Roy Feinson

Roy Feinson is a South African born software engineer, artist, writer, and founder of Doubletake Images.

He is the creator of the genre known as impressionist mosaics. Unlike traditional mosaics which rely on differently colored materials arranged in arbitrary configurations to make an image, impressionist mosaics are created by arranging homogeneously colored tiles in a grid-like, non-overlapped matrix, using only the natural flaws and marbling in the tiles to create the impression of an image. Using materials of relatively uniform color and texture (typically pre-cut natural gemstones such as jasper, marble, or amethyst), the resulting mosaics have a uniquely ethereal quality that distinguishes them from traditional processes.

Feinson is credited with being an inventor of predictive text used in cell phones. His 1988 patent (#4,754,474)included most of the features of modern predictive text systems including disambiguation and local dictionary storage. Widespread use of cell-phones was a decade away, and the fully functional keypad to text system was originally conceived to facilitate communication with deaf people via phone. The working prototype featured a novel method of compressing a dictionary by employing high order bits to designate common endings to words. The words JUMPED, JUMPING, JUMPER, and JUMPS could be stored in the same memory space as JUMP.

Feinson has designed many graphic and scientific software applications dealing with artificial life, artificial intelligence, time-lapse and forensic image analysis. His Dyadic Images are pictures that appear to be of one subject when viewed up close, and another subject when viewed from further away. Just as music is comprised of high and low frequency components, every image contains two kinds of visual information: high frequency components consisting of fine lines and dots with detailed edges, and low frequency components that include large areas of graduated tones. When viewing an image close up the brain focuses on the high frequency details and only discerns low frequency details when further away.

Feinson is the author of three books focused on the evolutionary underpinnings of human behavior. His books, which have been translated into ten languages, have been featured on the Dr. Phil Show, CNN, CBS's The Talk, NPR, and hundreds of radio shows internationally. He was featured in the documentary Behind the Orange Curtain in which he discussed his philosophy of art and science.

In 2013, Feinson presented a novel theory of animal vision to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland. The talk, The Zebra's Stripes, proposes an answer to the most vexing aspect of animal behaviors pertaining to vision: how is it that animals like mice, cats and flies with just a tiny fraction of the brain power of humans manage to see the world well enough to navigate, hunt and evade capture, considering that humans use approximately 40% of their massive brains simply to process vision? The hypothesis -- demonstrated with video processed through his "delta-vision" software -- also provides answers to many other puzzling aspects of animal camouflage, movement and behavior. Why do animals (and humans) ccok their heads? Why do snakes move the way they do? Why do some snakes have longitudinal stripes while others are horizontal or monochromatic? And why do zebras have stripes? The fundamental theory is based on the concept that animals can only see objects that change from “frame to frame”. Consequently, only a small percentage of the visual field needs to be processed while no vital information is discarded.

Feinson is the art director and a board-member for the non-profit Project S.N.A.P., a nationwide mission that gives students a voice through artwork. The organization creates giant, environmentally themed murals made out of original artwork from children around the globe.

Feinson was part of the creative team that designed Disney's digital projection show "The Magic, the Memories, and You!". The show, which debuted at Walt Disney World on January 18, 2011, features a video mosaic of Walt Disney created by Feinson.

Installations

One of the original pioneers in the field of photographic mosaics, Feinson has created dozens of large-scale artworks for universities, airports, museums and other public spaces. Chosen as the featured artist for Disneyland's 50th anniversary in 2006 he created the largest photographic mosaic ever made, spanning over 10,000sq ft and featuring live performers carrying photographs of themselves and other cast members. As part of the same celebration he created the world's first tri-level mosaic [1] as well as 38 other large-scale mosaic works for Disney's 50th anniversary. Selected as the featured artist for the Grammy Awards 50th anniversary in 2008, Roy's artwork was unveiled by Quincy Jones and Recording Academy President Neil Portnow and is now part of the permanent collection at the Grammy® museum in Los Angeles.

Notable installations include: