Some of My Favourite Web Sites Are Art
http://www.alberta.com/unfamiliarart/

Project #13:

EVERY ICON
John F. Simon, Jr.
http://stadiumweb.com/everyicon/

Computer programmers have their own Big Bang Theory. For them the
universe began on January 1st., 1970–an origin they call the "epoch."
Because of this today's computer brains measure dates in
seconds-since-the-epoch. So far in 1998 we've made it to about 900
million.

John Simon's Every Icon started in 1997 and marks the beginning of a
similar epoch–that of digital possibility. By displaying every
combination of pixels in a 32 by 32 grid it will systematically cycle
through every icon imaginable. Given enough time, the black and white
dots of Every Icon will show the Mona Lisa, the Nike Swoosh…
Everything.

But the time needed for it to get there–we're talking a gazillion
years–starts to break down our ability to think. Every Icon is a
practical art project, rendered conceptual, rendered impossible.

One of the first widely available net art projects written in Java and
available for purchase as an edition, Every Icon also suggests a future
for commercially viable net art.