Introduction

SIGGRAPH 2016 and Leonardo/ISAST present the eighth joint publication of SIGGRAPH Art Papers. Art Papers investigates the roles of artists and the methods of art-making in an increasingly global, networked, and technologically mediated world. Art Papers contributes to our understanding of the history of art, informs contemporary artistic and critical practices, and anticipates and stimulates future trajectories. At the SIGGRAPH 2016 conference, authors present their papers, which, along with a digital supplement, appear in this special issue of Leonardo.

In addition to the core topics of digital and interactive arts, Art Papers highlights excellent practices in the field and addresses both artistic and technical audiences. This year, we especially encouraged papers that consider transdisciplinary research at the frontiers of art, design, science, and engineering; that expand the international and cultural breadth of SIGGRAPH discourses; and that dovetail with the 2016 Art Gallery theme of Data Materialities. An art paper might consist of a project description; a work of history, theory, or criticism; or an exposition of a novel method or technique. With one exception, the 2016 Art Papers consists of descriptions of new creative works, with particular emphasis on their historical and/or theoretical significance. The span of topics is very diverse, ranging from a visualization of Korean genealogy during the Choson dynasty to an appraisal of artist James Turrell’s work in the context of computer-programmed perception.

The jurying process is intense. The Art Papers Committee takes primary responsibility for reviewing the submissions. As chair, I convened an eight-person committee, representing expertise in visualization, gaming, DIY, physical computing, interdisciplinary collaboration, architecture and design, history and theory, and other fields. Each submission was evaluated by at least two Committee members, plus two additional jurors selected by the Committee. Reviews included extensive written comments, which authors have reported are particularly valuable. SmithBucklin (the association management firm that supports SIGGRAPH) was instrumental to the organization of 2016 Art Papers.

The jury evaluated each submission according to the following criteria:

• • Scope and magnitude of its contribution to literature on digital arts, computer graphics, and/or interactive techniques

• • Clarity of thesis and compelling exposition

• • Quality and relevance of references to establish context and support the author’s claims

• • Quality and relevance of support media to reinforce the author’s claims

After extensive virtual communications, the Committee gathered at Rhode Island School of Design, which hosted the in-person jury meeting in March. After a full day of deliberations, and taking into account feedback from the editorial team at Leonardo, the Committee selected what we deemed to be the best, most publishable papers. However, our work was not yet over. The selected papers required improvements specified by the jury before being accepted for presentation at SIGGRAPH and publication in Leonardo. To oversee this process, Committee members communicated required changes to the authors and “shepherded” the papers to final draft stage on a very tight deadline.

It must be highlighted that, aside from the professional organizational support, all of this work was done on a voluntary basis. For all of their hard work, commitment, and sharing of expertise and ideas, I would like to thank the members of the Art Papers Committee and the extended jury. We hope that our efforts have made a valuable contribution to SIGGRAPH, to Leonardo, and to discourse in the field in general.