Stephen Wilson

We're sad to have to announce the passing of MITP author Stephen Wilson. Wilson—who taught at San Francisco State University and was the author of Information Arts, as well as a longtime board member for our journal Leonardo—died at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer.

The Leonardo editors offered this appreciation of their colleague's life and work:

The board and staff at Leonardo/ISAST are deeply saddened to announce the death of Stephen Wilson, artist, author, professor and longtime Leonardo/ISAST board member. Stephen Harth Wilson died in San Francisco on January 10, 2011, at age 66, of cancer. He was the beloved husband of Catherine Witzling, devoted father of Sophia Z. Wilson, and loving uncle of Pamela Wilson and Staci Pruitt and their families.

Educated at Antioch College, University of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago, Steve was a leading thinker and practitioner in the field of new media. His award-winning interactive installations and performances were shown in galleries, museums and internationally renowned exhibitions including SIGGRAPH, CHI, NCGA, Ars Electronica, and V2. He was an investigator in NSF projects and artist-in-residence at various think tanks, including Xerox PARC. For many years, he was a Professor of Art at San Francisco State University, where he headed the program in Conceptual & Information Arts. He was the author of several books exploring the cultural implications of the intersection between art, science and technology, including Information Arts (MIT Press/Leonardo Books, 2001) and most recently Art + Science Now (Thames & Hudson, 2010). At the time of his death he was working on an award-winning project on energy harvesting.

Steve was an active member of the Leonardo/ISAST governing board from 1982, when the non-profit was founded, until 2011. He participated in the leadership of the organization with great energy, enthusiasm and insight right up to the very end of his life. Steve was a seeker who combined an indefatigable curiosity with a keen intelligence, an incisive wit, and a kind and generous nature. He lived for his work, his family, his friends and his students, and will be sorely missed by all.

He will indeed be missed.