Colleen Tully 'Soundtoys' Interview

What is you project and your work about?

The piece i submitted to soundtoys was a reaction to the current times using sound as a way to make a point. my projects include: on the net - working on a combined erasure project http://www.erasures.net, and off the net - i work as a painter and a programmer.

On a personal level, why do you make this work?

Because i have to, which sounds silly i suppose. I do it mainly for myself in order to explore ideas about words, color, happenstance, things like that.

How do you define "soundtoys"? Could your work be classified in this area?

I would define soundtoys as virtual objects you can play with which most likely use sound as a defining object of the play. My work could not be classified in such a way. the piece i submitted has sound in it, but it's not really a soundtoy i suppose.

How long have you been working in this area?

i've been working on net art for a couple of years, as a painter forever.

Were you an artist/ musician first who got into using computers/the net, or did you respond to the net as a medium in an artistic way?

I think i'd have to say that tom phillips has had the largest influence on my work of late. you can check him out at http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/humument/index.html

What/who has influenced you in your work? (themes, other artists etc)

i think i'd have to say that tom phillips has had the largest influence on my work of late. you can check him out at http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/humument/index.html

Are there any other artists covering the same field as you?

i'm not sure - i don't see many doing erasures or electronic versions of them - one of the reasons i started the erasures.net project.

Do you see this work as art?

yes, i feel art can be many things.

With regard to 'soundtoys' especially, why do you think the audio visual form is so key to the net?

Our senses, on the whole, have obviously been bombarded with years of muti-media events so it might be hard to to say that the audio/visual form is "so key to the net". the contrary may be true in order to be heard - it's all so very subjective.

What defines the aesthetics of new interactive art?

An underlying set of principles in this context seems to me to be found in our notion of the interactive experience - what can we take from it, what are we meant to take from it, etc... so what makes this type of art form valid is hard to define. again, i'm one of those who define art as almost anything and that is always based on one's unique perception.

How important is the visual aspect in the 'new' relationship of the audio visual.?

i don't think it is necessarily important, but of course, i'm a very visual person - so i prefer to be presented with visuals. on the other hand, some ideas need no visual intervention.

Would you describe yourself as a multimedia artist, a net.artist, programmer, or none of the above?

i'd just say artist - programmer as an occupation - but artist as an artist.

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