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MD= Matt DeAngelis    VCJ= Vernon Courtlandt Johnson  (  1  2  3  4  5  6 )
Future Primitive
MD: Where did the inspiration come for the caveman "future primitive" drawings come from?
VCJ: Future primitive is… we all dream of what it would be like to live a simple life. We dream of it… it can be actualized but it’s tough. You can make an island of yourself as a man but you don’t learn as much as when you engage other humans. If you live a life of solitude you’ll learn less than if you decided to mix it up.
  Court Johnson was always running away from intimacy. *I* who have inherited this estate of his am FASCINATED with intimacy and what we’re here for…which is to learn. Court Johnson was avoiding it. Vernon C Johnson here is directly engaging with other souls and intimacy.
MD: So it’s interesting. The creative process would be very different cuz now with that new emphasis on intimacy and working with others, the idea of a design review would probably be MUCH more appealing than in the past where you didn’t want to work with others, wanted to work in isolation. Or am I making an assumption there?
VCJ: I’m not saying a life of solitude is invalid but at this point in THIS life I feel called to live on HWY 101 close to that 101 that is being travelled on by very interesting human beings that are coming to California to enjoy the fringe of technology, the fringe of therapies, the fringe of arts, space travel, of …. 175 Nobel prizes have settled to live in California for some reason. The West coast is submerged in a state of mind. It’s inundated with an ocean of intelligence that has come to Santa Barbara.
MD: Where would you like to see your work go in the future?
VCJ: Towards… let’s see… towards enjoyment of expression everywhere.
MD: And what would you like to express?
VCJ: That the world is a safe place. That if it’s not a dance is a dead duck. The lack of a soul is lethal. But that the world is a safe place. The cold war is over. The nuclear race is being held in check. We will master nuclear power. The Russians are our friends now. The Chinese like us. The Germans like us. The Japanese like us. There is a lot of communication going on . The corporations are seeing that people around the world have iPhones. This is the beginning of a whole new age on Earth. It’s not the beginning of the end.
MD: Is there anything you’d like to wrap up with and just have people know about you?
VCJ: That I’ve learned to deal with information sickness and that I know what’s mine and what’s not mine and I’ve learned to ignore stuff that’s completely irrelevant to my life. The information that is not relevant. IF the sun burns up in 5 billion years… that information is not at all relevant to a human being. You know? If an asteroid is headed our way, it’s not relevant at all to human life. There’s going to be a bigger earth quake. It’s taken for granted. We live in California! So what?! You know when all the big ones hits… all this chicken little stuff going on! I’ve conquered information sickness. I know what’s relevant and not relevant and I would want everyone on Earth to take a deep breath and say "the cold war is over. We will master nuclear power. Being human is good."
MD: Thank you for talking to me! It’s been a real pleasure!
VCJ: Well… you’re a soul who doesn’t really use this [points at iphone] but for formality sake. An old soul like you? A 3rd level old soul. A warriors soul.
MD: How many levels are there?
VCJ: Seven to the old soul. You’re not an infant soul. A baby soul. Those lives are behind you. You’re an old soul now.
MD: Where are you at now?
VCJ: You can call me an old soul. My life is very much like the old soul. I appreciate how the mature souls like everything just so. But old souls haven’t conquered an age like yours. I see a lot of souls of your age and your ilk on TV right now. In government. In the military. In teaching. In these prominent fields that I get to see examples of on TV and I’m really glad that 3rd level old souls are taking over this country. This is a young soul nation heavily industrialized but I see souls like you coming into prominence. I look and say "Ah YES!" You know like detectives?
  3rd level old slave souls can be incredible memories. You’re a warrior soul. I thought you were a slave soul at first but warrior souls love all kinds of challenges and a soul like you can be seen in any field. Join the avant guard pushing the envelope in any field. Enterprising! You are designed to be enterprising in this life.
Matt not only got a great interview, but autographed decks as well. SCORE!!!
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