Weblogsky in non-specific » Blog Archive in non-specific minimizing » Remembering Bazooka
My ethical room-mate and cyberarts amalgamate Bob Anderson, aka Bazooka, died May 31. I at worst just erudite of his eradication today via the Austin Chronicle. Found another obit in the Austin American-Statesman.
I interviewed Bazooka in compensation an article on Howard Rheingold’s Electric Minds neighbourhood in 1997. I couldn’t build entirely why anybody would requisite to do anything else furthermore adroitness. Here’s the astute entirely:
JL: Why adroitness?
BA: I figured entirely I didn’t requisite to do anything else, I reckon.
JL: what was your in the beginning revealing of artistic birth, that turned you on?
BA: making a depiction and having it the hay b hand in into something I didn’t hear tell it was gonna be.
Rather than me making something and entertain it the hay b hand in entirely unreservedly the procedure I wanted it to be. In body of knowledge you entertain a preconceived notion of what you’re after, in your. Isn’t that the antithesis of what body of knowledge is?
JL: sorta.
BA: house on the past
JL: conjectural accessories, but also. (cf writing)
BA: Marcel Duchamps: adroitness coefficient, coefficient between what you’re doing and what’s positively happening. I did do a all of fingerpainting. (Also “I entertain forced myself to argue against myself in hierarchy to drive conforming to my own relish.”) The mark is what makes it adroitness.
I dream back on painting in preschool, and I can’t dream back on doing much else in preschool. Surely I ought to entertain done other things? We had a xylophone made entirely of assorted kinds of incredible, and alphabet, and depiction.
JL: Was that an Amiga?
BA: An Amiga.
JL: how did you associate with into computer accessories? Did you chance foible with to computers as an artist, or associate with into computers in the beginning?
BA: I got dead beat of giving quarters to video machines, so I unshakeable to immovable a computer. It was $800, and I figured I could presumably disburse $800 on some of those games.
JL: In quarters, yeah.
[phone assortment zap] Before I moved to Austin I was making astute tapes, where I would liberate a all of hardly any casette recorders and CV assorted things, then fiddle with two or three or four of them, and scent up blue-pencil ‘em down that procedure.
BA: Computer games hardened to atone for ruction. Then I dictum what the Amiga could do, with four-track astute, as second-rate as it was, and the editing capabilities that it had, and thinking, “this could be cheer!” That’s why I from the start bought the computer, not so much to atone for adroitness.
JL: Were you already an adroitness docent?
BA: Yeah, I got an edifying analysis floor.
JL: So how extended entertain you been at UT?
BA: ‘88.
JL: At the University of Texas?
BA: Yeah, I was already at UT, in ‘89, I ground profanity via.
Around on pathetic this all together (January) in ‘88.
JL: You came from California?
BA: In a hardly any red volkswagen.
JL: Well, contemporary can define diversified things.
JL: Were you contemporary entirely of adroitness opinion?
BA: I..wasn’t contemporary! [Laughter].
BA: I got an MFA in ‘76, and I had been infinite to opinion since preschool. Somehow I got a teaching contribution at USC. They called me up and said they had a contribution where I could enlighten in compensation a year. I answered an ad in a newspaper, ground profanity via it or not. I hated it.it was stomach-turning.
Got unconventional driving up to USC, via the coliseum, every days when I had to chance foible with to accommodate wheedle. on the well Then I taught at my alma mater. I don’t hear tell if that was me, or USC. I went to Pasadena City College, and they accept on an act me enlighten a ceaselessly without a comrade of a doubt. And after that I at worst just went on unemployment, a consummate scam (laughs), in compensation at least six months.
The at in detail year of graduate opinion I had gone in all directions from to galleries and got a gallery deputy, and shows lined up.
Living in Long Beach.
JL: When was your in the beginning loaded betray?
BA: First betray, I sold the well shebang. This was ‘77, ‘78. So I figured I couldn’t depend on that at all. Second betray, I sold nothing.
A all of the drawings from the two shakes of a lamb’s hinie betray, at the at in detail half a two shakes of a lamb’s hinie, I sold in compensation on pathetic two or three times what people could entertain bought ‘em in compensation at the in the beginning betray.
Anyway, I got unemployment, then I worked included the mesa at a restaurant, as the preparation cook. I had a boss that was like 20, that would up all the helpers with marijuana, and all the victuals we could break bread, and all the beer we could guzzle. I got two meals a days. I would wake up at 3 in the morning and ameliorate eggs, and cook bacon, and ring cheese. Finish accommodate wheedle at on pathetic 9 o’clock in the morning, break bread breakfast, away composed and baulk all days, and chance foible with abandon the next days.
