The Art of Macworld

Tamara Palmer

Rick Alonzo paints live at Macworld | iWorld.

​Rick Alonzo's live painting of Steve Jobs was one of the only tributes that we saw at yesterday's opening day of Macworld | iWorld, just a hint of the global creativity that the late thinker helped to spur. And while art is not a dominating aspect of this week's conference, there are flashes of it throughout Moscone West.

Tamara Palmer

The Rebirth of Randy by Maura Therese Peragine, part of Macworld's South Park exhibit.

​On the second floor, digital artworks by Bert Monroy, a New York artist who loves to paint food and restaurant signs, share space with the Journey-esque art of Phillip Timper, an artist from Prescott, Ariz. But the most interesting works are surprisingly found in a mini-exhibit, "The Art of South Park," a collection of original cels, construction paper work boards, and fan-created pieces inspired by the animated series. Naturally, Cartman steals the show, with many entries depicting some form of his craziness, but it is also refreshing to see paintings like The Rebirth of Randy, where Stan's fey father is rendered as Venus in her shell.

The artistic highlight of today's "Tech Talks" at Macworld begins at 1 p.m. with "The World's Biggest Art Museum," a discussion and overview of the technologies and apps that are helping propel the global fine-art world forward. On Saturday, it's the "Speed Sketch Portrait Siri-es," when you'll have a chance to join professional artists in creating visual works inspired by Siri, the iPhone hostess.

Tonight also marks the event's iPhone Film Festival, with a reception, screenings of four short award-winning films, and director talks beginning at 7 p.m.

Macworld | iWorld continues at Moscone West through Jan. 28.

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