RomeBlack Inc., the Digital Image Fun-house

RomeBlack Inc. is a new multimedia tools and production company that takes
its inspiration from the fun-house concept. Based in Manhattan's Soho
area, the electronic atelier is meant to be a place where the different
elements of a hall of mirrors can be incorporated into the
digital/electronic environment.

"I wanted to capture the essence of walking through a hall of mirrors,"
explains Dan Schwartz, company president, "where anything can happen,
where nothing is ever the same. The element of surprise holds a very
strong attraction for me because in terms of what we want to do at
RomeBlack, it means that our approach will always be new and fresh."

At a time when the role of computers seems to be relegated to just being
used as a mere tool to an end, RomeBlack Inc. is looking at how the
computer can transcend its traditional role of producing the next program
or accessory. At how the computer can be an end unto itself.

"Somehow, we have relinquished the creative process to the hardware and
it's about time that we tried to recover some, if not all, of that process
for ourselves," explains Schwartz. It is important, he emphasizes, to find
out the human aspects of using computers and not try to keep the two
apart.

He continues, "At RomeBlack, we think of our work in terms of projects, of
engaging in creative collaboration with people who come from other fields,
equipped with various skills. They can be graphic designers, architects
and performers who are interested in exploring other avenues of
expression. We're there to make it happen not as mere interpreters but as
actual co-creators. Our projects may or may not necessarily lead to a
product although that's not to say that we're in this to lose money. We
just want to preserve our creative integrity and make sure that we do
interesting work."

For its first venture, the company launched RomeBlack xTransit, a morphing
and special effects program for the PC. The program includes 25 different
Transits and an equal number of Effects that can produce Transitions with
infinite layers of transformation. The program was almost two years in the
making.

"I was a bond trader for ten years and I did this to get back my soul,"
said the software designer who was fresh out of college in 1982 when he
joined an investment house in the research department. That year, computer
graphics was at a very early stage of development "and I just didn't have
the time or the energy to keep up with what was happening." In RomeBlack
Inc. and its morphing program, Schwartz has found a way to gain entry and
catch up.

"Computers in the arts is still very young and our company has a chance to
be a contributor in the field," he says. "No doubt there are a number of
people and shops out there who are doing some very interesting things but
we all have a ways to go. It's an exciting time to be in computers. The
rules haven't been written and the possibilities are tremendous."

Schwartz notes the four directions in which his company can collaborate:
computers as a means of organizing and presenting information
(multimedia); computers as a means of manipulating data (image and sound
manipulation); computers as a means of generating other environments
(virtual reality) and; computers for interactive live environments where
the computer becomes an instrument for performing (performance art).

Schwartz is particularly excited at the many possibilities the computer has
as an entity in collaborative work.

"We're at a phase where a computer can become an instrument in itself," he
says, "in much the same way that a painter uses paint or a pianist uses
the piano and there is no reason why we should be limited in the way that
we use them."

He cites as an example the experience of walking through a public space and
interacting with an art installation. The recent Rebecca Horn exhibit at
the Guggenheim Museum comes to mind. "Why do you have to constrain
yourself in the way that you view or perceive art? Or even hold yourself
back in the way that you want to create? I strongly believe in being able
to have input in what I see, in creating my own experience. If I want to
traverse the information before me in a different way, I should be able
to."

Unfortunately, the cost of computer technology and mastering its usage
makes it financially prohibitive for those who cannot afford the expense.
What RomeBlack wants do is to make the technology both accessible and
affordable.

"There is nothing more frustrating than trying to create something and
being bogged down by the minutiae of figuring out how a program works," he
says. "You lose time and waste so much energy."

RomeBlack xTransit is meant to be easy and affordable. "And don't forget
the most important part," he adds as a gentle reminder, "a fun program."

RomeBlack Inc.
180 Varick St, Suite 12-A
New York, NY 10014
212-727-9735, voice,  fax 212-727-9546

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