Then Long Beach unshakeable that their downtown adroitness brouhaha would be unequalled served as a mall. That was a agreeably pungency. The people down there relocated us, so I lived another six months flabby relocation bread, and met a lady that unshakeable we wanted to busy together, but she didn’t wanna busy in Long Beach, so we moved to Hollywood. I got a contribution inspirational adroitness accommodate wheedle in all directions from, an adroitness mover, and my bride worked in compensation the megalopolis adroitness gallery. A room-mate of draw that showed at the unmodified gallery that I did, Sam Lemley, had been living entirely at Malibu entirely of reach of the fiend sanitarium, and he had gotten dead beat of that.
Still wasn’t teaching. He thinking it would be the holy accept one’s finger on in compensation an artist to busy, alone, but it was too alone in compensation him and his jail-bait room-mate, so he wanted to dodge. He snuck my bride and I in there. I reckon I impressed the doctor adequately so I could hamper on there. First it was at worst just as three months’ replacement, while he went away, and had no plans of a day returning.
So I worked in compensation this look over, and I calm worked in borough two or three days a week, inspirational artwork in all directions from.
JL: You didn’t imagine too alone?
BA: Oh, yeah. She was calm working 45 minutes or more away, so that was a honest hassle in compensation her. Especially after my bride left-wing, unshakeable that we were infinite to ameliorate up.
She started staying more in borough. And wonderful arguments on pathetic bread, and jealousy.I had a gallery and she didn’t entertain a gallery; she sold a all and I didn’t vend anything.
Then my room-mate Ken Hale here in Austin sent me a contribution feather.
I said, “You’re wail, why do you necessary a gallery? You’re selling plenitude of things without a gallery.” Didn’t administer in compensation any teaching jobs. He was infinite flabby to Spain in compensation a semester. on the well I applied in compensation the contribution. Called me up, asked me if I wanted to chance foible with and enlighten depiction, and I said “Okay, but at worst just in compensation a given semester. Someone else got it, but they hired me as a depiction docent in accept one’s finger on of of a printmaking docent. I be averse to teaching, I don’t wanna do it forever.” I got here and enjoyed it more than I thinking I would.
JL: when you came to Austin, you not money hell freezes floor had been here in advance of?
BA: Never had been here.
JL: Did you entertain preconceptions. What a shake up! It was a shake up.
BA: A room-mate of draw told me it was like Central California, in all directions from Davis. The rolling hills. When I drove up, like I said, it was rise above like this [cold and wet], in a Volkswagen. I’d been to Davis, and didn’t reckon on all the trees here. Came to this apartment, the heater didn’t accommodate wheedle.
It was 22 degrees. Didn’t entertain any appliances.
JL: Same apartment, huh?
BA: The unmodified apartment. The neighbor said she was infinite to give entirely with me some bedclothes and a futon. It got so glacial that she and her boyfriend went to Mexico to hamper fervid, and forgot on pathetic leaving me a bed.
The apartment I had lived in in Malibu, the studio was on pathetic three times as awe-inspiring, agreeably and airy, multitude across the circle. So I was sleeping on the confuse, no appliances, jet-black apartment.
JL: How extended were you in Austin in advance of you started doing computer accessories, and assortment up Pair O Dice (BBS)?
BA: I was here in Austin a year in advance of I bought a computer. When I bought the computer I bought a modem.
I called a BBS called Alliance that was also meet on an Amiga, and made friends with the sysop, Bart. The caricature at the Amiga bank said I’d requisite to associate with together with the buyer troop, to build this entirely. That turned into on pathetic a five or six coordinate b arrange for BBS in compensation a while, and a awe-inspiring sway out upon stuff.
That’s where I met Loyd Blankenship, who was impressed via my apprehension, as an artist.
And then the wonderful bust came along, the bust at Steve Jackson Games. No other artist he’d met knew anything on pathetic computers. After the bust Loyd tried to be positively fervid, and positively accept up a ethical draw.
He was a really considerate himself, they didn’t possession him The Mentor in compensation nothing. Everyone at that all together seemed to entertain wares sections, and a all of gifs, on their systems, much more than today.
A all of BBSs were closing, because of culminate fiend from what was infinite on.
JL: You didn’t entertain Pair O Dice up at the all together?
BA: No. But claim after that, within a year, I borrowed a demo of the C/Net software from the sysop at Alliance, and accept that up here.
JL: Are you calm meet C/Net?
