| OPENINGS | Opening Reception: Saturday November 6 from 6pm to 9pm
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| Geoff Ault "Running with Scissors" Photo Courtesy of CITY Gallery |
In Ault’s words:
“As children we are told what not to do. Don’t touch that, it’s hot. Don’t eat that, it’s dirty. Don’t swallow your gum, don’t play with matches. Don’t run with scissors.
Yet we did everything we were told not to do because we wanted to know why the adults didn’t want us to do these things. So we found out what ‘hot’ is, what dirt tastes like, what happened when we swallowed our chewing gum, and the consequences of playing with matches. But somehow we knew the consequences of running with scissors and usually didn’t try that one out.
In the art world, often we are told that we shouldn’t paint with acrylics because oils are better. In photography, we should use film instead of digital cameras. Often artists are admonished that we should stick to the tried and true methods. To a certain point this is true. One must walk before he or she can run. The basics of composition, technique and color are important in creating art in all forms.
Yet we did everything we were told not to do because we wanted to know why the adults didn’t want us to do these things. So we found out what ‘hot’ is, what dirt tastes like, what happened when we swallowed our chewing gum, and the consequences of playing with matches. But somehow we knew the consequences of running with scissors and usually didn’t try that one out.
In the art world, often we are told that we shouldn’t paint with acrylics because oils are better. In photography, we should use film instead of digital cameras. Often artists are admonished that we should stick to the tried and true methods. To a certain point this is true. One must walk before he or she can run. The basics of composition, technique and color are important in creating art in all forms.
At some point the artist must take a creative leap and forget the rules; run with the scissors this time and see what happens. I like to twist the composition, play with color and try out new ways of creating images. It is painting to the extent in that I use brushes, layering and blending. The only difference is that I have a canvas and brush that are electronic, not physical. This allows me to create work that can have various textures, colors that can be subtle or vibrant. It also allows me to alter images to the point that they are unrecognizable from the original image.
Some images begin as film photographs taken with toy cameras that produce blurry, dreamlike images. I scan the negative into the computer and what is usually a black and white image of something rather mundane can become a colorful abstraction. Other images are created from objects placed on a flatbed scanner and digitally manipulated to produce distorted, unrecognizable images. A flower can become a landscape, a piece of slashed matboard becomes a seascape. The possibilities are endless”.
City Gallery is located at 804 H ST NE second floor, Washington, DC 20002. Gallery hours are Fridays and Saturday 1-5pm.
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