Scot Sinclair
Assistant Professor Visual Art
University of Louisiana
scot_sinclair@yahoo.co.uk
Lafayette, LA
Assistant Professor Visual Art
University of Louisiana
scot_sinclair@yahoo.co.uk
Lafayette, LA
Artist Statement:
Having been born in the Glasgow area of
Scotland I have experienced, throughout my
whole life, the claustrophobic crowded
landscape of contemporary urban life. These very
specific spatial conditions of intense human
congregation are the basis of my painting. My
work deals with the visual vastness and
intimidating primeval power of huge masses,
exploring how human behavior and perception
are affected and altered through this intense
environment.
The phenomenon of perception, itself, is at the
very core of my work. By abstracting images of
crowds and altering the color and shape of given
forms, my large scale paintings become
patterned, optical relief’s of sumptuous hues;
putting the viewer in doubt as to what exactly they
are looking at. Not only does the dialogue
between the audience and the image play about
with the viewing distance from the micro to the
macro and the representational to the abstract;
but it also emphasizes the liquid tactility and
color of the paint itself.
The aim of my work is to use the paint’s
sensuous properties of three-dimensional liquid
pigment not only to question the viewers’
perception of deciphering what emerges and
disappears on the picture plane, but also to
experience the flowing texture of the painting’s
surface. I make the viewer approach my
paintings in a traditional way; offering them an
illusion of a three-dimensional space, yet at the
same time, negating the very illusion initially
promised.
Having been born in the Glasgow area of
Scotland I have experienced, throughout my
whole life, the claustrophobic crowded
landscape of contemporary urban life. These very
specific spatial conditions of intense human
congregation are the basis of my painting. My
work deals with the visual vastness and
intimidating primeval power of huge masses,
exploring how human behavior and perception
are affected and altered through this intense
environment.
The phenomenon of perception, itself, is at the
very core of my work. By abstracting images of
crowds and altering the color and shape of given
forms, my large scale paintings become
patterned, optical relief’s of sumptuous hues;
putting the viewer in doubt as to what exactly they
are looking at. Not only does the dialogue
between the audience and the image play about
with the viewing distance from the micro to the
macro and the representational to the abstract;
but it also emphasizes the liquid tactility and
color of the paint itself.
The aim of my work is to use the paint’s
sensuous properties of three-dimensional liquid
pigment not only to question the viewers’
perception of deciphering what emerges and
disappears on the picture plane, but also to
experience the flowing texture of the painting’s
surface. I make the viewer approach my
paintings in a traditional way; offering them an
illusion of a three-dimensional space, yet at the
same time, negating the very illusion initially
promised.
| Boy! 2005. Household paint on canvas stretched panel. 72”x72” |
| Sinter. 2007, Household paint on panel. 24” x 24”” |
| Formulaic. 2007, Household paint on panel. 48” x 48” |
| Lube. 2008, Household paint on panel. 48”x 48” |
| Slick. 2008. Household paint on panel. 48” x 48” |
| Dance. 2008, Household paint on panel 48”x 48” |
