Rodney Chang-Pygoya

Rodney Chang, better known as the Internet"s Pygoya, Cyberartist, was the first digital artist to exhibit in Honolulu, back in 1985. Since then he has exhibited around the world, including France (Paris), New York City, Russia (St. Petersburg), China (Shanghai), Germany (Frankfurt), England, Australia, Hawaii, India (Calcutta), Japan, Austria (Vienna), and Hungary(Budapest). His 1988 solo show at Shangahi Art Museum was China"s historic first computer art exhibition. In 2002 Dr. Chang curated and organized East Hawaii Cultural Center"s first International Cyberart Exhibition and World Tour. Through the 1980s-90s the artist completed his first major project of computer art (over 150 large painted canvases), "PaintOuts" (as in "printouts") or "Cyberpaintings", before dedicating his creative works solely to digital online display , as content for his virtual 3D museum, The Pygoya Webmuseum, established in 1997. His latest major contribution to the visual arts of the Web is his "100 Cyberbabies" (as in newborn art for the Internet) exhibition for 2002, to be followed by 100 more in 2003. For tech-phobics and that population that stays off-line, the artist"s latest passion is producing Digi-oils, or hand executed oil on canvases from his Web digital art. These are displayed in physical world exhibits and as "reproduction" in their own right, then used as "masters" for third generation Giclee print editions. As such, Pygoya"s imagery becomes familiar in tboth domains - the traditional art scene and within online cyberculture. Currently the artist is curator and director for his online virtual reality Truly Virtual Web Art Museum, retiring as webmaster for the original East Hawaii Cultural Center and Las Vegas Art Museum web sites . Pygoya made history in organizing and traveling to Calcutta for India"s first ever international digital art exhibition (1999). In early 2002 Truly Virtual Web Art Museum proudly greeted its 1 millionth visitor. In the 1980"s Dr. Rodney Chang gained national notoriety as NBC"s Real People Show"s "Disco Doc" - filmed dancing in his Honolulu dental clinic"s discotheque reception area, complete with staff DJ. The syndicated television show was televised in Europe, Asia, Australia as well as the United States. The dancer maintains as a tribute to the dance and music that has played a tremendous influence on his life and art as well as the sustained passion for such energized music. Since forming a popular local rock band before (1963) the Beatles, Chang continues to this day as a performance artist as the Disco Doc through his intuitive and unique disco style in local dance clubs. What the artist dances today is considered by him not merely still classical disco but a post-modern disco/hip hop combination. The artist is also recognized in Who"s Who in America and Ripley"s Believe It or Not! for earning 10 college degrees, including 5 masters and 2 doctorates. The artist studied mostly in Chicago and holds Masters in Painting/Studio Arts and also Computer Art, as well as a Ph.D in Aesthetic Psychology. A masters in Pychology of Counseling contributes seeded subliminal content to his cyberart. Freudian, Behaviorist, as well as Holistic pyschological theories are additional conceptual brushes for the digital artist. Most recently creative Pygoya is expanding the boundaries of our resources of remembering the deceased with his virtual cemetery project that is a part of emerging Cyberculture. But besides this eclectic extension of online Cyberculture, the artist is most passionate over his leadership in Webism, materializing into the historic Pygoya"s First European Art Tour in 2003. The online Artist"s Journal makes Pygoya one of the most globally documented artists in history. Through the power of the Internet, this valuable primary source serves as virtual library of the artist"s theories and philosophies of art, archived personal development in digital art since 1985, and his lifelong use of the creative process. It also provides insight into his perspective of human nature besides the meaning and missions of his life. Interested parties, such as students, historians, museums, galleries, media, and collectors, are permitted to download any of the writings of the journal. However an email mention of use to the artist"s publicist is courteous and appreciated for documentation. The artist is represented by Alex Alexander & Associates (USA, California), Malie Moran (New York City, Hawaii), and Ingrid Kamerbeek (Europe). The Creative Process The computer serves as assistant in discovering new art visions for Pygoya. The artist, over the years" parade of changing personal computer systems, always attempts to reinvent his developed "style" on the computer, as much his own input as the evolving technical tools. Then, instead of a hard copy printout that other computer artists exhibit and sell, an intermediary actual painting on canvas is produced to "dedigitize" the work This is done in order to remove a purely technical feeling of computer graphics, which some consider a bit "sterile". Then the working painting is photographed, "redigitalized" and modified through editing refinements by the artist. The "final" work of art are either Giclée or Epson archival inkjet prints or such derived digital cyberart is placed online for exhibition in Internet cyberspace virtual reality galleries, such as the 3DPygoya Webmuseum. Most recently, purely digital images are garnered from 3D software and posted as art created for the Internet to contribute to the global visual arts online cyberculture. As such Pygoya"s 100 Cyberbabies in 2002 were inspired by the online life of the artist.