with this.

01:22So you can sort of, basically,

01:24just kind of imagine what they're doing.

01:26Yeah.

01:28So you can sort of, basically,

01:30just kind of imagine what they're doing.

01:32So you can sort of, basically,

01:34take two pieces.

01:36What's it has to do with the machine?

01:40You don't think of this.

01:42I can say,

01:44this is paint box art.

01:46I can't say that.

01:48This is paint box art.

01:50You can take two pieces.

01:52And you can take two pieces.

01:54And you can take two pieces.

01:56And, what's that has to do with the machine?

01:58Look at this, I couldn't say that, this is a paint box art,

02:02and you saw this part of the main art.

02:05So if you think it's a guy, it says,

02:08okay, this is not a machine that makes you a good art,

02:12it's a good art artist, it's a good art artist.

02:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:15But this will help you do whatever you need to do,

02:19what you need to do, because it's worth it.

02:20That's a good thing, and you can never lose it.

02:22It's not a good thing.

02:24But there's no meaning to make sure it

02:26doesn't make sure it's worth it.

02:28There's no money here, there's no money here,

02:30there's no money here.

02:32You need to go on to make art in general, and then apply.

02:38So I get to me, it says, I think it was based in 1885.

02:43We are here, so I want to convey the idea

02:47that the tradition was built and we're going into digital,

02:50this kind of vortex into the digital world.

02:53So I couldn't do that than the origin.

02:55And so that was my way of expressing what I thought was going to happen.

03:01It wasn't even any work, there was no work for art shop.

03:04Yeah, but what do you call it?

03:05I called it new photography.

03:08Ah, okay, yeah.

03:10New?

03:11New photography.

03:12New photography.

03:13Organized art vibrant君.

03:13And there's somebody on here in 1986, Whatis?

03:16What is, what are you?

03:17There were known in 1986, and they said,

03:18What's amazing is that there's probably going to be a whole

03:23generation of skips and physicians and going to know when digital starts and reality ends.

03:25I don't know where digital stars and reality heads because of this.

03:30And she was telling me to.

03:32Yeah, yeah, yeah.

03:33I mean, we are dealing with that too.

03:35This is how you're hiring.

03:37To agree?

03:38Yeah.

03:39You don't blame me.

03:40I mean, I think the 3D and...

03:42I don't know.

03:43Between the fear and the air.

03:45Ah!

03:46You know.

03:47Yeah, you know.

03:49It's got everything.

03:54It's got everything.

04:00So what's cool for me is like, I'm not trying to like...

04:03I don't know if I've seen Tom Cruise on the side to the front.

04:06I'm not trying to say, hey, this is great to learn from us.

04:09And you better know.

04:10It's okay.

04:11But if you see these videos on the TV,

04:14you're gonna watch these videos and go,

04:17Hey!

04:18Now I know how that goes.

04:19You know, it's exactly what.

04:20You just don't even realise the thing.

04:22Yeah, you feel like it's a great experience.

04:25And because the movie takes over,

04:28you get the impression that Photoshop is perfect.

04:31Yeah.

04:36So the funny thing is...

04:38So this is an article from 1991 about photography.

04:44And the article is...

04:46The photos always lie.

04:48So that's like, you know, 1840, whatever.

04:51So they talk about the history of manipulation.

04:54Yes.

04:55And then they go on to digital manipulation,

04:57how you can move the moon around and move Madonna.

05:01But how about this?

05:04They have a homeless person and children

05:07and they combine...

05:09They predict in the future.

05:11Yeah, yeah.

05:12What the hell?

05:13Yeah.

05:14That's crazy, right?

05:15Yeah.

05:16They didn't...

05:17Just before Photoshop.

05:19Yeah.

05:24The paint box came out in 1981

05:26from a British company called Quantel.

05:29And it was basically a graphic computer

05:3410 years before Photoshop came out.

05:36And I have an old image of the machine here.

05:39So we have the mainframe

05:41and the pen and tablet interface

05:44and the screen.

05:45There is a keyboard, but you don't really need it.

05:47So you can handle the whole system just with a pen,

05:50pressure and the tablet.

05:52And you can create beautiful graphics with it

05:55or making collages

05:57and it was used for TV stations,

06:00for bumpers, for commercial and for art.

06:04Do you know the development of this box?

06:06I mean, nowadays you have software

06:08even on your iPhone,

06:09you can do amazing,

06:10you can do other things.

06:11But this was...

06:12This is also quite a lot of hardware.

06:14Yeah.

06:15How was this developed?

06:16Who and why was it developed?

06:18That is a good question.

06:19Maybe I'm not the right person to answer that.

06:21I know that Quantel was...

06:23was...

06:25developed the first digital frame store

06:27and with that knowledge to handle...

06:29to save one image of video

06:33without any picture quality loss.

06:35That was a huge success in the mid 70s.

06:40And on that technology

06:42they invented on top

06:45this painting device

06:47where you can manipulate the stored image

06:50and use all the kinds of tools

06:55an artist would use

06:57to create images or graphics or designs.

07:00Maybe in this case...

07:02Let's show you from the beginning.

07:05So...

07:06Everything is controlled with a pen and a tablet

07:08and with a few gestures

07:10I can swipe to the left and to the right

07:12and then I get the menu out of the screen

07:14I can swipe down

07:16and I'm reaching my palette

07:19and here it's very handy.

