Sci Phone Series
Q: Tell us about your art and what inspired you to produce imagery about futuristic, science fiction or fantasy themes.
A: All of the images for my current sci-fi themed work are created with my i-Phone. I had been doing work like this on my computer and then I found an app that allowed me to Layer images together directly on my phone.
Q: Is there anyone who has strongly influenced your style or direction in art? Or is there any artist past or present who inspires your art in any way whom you wish to mention?
A: I don’t know if there is a single artist that influenced me at the beginning. Dave McKean’s work definitely got me curious about Photoshop and putting images together. I am inspired everyday by amazing artists like Dan Quintana,James Jean, Menton, Tom Bagshaw, Lori Early, Peter Morhrbacher, Sarah Joncas, and Sam Weber, to name a few.
Q: Are you formally trained or self taught? Tell us about your path as an artist.
As a photographer I was a student for two years formally. I continue to learn every day something that can inform my photography and my artwork.
I was working as a photographer for many years before I started to experiment with using photography to create art in the manner I currently pursue.
Q: Tell us a little about your preferred medium and technique, do you have any favorite products or applications?
A: Well, Photoshop is the program that started it all. On my phone and to create the Sci- Phone Series I work with an app called Union.
Q: In a few words, what would be the perfect future, if you could imagine it into reality what are your hopes, dreams, or expectations for the world?
A: That’s a very difficult question to answer in a few sentences. I think that the one wish I have is that people would realize that we are all the same. We all inhabit the same planet. We should take care of ourselves, each other and our only home.
Q: In practical terms, as things are going, do you see the future of humankind as a Utopia or Dystopia? Do you have hope for the survival of the planet? Please give us a brief explanation.
A: I wish for a Utopia, but that seems more unlikely every day. I think mankind is generally influenced so much by greed that it makes everything more difficult. I have always said Greed is the deadliest sin!!!
Q: Do you see yourself as a forward thinker, and if so what solutions would you propose for saving the world? Or do you feel it needs saving?
A: I do feel I am very forward thinking. I think education one of the most import things we can do for the world. We will never lose by having a more educated population. Education should be free. I also think automation has the opportunity to save us or destroy us. That will be up to us.
Q: If you could change any trend that has had an impact on our planet, what would it be and why would you change it, what do you feel it would change and how would it help?
A: Consumerism is a big problem. I am as guilty of it as anyone, but I try my best to alter my own bad habits of consumerism.
Q: If you could go back in time fifty years, what would you tell the world to do differently and why?
A: Don’t let stupid people lead. I think the “why” is pretty obvious at the moment.
Q: Do you see humankind making space travel an option in our future, if you were asked to go to another world, would you choose to go?
A: Yes, I’m certain it has a chance to be a reality. I think I would go given the opportunity.
Q: What advice do you have for artists just starting out?
A: To make it as an artist will be the hardest thing you will likely ever do. You should wholeheartedly pursue that path if it’s the one you feel you should be on. That decision should be your own and then you should own it.
Q: If you had full funding for any project, what would it be?
A: I would love to make a dance video incorporating a mix of styles and genres and I’d like to film it using robotic cameras.
Q: Are there any projects in the making you would like to share with us?
A: I’m working with my production partner Richard Aimes on a motorcycle documentary about a local builder Named Paul Brodie
Q: If you were to attribute any emotional, spiritual, or physical context to your art, what would it be? Is there a story behind the image, a feeling, a dream or belief? Or perhaps the art you create is a manifestation of very real physical experiences?
A: Typically whenever I start to create an image I have no plan at all. I just set out to make something creative. As I go along the image starts to dictate a direction and sometimes a theme arises. I will say that with the Sci-phone Series. I attempt to create a Sci-Fi themed image. They often end up feeling somewhat like Deities from another time or place or reality.
Wayne Hoecherl’s website: wah-pix.com