Prime-O-Mat Printscreen V2 (POMPS)

A standalone device to create and print all PRIME-O-MAT Pictures

The Prime-O-Mat Printscreen (POMPS) was developed in 2024 to generate, show and print concrete artworks. The console consists of a wooden box that houses a TFT screen, a control panel, a PC, and a photo printer. The wooden box shaped like a Fibonacci spiral was crafted in Solingen by former Düsseldorf ice hockey player Jens Krüger.

With version V2 of the program, you can calculate and print all Prime-O-Mat pictures from series 1–48 and series 1–1680.

Available Programs:

Black&White: Prints your images in black and white.

Konfetti (RGB): Prints your images in color using RGB (red, green, and blue).

DICE: Picks non-prime numbers at random. (Note: A prime number is a number that can only be divided evenly by 1 and itself.) You can run this mode in black&white, BLUE, or PCCOLORS.

Artistic classification

The series 1-48 and 1-1680 belong to the artistic movements of Concrete Art, Geometric Abstraction, and Generative Art

Logical and mathematical principles are used as imaging procedures: Within a grid of 48 columns (1–48) or a matrix of 48x35 fields (1–1680), prime numbers are first determined algorithmically. Depending on the program mode, they are highlighted in various colors (often black), while non-prime numbers remain white or take on another color (such as in DICE mode, which uses random calculations with fixed colors from different color systems).

The number range to be checked results from the image date selected by the operators: The starting image is the analog original image 1 to 1680 at the launch of the Prime-O-Mat project on February 22, 2022 (Hour Zero).Since then, this image has been newly generated online daily by shifting the number range:Image 1: Numbers 1–1680 (Launch date: Feb 22, 2022)Image 2: Numbers 1681–3360Image 3: Numbers 3361–5040 and so on.The selected date maps the corresponding number range through date calculations, even into the past. Due to the structure of the number sequence, a pattern emerges that has no relation to reality and is therefore considered objectless (groundless).

Since March 30, 2022, the 1-48 series has been added to prime-o-mat.com.

The Matrix: The image matrix consists of 48 equally wide vertical stripes that represent the number range from 1 to 48.

The Origin: This series is based on the analog original image 1-48 from 2010.The Design: Unlike the original image, the primary colors red, yellow, and blue are not included. The design remains strictly black and white.

This series is also continued daily towards infinity and is part of program version V2.

Console for extending analog and digital constraints

The prime number calculations required for image generation, as well as the random number calculations in the color modes, are practically impossible to accomplish by hand within a reasonable timeframe without a powerful computer.

By using appropriate hardware, images with the 1680-field matrix in POMPS V2 can be calculated in just a few seconds, even in high number ranges and with random calculations for the non-prime number fields.

The Prime Number Sample Generator included in version V2 splits an image generated in the main program into individual 'SAMPLE' images based on predefined artistic criteria. These can then be printed as independent works from the CONSOLE.

Key Aspects of the Project

Analog to Digital: Dirk Sanner’s prime number paintings—created analogously since 2010 in oil, acrylic, or occasionally as woodcuts—are transferred from the analog world into the digital realm.

Interactive Experience: Through the POMPS as a physical, interactive art console object, the works become accessible to visitors and are brought back into tangible reality via the printing function.

Infinite Combinations: An endless number of prime number paintings are ready for generation within the CONSOLE. Different color modes, paired with random calculations and the Prime Number Sample Generator, allow for an infinite variety of combinations.

In the field

The console is available to gallery visitors for self-service use. Visitors decide to print a specific image based on their own aesthetic preferences and by choosing an image date that creates a matrix-forming number space.At the 2024/2025 premiere at the Galerie R8M in Cologne, visitors generated and printed a total of 15 prints. Further prints have since followed at the Dirk Sanner Studio in Solingen.

Payment for the art prints is handled via a print code system:

The PrintBox: Buyers receive a certificate with a unique, one-time-use print code.

Software Activation: Entering the print code unlocks the printing function in the program.

Materials Used: The setup features a Canon ImagePROGRAF 300 printer with Lucia inks and Hahnemühle Photorag paper.

Quality & Longevity: This produces high-end 30x30 cm art prints guaranteed by the manufacturers to last for at least 50 years.

Unique Value: An artist-signed certificate featuring the unique print code gives each piece its one-of-a-kind character.

Museum Standard: The high material quality creates genuine museum-grade artwork.

Preservation: The PrintBox includes the certificate, the print code, and an archival-grade clear sleeve for safe storage

All generated art prints can be viewed in a dedicated catalogue raisonné within the console. The print code is only required for printing; all other functions are freely available.

Printbox with certificate and archival sleeve