UV: The image on the cover has been shown with and without the 'black box'. What is its significance?
CI: The black box represents the prison in our mind. We make choices during our life and these choices are then incorporated into who we are. What may begin as a choice can end up as a prison. The black box was removed from the images when they were incorporated into a web based interactive art piece project called "Mentally Blind" which can be viewed at www.clintimboden.com.

UV: The message (inscribed in Braille) on this piece is "We hide in the prisons of our mind." How do you feel that statement relates to the world situation today and the events of last September 11?
CI: I think we are hiding more now than we were a year ago. I think the events of last September 11th could have been a starting point to really look inside ourselves as individuals and as a nation and see how we could make things better. Instead I think that many people have used the tragedy to reinforce their previous negative feelings about individuals that are different than they are, be it skin color, sexual orientation, or language. The image on the cover has taken on an additional meaning that I never intended before 9-11 of last year.

UV: Do you think that visual art can influence social change in a culture that is so inundated with visual stimulation?
CI: I think it still can if the message is strong enough -- that is why I use text and non-visual languages such as Braille or Morris code in my work. It is an attempt to seduce the viewer into interacting with my images before they really know what the work is about. The goal of my work is to trigger a strong reaction from the viewer. This reaction can become a catalyst for deeper thought. If the reaction is strong enough, I believe the viewers way of seeing will also be altered. We don't see, not because we don't look but because we can't get beyond how we have been taught to see. My artistic vision has been shaped to a large degree by my education and experiences in the field of psychology. I have worked with the homeless, the chronically mental ill, sex offenders, and drug addicts. Through my art I am hoping to create images that will elicit the same kind of reaction in the viewer as my exposure to the individuals and situations have had on me.