Digital Art King
Interview: Rex Bruce
By Heidi Hutchinson


Rex Bruce is intimately familiar with the art of “Weathering Climate Change,” the theme of his latest work, on a variety of stratum. “Environmental climate, social climate, technological climate, they’re inexorably combined,” Bruce muses.

Bruce immersed himself and his art within the stratospheric changes of these climates, emerging at the focal point of digital photography and production. With his life and business partner, Brian Stafford, Bruce owns and curates the vanguard Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts (LACDA) at the corner of Main & 5th Street, Downtown. The pair was also among the few early innovators of Downtown’s Art Walk.

Their “Inversions” show featuring Bruce’s eco-conscious, digital grunge photos generated so much heat I stopped in to chill and bring you Citizen LA devotees a fun read on the digital art forecast from the forefront.

Heidi: What changes have you seen in Digital Technology?

Rex: When I first started out no one took any of this seriously. I’d speak at colleges about the Internet in the early 90’s and everyone had their arms crossed, eyes rolling, “What is this THING but a bunch of silly games?”

Few saw the potential in it.

Heidi: Yeah, I only got on Compuserve for Dungeons and Dragons.

Rex: Five years or so later it was WHAM…INSANE! Everybody jumped on it.

Heidi: How did you see it coming?

Rex: I’ve always been Mr. Tech. I waited for the technology to catch up with my vision as an artist. Finally, the technology was in place and became accessible.

Heidi: Would you say that that accessibility is an advantage or disadvantage for professional artists?

Rex: It’s a tremendous advantage for ALL we Bohemian teaming masses of creative people born with natural talent. Not only are the tools there to create inexpensively, but the Internet is of course a huge platform for promotion and distribution.

Heidi: What about they who believe talent must be qualified, quantified and distributed by curators like YOU? The web only makes way for oversaturation of bad art and pirating?

Rex: Get over it. It’s here, it’s a real phenomenon. The original programmers of the Internet designed it to overtake the gatekeepers of record. The record labels, curators, etc. This information wants to be free.

Heidi: I read where that was part of Steve Jobs, Apple’s original vision. No “Gates”!

Rex: Yes, Bill Gates was the only one who consciously put gates and blocks up. Bill Gatekeeper. He put up the gates to the freebies. Isn’t it poetic that his name is “Gates?”

Heidi: Bet that’s spawned a few conspiracy theories.

Rex: It was Gates’ brainchild to make everything proprietary. Not that ‘Apple’ isn’t up to the same now. I’m pretty sure the reason you can’t take video with iphone is you’re using precious memory that they want you to use to download their aps (applications) like ipod.

Heidi: I was shocked that the new iphone didn’t have video.

Rex: Most cell phones are becoming more of a ‘Digital Swiss Army knife.’

Heidi: Any need for provisions to protect professional artists from pirating or copy right infringements?

Rex: I like Creative Commons Copyrighting. Let the individual artist decide how much to share or keep. Personally, I see a bigger benefit to sharing. Sharing can give the original work and artist more notoriety.

Heidi: So long as there’s attribution to the original source?

Rex: Yes. And if your work’s good enough your signature’s unmistakable, it’s IN the artwork.

Heidi: Whose bank account does the sales money go in?

Rex: Fame and fortune go hand in hand. Situations like Damien Hirst suing that kid over his silly skull anger me. Hirst is worth millions and he has to pick on a defenseless teenager?

Heidi: What’s the Hirst skull without the diamond gimmick? Was Hirst trying to prove his art worth or make the Dude he sued an example?

Rex: Hirst made an example of himself…that he’s a megalomanic.

Heidi: Too funny. I’m just playing devil’s advocate.

Rex: You’re talking to a devil too.

Heidi: What do you think of Shepard Fairey and the AP lawsuit?

Rex: Perfect example. That photo would have gone into oblivion if Shepard hadn’t used it for the Obama poster.

Heidi: Touche’! Manny Garcia, the photographer’s, probably thrilled with the lawsuit, too.

Rex: Imitation AND getting sued are now the highest forms of flattery.

Heidi: Is there really any way to stop pirating apart from legal means?

Rex: There’s always a way to distribute electronically. And there are too many people out there who want to be the Jimmy Hendrix of pirating.

Heidi: Who’s really hurting from pirating the artists or the traditional gatekeepers?

Rex: The gatekeepers are asking for it by fighting instead of joining the party. My grandfather was Editor-In-Chief of The Seattle Post Intelligencer in its heyday. It’s just gone out of print but they still have a website. The papers could have incredible websites if they wanted.

Heidi: If ya can’t beat ‘em join ‘em?

Rex: And it’s a more positive, evolved approach. That’s where I see a lot of hope. The old way is to kill the competition, the new way is to be the best.

Heidi: So, freely distributed it’s the people’s choice?

Rex: Exactly. And better art will flourish.

Heidi: I’m thinking of Keats: “Full many a gem of purist ray serene the dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear.” What other impact does the Internet and Digital Technology have on art?

Rex: With the technology you have this fertile fodder for creativity. We did one of the first cell phone art shows.

Heidi: Great…if the technology didn’t go obsolete too fast for artists to process it.

Rex: That’s not on purpose…wink, wink. In the future everyone will have 15 minutes of utility before obsoleteness.

Heidi: What’s the next big thing?

Rex: I saw a great piece mapping out the social network paradigm.

Heidi: How do you select artists to show?

Rex: I’ve found the best way to find the best work is competitions. We have one coming up in August being judged by LACMA curator, Rita Gonzalez.

Heidi: What are you looking for in terms of innovative art?

Rex: No one’s done anything on GPS technology. That would be cool.

For information on shows and competitions visit: LACDA.com or RexBruce.com



- HH