07:21Yeah?

07:22And this is also pressure sensitive?

07:23Yes.

07:24So...

07:25That is very handy if I want to make my own colours.

07:27Here I have my basic primary colours.

07:29For example, if I want to make me a variety of oranges

07:34I just mix my own colours here

07:37and create the colours I like

07:43and if I have a really...

07:44If I'm really happy with the colour

07:46I can also put it in a paint pot here

07:49and save that for later use.

07:52I can also pick colours from the image itself

07:56and...

07:59mix them...

08:03with...

08:04with other colours.

08:06So...

08:07Maybe I can...

08:08Let's create a...

08:09a sphere, for example.

08:10Yeah.

08:11So I...

08:12I mentioned these...

08:14boxes here.

08:15Yeah.

08:16So you have like a...

08:17like a menu.

08:18Yeah, that is my main menu.

08:19Yeah.

08:20This is my main menu.

08:21From...

08:22left to right.

08:23So here is my painting menu.

08:24In painting I have a few different styles of...

08:27um...

08:28of...

08:29brushes.

08:30In this case it's more...

08:31a chalk.

08:32Or...

08:33I have an airbrush.

08:35And the airbrush behaves like an airbrush.

08:37If you hold it and...

08:39press...

08:40you release more...

08:42more...

08:43paint.

08:44And...

08:46let's...

08:47do something...

08:49and...

08:50in...

08:51in...

08:52in...

08:53in...

08:54in...

08:55the graphic menu I have also...

08:56the...

08:57the...

08:58the...

08:59tools to create...

09:00um...

09:01um...

09:02um...

09:03graphic shapes...

09:04that I can control with my pen.

09:06And if I'm happy with it, I can...

09:09I can...

09:10stick it down to the screen.

09:12Or...

09:13make it smaller.

09:14Let's create...

09:15uh...

09:16a little sphere.

09:17In this...

09:18case I need a...

09:20I need a...

09:21stencil.

09:22I can use my stencil.

09:25And...

09:28we can...

09:30fill it with an airbrush.

09:32I can...

09:47add some highlights.

09:49And...

09:50is it saved continuously?

09:51Or...

09:52do you have to manually save it?

09:53I have to manually save it.

09:54I have to manually save it.

09:55There is no undo option.

09:56So...

09:57uh...

09:58I need to...

09:59be very careful what I'm doing.

10:01Uh...

10:02and...

10:03have some...

10:04some buffers...

10:05uh...

10:06two image buffers here.

10:07Where I can...

10:08put...

10:09two...

10:10images in here.

10:11So you see...

10:12there is a...

10:13picture of...

10:14from...

10:15Keith Haring.

10:16He was...

10:17uh...

10:18using the paint box...

10:19uh... end of the 80s...

10:20for...

10:21uh...

10:22for...

10:23the chance to work on the paint box...

10:25uh... end of the 80s...

10:26in Paris.

10:27So...

10:28and...

10:29oh...

10:30now...

10:31now I make a mistake.

10:32You need to cut that...

10:33I paint again my...

10:47my sphere.

10:48okay.

10:49Yes.

10:50E is one of my...

10:51best friendships...

10:52in LA.

10:53That's really funny what nowadays you can do with...

10:56uh...

10:57devices.

10:58Yeah.

10:59It's much harder to create something that's...

11:02uh... really special.

11:03These days?

11:04Yeah.

11:05These days it's easier.

11:06Nowadays...

11:07you have to...

11:09really be careful about...

11:10uh...

11:11you know...

11:12what you were doing.

11:13ah...

11:14yeah...

11:15yeah...

11:16because you...

11:17you need to make up your mind...

11:18yeah...

11:19yeah...

11:20and I can...

11:28now...

11:29with...

11:30um...

11:31with my stencil...

11:32I can...

11:33produce...

11:34cutouts...

11:35with it...

11:36and...

11:37place it...

11:38somewhere I like it...

11:39I can...

11:40change the size...

11:41of my cutout...

11:42I can...

11:43copy it...

11:44and...

11:45move it somewhere else...

11:46with my stencil...

11:47in use...

11:48I can...

11:49put something...

11:50behind...

11:51objects...

11:52or...

11:53um...

11:54If I want to change a value...

11:55I have a soft keyboard always on my screen...

11:57where I can enter...

12:00a...

12:01move it somewhere else...

12:02with my stencil in use...

12:03I can...

12:04put something...

12:05behind...

12:06objects...

12:07or...

12:08um...

12:09You said you can do everything...

12:11also with a...

12:12with a keyboard...

12:13and the...

12:14No, ah...

12:15I can do everything without the keyboard.

12:16The keyboard is not necessary.

12:18So, if...

12:19if I want to change a value...

12:20I have a soft keyboard always on my screen...

12:22on my screen where I can enter things with a tablet.

12:26If I want to save something, I can also use my keyboard here.

12:32So there's never really a need of a keyboard.

12:36Sometimes it depends on the artist to work with it.

12:39But here we didn't even bring it with us, so, yeah.

12:47I can imagine it was quite expensive back in the days.

12:50Do you know how much it was?

12:51Yeah, back in the 80s, one system cost around £250,000 because it was very sophisticated

13:03hardware.

13:04It was not a very powerful processor, but to achieve all the image manipulation or drawing

13:14capabilities, you need very special hardware next to the main processor.

13:20There's an open system where we can have a look inside.

