Sheridan believed that art, science and technology function as interwoven systems.

Her life's work was to explore their aesthetic potential.


In 1970, Sheridan founded the Generative Systems program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Often combining a variety of equipment in unusual ways, she was interested in exploring the creative possibilities of the latest technology.


Like today's generative art, Sheridan's work was conceptual and process-focused.


Sheridan wrote:

>Generative Systems is not primarily equipment and machines, but an idea, an approach and a process that provides new dimensions to our continuing attempts to probe and express the emotional and intellectual lives of human beings.

The Generative Systems program had access to the newest industrial communication tools like Telecopiers, thermo-faxes, computers and more.


Experimenters at heart, Sheridan and her students probed the possibilities of these technological systems to uncover the newest and latest forms of artistic expression.


Sheridan showed the world how the creative use of technological tools and generative processes could push the boundaries of what was considered possible with art.