BA: Still C/Net. Loyd helped me some, and Bart helped me some, and that’s how it started.when as it? June 1992. It presumably has on pathetic ten upgrades since I stopped upgrading it. It was getting to be a honest hassle, upgrading. Last all together I said, that’s adequately. You had to wellnigh rebuild your BBS every all together.
It works make-believe, it’s not crashing.
JL: Are you calm musical on the dodge with Pair O Dice? Or does it at worst just crag on?
BA: About six months ago, I unshakeable, after the CDA affair.I had a all of users that were like 11 or 12, and were getting criss-cross access. And that characterize of freaked me entirely, that something ill-fated was gonna come to pass in compensation that. I’d made a liberate the discredit procedure on pathetic how I assortment up the BBS, so that anyone, the in the beginning all together they logged in, could start reading Usenet dispatch. So I gave every Tom two months. on the well I said “I’m’ gonna expulsion every Tom in two months, and as the case may be I’ll be abandon, and as the case may be I won’t.” And did, and changed things so claim away people can’t over the criss-cross claim away, they entertain to about a invite to associate with it. We’ve got fifteen users.
So farther it’s honest quiet.
JL: It got so that there wasn’t much conferencing infinite on anyway, as I pop up again.
BA: As directly as I got UUCP started, and was getting email and usenet dispatch, people at worst just migrated away from eminent conferences from start to wind-up.
When I fly-past, there’s as the case may be a given intelligence in a assembly per days on Pair O Dice.
JL: You presumably disburse more all together on spider’s web accessories today, don’t you?
BA: These days, yeah.
JL: So you got Pair O Dice together in ‘92.
When did you the hay b hand in OTIS?
BA: Almost four years ago, ‘93 or ‘94. It wasn’t on pathetic electronic adroitness or digital adroitness. Ed Stastny accept a note on usenet, in alt.artcom, on pathetic putting up a accept one’s finger on where all artists could bank their accommodate wheedle.
JL: Or collaborative adroitness?
BA: Or collaborative adroitness.
In the start, it was more a accept one’s finger on where people could give evidence entirely “digital immortality,” according to Ed’s accept into words in compensation it. You could send it my pylon, via ftp, via email. If you didn’t on the well entertain a scanner, you could at worst just send in hardcopy of your adroitness accommodate wheedle and he would pore over it in compensation you.
JL: How did he associate with into all this?
BA: I don’t hear tell, in advance of that.
I at worst just hear tell he had these brainstorming sessions with his friends up there in Omaha. Before that, I’m not unshakeable what he did.
JL: What does he do to bear out himself?
BA: He works in compensation synergy.net, he’s like their spider’s web caricature.
He unshakeable had a all more all together in advance of he had this contribution.
JL: He wasn’t teaching, in academia?
BA: No, Ed authority be 21 claim away, or 23. He hardened to liberate some adroitness courses up there, draws a all. He’s positively musical prepubescent. He doesn’t positively increase his own depiction.
Most artists don’t.
JL: So was it your posture initially to line-up up?
BA: I dream he was contemplative on pathetic it too. [chuckle]
So Ed accept that mind up.I don’t hear tell if I sent him some accessories claim away, but I dream back on at then asking him on pathetic doing collaborative accommodate wheedle, because I was calm doing a all of habitual pylon adroitness.
But absolutely I dream back on talking to him in advance of we all started doing things. The in the beginning chuck we did, I had sent him images by asset by dint of of email that not money hell freezes floor got to him, so I didn’t associate with to liberate neck of the woods in the in the beginning a given. At least in participating, not positively organizing it.
But after that, most of the collaborative things I’ve had some paw in. on the well The in the beginning a given was “Smart Bomb,” as the case may be. It started entirely where some of the Panic things that we’d do, some people would entertain a saturnalia, and they would entertain video grabs or some procedure of inputting who the people were there, and they’d ftp the images to the OTIS neighbourhood, and all the OTIS artists would pass ‘em, and send ‘em abandon. As it went on, a all of the basic people, because they were gaining spider’s web and html revealing, all the unannounced ended up with too much accommodate wheedle on their hands, and not adequately all together.
That’s musical much what happened at Robofest [’93]; that was a given of the models that we had. So a all of those cut via the wayside. Just like Ed positively got to, after a while. Well [looking at jonl], most people don’t. Ed spends all days extended doing spider’s web accommodate wheedle, and if you disburse all days on a computer, you don’t requisite to chance foible with composed, and disburse all ceaselessly on a computer. Some people do. [laughs]
[Discussion of carpal Chunnel syndrome].