13:28I don't know so much about everything because I'm more on the other side of the system on

13:33the screen.

13:34one board is just a processor and all the other boards are just here to scale an image, for

13:41example, or to save something in the buffer.

13:45It's basically a big GPU.

13:54It's really incredible if you think about what a smartphone can do.

13:59Yeah.

14:00Yeah.

14:01Yeah.

14:02Yeah.

14:03Yeah.

14:04So these big boxes.

14:05Yeah.

14:06I mean, this is already small compared to the mainframes.

14:07Yeah.

14:08The system we have here is from 1990.

14:11It's called the V series, but in the beginning, we had this much bigger crates with an external

14:25big and loud hard disk.

14:28But this is already a bit more advanced than when it came out in the beginning of the 80s.

14:35What would you say are the main challenges working with the system?

14:41I mean, every system has its limitations if you want to create something.

14:45Yeah.

14:46What would you say were the advantages and disadvantages, or what were the challenges

14:52of the system?

14:53The advantage on this system here is at the same time the disadvantage because it's made

14:59for TV resolution.

15:01So that means if I swipe my menu out of the way, I'm already ready for broadcast out of

15:06the machine.

15:07So because it's direct video standard that you can plug into your control room and broadcast

15:14right away.

15:17On the other hand, it's limited to the TV resolution.

15:22Therefore they invented another system mid-80s, it's called a graphic paint box, where you have

15:28a much more powerful system and a much higher resolution than the TV resolution.

15:35And with those machines, they created all the film and movie posters you can see here in

15:40the exhibition that Adrian collected.

15:44I think you can name it up again.

15:48A lot of stuff people know or they don't know that it was great long-takes.

15:53Yeah, yeah, yeah.

15:54So this company called Electric Paint created a lot of movie posters for big Hollywood movies.

16:02And they got several graphic paint boxes and they used it for creating all these stunning posters

16:15and for Hollywood blockbusters.

16:18And also we have here a little collection of album covers and I'm sure you know most of

16:27them.

16:28Yeah.

16:29Yeah.

16:30Maybe that leads also already to the question, I mean, how you got involved into this paintball

16:40sphere?

16:41Yeah.

16:42So I saw a making of on the German children's program, how they make news.

16:50And I saw in that program the graphic department of the TV production facility.

16:58And in that you can saw a graphic artist working on the paint box.

17:06And as a kid I was immediately interested in this machine because she was painting freehand

17:11and you immediately see what you get on the TV screen.

17:17And later I found out that it's called a paint box.

17:21And I called the company and they invited me as a kid when I was 17 to do the training

17:27on the paint box.

17:29And after that I hold a certificate, Matthias Peeper is a paint box trained artist.

17:36And with that certificate I went to a TV station and I just got my first job.

17:41So that was really amazing and that brought me into the industry.

17:47That's really amazing.

17:50Yeah.

17:51Yeah.

17:52Yeah.

17:53Yeah.

17:54Yeah.

17:55So basically I won my career in a, was heißt in a price ausschreiben.

17:56Yeah.

17:57Maybe I won it in a competition.

17:58Yeah.

17:59Yeah.

18:00Yeah.

18:01Yeah.

18:02Yeah.

18:03Yeah.

18:04Yeah.

18:05Now Adrian is back here.

18:07Maybe he can also say something.

18:09Maybe we can give him a.

18:11Hey, sorry for walking in on your interview.

18:14I saw you here, you were here yesterday or a day before.

18:17On Monday I think.

18:18Yeah.

18:19I think Tuesday.

18:20I don't know.

18:21Yeah.

18:22I already forgot about it.

18:23Yeah.

18:24Yeah.

18:25Yeah.

18:26So you just explained about the paint box.

18:27So what year did you first use the paint box?

18:30So 1997 was my first paint box experience.

18:35Yeah.

18:36So that was 16 years after it was launched.

18:41Yeah.

18:42Yeah.

18:43Much, much, much earlier, but I didn't got the chance to get hands on one machine.

18:47Yeah.

18:48So not to pull any rank here, but obviously I use the paint box in 1984.

18:52But how come we are the same age?

18:54I know.

18:55I, I, I, the radiation.

18:57Yeah.

18:58From this machine.

18:59Yeah.

19:00Aged me like Dorian Gray.

19:01Because it's, you know, like Photoshop, it doesn't have this radiation.

19:05But when you use a paint box, the, the way that it made people younger, it extracted your

19:10youth into the machine.

19:11Yeah.

19:12So that's why I look older.

19:13You use them too old CRT screens that aged you.

19:16Exactly.

19:17Yeah.

19:18Yeah.

19:19Okay.

19:20So, so yeah, I, it's kind of weird because we, we, a lot of the questions you get, you go,

19:23Hey, well the paint box, why isn't it still around?

19:25Or why isn't Quantel around?

19:27Yeah.

19:28So by the time you use the paint box, it had already been around for 16 years.

19:32Yes.

19:33And it survived for more, for 15 years after that.

19:37Right.

19:38So Nokia.

19:39Yeah.

19:40Doesn't even make phones anymore.

19:4116 years or whatever after the famous Nokia phones or Motorola.

19:45So, you know, it's kind of weird that people go, Oh, it's not good because it didn't last

19:50long.

19:51Well, what tech lasts 16 years?

19:52Yeah.

19:53That's true.

19:5430 years.

