Introduction

SIGGRAPH 2017 Art Papers is the ninth joint publication by ACM SIGGRAPH and Leonardo/ISAST of this special journal issue. This ongoing collaboration fosters a lively dialogue that bridges topics at the heart of SIGGRAPH—the intersection of computer graphics and interactive techniques, with topics central to artists' endeavors at the leading edge of digital culture that provide an additional dimension to artists' voices. Coinciding with the SIGGRAPH conference, and given its accelerated publication timeline, this annual special issue is a unique opportunity for artists to reveal the motivations, thought processes, inspiration, and methodologies behind their work. It reflects the myriad ways in which artists make contributions to their respective genres, build novel communities of practice, and affect the evolution of global culture.

This year's issue contains six papers selected by an international jury of scholars, artists, and developers of immersive technologies from more than 50 submissions from 15 countries. Authors submitted papers to an open call for Art Papers in four categories (project description, theory/criticism, methods, and history) and in response to the theme of artists' contributions to virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. The theme acknowledges the current renaissance of these technologies and their role in emergent digital culture and serves to recognize the role of artists in pioneering these technologies and their use as an expressive medium within the broader context of computation as a cultural force. Topics in this year's Art Papers include storytelling via large-scale mixed-reality interaction; reinterpreting films through machine learning; the impact of generative cinema; redefining lenticular stereography as animation in cylindrical form; mechatronic light field photography; and a media archaeological exploration of the birthplace of the virtual reality CAVE.

A six-member jury working together with 17 tertiary reviewers collectively represents a spectrum of expertise, including digital and interactive art; virtual, augmented, and mixed reality; artificial intelligence; natural language processing; museum and art education; human–computer interaction; performance; data art; mechatronics; sound art; computer graphics; haptics and more. The selected papers are the result of an extensive and rigorous two-round jury and tertiary review process that also included feedback from the Leonardo editors. Additionally, 2017 marks two firsts for the Art Papers program: the initiation of a Best Paper Award and the inclusion of a representative selection of art papers to be previewed as part of the Technical Papers Fast Forward session. Participation at the Fast Forward session not only enhances the visibility of the program but also provides recognition of its scholarly contributions. The Art Paper Award recognizes excellence in contributions to the literature on digital arts, computer graphics, and/or interactive techniques.

I'm honored to have served with so many talented and dedicated colleagues who contributed to this year's Art Papers program and special issue. I would like to extend special thanks to the members of the jury—Julieta Aguilera, Angus Forbes, Jon McCormack, Eitan Mendelowitz, Savannah Niles, and Jennifer Parker—and the tertiary reviewers—Hisham Bedri, Jeff Burke, Blanka Domagalska, Vince Dziekan, Angela Ellsworth, Esteban García Bravo, Toby Gifford, Yoon Chung Han, Haru (Hyunkyung) Ji, Jennifer Kanary, Dmitry Kmelnitsky, Hye Yeon Nam, Mitchell Polin, Karen Stolzenberg, Timothy M. Stutts, Daria Tsoupikova, and Graham Wakefield—for their dedication and excellent work in selecting the papers for presentation/publication and shepherding them through the editorial process. Thank you also to my colleagues on the SIGGRAPH 2017 conference committee for their inspiration and the joy they bring to all of the planning and preparations for the conference, the SmithBucklin Conference Administration team, Leonardo editors, and the Q LTD design team. Without all of your dedication and tireless efforts, this publication would not be possible. Thank you to all of the contributors to the SIGGRAPH 2017 Art Papers program for sharing your work with the ACM SIGGRAPH and Leonardo communities.