Q and A with Larry Carlson
What are you working on now?
Currently I am working on a whole new batch of digital
images, experimental work combing 3D programs like Bryce with Photoshop
and using images that I download from the internet. It's a technique that
I call"surf and sample".
Besides making digital images I also make digital movies
and music. Now I am working on an experimental electrontic audio project
called "76". It is a collage of sound collected from all over
the cyber landscape. Some of the tracks are simulations of virtual reality
programs, computer generated personalities and love and sex in the digital
world.
Soon this site will have some really great digital movies
and audio clips that I created for you to download. I will be adding new
images-so bookmark this site and check by often.This site is like my open
studio and you are always invited to stop by and see what's cooking.
I have also just opened SKYROM,
an online gallery showcasing the artwork of new talented artists.
What inspires you?
What really keeps me pumping out so much new work is that
digital image making is a whole new way of creating art, it's a new game
to play,a new frontier to explore.There has not been much great work done
with it yet so there is no one's example to follow. I must forge my own
path inventing it as I journey on, giving birth to a new nation, freeing
the imagination;Merging my dreams into the machine.Everyday as I explore
the capabilities of Photoshop,Bryce and the other programs I use to create
my images,I invent new ways of putting my work together,new combinations
of techniques,3-D rendering and special effects. The variations are as endless
as I can push it.
What do you think of the current state of digital art?
Most of the "digital art"on the web is not very
good because it relies to much on computer effects. I'm always careful that
my work does not become a mere exercise in skill or just showing off computer
special effects.Computers can generate some amazing images,like fractals
and 3-d landscapes,but the artist must take it further,harvest the power
of the computer to create original expressions.To quote George Lucas"Special
effects are nothing without a story line".
Why do you use a computer to make art?
Beneath the everyday appearance of life is a deeper world,a
mythical dimension that can be visited through the act of making art.In
the hands of the artist,the computer can be used to go beyond the illusion
of time and space,tapping into the core of being to reveal images from the
landscape of the spirit. The computer is just a tool like a pencil or a
paintbrush, what really counts is how much RAM of passion and megs of talent
are in the artist.
What's your history?
I grew up in New Jersey,and since I was a kid I have always
been making paintings and drawings.I graduated from Cooper Union School
of Art in New York City. I am now living in New York City creating new digital
art masterpieces.
Check out more great art in New
Stuff,Gallery1,Gallery2and
Gallery3, Have a close encounter with Larry's
portraits in WonderWomenTurn on and tune in to
what Larry has to say in Whats Up, chill out
in Larry's Links,or go back Home