19:5530 years really.

19:56So yeah.

19:57We're, it's great because we, we're kind of generational.

20:01Yeah.

20:02In the story.

20:03Yeah.

20:04I was, you know, what they would call the OG or whatever, uh, hence my hair and hairline.

20:09Uh, and you're the, uh, the, the, the, the young G.

20:14Yeah.

20:15Maybe, maybe I'm, maybe I'm, I'm one of the youngest, uh, paint box, uh, artists around then.

20:22Uh, because when, when I, uh, reached to the industry, uh, Photoshop was already very famous.

20:27Photoshop and, uh, Afterfits.

20:28Uh, but I got the chance to, to get some, uh, paint box work done before the transition

20:36started to completely, everything went to different software.

20:41Yeah.

20:42So what's interesting is, uh, and I tried to explain this to people.

20:45Yeah.

20:46Everyone knows sixties, fifties, seventies art, plotter drawings, generative art, all this

20:51kind of stuff.

20:52Yeah.

20:53But, why doesn't anyone know what happened in the eighties?

20:56It's a good question.

20:57Maybe.

20:58We, we know about the Amiga maybe and Keith Haring on the Amiga, but.

21:02I think the question for those people, the answer of that question for the most people

21:06is, ah, they did it with a computer.

21:07So.

21:08Yeah.

21:09It doesn't know what kind of computer it was.

21:12So I was just, uh, at a talk and he was saying, okay, the, uh, so you have a thing that

21:19the, the paint box was interesting because it was a, technically it had no hard drive at all.

21:26There was a machine and it had an output or it was connected to something.

21:30To something.

21:31So the, the hard drive was a peripheral external device.

21:34And loud.

21:35So people would say, when they're on their side, they say, well, how do you get an image

21:39onto the paint box?

21:40Well, it was from video.

21:41So it'd either be from a tape recording, from a live broadcast or from a video from the

21:46studio or from a, a rostrum camera.

21:49Yeah.

21:50Where you wanted artwork.

21:51So you would import the, the work into the paint box.

21:53And it had a library of like 300 images, but you couldn't really store moving images in

22:00there like video.

22:01So it was output to video.

22:03So one of the questions was, okay, well, you've got a slide output or a video output,

22:09like, because obviously if you wanted these images on a post or a magazine or whatever,

22:15they can't print off a video.

22:17So you had to get this slide output, which was another machine that converted it into a slide.

22:22Yeah.

22:23You used it heavily.

22:24So there's, it's really interesting because there's, in the tech world, especially digital

22:28art, people say, we need the original file.

22:31Yeah.

22:32With the zeros and ones.

22:33Yeah.

22:34Yeah.

22:35So if you go in, I don't know, if you go in the Louvre, you don't say, I need to see

22:40Leonardo's paint brushes and which paint tube he used and know how many brushes per square

22:48inch, because that's makes it a genuine painting.

22:51But maybe it's the question of what is the original and it's not working in the digital

22:57world.

22:58So that is, that's why it's so hard to answer.

23:00Right.

23:01Because a reproduction, you know, at the end of the day, everything that you see, there

23:06was a discussion in the eighties where they said, right.

23:09Okay.

23:10Like with NFTs, we spent eight hours on this pad, but there's nothing there to show.

23:15It's inside the computer.

23:17So, okay, the computer lets us take something home, but it's the computer that owns everything,

23:24right?

23:25Yes.

23:26We had this discussion in the group, so the technical guy says, oh, the original image

23:32is in the main store.

23:33Right.

23:34And maybe I would say it's on the screen, on the phosphor dots on the screen.

23:37But that is a reproduction of the zeros.

23:39Yeah, that's true.

23:40So in digital art, all you ever see is what the computer lets you take home, right?

23:46Yeah.

23:47Or C.

23:48Yeah.

23:49And so they would say, oh, you know, like, is this?

23:52So I did this in 1984, 85, and they say, well, is, you know, is this an original?

24:02And I'm like, yeah, because any artist, the key thing of any artist, he goes, it's finished.

24:09I want to, this is the way I want people to see it.

24:13Now, it's not just the painting, the way it's finished.

24:16It's what size the painting is, where it's shown, what the frame is around it, et cetera,

24:21that you go, I want to see it, people to see it in this form.

24:25But this is done on a video paint box, right?

24:27That's on a video paint box, so...

24:28But even if it's done on a video paint box, it's still...

24:32You create this quality by putting it on a negative...

24:36On a film recorder.

24:37On a film recorder, yeah.

24:38So the funny thing is, right, so there's also, with the blockchain and all this, people say, hey, well, this authenticates this thing.

24:46So this was done in 1985, you couldn't do this on any other computer that existed at that time.

24:54Yeah.

24:55So you'd say, well, how do we know it was 1985?

24:57And you go, well, I'll show you the film, and that kind of film is from 1985.

25:01And you go, well, I could buy some of that film now and maybe redo it.

25:05And you go, well, see these lines, this is from a video, this is 625 lines of video.

25:13So then they go, yeah, but you could probably do that on Photoshop, which you couldn't.

25:18Yeah.

25:19But then you go, well, you see how the lines run vertically.

25:23Because it's an upside.

25:25Because the resolution, I wanted the biggest resolution, and a TV screen is horizontal.

25:30So if I had the 3x4 screen and worked vertically, there'd be all this lost information.

