| Q1 |
First of all, could you tell us a little bit about
the relation between your occupation and computer graphics? We are
very much interested what turned you to computer graphics and what
in computer graphics is attractive for you. |
|
 Literally,
there is no relation to my occupation and my art. For some three
decades, I have supported myself (financially) by working in the
building construction industry as a carpenter and, mainly, a painter.
Though I have been painting (art) with acrylics for over twenty
years, it bears no relationship to painting the walls of a building.
This separation might be considered advantageous, because I can,
in essence, escape my occupation at the end of the day in order
to return home and work on my art.
What I find attractive in computer graphics, which is more a
set of processes than a medium, is the ability to produce work
that can be tangibly manifested in many mediums though the original
work is a set of infinitely variable, and accessible, signals,
signs of recorded effort in the form of pixels. I write novels
on a computer, and those words are immediately available for modification
and assessment exactly as the picture elements of an image. I
still take notes on paper, still take photographs with a film
camera, and still paint with acrylics. For me, computer graphics
is a companion discipline that replaces no other art medium while
augmenting them all.
|
| Q2 |
When do you work on your pieces? Do you work on
them little by little or concentrate until you finish the piece? |
|
Both. I tend to put a great deal of extended effort into art.
I am also compulsive. Once I begin a piece, I feel compelled to
conclude it before initiating another project. Regardless, I have
also learned that after slathering an image with days of effort,
the ultimate form of that piece will be optimized by removing the
artist for a spell. I am best to set the work aside for some time,
returning later with a fresh view, a more innocent vantage in which
the image is not lodged in my view like a retinal memory. Viewing
the work through unfamiliar observation, I can see where I should
be going instead of where I am. |
| Q3 |
What do you think of painting with a computer?
What are the advantages and virtues of computer graphics? Do you
find any disadvantages in computer graphics in terms of painting? |
|
Computer painting is a distinct process the same as
watercolor painting and oil painting. Though certain effects overlap
medium to medium and process to process, each discipline is distinct
in allowing imagery obtainable with no other form of art making.
Since the ultimate form of my computer art is the paper print, I
find the disadvantage of making art on a computer is in viewing
a transmissive, intangible medium, though the final product is reflective
and substantive. The great virtue in computer art, whether creating
literature or visuals, is the freedom to make mistakes, to try new
ideas, questionable combinations, and follow uncertain avenues,
all the while leaving previous versions of the work unchanged, immediately
available for a quick return from implausible ideas and dead-end
avenues, unless you forgot to back up your hard drive while intoxicated
with experimentation. |
| Q4 |
Could you describe what is computer graphics for
you? |
|
 The
ultimate art form for lazy people who like to stay clean. When
working on a computer, you never get pixels beneath your fingernails.
You never have to stretch the canvases in an image editor. You
never have to mix your colors with a stick or dilute them with
a stinky fluid.
As well as being a lazy medium, computer art is elitist. You
can write a poem with a stick and a slab of wet clay, both naturally-occurring
items. You can paint a mural on your cave wall using dyes or pigments
found in nature. But you can only make computer art with a computer.
The advantage of using a lazy medium is that the artist can apply
himself to his art rather than gathering materials, preparing
substrates, and cleaning the clay from beneath his fingernails.
By the way, since I only work part-time in construction, when
I am home, I work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week at the computer,
so I have a good understanding of sloth.
|
| Q5 |
Now, we would like you to talk about your winning
work titled "The Expansion of Desire." Could you talk about your
work? We are very much interested in your ideas and concepts of
this piece. What is your major intention in this work? |
|
By intent, I have failed in this piece to bring to
the masses a solution to mankind's social defects. I have failed,
by necessity, to convey with this image the academic ennui that
influenced me heuristically in those extended years of experience
that educated me as an artist. However, I think I did succeed in
making a good-looking pic. Have I, with this image, refined abstraction
or rearranged figure and ground? Certainly I did not include religious
release, political ploys, or social suggestions. I did not assess
existential essence as though an art god manifesting truth in a
subject by applying metaphysical feelings. I did not denigrate profundity
with pretense. I did make a good-looking pic. |
| Q6 |
Did you face any difficulties or struggling when
you were working on this piece? If you did, what were they? |
|
I prefer the square format. Furthermore, the DCA
rules specified an image size of equal horizontal and vertical dimensions,
so I determined to exploit this shape. "The Expansion Of Desire,"
however, began as a horizontal rectangle. Making this flat rectangle
a square is the type of art problem we aesthetes love to solve!
I inverted part of the top and bottom, blended them with the original
image, and made a shape that fit within a square boundary. The finished
image is preferable to the original. For me, expedience is one of
art's most productive, even creative, techniques. |
| Q7 |
Is there any part or expressions you especially
like in this work? In case there were anything that you are specially
fond of or enjoyed during your painting, kindly let us know. |
|
I am fond of the contrast between the image's flat basis and
that base's apparent extension into depth, toward the viewer (hence
the title). I had never tried that trick, er, that technique, before.
I now am working on a larger version of "The Expansion Of Desire,"
which consists of three versions of the original. They are joined
in mirror-image or book-match style, one full color, one muted color,
the last monochrome. |
| Q8 |
How did you learn about DCA and why did you enter
this year? |
|
I learned about DCA while roaming the internet seeking
digital art. I did not expect to find an awards program of such
consequence, but I'm certainly glad I did! I entered this year because
I wanted to be part of a program that is in every way substantial.
The judges are estimable; they have my regard and admiration. The
web-site is handsome, professional, and informative. In no way casual
or incomplete, DCA proves the dedication of Toray and those individuals
therein responsible for this vital program. |
| Q9 |
Tell us your dream or goal in your creative work. |
|
Whether the creative work I'm involved in is digital
art, photography, writing, or painting, my goal is to find what
I have not encountered before. I do not appreciate art that can
only comment on previous art by way of imitation. Is an artist's
series (set of theme and variations) a type of self-imitation, or
self-fulfillment? |
| Q10 |
To close the interview, kindly let us know what
you think of this sort of a corporate activity to support art. Please
give any messages to Toray employees around the world. |
|
A corporation's duty is to generate profits, not promote
art. Only accountants and board members can determine whether a
program such as the Digital Creation Awards is worth the money and
time expended. But Toray Industries, the corporation, is not responsible
for DCA -- the people of Toray are responsible. Corporations don't
love art, people love art. I hope that Toray employees around the
world feel the same pride that I do in being associated with a corporation
led by people advancing world culture by supporting art. |
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