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Scott McMaster Urban Landscapes Macroscopic urban landscapes, once shiny and sturdy steel refined from the earth, fired, melted, pulverized and bent into an assortment of devices, implemented for a myriad of functions from mail boxes(and front gates) to buses(and factories). Cross-sections, if you will, full of diverse, colorful elements in various stages of neglect, decay and rebirth. Through the processes of water, sunlight and oxidization they bear scratches, scoring and corrosion that speaks of the passage of time where there is no allusion to reality. These pieces explore the imperfect and deficient by the juxtaposition of colors with variegated textures they are abstracted from recognizable objects into painterly compositions. Transformed from rusting eyesores, recycling yards and municipal waste into vibrant color and textural explorations, captivating a beauty previously unknown. These pieces symbolize the mundane and everyday ugliness each with its own unique history, each a part of our living (and ever changing) urban environment. I am fascinated by the way the city constantly transforms itself, particularly the minute and often overlooked objects that create the space around us. Every corner with its own untold story. The way that people build narratives, interpret visual planes and extract meaning from visual information is also very interesting. The links between the physiological process of sight and cognitive aspect of perception. Each person interprets the work differently, relating certain colors and textures with individual experience and emotion. After failing to recognize precisely what the pieces are they create their own narratives, breathing new life into the unknown and forgotten. |