25:38So I work sideways.

25:41So all my images have the lines going vertical because I had to do that to get the best quality

25:47because of that technology.

25:49And did you rotate the screen, the CRT screen?

25:51No, because you've got the menus.

25:53Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

25:54So basically, you are working with this technology and working out the best way of doing it.

25:58So yeah, when you look at this, you go, I don't need the blockchain or any certificate of authenticity to say this.

26:05Yeah.

26:06This has got digital fingerprints from film, the computer, the output, the lines, everything.

26:13It's like seeing a Leonardo painting and you go, well, there's a watermark from the paper company that, you know, only existed at that time.

26:22You have different watermarks in here.

26:24The film recorder, the resolution artifacts from the machine itself.

26:28Yeah.

26:29So this is what the art is, right?

26:31You embrace it.

26:33So actually, people at the time and now say, wouldn't you love a graphic paint box, which is photo quality?

26:39And I said, no, because I love this feel.

26:42Yeah.

26:43Like, it's like saying to somebody who does oil painting, well, it's kind of like that texture.

26:47Wouldn't you like to have, like, work with gouache because it's not bumpy?

26:50And you go, no, I love the bumpiness.

26:53So I kind of love the bumpiness of this.

26:55This is, to me, it tells the story and it places it within that moment.

27:01So, and I don't want to live in the past.

27:04It's not about that.

27:05But this is like, if you're going to work with a paint box, it's like, this is working.

27:11I don't know what would be the analogy, but it's like, it's buying an old, like an old,

27:16it's like buying an old classic car, like an E-type Jag and saying, yeah, but I'm going to put an electric engine in it.

27:22Yeah.

27:23It's like, well, it's not an E-type Jag, right?

27:25So, you know, you enjoy the fact it breaks down and smells and all those.

27:29It's part of the story.

27:31Can you show something on your machine that you did or that people did on the exhibition so far?

27:40Yeah.

27:41So, obviously, this is the second series.

27:45So, this is the other irony.

27:48The OG person, so this is, we have this, this switching grasshopper and the master thing.

28:00Yeah.

28:01So, I'm a grasshopper to you being the master of knowing the tech and the moving around,

28:07because he loves doing video of the motion graphics.

28:10I can use it very well, I think.

28:12Yeah, he can use it very well, but I just used it for still images.

28:15So, I know, a bit like Photoshop, you just use the parts of it that you want.

28:20But also, I've got eight of these, but Matt's got the original paint box that I worked on.

28:27Yeah.

28:28Which is kind of weird because it should be the other way around.

28:30Yeah.

28:31We try to repair it still, but I hope that we can make it working at some point.

28:36Yeah.

28:37But I also, this is, if I only had the original one, you couldn't bring it here, for instance,

28:43and people play on it because it's too fragile and old, etc.

28:47Too much, too heavy.

28:49Too heavy.

28:50Yeah, maybe, yeah.

28:53Yeah.

28:54So, what's cool is that, like, we have this, like, interchange between our talents where I'm

28:58expert at something and you're an expert on something.

29:00I've got this tech.

29:01Yeah, yeah.

29:02I've got your generation of tech and you've got my generation of paint box.

29:07Maybe at one point we swap.

29:09Let's see.

29:10Let's see.

29:11But if you show any images from this, the nice thing is, if I go library...

29:18I'm still gonna say it.

29:20Oh.

29:21Yeah.

29:22If I go...

29:23Oh, sorry.

29:24So, did you talk about the menu and the...

29:27Of the menu, the pen and the interface and...

29:30Yeah.

29:31But maybe if you...

29:32Can you show something from Hockney?

29:33So, if you look at this menu here, everything that you read here, paint, chalk, airbrush, draw

29:42stencil, effects, you know, I love...

29:45This is my favorite thing where it'll say, try it or do it.

29:49Because if you were in a photo studio or in a graphics lab or...

29:53Yeah.

29:54You'd say, hey, Matt, what do you think of this?

29:56Yeah.

29:57And you go, try it.

29:58And then you go, oh, yeah, looks kind of cool.

30:00Yeah, do it.

30:01Yeah.

30:02Yeah.

30:03So, they always...

30:04Quantel always said it took three years and one day to learn the paint box.

30:08And that's three years at art college and one day at Quantel.

30:11This is nice.

30:12And it actually was half a day because you would spend the morning and then you go to

30:17the pub for the rest of the day.

30:19So, everything in here is what you would recognize.

30:23So, when you draw the stencil, it's red because that's what, in a photo lab, to mask an area,

30:30you'd have this rubylith.

30:32So, everything was familiar to you.

30:34Now, people say, and famously, the paint box had no undo.

30:39And I asked the guy who invented this, why is there no undo?

30:45And he said, well, okay, well, technologically, it was very difficult to...

30:48We were pushing technology to the limit.

30:51But also, he said, why would we have undo?

30:55If you went in a photo studio or anything, there was no undo.

30:58Or if you were a sculptor or a watercolorist, there was no undo.

31:02So, undo is a modern concept that you can just change anything.

31:07And so, on this, when I was working on this, I always told people,

31:14because people say, oh, you know, I was doing this for my pleasure.

31:19But people would say, oh, do you get paid as a...

31:22Did you make money as a digital artist?

31:24Nobody wanted to buy this.

31:26There was no market or interest for this.

31:29But I got paid $500 an hour to work on TV commercials or doing record covers.

