Purpose
The purpose of this domain name and web site is for the legacy of my family. OliphantArts was chosen simply because my last name by itself was not available, the addition of the word arts was chosen because this is most appropriate for my general interests and I hope of interest for future generations of my family to come. At present, December 2004, this includes my 16 year old son Taijasa (Tai) and myself, W. David Oliphant.
A brief background:
I was born in Columbus, Ohio Feb. 9 1957, lived in this area until 1966, then moving to Phoenix, Arizona where I still live today. I spent my youth believing I would someday become successful in visual arts. By my late teens I realized this wasn’t a particularly satisfying activity, my true creative love being sounds and visions. By 1978 I began experimenting with reel to reel tape recorders, tape loops and ‘found sounds’. I was also an avid music fan and was familiar with a wide variety contemporary and experimental music's done up through this time. (World music, electronic i.e. John Cage, Stockhausen etc, jazz, progressive and so on.) During the summer of 1979 I took an independent study course in synthesizers and then began what has been my on and off obsession for the last 25 years, experimental music.
I have worked in a variety of ways, as a solo artist, in groups, purely electronic, purely acoustic, but always first and foremost using the studio as my one real instrument. I claim no actual musical talent, nor do I claim any real creative success. I have released a number of cassettes and cd’s, and played live hundreds of times, none of which was ever to a very large audience. All puns intended, my timing was always just a little off, either too soon or too late to be of interest to more than a handful of people at the time. All this is fine with me now, although it was quite frustrating when I was yo0unger. I have done what I enjoy the most, the act of creating sounds and visions, and have both provided some entertainment and influenced a few people along the way.