How do you approach the beginning of a project?

The ideation process is complex: I work with how the mind works to express our experience of life and explore memory, dream, connections between the body and mind, and between people and nature. I often take a poetic approach and associate seemingly unrelated elements in a dynamic and organic process. Once I have an idea, I prepare a synthetic diagram weaving together the various elements as a representation of the work in time and space. Then I analyze each element individually, and make diagrams of the transformations and connections. I make storyboards and flowcharts of the movements, and then break it down into components and steps for production. I leave parts of it unresolved so that there is room for invention and spontaneity during the production process. This improvisational element is central to my work, with the idea that it provides a kind of organic energy and also reflects life in a direct way. I also try to bring people into my projects to collaborate with who have an understanding of these goals and who can further inspire and affect the outcome of the work. Ultimately, the project has to feel alive, as though it wants to exist.

What would you be if you couldn't be a filmmaker / artist / writer / multimedia / installationist?

My first choice would be to be a musician. Perhaps this is because for many years I played the violin and piano, and composed music. I worked closely with other musicians and composers too throughout my career. So music is a way for me to think and communicate with others in deep and complex ways. It is a pure way to share our experience and empathize with others. Like the other arts, it helps us see ourselves and others in new ways, and so it has a great potential to open the hearts and minds of others. 

And if I couldn’t be a musician? I would be an architect. I studied architecture as a student. But I wanted to make liquid architecture which at that time was impossible, so I moved to film and then on to digital media. 

And if I couldn’t be an architect? I would be a poet, and celebrate the human spirit and the world around us. 

And if I couldn’t be a poet? I would be a biochemist. Biochemistry concerns itself with life. I would work hard on ecological problems in the world, and focus on creativity, consciousness, and the connections between all living things. 

And if I couldn’t be a biochemist? I would be a multimedia artist thinking about all of the possible things I could be if I wasn’t one.

What do you do when you get stuck?

Sometimes I exercise or do aerobics. I find that when I get oxygen to my brain, I feel and think better. Oddly enough, I have good ideas when I am jumping up and down. If that doesn’t work then I dream about the problem (usually because I am worried about it). Frequently as I go off to sleep I have some kind of solution, usually appearing as a vision, and of course it wakes me up. Other times I fall off to sleep but wake up in the morning with an idea. There is a relationship between concentrating on a problem and letting go of it, and in the dream the mind is still working on it. If dream for some reason doesn’t work, then I change my environment by going for a walk or bicycle ride, by going to a concert, reading a book, or engaging in some other activity that triggers my senses and mind, and reveals something new. Travel in other countries and cultures that are completely new to me, is perhaps the most inspiring of all, helping me to see more clearly and deeply.

Is having a community of artists a beneficial component to your work?

Yes, it is important to me. Art is communication, and I want to talk with other artists about their work and ideas, and communicate with them through my work too. I am inspired especially by painters, musicians and poets, in addition to film and media makers. The community is vibrant, and contact with people in it nourishes me in many different ways. I love to dance with their minds.