Wright, an adjunct professor of digital media at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, began to explore digital artwork in the mid-1980s on a Commodore Amiga computer. Today, he continues to work in both digital and traditional media, and has exhibited both types of work at museums nationwide. "The computer is the perfect postproduction tool for creating and exploring new variations of the same image," says Wright. "My goal is to realize, explore, and create imagery that has continued to interest me as an artist, such as human portraits and relationships."
Wright's digital content creation process begins with the selection of a single frame from a video that he has captured using a camcorder. "I frame-grab an image that captures my interest," he says. This is done either on a Macintosh with Apple Computer's FireWire and iMovie software, or on an Amiga with NewTek's Video Toaster hardware and software. Next, the artist processes the image through a paint program, typically John Dalton's Studio Artist, marketed by Synthetik Software, running on the Mac. This is where the various changes in the image are represented as digital artifacts-features that are not naturally present in the image but are products of an extrinsic agent. Lastly, Wright outputs the image to print, video, or the Internet.
"I see myself as that agent who brings about visual meaning beyond the initial input by using the software tools," says Wright.
A sampling of Wright's work appears on these two pages. Further information about the artist can be found at home.earthlink. net/~mrwstudios/index.html.
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Karen Moltenbrey
Breakthrough illustrates the artist's vision of "breaking through the self-imposed barriers to the realization of the light."
I, Be, Am, a play on the initials of a certain large corporation, projects the artist's view concerning personal freedoms and spiritual quests. Some viewers have interpreted the image to illustrate the loss of freedom to the all-knowing eyes of Big Brother.
Harry represents Wright's assessment of his friend Harry Mott, chair of the Digital Media Program at Otis College of Art and Design; whom he sees as supportive, kind, and gentle.
Dr. Tomo Sugiyama shows the expression of Sugiyama, president and CEO of Digital Hollywood Institute of Media Arts, while he ponders a work of art.
Shati Unfolds illustrates how the layers of self reality evolve during the search for essence.
Scream is a visual representation of the unexpressed frustration of the postmodern individual seeking a place and meaning in the "Big Story."
Rejection focuses on male and female issues that often surface during a communication exchange within a charged atmosphere.
The Gate represents a decision regarding the gates, or barriers, that we face during our lifetime.