JWJ The downright democracy of it all delights me. It even exceeds the impact of the printing press as a way to disseminate art. I love the idea of artists being able to make digital reproductions of their art public without the need for curators, publishers or shitloads of cash. Not to mention the possibilities that computer media has to offer as a mode of expression. It's a utopian "vanity press" that doesn't even require vanity. Just a little time and a computer. As an artist who has difficulty getting weird paintings shown in a conservative society, I hope this freedom on the web will last. As one who loves to look at images and ideas, the web seems limitless in it's breadth of offerings. Just wish I had more time to enjoy it.

CT: It has been my contention that artists have been overly manipulated by the 'go-betweens' of the art world which can include writers, historians, curators, dealers, even collectors - (see PDQ article; ['Avant-Garde?']- by these groups shaping and editing who gets seen and who doesn't; who gets written about and who not; who lives where and who lives elsewhere. Even under the best of conditions and with the most honest of intentions it will happen on some level. This can obviously still happen on the internet to a degree also but at least artists have an equal chance at shaping things, shaping the past and the future. How do you envision the web will change the ballance of power - the power of the 'spin' - in this regard?

J WJ: 20 years ago, my first art professor stated that ideas precedent ideas and I believed. No one works in a vacuum. The more ideas one has to choose from, the greater the possibility to come up with a unique synthesis. In this respect, what the web has to offer is just more fuel to the creative fire. The artist's main concern is to pursue the path within, indulge their personal obsession and see what evolves. As far as getting recognized, exhibited and purchased, that's a completely different arena. Success there depends on persistence, luck and ass-kissing. Whether one wants to play that game also is a personal decision and the web offers a more self-respecting way to play.

Editorial Question: CT: you wrote; "20 years ago, my first art professor stated that ideas precedent ideas and I believed him." I don't get it. Could you elaborate.

JWJ: Sure-- He said "Ideas precedent ideas". Meaning that the concept of an originality that springs from a void of non-thought is ridiculous. Humans live in a society full of ideas and a history of ideas and every "new" idea has its own sources. Sources that the "thinker" may not be conscious of but nonetheless sources that have been assimilated in one form or another. Creativity then becomes a sort of building process or remodeling that uses materials at hand to come up with a new design. As a general example, one can look at any painting in history and with enough research, discover its roots in previous works of art or in philosophies of its time or earlier times. Look at Picasso's ouevre, for years he imitated every painting style before him, then the influence of Cezanne, then with friends like Braques (sp?)he developed the "original" style of cubism.

CT: With IRIS printing, etc., how do you think this artist-produced digital art reproductions will effect the value/accessablilty of reproductions and actual, physical hand work like paintings?

JWJ: Hand-worked art will always be more valuable. There is an inexplicable magic in an object manipulated by human hands. An element of "spirit" that becomes part of the piece. Have you ever stood in front of a Van Gogh? Not quite the same experience as looking at a poster. But reproductions are great because they do have some of the power of the original that can be more easily shared. And from a consumers point of view, more affordable. A 72 dpi jpeg and an 8 foot painting are not equal but the jpeg is better than nothing. Digital art as a medium in itself is great. It's somewhere between photography and painting. Just another tool for the creative mind and I think respect for it will increase in coming years.

CT: Will this give artists a possible market like CDs are to music, or vidios to the movies, or do you envision something else coming down the pike?

JWJ: I think humans can be as creative in a capitalistic way as they can in an esthetic way. We'll always find more ways to make money (i.e.- survive). I'm sure artists will find a way to make this new technology profitable. I see CD-roms as an interesting alternative to books and a friend and I are working on a CD-rom about my art and I am working on one about Lahib Jaddo's art (who I happen to be married to). To fit so many full-color images with sound (original music and narratives) and video into such a compact, interactive package amazes me. The beauty of the web without download time. And to produce it cheaper than a book. Wonderful possiblities for an artist to share their ideas and make a little money.

CT: CD, yes I forgot about that possibility. I had talked to a friend, Bill Hudson, about that idea but with a screen that is thin and the size of a painting say 48x40x2 that hangs on a wall like a painting and is wired from behind or has remote and the CD could be played on it and it looks like a painting. But maybe that it stupid. Maybe that is like an earlier generation trying to make photography simulate painting and fit to the tradition of painting when it is something else and has a different destiny, a different form of communication to convey that painting isn't about. In your own case, how are you dealing with the sound track idea, you mentioned original music. Are you seeing artists becoming composers or collaborating with musicians? It sounds very complicated to design a CD but is it something like how one designs a homepage. Perhaps you could explain something of how one goes about the production of a CD for art.

