For our first profile (monthly? biweekly? TBDz) we chose a person near and dear to both of our hearts.
Peter is an artist / photographer / digital wizard, a jack of all computer trades. He received his MFA in Digital Media from the Rhode Island School of Design and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY where he is producing a record and working on various freelance projects.
{ in a nutshell }Peter went to undergrad at UC San Diego, where he met one of his best friends and creator of
monome, for which Peter designed the software. He moved to San Francisco after graduating and helped run a medium sized noise label for about three years before he decided that producing music was much less fun than making it himself. He created a small internet label,
flatflat, housing several sound artists as well as the occasional EP from Peter himself. His most recent installations include
giant suv whales and
sound collaboration for small ceramic animals.
{ q + a }So Peter, why do you make art about whales?The whale is an image and a myth that has an odd place in our culture. Specifically the killer whale.
Where did you make the connection between killer whales and Cadillac Escalades?That was sort of opportunistic. I am interested in the way sound behaves in public and I thought that it was funny and a compelling metaphor to conflate the way that cars with loud sound systems and pods of whales communicate. The bling was circumstantial.
Circumstantial, but specific I would say. You can't really deny that having a cultural symbol that outlandish in your piece added to the lure for people who were at the opening. Do you think that modern art is moving towards brinkmanship and away from craftsmanship?The word craft has become important in the last few years. I think that art at this point is everywhere. In the aftermath of post-modernism we are just beginning to come back around and decide what feels good to make but is still in dialogue with human culture.
The spectacle has replaced art in some arenas. How do you feel about your work falling into that category by some critics?The spectacle has a much more nebulous relationship with art, as it has replaced not only art but some relationships. All art at this point is in dialogue with the spectacle. It's just a matter of what the art argues for.
What are you arguing for?In art usually I am arguing for a cooperation of the technological idioms for absurdist use as a way to critique and examine how they behave out of context.
See/hear more of Peter's work here. POSTSCRIPT: peter got vvorked today which is A BIG DEAL. Labels: fall, funny art is the only art, lazerwhales, petersegerstrom, profiles, scooters, vacation
