IT’S ART Magazine: Could you talk about your artistic path?

I.A. - Do you think you're part of a new artistic trend which uses technology to serve both form and content?
 
M.M. - I think that anybody who uses the new digital technology is part of a new artistic path. The tools that are available now are so powerful and amazing and one has access to so many new render techniques and program upgrades that days are simply too short to try and keep up learning them all.  It will be thrilling in 5 or ten years when nearly everyone is using the digital tools and they have progressed to the point that they are nearly invisible to the artist. Programs will have become so easy to use that anyone with inherent artistic skill or desire will be able to create art with little effort.
 
 I.A. - How do you consider technology in an artistic sense?
 
 M.M - I really do feel that every bit of new, improved CPU, memory chips, or video cards help me in my creative process. Any kind of speed improvement or new tool that is developed can bring new ideas and new ways of working, which in turn open up new possibilities for images and art creation. The next generation of art may include holographic animated art, with computer control in custom wood-carved frames, for example.  We can do so much more now, it will just take the technology to become more user-friendly to the average artist who is not driven to computer technique. Zbrush is an example of software that is bringing many traditional artists into the digital world.
 
I.A. – Do you see it as a tool or an extension of the creative process?
 
M.M - It is really a bit of both. The more I work with 3d and 2d packaged software, the less I can imagine going back to the old way of doing things. To me digital technology means being able to experiment different ways to explore the same idea, to compare them and make an artistic choice.
  
I.A. – Do you take a critical look at your work and its evolution?
 
M.M - Yes, I am very critical of my work, both past and present.  Over the last few years, I have focused on using Zbrush as a way to create my final images, which has changed my style quite a bit.  Finding new techniques to recreate the way I did things in Maya has brought me to new levels of detail and creation.  I still think that some of my first images are still some of the best (for now).

I.A. -What is the best piece of art you’ve ever created?

M.M. - I guess it must have to be Mother Nature, which I created for my X-wife Susan. It has appeared on several magazine covers, posters, and books since I created it in 2002. I generally think of the last piece of art I have made as my favourite piece, I guess because the memory of bringing them to life is still vivid. It's also easy to forget them as I move on to the next one...

 I.A. – Are working on any artistic currently? Collaborative ones?
 
M.M. - I am working on about 5 projects simultaneously at this point.  For example, I am designing the covers for two jewellery catalogues, at the same time as I am given the opportunity to design my own line of jewellery. I am deep into beta testing 3 separate new 3d programs, working on two instructional DVDs for the Gnomon Workshop, and coming up on deadlines for images of a book for UNICEF, while trying to get into the Siggraph art show again this year. No time to sleep. I am also collaborating with the artist Jon Beinart, recreating one of his art pieces in 3d, a "toddlerpede" that was created with several toy-baby parts. We plan to make a short animation together when it is finished.

I.A. - What’s the latest project you’ve enjoyed more working with?
 
M.M - My favourite project to date was working with the band "TOOL" on their stereoscopic artwork for their new album "10,000 days" as well as creating several animations for their world tour.

I.A. – Do you imagine that museums will let CG art in, as they did with photography?

M.M – To my mind, there is little doubt about if. It will be only a matter of time until most artists are using digital technique one way or the other. Of course there will always be diehard painters who have spent their whole lives with a brush and are angry and scared about experimenting a completely way of creating. I do feel that once open-minded artists are given demonstrations of the benefit of digital art creation, many will be so intrigued that will take the plunge as quickly as possible. It will come down to the point where digital tools and 3d are so common that the myth that the computer does all the work will vanish completely. Moreover, the next generation of 3d printing, screens and holograms will have a huge impact when artists’ hands can achieve direct contact with the piece.

I.A. – You’ve just decided to be part of a travelling exhibition of CG Illustrators "Sumus Vicinae". What do you think of that new community born from the web?

M.M - I'm very excited to be part of it, and I am proud to be invited to it. It's always exciting when like-minded people get together to explore and show off what they have been working on. And, could it be seen as a gathering of artists of former art form movements like the pre-Raphaelites, the Cubists, the Impressionists, the School of Pont-Aven or the Painters of Montparnasse gathering! In other words, could we, artists from different countries and culture join together and give birth to a single creative hearth?

That should always be the goal. At least working towards it should always make the journey enjoyable. : )

Links

Meats Meier's Website : www.3dartspace.com

Interview Published in IT'S ART Vol #08 : store.itsartmag.com

CG Gallery : cggallery.itsartmag.com

See Also Interview with :

Neil Blevins / Philip Straub / Pascal Blanché / Raphaël Lacoste / Nick Harris / Bobby Chiu / Juan Siquier