Her reference points (cats, dogs, psychedelia, youtube, geocities, and so on) are all things very near to our hearts, but there remains something blissfully and recklessly confusing about Petra Cortright’s work. The ways in which Cortright tosses her ideas against the backdrop of video compression, cheap image software effects, and the general soup of internet culture make us want to scratch our heads with one hand and high-five her with the other. In a crowded market of “new media” artists working coldly with bright colors and animated gifs, Cortright brings something far more authentically weird, human, and funny to the table.
We would have edited Cortright’s replies for spelling and emoticons, but Petra’s way too cool and if it works, it works.
Whose Fault Is That: This interview has been in the works for way too long because of my serial procrastination and your move to Berlin. Tell me something interesting that’s happened since we first spoke.
Petra Cortright: there have been so many things since we first spoke i dont even know where to begin!
WFIT: What’s the most fun you’ve ever had?
PC: the most fun always involves the beach/swimming in the ocean
WFIT: What’s your favorite video on youtube?
PC: the one of me scratching my dog olly’s head the webcam was very fucked up and recorded this weird sped up video and it looks like im scratching him really fast and he is licking really fast, but the vidoe makes me miss him so much i can hardly watch it anymore he’s a bug
WFIT: What were some early experiences with internet culture that you think led you to the art you’re making today?
PC: i fell in love with google image search the first time i used it in 5th grade, my first search was “trees”, i also talked a lot on aim a lot it was a bit pre txt msg for me like in 5th/6th grade i didn’t have a cell phone yet and i loved the emoticons and the chat culture and that has really stayed with me
WFIT: You’ve done a lot of moving around. How have reactions to your art changed from location to location?
PC: the work has 70% suffered 30% flourished from all the moving. i love traveling, i hate moving. i’m not a good mover. i have nightmares baout my baggage being too heavy (always is), flight delays, cancellations, losing boarding pass, showing up at the airport on the wrong day, my computer equip getting broken, security checkpoint, customs, lugging bags around, losing bags, layovers, just — ungh. and hey guess what!! i’m @ the airport right now!!! i;m at LAX flying to frankfurt and then to back berlin. the 70% suffering has just been exhaustion,,stress,,anxiety,,depression which provides no room for creative energy or work ethic. in the end i think the work gets better when youre settled and have support and time to explore new things and really push yourself. i dont think i am at that point yet but im getting closer. the 30% positive part is obviously all the new worlds/landscapes/countries/cultures i have gotten to see. it takes time to process what i have seen and it takes time to seep through into the work.
WFIT: What is it about animated gifs and webcam videos that attracts you?
PC: i try to be better at this but i am a really impatient person. gifs and webcams are so fast, low file size, load fast, they are almost scraps. i like not having the commitment of working with hi def vid/images. it just sucks how serious you have to be, it requires too much thinking. gifs are lil treasures of the internet, its so great when you stumble onto a huge unknown index that you hadn’t seen before. i like working with things that i find, but i also like making gifs myself but the ones i make myself are usually pretty heavy file-size wise. for webcams i like the challenge of limitation with the “default” effects. anyone could use the webcam software i use so i want to be the one to do it first and do it weird and do it unique. there are plenty of videos on youtube that have the exact same effects that i have used in some videos but there is such a huge different with those videos and what i am trying to do with my videos.
WFIT: One of our favorite parts of your work is the way it highlights the generation gap in a really roundabout way. Have you considered or observed your art’s effect on people unfamiliar with internet culture?
PC: there are a lot of aspects of my work that address internet culture but i would also like to believe that a lot of the pieces can stand alone purely on beauty and aesthetic grounds alone. sometmes in net art things are too smary and smart ass-y internet jokes that 99% of everyone is never gonna get. even if the internet references pass over some heads all my work is so extremely visual and people can enjoy it on that level alone.
WFIT: What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
PC: this is a silly answer cus its smiths lyrics and im already loling as i type “IT TAKES STRENGTH TO BE GENTLE AND KIND”
WFIT: Name one thing you wish you did more of and one thing you wish you did less of.
PC: more exercise less worrying
WFIT: What would you say is your most ridiculous fear?
PC: i’ve been near panic attacks worrying about all the things that could happen to our chihuahuas milo and olly. they love to sleep in the bed curled up right by our sides and i read somewhere or actually i think my sister told me that people have rolled over on their chihuahuas and crushed them during sleep. also our neighbor has this huge stupid hummer and my mom said olly almost got hit by it one time. our cat bon bon was eaten by a coyote and i guess if a coyote was out during the daytime and the dogs were roaming in the yard that could be really dangerous.it all makes me sick i dont wanna tlak baout it anoymore!!!!!
WFIT: What’s something you think I might be missing out on that I should check out?
PC: if youre living in new york youre missin out on a sensible quality of life 
WFIT: In another interview, you refer to my current home of New York City as a “stain on this earth” and say it “brings out a real sickness in people.” I’m not entirely prepared to disagree, so where do you suggest I move next?
PC: yeah, i have said nasty things about new york. lately i’m trying to be more positive so i will try not to go down the nyc complaint list in too much detail. i was disappointed that it didn’t work out for me there. i fought hard to try to be comfortable there but i ended up paying deeply for all the disasters, both financially and emotionally. my close friend recommended that i read julia child’s my life in france which i started/finished on the flight over here. (im in the frankfurt airport now anyways the book is about how she fell in love with french and found her lifes passion (late in life (late 30s!!!) in cooking. it is nice to feel the energy and zeal she felt from being in a place that she loved with many people that she loved doing what she loved. new york was never a place where i was full of that kind of love and energy, i grew bitter and apathetic because i never felt comfortable there and i wasn’t as inspired as i wanted to be. the lack of landscape was very draining for me. there are not enough trees for me in new york, also the species of trees are so boring. the city parks are so boring. the deciduous forest is so boring. it is the same 3 trees over and over, and sort of low compact forests and you cannot see more than 5 ft. i went outside of new york only a little but it was unimpressive. i feel so inspired when i get to drive around california, everything is so vast and so many beautiful and different landscapes. berlin is so green, there are so many trees. there are lots of huge cool secluded parks and a short train outside the city and you are in real nature with lakes and wildflowers and hikes. it’s hard not living by the ocean but i am excited to check out the south of germany as well. this answer got out of control so in short i suggest you move somewhere that is inspiring with lots of friends and cool landscapes, wherever that happens to be for U
WFIT: If you had to guess, where do you think you’ll be a year from now?
PC: I;ll be getting marrrrrieedddd in santa barbara, california!!!
Joe Bernardi interviewed Petra Cortright in July 2009. Petra’s completely awesome website can be found here, her youtube videos can be found here, and she can be found on Twitter here.