AR:
In ten years, do you think that there will be an increase, a decrease or the same overall amount of public funding means for the arts in the US?

JH:
Same amount of public funding.

AR:
Which effects and consequences can you imagine regarding this situation?

JH:
Stasis.

AR:
In ten years, do you think that there will be an increase of private sponsorship for the arts in the US?

JH:
Probably not …. Unless things radically change and also if this culture gets wise to technology and creativity and just more of its own cultural value ….

AR:
Which effects and consequences can you imagine regarding this situation?

JH:
Stasis … or change … can only hope for change ….

AR:
Do you live from your art production as main occupation?

JH:
Hell no.

AR:
Do you need other income than that coming from your art production to make a living?

JH:
Yes.

AR:
Which kind of job/s are you holding?

JH:
Professor.

AR:
What is your contract for this/these jobs?

JH:
It varies ….

AR:
Which one of these jobs would you define as your main occupation or would you define your art production as your main occupation?

JH:
All the things I do I see equally.

AR:
As part of an art producing collective/initiative/organisation, how would you define your role and function in the team?

JH:
We are dormant right now but we bled into each others areas nicely although I was the writer, theorist and one of the conceptual team ….

AR:
When you are not part of an art-producing collective/iniative/organisation: Do you often cooperate with other artists and persons involved in creative production?

JH:
Yes …. I do a lot of work on my own but also a lot of collaborative work.

AR:
On which basis do these cooperations work in regard to content production and financial settings? Which forms of budget and work sharing do apply?

JH:
It varies …. Sometimes there is no money involved …. Other times we try for grants together as a team …. Other times I hire people on for certain aspects of the work as a programmer and collaborator ….

Clear roles and skills and cross over work, ideas and skills can really lead to amazing quality and community as well ….

AR:
Which function/s would you ascribe to yourself as an artist in the society you live in?

JH:
Overall … outside of the one I have in new media and locative media …. This is really hard to answer …. I wouldn’t want to ascribe a “purpose” … That sounds forced and marginalizing somehow …. There really doesn’t feel like there is any chosen purpose … at the risk of sounding naive it is to me really playing like a kid in a sandbox … This is true in all the things I do and even when I lectured on a panel at M.I.T. it was like we are a bunch of kids sharing what we made in the park at play …. That purity I never want to lose ….

AR:
In your opinion, which role does a contemporary artist have in the social society you live in?

JH:
Autonomous yet connected, vital yet to an extent in certain contexts marginalized.

AR:
Which role would you define for yourself? As an artist, what would you define as your task/s in society?

JH:
Hmmmm …. Artist/Writer/Musician/Professor are the hyphenated signifiers …. The tasks are almost ephemeral … a flow and ebb from day to day, year to year …. It really is like science … question … search … research … marvel in conundrums and collisions … work … edit … redo … share … loop this.

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 ….