31:35That record cover, that took me 20 minutes.

31:39So, you know, they said, okay, it's going to be called Gold Mother.

31:42I found a Leonardo engraving.

31:44Just reflected it in some tinfoil, did some gold on it.

31:48So, for instance, if I...

31:51I'll give you a good example of why I was paid.

31:54So, David Hockney's first digital art was done on the paint box.

31:59So, 1985, literally five days ago, it was the 40th anniversary.

32:05So, for instance, this image...

32:09So, how did he know about this?

32:12He was invited onto it.

32:13So, there was a producer who came up with this concept.

32:15There's an image, maybe you can show that.

32:18So, there's David Hockney on the paint box.

32:22See all his cigarettes.

32:24It's funny because there's literally a photograph of the reception at Quantel

32:28and there's a sign saying, no smoking.

32:30Yeah.

32:31But it's David Hockney, so...

32:32What to do?

32:33He gets to smoke.

32:34And you see his progress from how many piles of cigarette butts are in that thing.

32:38So, let's see that image there.

32:42Well, that is...

32:47This image that he's drawing.

32:52Which is...

32:53There's a dog.

32:54There's these women, you know, there's a tortoise there or a turtle

32:57and, you know, a woman changes to a cat or whatever.

33:00But...

33:01So, if you say to me, right, it's 1984 and you say, right,

33:06okay, here's this image and for whatever reason, this part of the image is cut off.

33:13Could you replace that?

33:15Now, what you would have to do is print that out.

33:17You'd have to get a physical airbrush, try and match this blue,

33:21then try and match these colours, hand paint them in.

33:24Can you imagine how long that would take?

33:27So, let me show you how long it takes for me.

33:30So, pick that colour there.

33:35Make a smaller brush.

33:39Put that colour in there.

33:42Go to painting.

33:47So, yeah, you know, we know when David Hockney produced this on there.

33:50It looks like that kind of brush.

33:52Let's pick the colour off the screen.

33:57There you go.

33:58Goes there.

33:59Goes there.

34:00A bit of squiggle goes around like that.

34:03This down here.

34:04Oh, it's missing the purple.

34:06Let's grab the purple.

34:07Sorry, David.

34:11So, that shows that he used the original primary colours from this.

34:17What was that?

34:18I don't know.

34:19You can look at the video.

34:20It's less than a minute, right?

34:21So, that's why I got paid $500 an hour.

34:24Because you could do things that were conventional but faster.

34:28So, this was the whole point of the paint box.

34:31And the better quality.

34:32And it's better quality.

34:33So, the whole point of the paint box was that it enabled you to do whatever you could do in 1989.

34:40One.

34:41But you could do it better.

34:43And you could animate that and do all this kind of things.

34:46But it also enabled you to cut that out, do it 3D.

34:50Things that you could never even dream of.

34:53So, that's why it was a quarter of a million dollars.

34:55It completely... NBC bought 12 of these.

34:58Because they said, our designers do better design and graphics.

35:02Which means that the viewers see better graphics.

35:05And they go, hey, we want to watch NBC.

35:08Because they're Olympics coverage.

35:10Medal tables.

35:11And it looks more modern.

35:12So, then you get more viewers.

35:14And then you get to spend...

35:16Because you've got more viewers.

35:17The advertisers go, oh, yeah.

35:19We'll pay more money for the adverts.

35:21And then the NBC makes more money.

35:23So...

35:24Another question.

35:25How do you animate this?

35:28So, these main menus.

35:30So, you've got painting, graphics.

35:32You know, again, I don't know if your readers realize.

35:35You know, there's paste up.

35:37So, you've got...

35:38You can cut text.

35:40So, we can type in...

35:41Hang on.

35:42Is it one or two S's?

35:43Two.

35:44Uh, two.

35:45Yeah, it's a difficult name.

35:46Yeah.

35:47You know.

35:48So, bad name for English.

35:49Yeah.

35:50Languages.

35:51Or countries.

35:52So, let me make this bright green showy.

35:53That's easy.

35:54So, there you go.

35:55There's Vernissage.

35:56So, bear in mind that this has got a video output.

36:01So, in the director's box now, they're watching all this happens.

36:07And this is live, so it can go straight to tape everything you're doing.

36:12So, this is a video output.

36:15So, in the director's box now, they're watching all this happens.

36:20And this is live, so it can go straight to tape everything you're doing.

36:23So, this is animation because you're playing around.

36:26So, the other thing is, Quanta were the first company of all companies to go to all the

36:32type foundries and say, hey, we're destroying your business, but we can sell this typeface

36:38to our customers for $500, and we'll split the money.

36:42And so, all these, you can get a thousand fonts, all official fonts on this.

36:48So, this size, I love certain things.

36:51So, if I want to change this size to 50, this is how you would do it on Photoshop or Illustrator,

36:57right?

36:58Well, that's kind of slow.

36:59So, what you can do here is, you just pick that and you just move the cursor left or right,

37:03or up or down.

37:04And control it with a gesture.

37:05That is what I like so much.

37:06And you do it with a gesture.

37:07Yeah.

37:08Or the kerning.

37:09You go, oh, let's make that there.

37:11Hey, you know, let's...

37:13Hey, look, do, do, do, this.

37:19Okay.

37:20So, yeah.

37:21There's your logo.

37:22Hey, you'll make it a bit bigger or whatever.

