Of Bayous and Gorrillas
SIGGRAPH goes into all aspects of computer visual mediums, it does more than provide a realm for large entertainment companies. The technology of computer graphics floods the likes of Education and Research. In the Digital Bayou this year you could see how technology helps in, for example, Telemedicine and Distributed Scientific Visualization of Ocean Models. These are intriguing and quite refreshing to see, especially if you are in a specific industry and most of your projects are similar in production.

Hands-on is a commonalty during the convention and one of my favorite venues for this integration is the Gorilla Gallery. Here you could bring or make images with the help from other artists in attendance. It's an exciting share and share alike type of atmosphere where one can both tap into others' creativity and collaborate.

The exhibition floor itself seems to expand exponentially each year to accommodate the explosive growth within the field. As I walked the floor, there seemed to be a slightly different approach to many of the booths. There were more small hands-on instructional areas and smaller group discussions and presentations this year. There was one company that had a schedule of unique event showings and discussions every half hour for every day they were there on the floor. This feeling of schedule and choice is rarely found on an exhibit floor, and very exciting trying to fit-it-all-in.

All lined up for Disney's SIGGRAPH party held at an old convent in New Orleans. Photo by Kellie-Bea Rainey.

I noticed a lot more user-friendly applications this year. It used to be a general rule of thumb that if you were an artist then you were probably not computer literate, and if you weren't a computer engineer you probably weren't an artist. But since high end software has been getting easier to use and many high-end products are now available for the home computers, the bridge between artist and computers is becoming less and less intimidating. I believe there will be a considerable narrowing of this gap next year just based on all the new applications coming out for the Windows NT platform. I'm sure many of these packages will be on display at SIGGRAPH 97 in Los Angeles. I can't wait. Say, maybe I'll even try one.