Papers by Francis T. Marchese
The concepts of virtues and vices have a long
history. This paper discusses their medieval metap... more The concepts of virtues and vices have a long
history. This paper discusses their medieval metaphorical and
allegorical representations as examples of knowledge
visualizations, and compares them against the criteria put
forward for the use of contemporary knowledge visualizations.
It is found that these medieval visualizations exhibit all the
essential traits expected of knowledge visualizations, making
them not only exemplars of a field, but also documentary
evidence of early explorations (research) into visually
representing and communicating complex knowledge.
During the Middle Ages Gothic cathedrals were
immersive information spaces which supported reli... more During the Middle Ages Gothic cathedrals were
immersive information spaces which supported religious
education and practice. Stained glass windows were essential to
their function, in which Biblical narratives had been translated
by skilled medieval artists into visual forms. This paper
analyzes this visual phenomenon from the perspective of
spatial information systems and the medieval art of memory
A long term strategy is offered for conserving software-based digital art in perpetuity based on ... more A long term strategy is offered for conserving software-based digital art in perpetuity based on software engineering practice. Software engineering is a rigorous, formalized practice approach to preservation that engages all stakeholders, including: artists, curators, and conservators; offering a breadth of methodologies and degrees of rigor that may be adapted by organizations of all sizes. In this paper the focus is on the software engineering maintenance process, and how it converts digital art into formats that should make it preservable and displayable in the deep future.
This paper reviews some of the visualizations employed to represent information during the Middle... more This paper reviews some of the visualizations employed to represent information during the Middle Ages. It discusses four kinds of of visualizations: rotae, arc diagrams, tables and trees. It considers the historical context underlying early medieval scholarship and how these visualizations were used.
This paper describes the application of Medieval and Renaissance color theory to the computer gra... more This paper describes the application of Medieval and Renaissance color theory to the computer graphic rendering of molecular models. In particular, Alberti's and Cennini's color theories were employed to render shaded geometric primitives such as cylinders and spheres that are the components of traditional ball-and-stick and space filling molecular models. These results were compared with standard rendering based on the OpenGL API or through ray tracing. It is found that by implementing Alberti's and Cennini's color theories as color maps within a simple chemical illustration program it is possible to create molecular imagery comparable to contemporary computer graphics schemes.
This paper presents our experiences with adapting single-user visualization software for web-base... more This paper presents our experiences with adapting single-user visualization software for web-based collaboration. Sun's Java JXTA API was used to adapt an opensource molecular visualization program called Jmol. It was found that by focusing on the program's graphical user interface the software could be quickly transformed into a peer-to-peer application. Our positive experience implies that many useful single-user programs should be transformable into tools that make collaboration across the web easier to initiate, more spontaneous, and supported by a wide range of visualization software.
This paper explores the development of the chemical table as a tool designed for chemical informa... more This paper explores the development of the chemical table as a tool designed for chemical information visualization. It uses a historical context to investigate the purpose of chemical tables and charts, analyzing them from the perspective of theory of tables, cartography, and design. It suggests reasons why the two-dimensional periodic table remains the de facto standard for chemical information display.
This paper considers the deep history of tables as visualization modalities. It covers four kinds... more This paper considers the deep history of tables as visualization modalities. It covers four kinds of tables that have appeared between 1900 BCE and 1300 CE: Sumerian accounting tables, chronicles, canon tables, and medieval calendars as representations of some of the earliest milestones in information visualization. Analysis of these tables demonstrates as early as 1300 BCE the need to visualize information had driven the invention of representations that transformed the way information has been communicated and used.
A b s T r A C T Displaying digital art in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is ... more A b s T r A C T Displaying digital art in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is already proving to be a challenge. Exhibiting this same art in the distant future will depend upon new thinking and practices developed today by artists, conservators, and curators. Established software engineering methods for dealing with aging systems can provide a new model for the conservation of digital art, and a foundation for the enhancement of art-historical scholarship. Artists with an interest in a more refined approach to the programming that underpins their work will also be interested in software engineering concepts.
