PHOTO COMPOSERS
Taking the increasingly popular 'Power Partner' approach,
Bowen has the Indy workstation integrated with a Macintosh(R)
computer using Xinet's K-AShare(TM). "When I need to transfer
files back and forth, it's very fast." Networking Indy with Mac(TM)
was simplicity itself, Bowen says. "It was easy; I just plugged it in."
"I've always been fascinated by a challenge and bored by doing the standard old stuff," Horowitz says. "And, of course Bob, too, likes challenges. What I personally enjoy is when there is no idea, when there is nothing, just words that have to be translated into images. I've been around computers for almost nine years, which is a lifetime in this world. Today," Horowitz continues, "the Silicon Graphics system is used in about 90 percent of my work. I've found the computer to be a perfect tool for me. I don't come to it from a technical point of view: I use it as a creative and artistic implement. And the new technology from Silicon Graphics makes things easier and easier. Indy enables us to create effects that have never been created, in a way no one could ever dream of.
"Bob has a great deal of both technical and artistic knowledge," Horowitz elaborates. "We work very closely. Ideas are thrown around, I make sketches, he adds to them. We add or remove elements, and eventually something comes out of it."
"The most positive side of this synergy occurs when an image isn't quite coming together," Bowen adds. "We may disagree, discuss solutions, and then somehow we bring it together. The best pieces come from that type of interaction." Both Bowen and Horowitz say that turning to Silicon Studio solutions has given them greater creative freedom. "I feel liberated by this system," Bowen says. "This is an exciting time to get to surf the technology envelope, because every few months all these new possibilities come down the pike. The Silicon Graphics technology really expands my capabilities in ways other systems haven't."
"Absolutely," Horowitz agrees, "in terms of efficiency and accuracy there is no question. The Indy workstation has become a paramount tool for me."
Asked about future plans, Bowen replies, "I think it's inevitable that we'll move into doing interactive projects."
"I'm particularly interested in digital animation," Horowitz says. "A lot of my images lend themselves to animation, because they convey a story, a movement, a mood. There are possibilities, endless possibilities, and I would love to explore some of them."
Looking at one of their newest images--Allegory II, a vivid southwest landscape seamlessly combined with a levitating liquefying slab, a human baby, and a magisterial eagle--Bowen comments, "I keep being reminded of a remark Isaac Azimov once made: 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'"
Robert Bowen and Ryszard Horowitz have certainly figured out how to make the magic work for them.
