ABOUT THE ART

All my life I have had a passion for science fiction/fantastic art and illustration. For me it has been a vehicle to vicariously express my life spiritual and psychic impressions, the mythic past and future of mankind, our drive to experience the transcendent and the strange potentials of science itself-despite the pastiche of these things the genre can sometimes be. I love the exploration of hypothesis the art form engenders, as well as the actual honing of the craft. Creating evocative imagery to inspire the imagination is what its all about, and in 21st century terms those images must be both vivid and visceral.

Among the better definitions of science fiction I've heard is "Hubris versus Nemesis"; Hubris overcoming Nemesis is the original aim of all science, if not all civilization, as well as the major theme of most early science fiction (though in more recent times it seems to be Nemesis overcoming Hubris). This theme is central in the psychology of my approach to my work. It is my belief that man is a God evolving, and science fiction is often a glimpse into that.

Science fiction is a state of mind. It is a challenge to continually visualize the future of the human race. Whereas this is commonly expressed in most film and TV as the future impact of technology, it is the exploration of consciousness and the mind, as well as our definitions of being human, which to me expresses the highest science fiction.

It seems to me that the human mind is unconsciously aware of many realities which we cannot (or will not) accept as "reality" and therefore fictionalize. I've found it is from this fact that my interest in the art form has truly thrived. Many of the strong emotions the themes in scifi arouse in its audience is a composition of religious belief, worship of technology and the mythic unconscious cooked over the slow fire that the world is really really changing, and that we are the very things effecting that change. I suspect people in other eras have felt similarly, but its plain to see that the coming age will be completely unlike anything that has have come before it in all of history. Will we, should we survive? Prometheus is unbound, prepare yourselves!

ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ART

The growth of powerful personal computers has far surpassed the predictions science fiction had once made regarding them. The technology has contributed both to the proliferation but also an alteration in the dynamics of the art form, giving us new capabilities for visualization yet also seeming to erode the sense of the aesthetic which inspires this kind of art. Most artists working with computers today must be technicians as well as creatives, and the entertainment community has begun to reconsider this fact. In less than a decade digital media has gone from avant garde to necessity-a trend to be at least slightly wary of. And though a good computer is fairly cheap, the state of the art remains exorbitantly expensive and requires as much if not more commitment and resources than ever before.

In fact the best computer artists are unique individuals, able to combine creative instincts and aesthetic with the hard technical skill necessary for success in the work. When talent has the opportunity to develop skills which reflect its potential the results are always excellent. But it is still a very rare combination, one that should not be taken for granted.

It is my prediction that in the coming years the ever decreasing costs of high end hardware and software combined with the exposure of the public to the media will allow for some truly incredible art and media (Digital video production and editing is going through the same process). As usual, however, both the creators and the public must be careful not to take the current state of the art for granted. The truth is the art form is still in its infancy and in the next decade the gap between technician and artist will decrease, making for even more fantastic art.

And in a sense, displaying anything online is technically an act of science fiction, or at least has been for a short time. Not only can a computer artist produce more graphically stunning visual techniques now than ever before but also present his work to a vast world audience in a direct fashion via the Web.

What we now take for granted is a result of the mission of science fiction.