Seven answers on 7Q (also known as the FAQs of life.)				Interviewed by Tom Mangan Godfrey Daniels, man of the desert, and the arts. His Web site is here; look for the links to the Mojave Phone Booth, Wagner Zentral and Whip-It, his car art section.		AUTHORS Michael Fuchs Elizabeth Hilts Paul Riddell Gary Rivlin Jim Motavalli Barbara Shafferman Jules Siegel Keith Snyder ARTISTS/POETS/ PHILOSOPHERS Jon C. Allen Will Baker Mike Leung Jon Sarkin COOL SITE KEEPERS Mike Cash Scott O'Neal Colf Godfrey Daniels Cliff Davis, DDS Tammy Hocking Wes Modes Frank Rogan DIARISTS Ralph Becker J. D. Bruns Linda DeVault Mike Reed Moira Richardson Jessamyn West FILMMAKERS Ben Kufrin Dean Mermell JOURNALISTS Bernie Mary Cooley-Jones Lindsay Crysler Jamie Dupree M.O.A.T.M.A.I. David Moll Robert Niles John Orr Steven Ovadia Pierce Presley Mack Reed Rip Rense Curtis Ross Neal Ross John Scalzi Catherine Seipp David Sheets Dwight Silverman Matt Welch MOVIE MAVENS MaryAnn Johanson Brian Koller HUMORISTS Debbie Farmer Mike Jasper Madeleine Begun Kane Patrick Keller Bob Sassone Valerie Sprague Ken Swarmer Ian Wolff SOLDIERS Maj. Jon Anderson, USAF TEACHERS John Warner TECHIES Chris Adamson Mike Gunderloy Michael Ivey Greg Knauss Floyd Maxwell Ellen McDonough Mike Pingleton Wayne Thume John Worth TEENS Gary Baum Marty Beckerman UNDECLARED Bev Gibbs Beth Reid WEBLOGGERS Jason Kottke Jish Mukerji
ONE				I can't seem to figure it out, but I never get tired of those pictures with Wagner in them. No matter the location, or the photographer, they always seem to work. Granted you can't explain why they appeal to me, but can you explain why they appeal to you? Wagner's presence in a photo recontextualizes the photo's subject matter. Wagner is wordless commentary. Take a photo of Dan Quayle, or the Grand Canyon, and the result is ordinary and of little interest; it calls nothing into question. Take a photo of Dan Quayle or the Grand Canyon with Wagner, and instantly there is an implied commentary. What is the comment? For me, the comment is that things are rarely to be taken at face value. Everyday thought is a kind of shorthand, with the brain operating as a complex filter. You see a thing, your brain identifies it, perhaps makes a brief judgment (or, more usually, relies on a past judgment), and that's that. It has to be that way, or else you would not be able to do anything. The welter of detail would be too overwhelming. It is the same with photos. If you already know what Dan Quayle looks like, if you already know what the Grand Canyon looks like, a photo makes little impression; your brain interprets it according to your established categories. The presence of Wagner in a photo is jarring. It is not easily categorized. Wagner says, Re-think what you are seeing.
TWO				A couple people have scolded you for using Wagner because he was a terrible human being. For those don't know his biography, what were some of his least endearing traits? He was pathologically self-absorbed, lived extravagantly on the money of others, alienated the affections (as they used to phrase it) of married women, and, probably most famously, was a pronounced Jewhater ("anti-Semite" is a misnomer -- Arabs are Semites, too).
THREE				Cars make great canvases for obvious reasons: sheer size makes them very visual, entrenched position in U.S. culture makes them an attractive target. What are some of the more subtle ways the automobile appeals to the car artist? Mainly because automobiles are autoMOBILEs -- you can take your art with you, wherever you go. (That is, unless your art car is temporarily temperamental, like mine is.) Making an art car means getting to put your art right in front of people's faces. I guess that part of the appeal of art cars to me is the same as the appeal of Wagner: it's a way of interesting others by putting something where it isn't expected.
FOUR				Where did the initial inspiration for Wagner-in-the-pictures come from? Also, how many actual statues do you have, because I think I've counted three? In the ‘80s I used to do zines and mailart. I used to swap photos of a bowling pin with Phil & Gina of Eleventh Pin. One weekend I was heading for Hollywood, but someone had borrowed my bowling pin. I can't recall why someone would have done that, but that's what happened. I'd been a Wagner fan since early childhood and had this Wagner bust I'd bought at half-price at a Salvation Army for seventy-five cents. So I took Wagner to Hollywood, and when I came back I made the first Wagner zine, Wagner's Hollywood. I have two Wagner statues. I picked up Fake Wagner at an antique store for considerably more than I paid for Wagner. Fake Wagner waits in the wings for the final demise of Wagner, who has been shattered more times than Mick Jagger. But he keeps coming back.
FIVE				How did Wagner get the gig on Space Ghost Coast to Coast? Did you ever get to see it air? How did he get the gig? Wagner has SuperPowers, of course! He had a lot of fun doing it. It was a busy time, because he was also attending the Olympics in Atlanta. The security folks there didn't know what to make of him, but he got in just fine. The premiere of Wagner's Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast episode has for various reasons been delayed. I don't know exactly why, but the folks at Cartoon Network would know.
SIX				You've been the subject of a number of articles in the mainstream press -- what are some of the things they've gotten wrong consistently? Now you're just begging me to complain. Ok, I will. So, what don't journalists get wrong? Journalists have managed to get almost every detail of the story wrong, at one time or other (even though they're spelled out on my site); they attribute other people's quotes and actions to me; they misquote things I say ... I could go on. There have been some excellent stories done, though (most surprisingly, at least to me, is the considerate treatment that NBC Nightly News did). A couple of things I find especially bothersome: The journalistic attitude that individuals "owe" them something, that "a story" justifies any action on their part Their attitude that they are doing you a huge favor by paying attention to you. Personally, I don't want to be on television, and it's funny that television reporters act as though you must be some kind of idiot if you don't want to mug for a camera. I did go on camera once at the booth, but with my face covered, as I had prearranged with the reporter. The worst thing is that so many journalists lack integrity and believe that a microphone gives them power. In the case of the Mojave Phone Booth, it's nothing but a puff piece anyhow -- why do they have to act like such bulldogs? Okay. Calming down now. (Editor's note: I really did have to drag these comments out of Godfrey -- he's not all that pleased about the coverage of the Mojave Phone Booth but I had to ask him twice before he'd made a point of pointing out his concerns)
SEVEN				What do you like most about the desert? I like to be alone, or with just a few people. And I don't much care for trees.
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