JZ: What can you do in a lecture that you can't do in an essay or
article?
AL: lecture is a live communication between people. It's not just about information, but about the speaker's relationship to that information. From the audience's point of view seeing a lecture is different from reading. For one thing, it's much easier to put down a book than to walk out of a lecture. Also I'm interested in using an image track to supplement my talking. I think that it provides a different approach to the material. Ideally different people can understand the lecture on different levels -- the humour, the information, the visuals, the performance, as parody, etc.
JZ: What brings the lecture into the art world? Or is that even an interesting question?
AL: My lectures are art because I'm not a real professor. That said, I'm interested in all different kinds of venues, not just art venues. The Rhubarb festival is interesting for me, since it's the first time I've presented lectures to a theatre audience.
JZ: There are now a lot of lectures online (TED Talks, Google talk, etc) -
do you you watch them? Are they relevant to your work?
AL: Yes I watch them. TED is pretty good, though sometimes a bit over corporate. I'd love to give a lecture there some day. Also I watch a fair amount of technical lectures on computer programming topics. In fact I got my start doing presentations at technical conferences.
JZ: I still have your Connections DVDs, is it ok if I bring them to the show tonight?
AL: NP. I hope you enjoyed them. James Burke rocks.
JZ: Should (some, most, all) art make us (artists and public alike) smarter?
AL: I'm not sure. My goal isn't to make people smarter. I'm inspired by information, so that's what drives my work. I want to educate people, but more importantly I'm interested in helping people see the world in new ways. I think that there's a wonderful freedom and exhilaration that comes with the uncomfortable process of shifting your perspective.
for more info on Amos Latteier visit www.latteier.com
