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AS THE LEADER of avant '80s new wave act Devo, Mark Mothersbaugh sang artfully catchy songs about the human condition and other such topics. After his equally quirky "Beautiful Mutants" show in Atlanta was a success last year, he returns to the Rabbit-Hole Gallery this weekend with his "Postcard Diaries" show, where fans can interact with him via an online video chat at the opening reception.

Despite catching a cold from one of his two adopted Chinese daughters, he took a moment to discuss his art, music and newfound parenthood.

Courtesy of the artist (ENLARGE)
Mark Mothersbaugh says he picks works for exhibit 'that might make somebody laugh.' ('Devo and the Docket' is pictured.)
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First of all, what made you decide to adopt kids at this point in your life?

I thought I was going to be fine just being an old geezer without kids. But my wife had other thoughts, and I argued, "There's way too many people on this planet. That's the biggest problem we have." So our compromise became adopting a little girl [two years ago]. Now she's got an older sister who's been with us about nine months. When we got our first daughter, it kind of reminded me of when I took LSD where all of a sudden a door in my brain opened up and it was like, "I didn't even know I had this part of my brain."

You've been creating new postcards each day for several years. Do these things usually flow pretty naturally? Or do you ever feel forced to come up with ideas?

I don't pull my hair out one at a time. I don't chain-smoke. I don't bite my fingernails. But I do draw. I started between '70 and '72, somewhere in there. When Devo started touring, it was a lot easier to carry something in my pocket than to carry big sheets of paper or canvas. It was just much easier to draw on small things and I realized it started becoming like a diary. And instead of giving them away or throwing them away or mailing them to somebody, I started saving them in these binders. There's now 300 and something of these binders.

How do you go about choosing which ones will be in the show?

I just pick the ones that I think are least boringly private and look for the ones that might make somebody laugh or entertain them.

Even though you don't offer the originals, aren't these extremely limited prints?

I'll print between one and four copies and keep one for myself. [When I started doing these shows,] I was looking for a way to make them cheap enough that you could go, "Hmm. I could either throw a keg party this weekend or I could buy a piece of art." Whenever I get to go to these shows, I end up meeting people that remind me of what it was like to be in Devo in the early '70s when we were doing it just for the love of art.

Considering the subject matter of much of your work, it seems fitting that people's interaction with you at this show will be through the use of a computer. Does that usually work well?

We're doing a "Wizard of Oz" kind of thing. Sometimes the sound level will be out of control and it'll be noisy and nutty. But it's kind of fun. There's something immediate to it, yet I can still be baby-sitting at the same time. But you'll see a two-dimensional version of my ugly face right there in the room with you.

Finally, I have to ask, are we not men?

We are Devo. Funny you should say that because if I was feeling better today I was going to sing on a Devo song called "Don't Shoot, I'm a Man." We're writing songs for a new album right now and I've been playing a scratch version of "Don't Shoot, I'm a Man" for my kids so they sing along with it in the car. They like that one for some reason.

• THE 411: "Postcard Diaries." Opening reception 7-11 p.m. April 18 (interactive Web chat at 8 p.m.). Through May 10. The Rabbit-Hole Gallery, 195 Arizona Ave. L/W 3, Candler Park. 404-550-6136, www.therabbitholegallery.com.