37:25And so, if I now, if I now cut that out, we've now got this.

37:36Oh, sorry.

37:37We've got two...

37:38Two cutouts there.

37:39Opacity is down there.

37:42So, if I delete that now.

37:45Yep.

37:46There's your opacity.

37:47So, again, if you want to...

37:49So, let me show you your animation.

37:51So, if I do a sequence, and you don't have to animate this internally.

37:55But I'm going to record that.

37:57And then go this...

38:00Animation like that.

38:09So, there's your TV titles.

38:11Your new Vernissage opening of your TV titles.

38:14And then you go...

38:15In 4x3.

38:16And then you go, oh, actually, it's kind of cool.

38:19But, you know, how about we emboss the letter in?

38:23How about we do a drop shadow?

38:25How...

38:26Oh, let's make that drop shadow bigger.

38:28How about we go to an outline instead?

38:32Flip it.

38:33Tumble it.

38:34Do whatever.

38:35And then maybe, actually, it would be kind of cool if that was a brush.

38:40So, everything is a custom brush cutout.

38:43So, yeah.

38:45If you want to...

38:47You want to see generative art?

38:50So, look.

38:51It's generative art.

38:52I just don't look.

38:57So...

38:58So, basically, I mean, this is...

39:00What's the...

39:01Oh, wait.

39:02Wait.

39:03Oh, wait.

39:04In the perfect 1980s thing.

39:05And wait.

39:06There's more.

39:07There's more.

39:08But wait.

39:09There's more.

39:10There's more.

39:11There's more.

39:12There's more.

39:13Let's make it spin around.

39:14Let's make it 3D.

39:16Oh, yay.

39:21Welcome.

39:22Yeah.

39:23So, yeah.

39:24All of this stuff you could do in one machine.

39:28illustrator photoshop after effects all that stuff all in one machine that is all linked to

39:34everything else if you notice there's no clicking at the box on the top this is still faster than

39:40photoshop faster and even that is still not impossible in photoshop in this yeah you can't

39:45do that in photoshop you don't have a 3d room in photoshop so yeah basically it was just this is a

39:52rocket ship so to get on this it's funny because people said oh was this like the rolls royce

39:58of um of digital art studio and i said no it was a bentley that's faster than a rolls royce

40:06rolls royce is not fast it was the best and the fastest yeah so so yeah uh and obviously you know

40:16the history obviously at the end um now the funny thing is i always explain to people because this

40:23was the television television like the movies is like a magic thing we all know that you know if

40:31you watch avatar it's all kind of fake but you get into the magic of the movie or the magic of the tv

40:36show so if you were like in the old days you would see a microphone come from the boom mic and yeah see

40:44i saw it i saw it and you'd be like oh that's ruining the magic right you didn't want to see

40:49the tech the camera the mic or anything so sometimes you get a video of the director's box where he's

40:54going oh camera three whatever but generally this was all behind the scenes so this was part of the

41:02magic they didn't want you to see it wasn't a secret but that was kind of like if if you saw this

41:09like now your viewers if you watch miami vice the titles how did they do that now you know it's

41:17done on this all these movie posters album covers that you know that was done on this but in those

41:23days that was like having a a program about how the magician did his trick you didn't want to show

41:30it because it was like it ruined the it ruined the effect that you knew why it took something away

41:36sometimes sometimes i showed on children's programs so that's why i'm here yeah yeah yeah and those

41:41would be like an educational thing yeah so that's why when so there's two reasons why people don't

41:47know about it firstly it didn't matter if you were i don't know what bill gates or who would it be the

41:52richest people back then but basically no matter how rich you were like like we're showing this now

42:00and obviously if elon musk came in and said hey uh i want 20 of these like how many kids has he got

42:10he's got like 11 kids or something one for each two for each yeah he's got x number of kids 10 yeah

42:17um so basically he says i want a paint box for each of my children there isn't one you can't have it

42:24so even back then you know if you're a billionaire or a millionaire like if you were richard branson

42:29you wouldn't buy one of these for your kids so nobody had one of these at home just for their

42:35own thing so there's that plus the magic but then obviously when paint box photoshop came along

42:41everyone just had one of that they had the software in the box they made it the password easy to crack

42:48they said to people hey do you want to do plugins so everyone was helping him develop it

42:52develop that community which you know quantel were like great there's always going to be the people

42:59that want the rolls royce you know go into quantel and saying do you want to make photoshop or do it

43:05in a cd in a box you know firstly it was a properly run company so the guy you know peter owen or paul keller

43:15would say well all the people in the factory here we're successful because of those people so what do

43:21we do we fire all those people to make more money we don't want to do that so it was a nice company

43:26that's why everyone loves them still yeah but also it still didn't run as fast and at the end of the

43:33day they didn't want to sell cds in a box because it just didn't seem you know they weren't interested

43:40so they always thought that there'd always be people who would want to buy out you don't go to

43:45rolls royce and say you could make lots of minis you know and this was the rolls royce so they weren't

43:53interested in retail or mass market and in fact paul keller said the only company and bear in mind

43:59they they they they patented the pressure sensitive pen they only sued two companies

44:05in the whole time or maybe three and one of those was adobe for copying all this stuff and basically

44:11the defense which was you know apple funded their lawyers whatever they didn't prove it was all over

44:18patents so they didn't prove that adobe didn't copy the the features they just showed that the patent

