AR:
Do you perceive art production as a profession or as a vocation or would you define the artist in a different way?

JH:
It can be a profession, a vocation, a vacation, something cathartic or just like breathing, something that just is there without question or any flowery ornate explanation ….

AR:
When thinking of “vocation”, could you please describe more closely what you mean using this term?

JH:
Calling … identity … simple that … while profession can be more ornate … a choice … working to progress ….

AR:
Would you say that the quality of art is defined by the added value created for a society?

JH:
No ….

AR:
Does the quality of art come from financial ressources?

JH:
… Sometimes it comes from almost nothing ….

http://www.datonet.at/kanonmedia/wulz_subclip4.mov

Dass man nicht in der ersten Sekunde alles sagen muss, das ist ein ganz wichtiger Aspekt, vor allem [auch], weil wir beide[, Heidulf Gerngross,] … mit digitalen Werkzeugen arbeiten. Das ist nämlich der Ausstieg aus dem Narrenschiff des Zeitgeistes …. Da müssen wir uns auch bemühen, dass wir … die neuen Kulturtechniken, die es gibt, auch dahingehend benützen und schärfen und … - nicht ein Statement “rüberbringen”, aber - die Wege zeigen, wie so [et]was auch funktionieren kann. Das muss man ja entdecken. Wir sind ja ausgeliefert dieser Update-Lawine - und was es hier für Bezeichungen dafür gibt. Also: man muss aus diesem Narrenschiff aussteigen, und ich glaube, der Königsweg ist die Kunst, denn sonst kommen wir da nicht [he]raus. … Da muss man denken, da muss man fühlen, da muss man wieder fühlen, da muss man versuchen, den Baum wiederzufinden, den wir vor lauter Wald nicht sehen.

AR:
Does the quality of art come from know-how?

JH:
Impossible to answer. That is purely subjective. What is know how? It could be a year of research, a flash of intuition or a mistake being caught and looked at and something being right there that inspires a line of thinking …. ( I used to read multiple books simultaneously to try [and] get that trigger in language … also by reading in diagonal and backwards scanning patterns or in totally unrelated areas at once …. Sometimes it led to interesting accidental metaphors and concepts ….. They then lead to an idea for a project or section of text created later ….)

AR:
Does the quality of art come from talent?

JH:
Talent, intelligence, creativity, openness to errors/mistakes/chance/surprises, work, effort, sweat equity.

AR:
Does the quality of art come from the need to produce art?

JH:
Yes. It is that extra gear and there is something really great about just being in process, much like as a scientist would be in new research.