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 produce art in practically every genre, including life itself." - Angela Gardener, Managing Editor of TG Forum  The Artist D is the author of Transitions reVAMped, Metamorphium, I'm so Hot! Can I Please Come Out Now?, Grune Blume and Like a Goat in a Hailstorm. He is also a photographer, videographer, painter, columnist, raconteur and provocateur. The Artist D is the creator and host of The Fabulous D Show, a weekly four-year-old broadcast heard globally live and in syndication.
In 1995 a very young artist simply calling himself "D" began experimenting among the personal website cam scene on something called "the Internet." After learning HTML 1.0 he started coding his own website, linking up with others and slowly finding a realm of acceptance. Being an unpopular outcasted young teen D found where he belonged among friends in a virtual world. Among an exclusive lot D became one of the first bloggers, poets and artists online. Being one of a handful (several hundred by Internet terms) quickly helped receive an audience of followers. Realizing he had an interesting insight and somewhat unique presentation D began broadcasting his image via webcam. That is, broadcasting with a twist! Being an artist, D did not want to display his day to day life instead showing himself in both transgendered and drag artist styling. Perhaps the Internet's first camwhoring transgendered drag queen this certainly got some eyebrows raising in his ... or her direction.  As the late 90's approached it was eventually realized that a profit could be made from the personal websites of artists. The artist known as D or by now "The Artist D" began selling his works through his website. Paintings, books and autographs were offered as well as a place for fans to donate money or purchase gifts for TAD. Being a star of your own personal website on the Internet was the best of times. (As a panel of Internet camwhore* relics would probably swear to.)
Unfortunately all good things come to an end. (Or do they?) What was an exclusive domain for the tech savvy slowly turned into a playground for the mindless and a tool for everyone. With the birth of a social networking site called Friendster one thing lead to another. Come one, come all to "the Internet." Friendster faded to Myspace and Myspace faded to Facebook, Twitter and away we go. Social networking steamrolled over what was the camwhore* celebrity of yesterday. Owner's of personal websites became bored with their sites once everyone could have their own via Myspace. Soon enough the gifts stopped coming and the donations no longer paid the bills. The Gods of the Internet shut down their sites left and right. While the number of visitors dropped The Artist D stayed put. The party may had been over, but there was surely more that could be done. That is, without conforming to the social network conglomerate. The Artist D was down, but not shut down. While social network “stardom” began for some TAD took a vacation to the sunny beaches of California for a much needed hiatus ... for approximately the next two years.  After awhile things get old and spotlights shift. Social networking may never be gone, but after only a couple years things dulled and it was not all the rage. (Just most of it.) TAD eventually met Frank Cotolo. Frank holds a similar “first” title among Internet history as the Godfather of Internet radio with his show Cotolo Chronicles. The two hit it off and teamed up for several adventures of Internet radio broadcast. Realizing there was a whole new venue of people dying for something different, The Fabulous D Show was born. The Artist D and Charlotte Bukowski began a two hour broadcast from the Nevada desert which lasted two seasons. In season three the show moved to Atlanta Georgia with hosts Sarah K and Vanilla Child. The show is broadcast live on WBRN (Wild Bunch Radio) and in syndication around the globe. Season four of the The Fabulous D Show is under way for a 2011/2012 run hosted by TAD and Vanilla Child.
Continuing to be an advocate for alternative thought (i.e. the unpopular belief that people should use the brain's in their heads), in the Spring of 2009 TAD released his autobiography In Bed With Myself: The Making of the Internet's First Superstar from Atlanta GA. The book detailed how he became an Internet celebrity, his upbringing and becoming "The Internet's First Superstar." Clearing up any questions on the matter TAD explained he may have been one of the first, but certainly not the last. TAD remains one of the first personal website stars. Over time TAD has become an advocate for the surreal and leader among the different. If you’re feeling like an extraterrestrial, The Artist D can always make you feel like you’ve found the keys to your spaceship. A surviving diva and a template for talented energy from the pre-Myspace era on a worldwide web that was at one time not all that wide. * According to Wikipedia's definition of a CAMWHORE it is now a salacious horror of an individual performing sex acts on cam for money, a virtual prostitute. Note the change over time. The definition of CAMWHORE is now the opposite of what it once was. What was a popular respected term for people making a living by sharing their usually plain fully-clothed life with others via webcam is now pegged as what society likes to label as trash. | |||||||||||||
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