Artist Statement
Since 1969, my work with computers in the arts has entailed making productive use of the interaction between a frozen knowledge base embodied in software and my own living consciousness. All of my visual work and music composition, and some parts of my work in poetry, document the interrelationship between myself and the computer as the artist's alter ego. All of my experiences in shaping artistic materials in poetry and music I now transfer to my work in the visual domain.
For me, technical concerns are intrinsically esthetic concerns as well. I welcome new technology as a gate opener for new art. In this spirit, in 2009 I began making animations, only to discover that animation stills are a potent source of both digital photography and digital painting. In light of the importance of music in my life, all of my visual work is “frozen music” showing the inner dynamics of shape, color, texture, and line.
In the visual arts, the boundaries between photography, painting, drawing, collage and animation have become utterly permeable on account of new technologies. Even so, I use some of these old categories in grouping different bodies of work. May the viewer bring to the work his/her open mind without being prejudiced by this or that presentation category.
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Introduction to the Gallery
This Gallery presents four kinds of work:
• Paintings (2 portfolios)
• Drawings
• Abstract photography
• Visual Music Animations
Between these portfolios close links exist. I believe in the unity of all visual arts. My artistic process moves back and forth between conventional categories (now largely commercial), as further outlined below.
• My paintings are brush studies in which I explore new ideas and techniques. They are either free inventions or take their cue from chosen animation stills. Drawing is often an important component. While those in Portfolio I frequently use algorithms which determine texture and color, those in Portfolio II remain closer to animation stills chosen as compositional models.
• My drawings are for the most part in black & white. They are the result of image manipulation, meant to highlight shapes and (empty) spaces.
• My abstract photography follows Bauhaus antecedents (Moholy-Nagy). In order to highlight light/shade effects and perspective it is mostly in black and white. In focus are forms and shapes rather than anecdotal content.
• My visual music animations are all based on my own electronic music and lyric poetry. Their backbone is musical syntax, their coloring derives from multi-level orchestration. In the two pieces using poetry, image and sound become subordinate to poetic meaning. Image sequences outline musical form and interpret the poetic voice .
Due to the fluidity with which digital tools cross categorical boundaries, there is a constant interchange between the four portfolios. As a result, the traditional distinctions between art forms do not significantly apply. It is a brave new world of art making!