Which world is the real world? Each day poses a series of dichotomies. Angry and grateful, relaxing classical music station and tense news station, virtual and physical, everything feels fine and everything feels terrible. Before and after. Before: In the town where I live, a bedroom community, most days the village would be deserted except for the cars of commuters going by on their way to work, and coming home again at night. After: dozens of people are out in the village, walking with masks on, staying distant, yet waving, shouting greetings, checking on the well being of neighbors they’ve never met before. Before: friends would come over to visit, sit on the porch, have some food, play a game. After: Zoom meetings, Google meetings, so much screen time. Yet, frequent visits with family and friends who live far away. Much more time spent with them now that we don’t need to drive or fly for hours to visit.
Somehow, this seems to be the perfect time for the dichotomy of
working at a computer and working in my studio, making art that combines the physical and the virtual. Before: Making paintings and drawings, getting them to shows or galleries. After: Creating worlds that are ephemeral, and have no market value, only the value of sharing a vision. I have posted a few short AR clips for friends to see. One of the questions asked about them is, “are those objects real or virtual?”
That is a question I feel like I ponder every day, these days.