Letters

Leonardo, Vol. 15, No. I, pp. 87-88, 1982 Printed in Great Britain LETTERS 0024-094X/82/0I0087-02$03.00/0 Pergamon Press Ltd. Readers' comments are welcomed on texts published in Leonardo. The Editors reserve the right to shorten letters. Letters should be written in English or in French. ON THE REPRODUCTION OF SHADED DRAWINGS I wish to point out that in my article in Leonardo 14,106 (1981) it was my intention that the pencil drawings of the 40 shaded basic shapes reproduced as Figs. 2 and 3 would indicate their shading. Evidently, the means of reproduction available could not reproduce the shading contained in the originals I provided. I hope that the loss of the subtle shading in these basic shapes does not make the text of the article difficult to understand. An idea of the shading that the originals contain can be obtained from Figs. 4 and 5. Paul Re 10533 Sierra Bonita Ave., NW Albuquerque. NM 87111, US.A. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND VISUAL ART I was happy that Peter Kugel's article of the above title was published in Leonardo 14, 137 (1981). I agree with him that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is of fundamental importance for understanding how digital computers process information. Reactions of researchers on Al and the arts at Interactive Arts, Chicago, were stimulated by the article; these reactions I share. There is a worry about those whose thinking about computers and the arts is limited to established categories in the visual arts, music, etc. During recent years some visual artists have sought to introduce new categories, for example Conceptual Art, Earthworks Art and Performance Art. We believe AI offers the possibility of a significant development of new categories of art. Visual artists in the future may 'sculpt' machine intelligence in the way they now sculpt wood and metal. Kugel did not draw attention to this possibility. I agree with Kugel that the aspect of the human thinking process involving 'going beyond what is given' is a crucial issue for AI and the arts. Exploration of this aspect of the process isan area in which I believe artists might make significant contributions to AI research, because they may have access to a wider repertoire of ways of 'going beyond what is given' subjectively and imaginatively than scientists and engineers doing AI research. I hope Leonardo will continue to provide discussions of these issues, and I wish Kugel luck in his investigations. Stephen Wilson Interactive Arts 2008 North Seminary Chicago, IL 60614, US.A. I thank Stephen Wilson for his letter above [Leonardo 15, 87 (1982)). By emphasizing the role of the digital computer for art criticism in my article [Leonardo 14, 137 (1981)], I did not mean to slight its potential role in the development of new categories of art. I share his enthusiasm about its future roles: (I) as a tool for developing new categories of art and (2) as a material that visual artists might 'sculpt', much as sculptors now sculpt wood and metal. 87 I do, however, worry about those (and I have no reason to think he is one of them) who think that a computer should produce artworks by itself-I fear that only a computer would appreciate such artworks! I would not object ifa computer played a role in my daughter's wedding, but I would prefer that it would not play the role of the groom. There are things in both the making of artworks and of families that are better left to humans. Peter Kugel Computer Science Dept. Boston College Chestnut Hill. MA 02167, US.A. TERMINOLOGY CORRECTION John Willats has drawn the attention of the editors to the need to correct the definition ofaxonometric projection [Leonardo 14, 59 (1981)), a term used in his article in Leonardo 13, 276 (1980). The revised definition now reads: 1037. Axonometric projection, planometric projection (in technical drawing)-A drawing in which a 3-dimensional object (say a cube) is depicted in such a way that its plan view is at an oblique angle to the plane of a sheet of paper (three faces of a cube are shown but none is parallel to the plane of the...