"Peter Max defined a movement for a completely new generation of artists, and it is clear he will do it again today," said Edward R. McCracken, chairman and chief executive officer, Silicon Graphics, Inc. "Silicon Graphics is proud to provide the technological foundation for this new era of marrying art with digital media. Our goal is to take the visual quality of human thinking and join it with visual computing, thereby inspiring artists everywhere to communicate what's in their imagination."Recognized the world over for this innovative approach to conveying imagery, Peter Max will use Silicon Graphics systems to take his art into new directions. Adept at working in real-time with instantaneously changing colors and forms, Max plans to add the "electronic canvas" to his fundamental approach to art, moving from static paintings to living images, projected art and animation. The artist specifically plans to make use of Silicon Graphics' integrated digital media capabilities and broad range of applications, bringing vast new dimensions of 3D graphics, video and audio to his work. By choosing Silicon Graphics Max also will employ commercial off-the-shelf products, such as Adobe Photoshop(tm) image processing software, to manipulate computer-generated continuous tone, bitmap, grayscale or color images. Adobe Photoshop software running on Silicon Graphics workstations offers users a number of advantages specific to the platform including access to special filters and other high-performance applications and techniques."I want to bring futuristic art forms into the new millenium," Peter Max said. "While I've played around for years with PCs and other computers, a system like Indy represents the greatest thing for artists: the ability to create an odyssey of expression, to communicate in ways that explode the old ideas of what art is all about."
The artist's move to digital creation also is the focus of a nationwide contest hosted by Silicon Graphics that incorporates the company's Indy desktop system and Adobe Photoshop. The winner of the contest will spend a day at Max's New York studio, investigating new approaches to digital art on Silicon Graphics systems.
Peter Max is widely recognized as one of the most important visual pioneers and innovators of the 20th century. The artist's colorful imagery, combining cultural icons with neo-fauvist palette, has reached millions of people around the world. An ardent environmentalist and supporter of animal and human rights, Max is founder of Global Works, a non-profit organization that supports worthy causes through art. His works are in the permanent collection of many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high-performance visual computing and data server systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical and commercial environments through direct and indirect channels. It subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Silicon Graphics, the Silicon Graphics logo are registered trademarks, and Indy is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MIPS is a trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.