44:25existed somewhere else before so you can't have the past and we all know adobe copied and destroyed

44:31companies whatever but like they say you know the the winner of a war gets to choose the history right

44:39so that's why adobe will always everyone assumes photoshop was the first but this is the this is

44:48truly the master and then don't just yeah and photoshop is grasshopper i need to go downstairs

44:55to answer did you have a question no i mean it's a it's an incredible story because i didn't know

45:01about it to be honest no and that's nothing you know professionally by the mpd graphics and of course

45:08album covers and no one in my group we had no idea about this yeah so look at the colors there so see

45:14those colors that's the menu so look miami vice is the two menu colors those pop videos everything that you see

45:23you know and so just i'm not so ignorance is a terrible word because it sounds like you're stupid

45:33it's not ignorant to know to not know about this but all i would say to all your viewers is think of

45:40anything that was made before 1992 because photoshop one was terrible right but even 1990 when photoshop

45:47was launched think of anything that appeared that was digital on your screen a weather map

45:52tv graphics michael jackson video or whatever and ask yourself well look there's a there's a movie

45:59that shows you know swapping heads around with sean connery you know there's nbc in new york so

46:05everyone knows wayne's world right so wayne's world you know the graphics were done on the paint box

46:10so to make it and it's funny the designers that it was like 1991 wayne's world so they made it look

46:18like old paint box graphics like they were distorted because it was already old school so yeah all just

46:25all your viewers next time you see anything made in the 80s or appeared on tv in the 80s or in the 90s

46:32or most of the 90s like up to the mid 90s the chances are it's done on this unless there's 3d graphics

46:39obviously it didn't do you know terminate it didn't do terminator liquid metal but the poster for

46:46terminator 2 was done on the paint logs i mean i think it's that's always interesting to know the

46:52history of things because someday we all dump as hell if we don't know about it that's why it's important

47:00to know about these things because otherwise we one day start from from nothing again yeah and it's important

47:08that these things are brought to mind because of people so so if you say okay uh jennifer bartler

47:16when she went on this in 1986 she said wow this is so powerful and confusing that it's first it's

47:24like meaning on a game but secondly she said i can imagine a whole like generation of schizophrenics

47:32who don't know where reality ends and digital begins that was in 1986 you know richard hamilton

47:39said you know the philosophical implications of this it's like a giant leap in photography because

47:44you can just do anything and how is that going to be used for good or bad you know all the the

47:50supermodels that were retouched on this or whatever all your body dysmorphia all your fake news

47:56the original digital fake news was all done on this so good and bad our world changed in the 80s

48:05where you thought everything was real and then you were surprised when something was digital

48:12and because of this and that all that came after we now think everything is digital and we're surprised

48:18when it's real that's kind of like crazy right so so yeah well i met the uh the guy who founded crypto

48:26punks and i shook his hand i said oh i want to thank you because i said you're like the rolling stones

48:33you popularized digital art people made money great but i said keith richards playing the blues

48:42that's some guy in the mississippi delta he stole his blues riff and you tweaked it around and made it

48:49more commercial well this is the blues delta thing that the photoshop is the rolling stones yeah everyone

48:58knows of that but thankfully enough people want to go back and go well where did photoshop start

49:06where did rolling stones songs come from where did those tunes come from and i don't mind nobody knows

49:14but i think it's cool if they're interested you find out and have a think so just ask yourself hey

49:21where did that image come from how did you do it and as you say learning that makes your enjoyment of

49:28photoshop and all the other images deeper because you go wow there's like another 10 year story here that's

49:34really interesting hey guys thank you so much thank you good uh super interesting yeah thank you

49:42not so i didn't know it yeah yeah so for instance when i so this is a good example i was asked to do an

49:51album for this family

50:11you know this way is that you see

50:13I love you, I love you, I love you

50:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.

50:44Yeah, yeah.

50:44It's amazing.

50:45I know.

50:45It's very cool.

50:46So, it's not.

50:47I'm just.

50:48I'm just.

50:49I'm not.

50:50You don't.

50:51I'm just.

50:52I'm not.

50:53I don't.

50:54I have to.

50:55I have to.

50:56I can't stand up to you.

50:58Well.

50:59It's right.

51:00What are you?

51:01This is.

51:02This is like a flip.

51:03I don't know.

51:04You know.

51:05You know.

51:06You know.

51:07You know.

51:08I can.

51:09You know.

51:10I can't.

51:11I just want to say hi.

51:17I just want to say hi.

51:21I just want to say hi.

51:24I just want to say hi.

51:28Over and over again.

51:32It's funny.

51:33I just want to say hi.

51:43I just want to say hi.

51:46When I was in London,

51:49whenever I know our wedding in the past,

51:51you never call me anything.

51:53I always came to bring a clear vacuum.

51:55I had four of them.

51:57Three of them are mine.

51:59I'm sorry.

52:01I'm sorry.

52:03I'm sorry.

52:05I'm sorry.

52:07I'm sorry.

52:11I'm sorry.

52:13I'm sorry.

52:15I'm sorry.

52:17I'm sorry.

52:19I'm sorry.

52:21You're right.

52:23Very standard, sorry.

52:25Very standard,AST.

52:28The other do weait're Mode break?

52:37You know, it depends.

52:39At the beginning of the time for theNot timing and not to be there,

52:44mostly to block﹑

52:47and, uh...

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