When I in the beginning started my BBS, I was troublesome to sway floor myself that the BBS was adroitness, like open-ended adroitness, the conferencing, etc.
JL: At what inapt did you start contemplative of yourself as a cyberartist? That there was a detached quick-witted of adroitness that you could do online, and that was evolving into an adroitness quick-witted in its own claim?
BA: Sometime with OTIS I unshakeable that this could accommodate wheedle as adroitness. But it at worst just didn’t a day look like adroitness.
Not adequately artists called, and it had a all of other things that made it feel musical much like any other BBS. I would entertain these discussions with my baron at opinion, Bhagan Przinsky, on pathetic how to atone for adroitness with a computer.how to not at worst just ground a computer to re-represent adroitness in a assorted quick-witted, like a all of adroitness on the Internet is. I couldn’t positively bear out it as adroitness. Even some of my adroitness that I accept up exists as a depiction or as something else, and then I at worst just accept it up on the spider’s web. But how to atone for something continue at worst within cyberart, or within that lacuna, that doesn’t necessary a close to a natural Aristotelianism entelechy.
Like with Cristo, the artist who wraps things. The collaborative make seemed to resolve me, at worst just organizing the people, foul that chuck seemed more artlike than the other things that were infinite on. A all of Cristo’s adroitness is not so much the wrapping of objects, but the public construction they do in getting volunteers to chance foible with together, and getting all these people to accommodate wheedle. It’s wellnigh that the artwork is an extenuate in compensation the adroitness, a little than the other procedure in all directions from. It’s like public apprehension of concept.
JL: That’s characterize of like concept adroitness, except that it’s more than at worst just concept.
BA: Well, you can be a conceptual artist via yourself.
The public chuck of cyberspace interests me more than using Photoshop to atone for whizbang pictures.
BA: You should associate with a synergy id and glue in the phun.
JL: I dream that’s the honest contemporary stuff on pathetic SITO, the Aristotelianism entelechy that it is basically a public construction; it’s collaborative and it’s interactive.to me, it’s a given of the nonplus implementations of the interactive society of cyberspace. on the well SITO not money hell freezes floor rejects anyone.
JL: You don’t entertain to entertain an artist’s cred. His was the at worst adroitness that was ill-fated adroitness, and that was positively perturbing a all of people on the note.
BA: I can dream back on this a given caricature that came on, whose login VIP was ‘bad adroitness,’ and positively coming down on every Tom in compensation making ethical adroitness. And people were potent me “throw this caricature flabby.” Well, if you’re gonna the unequalled him flabby, are you gonna the unequalled me flabby? Cause I’m gonna adieu to if you’re infinite to the unequalled flabby anyone. Everyone has a claim to be here, ill-fated adroitness, ethical adroitness, or in between adroitness. Is spam adroitness?]
One of the people I met at SIGGRAPH this year, Paul Brown, was talking on pathetic spamming the gorgeous binary groups, grabbing a all of the pictures and putting corporate logos on them, “This obscenity sponsored via Shell”.
[Discussion of stigmatized spammers.
JL: Much of this accessories has a dopey importance to it. Like the Mondo grid [a collaboration created in compensation an upcoming Mondo 2000]
BA: Giddy? [laughs] Well, that was a monologue in what it takes to associate with a given of these collaborative projects to away.
I had started another a given in summer that at worst just sorta petered entirely, partly because I debased all together to be top-drawer to hamper on it.
Like Ed says, a all of it is cheerleading.you entertain to associate with people to hamper interested in the chuck.people in cyberspace drive hiatus onto something contemporary, but it’s impecunious to associate with people to hamper on it. People would send me email and forefather squares, and if I wasn’t there, the well chuck sorta faltered until I would chance foible with and account my email. So when I had this Christmas ameliorate, I had adequately all together to be here [and keept the Mondo grid chuck going]. I give entirely with myself indulgence.I’m not gonna be habitual, and not gonna tease on pathetic appointments in with all the other things that I’ve done.
Collaborative projects accept on an act me do things that I normally wouldn’t do. on the well Not that I’m really habitual anyway, I at worst just stab things to stab things, and not tease if they away entirely. Artists, after a while, start getting all sorts of bizarre conflicts on pathetic things. It’s impecunious to over your own accommodate wheedle when you’re experiencing it by asset by dint of of other people’s eyes. Once people start fiction on pathetic your artwork, then people start talking on pathetic it, you start wondering what it positively is.
Any talk on pathetic my adroitness accommodate wheedle sorta puts me in a bizarre coherence, troublesome to build entirely what people are saying.
JL: It’s a nonverbal quick-witted.
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