Brian Norwood: Digital Beginings
I have began doing Macintosh generated, manipulated, and enhanced images about 4 years ago in college. The freedom and speed of the Macintosh literally destroys limitations that have been put on the visual arts for centuries. Here are some of my digital explorations. Most of the images on this page are fairly primative, but it is an interesting cross section of my first explorations.
First Year Images
A word about these early works. The very idea of creating art on the Macintosh was very foreign to me. What you see here are the art equivalents of a baby taking it's first steps. As with anything worth doing, you get better with practice.
Poltergiest: This was my first digital abstract. I found the scanner and cloning devices made realistic art work too easy and very unsatisfying. This image was made in Adobe PhotoShop and Fractal Designs Painter 4.
World 4.4: Mostly Painter. This evolved from a stock image I goof with from time to time. It inspired a series of stellar images.
Meaning: I was very much struggling with the idea of love when this was produced. So if it seems turbulent... what can I say?
Tree of Life:This is Meaning's sister image. Infact, it was born from it, as I started distorting a copy of meaning to derive this image.
Second Year Images
XTC 2.1: An hommage to my urban roots. Graffiti was part of my introduction to art many years ago. This was All Fractal Designs Painter 4.0
Mona Lisa Overdrive V2.2: and V3.1: These were done by extremely manipulating the images in Photoshop 4.0 and Painter 4.0 and then 5.0. Mind you, Leo is one of my heros, and this was by no means a parody of his work. I just wanted to add a 90's cyberpunk kind of feel to a classic image. The titles are derived from a William Gibson novel.
Self Portarit This was a photo taken of me at a cafe performance of my music. 100% Photoshop.
Workers Unite! An unusual turn of events in my Jim Dine inspired tool experiments. I should point out that I am not a communist. I must admit, however, that Stalin and Lenin had strong images.
Greenrock: As pure a painting as I have ever done on the computer, this image is 100% Fractal Designs Painter 4.0. It is my first nude on the computer and probably my favorite nude of all time. This was a very sensuous and emotional image for me. This is not finished, but it would break my heart to change it right now.
Color Experiment 22 A faded black and white photo. (yes it's Brittany Spears, gimme a break) The original is on the left and the hand colored enhanced image on the right. Photoshop, but I might have had it in Kai's PhotoSoap briefly.
Spectral Spectre Another scanned drawing manipulated in Photoshop. I LOVE bright colors. It's kind of un-hip in the art scene right now. But I can't help it.
Platypi Graphics: This was the "company" logo for a while. You can contact Platypi Graphics at platypus_man@hotmail.com
Text As Image
Water World: My first attempt at creatively modifying text. All Painter 5, this was the beginning of discovery.
Garden of Delights: More experimenting. Picking up the background and making it text. Painter 5.
Stone: An enduring tribute to that firm substance. This is where I really felt I had begun to take control of the text tool. Again, Painter 5
What is Hip?: This is me making a statement, both literally and metaphorically. Is the trendy eye candy we see in advertising REALLY as hip as we are led to believe? Are we such a generation of lost sheep that we must look to M-tv for ideas about style and taste? The title comes from a Tower of Power song, and of course, my muse.
Chrome: I love the rich metallic luster that Painter can give to text. Sure, this was more an excercise than anything. But a successful excercise.
Golden: This was experimenting for a project I was doing for the university. Our dean wanted that "gold logo on a red Lexus" look. I think I did ok.
Ghosts: This was an art piece. I wanted text with an etherial, spiritual nature. I did some more of these with text from Scripture. Maybe I'll get them up soon.
Paint: My ongoing project for the department is to showcase the abilities of our software and color output for promotional purposes. Painter 5.1 and the Epson Stylus Color 3000 are my weapons of choice.
Color: Another ad for the Dept. of Visual Arts. Anyone familiar with Painter knows this wasn't all that hard to do. To the powers that be, however, the look was impressive.
Big Color: This was THE department ad. The school seal is supposed to work it's self in there, but I have only this version, beacuase repographics stole my Zip disk. but I love 'em anyway. :o) Tool I have had a facination with tools ever since I first saw Jim Dines drawings. For me, they a personal symbol fo masculinity and a reminder of both my Father and Grandfather.
the Technology Images
Hell486: This was all Photoshop. I thought it was interesting making such an anti-technology statement on the Macintosh. I just dropped an old controler card onto a flatbed scanner and did that my own brand of voodoo. Take special note of the text. It was all erased and replaced. The effect was the most rewarding part of the project.
the Sirens of Cyber Space
Siren#1 | Siren#2 They are what they are. No more, no less. Posters declaring "Welcome to beautiful CYBER-SPACE". A pointed jab at the absurd idea of cyber-sexuality. A social comentary on the lustful abuses of the internet. I have been tempted by the psuedo-reality of cyberspace, but found it wanting. I make no excuses. I think this is a damn fine art. This has recently become a series.
Technology & Nature 3.2The most recent of the "Technology Images". Like it's cousins above, it was produced largely by Photoshop, although Painter did sneak in here at the end. If you look close, you can see the reflected water in the image, but JPEG encoding has really not done it justice
Matirx Inspired by the movie of the same name. I am facinated by that glowing green text. I wish MY computer did that.
