Rich DiSilvio

Rich DiSilvio (born in New York, USA) is an artist, author, new media developer, and architectural designer. He is noted for his historical writing in the non-fiction and fiction genres and for his art and new media work in the advertising field. His design work has appeared in numerous mediums from print to web to multimedia, while some of his fine art can be seen in the print editions of Decor magazine, as well as online at Guitar 9 and several art galleries. His fantasy and surrealistic illustrations have appeared on book covers and he creates works in the role of photographer, fine artist and digital artist. He has done corporate and entertainment work, including "The War Zone", James Cameron's "The Lost Tomb of Jesus", "Monty Python: Almost the Truth" and many others. His album cover artwork for the music industry can be seen at major music stores, such Tower Records, CD Universe ^[1] and others. DiSilvio's historical tome, The Winds of Time, has received favorable reviews in Primo magazine and by other publications, such as the "Golden Lion" published by the Order of the Sons of Italy, by John La Corte PhD Professor Emeritus at California State University, and on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com by the general public. He has also written two historical novels that also received enthusiastic reviews.

Biography

After graduating college DiSilvio studied under Harold Stevenson, a protégé of Norman Rockwell, at the The Stevenson Academy of Fine Arts. With a background in industrial arts, DiSilvio first embarked upon a career in the construction industry, whereby he eventually founded Creative Design Contractors. He worked on projects in Long Island and Manhattan.

DiSilvio briefly returned to college and then entered the advertising field. He subsequently founded Digital Vista, inc. DiSilvio was interviewed by The New York Times regarding his web services.^[2] Under the umbrella of Digital Vista, DiSilvio pioneered, programmed and developed the Autism Academy interactive software, a full spectrum of creative advertising pieces and artwork for book publishers and the music and entertainment industries, such as those listed on Artist Direct.^[3] His fine art has been sold on prints and giclees on canvas.

DiSilvio has written three books. The first was a robust work of nonfiction and he spent a little over four and a half years (September 2003 until April 2008) writing The Winds of Time: An Analytical Study of the Titans Who Shaped Western Civilization. This was followed by two historical novels-- "Liszt's Dante Symphony" and "A Blazing Gilded Age."

Illustrative & Animated works

The Winds of Time written by Rich DiSilvio. Cover art by Rich DiSilvio

Rich DiSilvio's illustrative work can be found on many advertising pieces for numerous clients in various fields, from publishers to insurance companies to politicians and historical documentaries, such as his animated promo for Operation Valkyrie ^[4] His work has also adorned the projects of star celebrities such as Pink Floyd, Yes, The Moody Blues, Rolling Stones, Yngwie Malmsteen, Cher, Alice Cooper, Crowbar, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson and many other performers. He has done music related projects for BMG, Eagle Rock Entertainment, Koch, E1 Entertainment, Blue Storm Music, In De Goot and other labels. His illustration and animation skill sets were utilized to conceive and develop creative animated advertisements, such as his surreal landscape of pyramids on the moon for Pink Floyd's classic album DVD release.^[5] DiSilvio has also created fantasy and sci-fi book covers, such as the Clark Ashton Smith series for Wildside Press, "Sam’s Quest for the Crimson Crystal" for Black Hawk Press, as well as fine art prints and giclees on canvas that range from traditional/contemporary to ultra-surreal in style.

Other works

As an author, DiSilvio has written about the Western world in his book "The Winds of Time". This sprawling work is a chronological study of the titans that shaped Western history. It includes such personalities as Plato, Aristotle, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero, Jesus, Paul the Apostle, Irenaeus, Hadrian, Constantine I, Dante Alighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Gutenberg, Christopher Columbus, Queen Elizabeth I, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Hitler, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Guglielmo Marconi, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, and many more.

DiSilvio then authored "Liszt's Dante Symphony", a historical thriller that covers the belligerent rise of Germany from Bismarck to Hitler. Franz Liszt utilizes his score of the Dante Symphony as a cipher to relay secret messages to aid Napoleon III and Pope Pius IX. The mysterious storyline cascades over into the twentieth century and leads into Hitler's brutal Third Reich.

"A Blazing Gilded Age" followed, and is another historical novel that vividly captures this volatile gilded age in all its rich golden tones of innovation, progress and gross opulence, as well as its dark and disturbing undertones of slave-driven laborers maligned by a capitalist system that had no rules or regulations. It is a searing expose of how and why capitalism was under such sharp attack by many of those trampled-upon, as well as the corruption that ran throughout the political realm. Yet, it likewise lauds the innovative American spirit, for it was also a time when America rose from an agrarian backwater to an industrial powerhouse that subsequently took a bold stand on the world stage.

DiSilvio's books are available in major book stores, including Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com etc.

His interest in classical music led to the creation of a website about the famous pianist/composer Franz Liszt.

As a new media developer, DiSilvio programmed and published an interactive educational CD-ROM on autism, which was released on October 19, 1999.^[6]

References

External links