The visualization laboratory at Brown University has promoted collaboration among students, computer specialists, and artists for several years. This paper describes some of these collaborative projects, and reflects on what skills each type of student can contribute to them.

The most important conclusion from this work is that artists can provide a unique source of visual insight and creativity in tackling difficult problems. The next important finding is that the appropriate tools for enabling artists to get involved simply don’t exist, particularly in virtual reality (VR). A user-friendly interface is needed for those who don’t wish to spend their time fiddling about at the level of program code. The authors look forward to the involvement of artists in the future exploration of visualization, in the design of novel visual techniques at the deepest level.

If the message presented here is taken seriously, it would suggest that much work in computer graphics has, up to now, been carried out by the wrong mix of people. I would expect such artist and engineers as Leonardo and I.K. Brunel to concur heartily, and I hope that this new understanding will enable more fruitful research from now on.