How do you define "new media"?
Art-wise, "new media" is
quite a broad term, and usually means a digital component to the production,
experience, and/or delivery of a work. Of course, it's a problem to label
something "new," since "new" gets "old" before you do.
Why
have you chosen to work in this medium?
I chose to
work with recordable greeting cards because I was struck by how well they
recorded brief bits of voices and sounds, in an easy-to-understand interface
you didn't need to plug into a socket. I thought, wouldn't it be a kick
to give these strange, portable items some playful seriousness and have
conversation with others on them?
What
are the challenges of being a "new media artist"?
I think the
biggest challenge with being a "new media artist" is the rapid pace of change.
The technology can become obsolete very quickly and materials can become
scarce. I am having a tough time getting more recordable greeting cards,
let me tell you. Luckily, there's plenty of other mediums I can spend my
time on. One can never get too good at just old-fashioned drawing.
How does the technology you use influence your work, if at all?
The recordable
greeting card technology I'm using has influenced my work by showing me
how dangerous it is to be tied to any one technology. I originally wanted
"House of Cards" to have more recordable greeting cards, but the company
stopped producing them and I was unable to make my own. So I scaled down
the material requirements of the piece, hopefully improving it in the process.
Nevertheless, I was sad that I couldn't get more of this particular paint
if I needed it. What
is your interpretation of this body of work?In all honesty,
"House of Cards" came about as a simple and silly play on words. But as
I worked more and more on it, this House of Greeting/Playing Cards began
to feel like it could be some kind of metaphor for the spirit of human Q
& A.I suppose how I mainly see it, if I can articulate without sounding too pretentious, was to show how humans historically keep communicating the same basic issues and ideas again and again, constantly destroying, then rebuilding with new coats of variations more relevant to the age we live in, always destroying and rebuilding. We keep doing this to the same, phoenix-like house of questioning in which we are born in, and in it, we conduct our playful, serious, unending inquiry and interview of each other and the world, break this house down, rebuild it, then give to our children to do the same.
Sorry, the House actually should be more fun than my art-schooled interpretation, I swear.
What or who are some of your artistic influences?My artistic
influences include: Tibor Kalman, LEGO, Scott McCloud, Dave McKean, Shigeru Miyamoto,
Conan O'Brien, Jason Shiga, The Simpsons, Chris Ware, Jim Woodring, the Internet, and the obvious things: reading, observation, trips to museums and galleries, play, traveling, conversation, my family, my girlfriend, and friends. What are some words that describe your work?Some words
that describe this work are House, Cards, Playing, Greeting, Answers, Questions,
Man, Lady, Green, Counting, School, Full, Light, Haunted, Open, and Joker. What was the first work of art you ever made? The first
work of art I ever made was a notebook of mazes starring video game and
comics characters. I was 6 or 7. Do you think of new media art as collectible? Why? Anything's
collectible, if "collectible" means a price tag and people want it. So if
a work's good, regardless of medium or lack of "original," as with web-based
art, sure, why not?