Art is difficult. Whether the art is for “commercial purposes” – as in the litigation support interactive project I created for Texaco in 1997 (shown in the demo animation above) – or art that is considered “fine art” – art that may be bought and sold, but is created by an artist for non commercial purposes. Artists work hard to create art of value, of substance, art that uncovers important truths. Just as scientists work hard in their searches for truth. I cannot bend to anyone’s notion that the truth of science is more valuable, important, difficult, or true than the truths discovered by art.
In the 1990s I spent some time creating interactive multimedia for a corporate law firm in Washington DC. The managing partner, Ralph Savarese ( a forward thinking attorney!) saw the value of my art, new media and storytelling skills to the process of litigation after his firm settled a patent case based in part on an animation I had created for them to demonstrate a highly technical process and product.
In the Texaco case demonstrated above, I created a new media app that dealt with the (false) accusation that one of Texaco’s oil wells was leaking salt water. The well was encased in about a foot of concrete from soil to the depths that it traversed underground. It also had what one engineer referred to as “about six layers of protection” using other technologies to keep the well and its contents secure. That engineer’s casual and definitive remark became the subject content “motif” for the interactive new media program I conceptualized and designed for Texaco. I also employed a visual motif of concrete and earth tones (colors) to support the themes of natural and earthiness. After I conceptualized the project and designed the interface and color palette, I took my design staff to a geology library in DC to study the earth in the area of Texas where the case was taking place, and to study oil wells. Washington DC is a researcher’s heaven. There is a library for just about any subject. Continue reading Art Is Science!
