Larry Carlson is a visionary multi media artist. Working with computers he creates artwork that is completely mind blowing. Tech TV called him "The Salvador Dali of the Next Century", and High Times magazine labeled him an "artistic mastermind". What sets his work apart is how he is almost magically able to capture the multi-colored iridescent visions and patterns of the inner psyche. Through his digital images, collages, interactive animations, videos, and web art he presents us with the mystical dimensions of consciousness, coaxing us into sweet spiritualized epiphanies one moment then plunging us into completely bizarre surreal frenzies the next.

Carlson studied painting at Cooper Union School of Art in New York, before switching to computer art. He actually works between the two media's and generates the final results by computer. His images are seamless amalgams of photographs,paintings, and drawings that he enhances digitally. Most of his images are made in a collage process. Carlson cuts, splices, mixes, and edits digital photos he takes with samples from different sources into new formations. Each image takes weeks to construct, with layer upon layer of manipulation, and special effects added to the original image.

Larry Carlson is known around the world for his amazing high voltage web sites. More then just mere web sites, what he creates are massive mind blowing audio - visual experiences. Experimental, ground breaking , and very surreal, his web sites are at the vanguard of taking the internet to the next level. His web art is created by combining his digital images with animations and then layering original soundtracks he creates on the computer by mixing and processing sound samples. His sites "Larrycarlson.com" and "MEDIJATE" have been shown in the Paço das Artes museum, San Paulo, Brazil, and at the Centre d¹Art Contemporain museum in Normandie, France. His sites have been reported on by the UK's newspapers Guardian and Independent and in Istanbul's biggest newspaper, the Vatan. He has also been featured on Tech TV and European NOW TV.

As well as making web and digital art, Larry also performs a live show of his original visuals by mixing a collage of videos and animations in much the same way that DJs mix records. He has provided live visuals for major electronic music events in New York City, Las Vegas, and Los Angles and mixed his visuals live at concerts, playing alongside such musical acts as The Kottonmouth Kings and Aphrodite.

F. A. Q. with Larry Carlson

What is your process for making the images?

Sometimes I see a clear vision in my mind's eye of the image I want to make and then I set out and find the images and computer effects to make it happen. Most of the time I just experiment and have fun with combinations of filters,layers, and 3-D rendering. I do a lot of the work with the image editing program Photoshop. I also use 3-D rendering programs to make computer generated objects and setttings to use in my work.

I always have a lot of unfinished works on my hard drive that I work on for a while and then put away until the inspiration hits me to work on it again. So most of my finished pieces are the result of months of on and off work. I follow my own vision and try to make something new everyday. Even if I dont feel like working, I still work on my art daily, because it helps me stay focused and continue to make new fresh work.

As well as using computers to make images I also make old fashion cut and paste collages. This really influences the style of my digital work, as it helps me use Photoshop in a "real hands on" way, and not be dependent on digital effects only.

What inspires your work?

To stay inspired, I look at a lot of different kinds of art in museums, galleries, and online. Many of the ideas for my art come to me in dreams and visions.I spend a lot of time out in nature, hiking, camping and taking photos, being a part of the mother nature system has a deep influnce on my work.

Do you take your own photos?

Yes. I take photos with a digital camera that I use in my work. I retouch, fix up, and alter the photos in photoshop. In the city or up in the mountains. its always an adventure getting new shots to use in my work.

How do you create your collage work?

With glue and sissors.I hunt for old books and magazines for material to use and I print out images from the computer. I cut and splice these samples into new formations that reconstruct culturally constructed meaning of the original samples, opening up these received images to a multiplicity of interpretations. Collage artists take a tiny little bit of something from a piece and put it together with a lot of other pieces and make a distinct whole. Sometimes I like to collaborate on collage books with other fellow collagists, like Brian Belott.

How do you do your live VJ shows?

Basically I mix a collage of videos and animations in much the same way that DJs mix records. The techniques and equipment are different then a DJ, but the basic principles are the same (eg selecting, cross fading, scratching, cutting, sampling, to the rhythm). I burn my own custom made DVDs and much of my VJing now is me mixing content on several DVD players through a video mixer device to the rhythm of the music. As well as the DVD players I also use a VJ software program to mix and manipulate digital video clips.

How do you make the soundtracks?

I make my soundtracks by mixing and processing sound samples on the computer. I use several different sound programs to put the tracks together. I collage samples from everywhere and anywhere, the TV, the web, radio, phone messages, turntables and musical instruments. I also play around with the KORG MS2000, a really cool Pink Floydish sounding synthesizer .

How and when did you get into computers?

My early experiences with computers begin when I was a kid, messing with the old Commodore 64 home computer. Later on in college I did a big experimental video collage piece with the Amiga video editing system as well as experiments with Adobe Premiere. I spent a lot of time creating digital images with Photoshop. during this time i started making music with the computer and more then any thing I wanted people too see this cool stuff -so publishing on the net became a must. I quickly learned how to make web pages and my early web sites were online galleries of my digital images. So by the time Flash came out , I was ready to really rock the system! After having spent years of exploring so many different fields of computer art, now its all kind of melting together into one "multimedia" experience

Do you have a blog?

Yes. Kind of....its a very experimental blog, It's not really a log of my real life , but a log of my surreal life. It's a stream of digital, mixed media, and collage artwork. I give you a peek at what I'm working on at the moment, as well as open up my archives and show some old work. Check it out here - SKYHASEYES

What is your DVD like?

Its a journey, a huge mix of video and flash animations and my orginal soundtracks. I used diffrent programs to put it together, and scored the soundtrack for it . If your a fan of my web sites, you should get this DVD! It's jam packed with all new mind warping entertainment, with lightning speeds and much higher resolution then I could ever do online. This DVD is full of all new content not available online or anywhere else. You can watch a sample here.- DARKSTAR TRANSMISSIONS DVD

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