SArt: Towards Innovation at the Intersection of Software Engineering and Art

Abstract

Computer science and art have been in contact since the 1960s. Our hypothesis is that software engineering can benefit from multidisciplinary research at the intersection with art for the purpose of increasing innovation and creativity. To do so, we have designed and planned a literature review in order to identify the existing knowledge base in this interdisciplinary field. A preliminary analysis of both results of our review and observations of software development projects with artist participation, reveals four main issues. These are software development issues, which include requirement management, tools, development and business models; educational issues, with focus on multidisciplinary education; aesthetics of both code and user interface, and social and cultural implications of software and art. The identified issues and associated literature should help researchers design research projects at the intersection of software engineering and art. Moreover, they should help artists to increase awareness about software engineering methods and tools when conceiving and implementing their software-based artworks.