A digital art piece created by Allen Rabinowitz of Atlanta has been chosen to appear in Creativity and Parkinson's Disease, an exhibit held in conjunction with the World Parkinson Congress (WPC) in Washington, DC. The WPC brings together scientists, healthcare professionals, caregivers and people with Parkinson's disease in an effort to create a global dialogue to expedite the discovery of a cure and best treatment practices for the disease.

The chosen piece is "City #46," a 24 x 36 inch cityscape digitally printed on canvas. Digital output using the giclee printing process was provided by Andrea Victorica of Monarch Digital Graphics in Woodstock. Rabinowitz coined the word "digitography" to describe his technique, which involves using Adobe Photoshop to manipulate and enhance existing imagery that can be combined with created elements. Rabinowitz describes himself as a "digital primitive folk artist with an urban twist," since much of his work is inspired and influenced by his native New York.

"It's a great honor to be among those displaying their creative work at the Congress," says Rabinowitz, a frequent contributor to Oz since 1993. Rabinowitz was first diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in April 1999. Over the next few years, the disease's effects left him unable to work at his usual high level of output, causing him to take medical leave and eventually retire from his position as a staff writer for a public relations firm serving Fortune 500 clients. He began experimenting with the photo software as a way of keeping himself occupied creatively.

"I refuse to surrender to Parkinson's disease," he declares. "From the moment I was diagnosed, my primary instinct was to fight the disease rather than let it dictate my life," he explains. "I never asked Ôwhy me?', but rather Ôwhy not me?' I enlisted as a test subject for several clinical trials at Emory University and have tried to keep a positive outlook on life."

In the course of a three-decade career as a writer, Rabinowitz covered subjects ranging from punk rock to high tech for a variety of outlets and also served as an Atlanta correspondent for the Agence France-Presse wire service. He is best known for coverage of visual communications practitioners in such fields as advertising, cinematography, graphic design and photography for numerous local, national and international publications, including many of the leading visual arts trade magazines.