The Road Trip (2010). 18” x 15”. Spider web
on paper. Image courtesy the artist.
EK: Would you agree with the proposition that we
are temporarily privileged matter with the gift of
observation?
JK: No, not really. Why would anyone think
that we are more satisfied with our lives than
that of a chimp, elephant, or any other organism whose brains are operating on an elevated
level? We may have the capacity to fool ourselves into such a belief, but ultimately in the
end we probably suffer more from any such
“privilege.”
I remember, in a related moment, an excellent PBS series that aired years ago called “A
Glorious Accident.” In one episode covering the
24
topic of consciousness, Oliver Sacks was asked
if he could explain why we need to sleep. He instead proposed the question, “Besides the need
to eat, why should we wake?”
EK: One final question, do you think your work
using natural process could be considered new form of
realism?
JT: That would certainly encourage a healthier
approach to living, wouldn’t it?
SciArt in America June 2014