Early examples, include Bell Labs involvement of artists in sound research that was instrumental to telephony, electronic sound, and electronic voice research and electronic music. Also, artist Sonia Sheridan's artist in residency at the 3M research center in the 70's helped influence the development of color copier technology as well as shaping her development of the Generative Systems program at the Art Institute of Chicago that influenced so many artists. These collaborations experimented with mutual definitions of research agendas. The Xerox PARC experience will be described more fully in a book to be published by MIT Press. Skeptics sometimes wonder what possible contribution artists can make to serious research and development.
Artists can augment the research process in several ways.
They can define new kinds of research questions, provide unorthodox interpretations of results, point out missed opportunities for development, explore and articulate wide ranging implications of the research, represent potential user perspectives, and help communicate research findings in effective and provocative ways. They can bring centuries of artistic experience to bear on the technological future. They often approach problems in ways quite different than those of scientists and engineers. The critical role of designers and artists in computer human interface research over the last years demonstrates this new model of interdisciplinary research. They have made a critical error.