JWJ: Making a computer screen the same shape as a painting would not be equal to a painting anymore than a large print is equal. A hand -manipulated surface has a different impact, a different presence, than a mechanically manipulated one. When I mentioned that I am making original music for CD-roms, I use the word music very loosely. I have no musical talent or technical knowledge of music. But recent technology has given me the chance to mess around with sound. I have a digital sampler that can "record" up to 7 seconds of any sound which can then be looped and distorted. Then these samples can be digitized on my computer and manipulated some more until I get a "song" that can be looped to resemble music. Collaboration with musicians would make much more sense but I enjoy doing it myself and a looping "song" has a much smaller file size for use on a CD-rom. Being a visual artist primarily, I prefer lots of imagery. To make these CD-roms, we are using Macromedia's Director software to combine digitized paintings, Photoshop graphics, digitized sound for the above mentioned "music" as well as recording an oral narrative for each painting that can be played at the push of a button, and digitized video that we or our friends have shot. Director can combine all of these elements and it has its own programming language that can provide animation of different elements, navigation through the different files, transitional effects between successive screens and the option of having the user determine how the "movie" is played. It also has tools for creating and inserting text or editable text. I am using it to create what resembles a book, where the viewer can choose what "page" to look at and how long to spend on any page, that includes sound and motion. But the program can be used to create something as interactive as a game like "MYST". Once the "movie" is completed, the whole file is transfered to a company that burns quantities of CD-roms for mass production. I hope to use my website as one outlet for marketing it....

CT: Is making a cd more or less the same as what is involved in making a homepage?

JWJ: It's a very similar process but uses different software and programming language. There is more freedom of content because a cd-rom can hold more bytes than most websites and because of the increased speed of the cd-rom drive compared to a modem. I'm sure as modem speeds increase this may not be a problem.

CT: Do you have to get into a lot of software/copyright/usage issues in terms of somebody being able to see your efforts?

JWJ: Everything on the cd-rom is copyrighted and if anyone rips me off I'll decapitate them with piano wire.

CT: With a painting or sculpture the technology for seeing it is built in. With digital/computer generated or stored art there is a dependance on an unstable technology that is in a constant state of flux and growth. Do you see that as a problem or are you anticipating just migrating your efforts from one technology to another as they develop?

JWJ: I don't really see that as a problem. To me the media resembles books more than painting or sculpture. And although printing technology has improved greatly over the centuries, some old books are still very cool and a lot worthwhile books are reprinted (upgraded) every day. As far as my personal efforts, I imagine I will pursue whatever "technology" that interests me and that I can afford.

CT: refering to CT3f; What to you think of all of this 'leasing' of software rather than being able to buy it and all of the restrictions?

JWJ: I'm not familiar with leasing software but it sounds like a good idea. That part can be very expensive and one doesn't always know if it is something you need.

CT: Do you think artists will/should attempt something similar?

JWJ: Leasing artwork? Why not?

CT: Should they just sell the 'use' of the art with no further rights of copy or ownership or is there something so completely different about the computer medium that it is somehow justified with computer-generated objects and not with physical art objects?

JWJ3g: If I sell a painting, the buyer can do whatever they please with the image. With my computer work, I am not selling an object so the images, ideas, etc. can only be "rented". In this respect the media may resemble the business aspect of the music industry.

CT: have the idea that the more technological and mechanistic our society gets the more valued made-by-hand objects will be but I can also see the possibility that upcoming generations won't feel much relationship to traditional craftskill and the kind of dialog that it engenders. Sometimes when I am searching around on the internet and seeing all of the diversity of work and perspective that is represented by so many arts homepages and ezines and discussion of new media art, there is, for me, a nagging feeling that making art in the traditional way, that is to say with paint and pencil and chisel ect., seems that it may shortly be seen as a set of antiquated ways of thinking and working and may not carry much social relevance for the computer savy/video game generation. Do you ever get that feeling and if so what comment would you make on that subject?

JWJ: I think hand-made objects will always have value and as usual, any social relevance that these objects, or any art form for that matter, have is up to their creators and society's perception. Perhaps if all the museums closed and art education taught only electronic arts, painting would soon be forgotten but I don't see that happening in the near future. For now, I don't think there is any media with universal appeal or equal value to all people. People are diverse and so art must be.

More to follow... to see more of Mr. Johnson's work click here