Interview conducted by Lizz Harris with David Kastner (1 September, 2001, Cleveland, TN)

LH In your lectures, you frequently stress the importance of language-can you elucidate?

DK Language functions as a means of communication, the foundation.

LH Are there specific authors who interest you regarding language?

DK Noam Chomsky from MIT; his studies of linguistics, and the biological foundations of language.

LH What is the relationship between art and language?

DK There is a direct relation. When we look to the past it becomes obvious in Paleolithic forms as picture writing, the culture of Sumeria with the development of cuneiform, hieroglyphics as picture writing and sound form, calligraphy from the Far East.

LH You mention these early cultures; how do you relate developments in the Far East?

DK Archaeology helps us understand. In looking at the Jomon period from about 10,000BCE, we see elemental form, the basis of ideas, a starting point for development, and all of this with a high degree of engineering and aesthetic awareness.

LH You talk about elemental form and archetypes. What do you mean?

DK Absolute, a priori, beginning, source.

LH Is there an artist you refer to in this regard?

DK Numerous artists, many who are anonymous from the Paleolithic cultures forward. In the modern era, Joseph Beuys who developed the line of conceptual forms: thought form, language form, visual form, social form.

LH You seem interested in communication and social interaction-can you explain?

DK Man is a social being: visual art and language (written and verbal) are critical elements, instrumental in transferring ideas from one to another, this is related to Beuys’ interest in social sculpture, taking the forms to social interaction-people acting upon ideas, the fundamental tenet of democracy.

LH Does all art reach this level of communication?

DK There are many interpretations or translations. Certainly the medium carries information, and that information has its characteristic meaning. Meaning is the critical aspect of the work: subject matter, content, purpose: meaning beyond the raw material.

LH The art forms you create seem to evoke some primal language.

DK Yes, the source material for these forms is a combination of natural form, elemental nature, combines with bits of social history and intuition.

LH Are there any psychologists of interest?

DK Katz, Koffka, and Kohler come to mind. They helped us understand the cognitive process (Gestalt psychology). Obviously, Joseph LeDoux as a contemporary, and his interest in the relation between behavior and physiology. Also, I refer to Peter Fuller, and his study of Art and Psychoanalysis.

LH So, you see the art form as a tool or device.

DK Yes, the art form acts as a stimulus, obviously with specific connotations activated by viewer participation. Art can be a manifestation of the ego, focusing on self-expression, and can operate as a device (mnemonic) to cause thought form, and in turn trigger further communication, whether individually, or in a larger social context.

LH How can value be assessed in a work of art?

DK Value is one of those qualities with many connotations and implications. We can look at the formal definition of value in drawing or painting as a relationship between lightness and darkness. We can look at the material value of the work. We can look at productive value, and define these characteristics, and obviously there is exchange value cause by the marketplace.

LH You don’t see art as a static system?

DK Not at all, Art is dynamic, constantly moving, changing as society changes. We look through the eyes of archaeology and anthropology to see past cultures, to understand social order, economics, politics, education, religion, science, and engineering. These factors all come into play. Art is life!