Museum visitors today can regularly view 500 year old art by Renaissance masters. Will visitors t... more Museum visitors today can regularly view 500 year old art by Renaissance masters. Will visitors to museums 500 years in the future be able to see the work of digital artists from the early 21 st century? This paper considers the real problem of conserving interactive digital artwork for museum installation in the far distant future by exploring the requirements for creating documentation that will support an artwork's adaptation to future technology. In effect, this documentation must survive as long as the artwork itself -effectively, in perpetuity. A proposal is made for the use of software engineering methodologies as solutions for designing this documentation.
The long-term conservation of code-based digital art remains an open issue. Recently, we have pro... more The long-term conservation of code-based digital art remains an open issue. Recently, we have proposed the use of software engineering methodologies to create rigorously structured documentation that will support archival preservation of a digital artwork with the intent of future installation. In this paper we expand this notion by proposing that the software engineering process, and its artifacts provide a means for systematically organizing and comparing a collection of digital artworks. In so doing, software engineering transforms existing artisanal preservation procedures into a schematized process that can be integrated with traditional art conservation practice. Software preservation also becomes an activity associated with software archaeology: the systematic study of software systems through the recovery and examination of outstanding material evidence, such as source code, tests, and design documentation. The paper focuses as well on the practice of software archaeology as it applies to the systematic study of software-based artworks to: reveal patterns in their underlying architectures, preserve archetypal software, maintain a historical record, and select artifacts for preservation.
The agile process approach used in software engineering was adapted as a foundation for the manag... more The agile process approach used in software engineering was adapted as a foundation for the management of the multimedia art installation project titled "Trigger." By beginning with requirements engineering and risk management assessments, instead of rigid planning, the project was designed with flexibility that allowed for iterative adjustment. The residency period drew the artist, Jody Zellen, and the computer scientists together for agile learning by the processes of doing and testing. This style of management allowed the group to act decisively with incomplete information, thereby successfully finishing the project in time to meet a rigid deadline.
Spreadsheets are a great way to introduce computer graphics concepts to computer science students... more Spreadsheets are a great way to introduce computer graphics concepts to computer science students. Through direct manipulation of numbers, students develop a more concrete understanding of the data they compute from the formulas they derive and use. This paper presents some experiences using spreadsheets for in-class demonstrations and homework assignments.
We report our experiences with application of the optical art techniques of Victor Vasarely and B... more We report our experiences with application of the optical art techniques of Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley to visualization of height field and vector field data. The bold use of color and simple form in Op Art engages the preattentive processing ability of the human visual system, facilitating a nearly instantaneous perception of image properties without the need for extended scrutiny of component parts. A software system called Op-Glyph was constructed to illustrate the Op Art method for data visualization, providing a user with extensive control over a visual representation's primitives, including shape, size, and color. Initial results suggest that this glyph-based approach to data visualization may be a viable alternative or complement to more complex representation schemes, particularly in situations where there are limited processing or graphical capabilities, such as with PDAs.
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Papers by Francis T. Marchese
history. This paper discusses their medieval metaphorical and
allegorical representations as examples of knowledge
visualizations, and compares them against the criteria put
forward for the use of contemporary knowledge visualizations.
It is found that these medieval visualizations exhibit all the
essential traits expected of knowledge visualizations, making
them not only exemplars of a field, but also documentary
evidence of early explorations (research) into visually
representing and communicating complex knowledge.
immersive information spaces which supported religious
education and practice. Stained glass windows were essential to
their function, in which Biblical narratives had been translated
by skilled medieval artists into visual forms. This paper
analyzes this visual phenomenon from the perspective of
spatial information systems and the medieval art of memory
history. This paper discusses their medieval metaphorical and
allegorical representations as examples of knowledge
visualizations, and compares them against the criteria put
forward for the use of contemporary knowledge visualizations.
It is found that these medieval visualizations exhibit all the
essential traits expected of knowledge visualizations, making
them not only exemplars of a field, but also documentary
evidence of early explorations (research) into visually
representing and communicating complex knowledge.
immersive information spaces which supported religious
education and practice. Stained glass windows were essential to
their function, in which Biblical narratives had been translated
by skilled medieval artists into visual forms. This paper
analyzes this visual phenomenon from the perspective of
spatial information systems and the medieval art of memory