Longtime friend of and collaborator with Leonardo Richard I. Land (b. 1932) (Fig. 1) passed away at Harvard on 12 October 2024. A scientist, computer art pioneer, and media artist, Dick was initially trained in physics and began his career in the late 1950s working with plasma, while simultaneously pursuing an amateur career in theater acting, theater lighting, and the visual arts. An insatiable polymath with endless curiosity, Dick pursued a long and multifaceted career, working simultaneously in the realms of art and the scientific disciplines of optics, fire safety, and human-computer interaction.
In the 1950s, Dick’s work in optics and interest in stage lighting inspired him to create color light machines in the tradition of Thomas Wilfred’s Lumia. Within the 1960s light art movement—a field that connected Dick with Roger Malina and Leonardo—his instruments are remembered for their remarkable sophistication. In 1966, collaborating with engineer Dale...