SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In an unprecedented use of Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) technology, digital artist James Buckhouse today unveiled an interactive art piece using the Palm OS(R) platform as his medium. This original work, called "Tap," has been selected for the 2002 Whitney Biennial, the Whitney Museum's signature exhibition that takes a look at the latest in American art. The exhibit opens to the public on March 7 and runs through May 26 at the Whitney in New York.

"Tap" is commissioned by the Dia Center for the Arts and presented in cooperation with Creative Time. Tap also will be exhibited through beaming stations, designed by ORG, at numerous public locations across Manhattan, including Barnes & Noble at Union Square, the Joyce Theater and Jeffrey, New York. The art piece can be beamed onto Palm Powered(TM) handhelds and will be on display at these locations through July 27.

Buckhouse has created two animated characters, one male and one female. Once "Tap" has been beamed onto a Palm Powered handheld, the user teaches the character to tap dance through practicing movements and giving recitals. Instructed by the user to "practice," a "Tap" dancer begins to master a series of 16 basic moves, making mistakes but gradually increasing the number of steps mastered. A dancer may combine the steps it has learned into a dance, either through randomized improvisation or with choreography specified by the user.

"This exciting new work demonstrates the versatility and potential for creativity on the platform," said Ken Wirt, senior vice president of marketing at Palm, Inc. "The whole notion that this dynamic piece can be shared among the more than 20 million Palm Powered devices worldwide brings a new dimension to the concept of both public art and digital art."

Buckhouse collaborated with arts writer Holly Brubach, who formulated the elements of tap dance to simulate the learning process. She recruited ballet dancer and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, resident choreographer of the New York City Ballet. Videos of Brubach and Wheeldon were used by Buckhouse as templates for the female and male animated line drawings.

About Dia

Founded in 1974, Dia Art Foundation plays a vital and original role among visual arts institutions nationally and internationally by initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving art projects in nearly every medium, and by serving as a primary locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism. Dia presents a program of exhibitions at Dia Center for the Arts in Chelsea, New York City. Supplementary programming at Dia Center for the Arts includes the artists' projects for the web, lectures, poetry readings, film and video screenings, performances, scholarly research and publications, symposia, and an arts education program that serves area students. Dia is currently constructing a new museum in Beacon, New York, sixty miles north of New York City, to house its permanent collection. The museum in Beacon will open in spring 2003.

About Creative Time

Creative Time is a nonprofit arts organization with a thirty-year history of presenting public arts projects of all disciplines, through both grassroots activism and highly prominent venues. From the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage, Grand Central Terminal and Times Square to milk cartons, billboards, and skywriting over New York City, Creative Time has a distinguished history of commissioning and presenting art that enhances the public realm, inspires and provokes discussion of socially relevant topics such as domestic violence, HIV/AIDS pandemic, genetic engineering, and now, the proliferation of wireless technologies in the arts and society at large. For more information about Creative Time, please visit www.creativetime.org.

About ORG

ORG is a graphic design practice that works primarily for cultural and educational institutions designing for a range of media including websites, posters, publications and exhibits. ORG's work has received awards from AIGA, ID, IDSA, and the Cooper Hewitt Collection and has been featured in Axis Gallery (Tokyo), Design Report (Germany), FUSElab, Graphics International, ID magazine, and The New York Times Magazine. ORG clients include American Institute for Graphic Arts, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Galerie der Kunstler, George Ortiz Collection, artist Natalie Jeremijenko, Prada, Princeton University, Walker Art Center and Yale University. http://www.o-r-g.com .

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000). Based on the Palm OS(R) platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow people to carry and access their most critical information wherever they go. Palm(TM) handhelds address the needs of individuals, enterprises and educational institutions by offering the foundation for thousands of application solutions. Palm stock is traded on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol PALM. More information is available at http://www.palm.com .

NOTE: Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm and Palm Powered are trademarks of Palm, Inc. Other brands may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Palm, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.palm.com
CONTACT: Kathleen Williams, +1-650-762-2848, or kwilliams@arpartners.com, or Vanessa Colomar, +1-212-905-6151, or vcolomar@arpartners.com, both of A&R Partners, for Palm, Inc.