Computers are making unprecedented aesthetic experiences possible and offer a revolutional way to how art is perceived and taught. The profound impact of digital technology on art during the last years and what it portends for the future, is only beginning to be appreciated.
Although enthusiastically welcomed by the film and broadcasting industries, computers have not been readily accepted by most of the art community. With their enormous potential as visualizing tools, the reticence of the art community is somewhat perplexing. While it is certainly true that the liaison between art and technology has been an uneasy one for some art historians and art educators, their ideas and apprehensions are becoming outdated in the current context of computer knowledge regarding available machines and programs-Today, the wide availability and portability of persona! computers and very sophisticated programs invite the art historians to work directly on their own computers, so that intermediaries are no longer required. However, there is still a need for art historians and teachers to work alongside programmers to improve the familiarity and the simplicity of the user interface towards the artistic and educational directions of art software.
