SCOTT KOLBO
scott.kolbo@gmail.com
Artist’s Statement:
We are a funny species. My work is first and foremost about humor, the comedy and tragedy I see in the world around me, and most importantly in myself. This work springs out of the tradition of satire. I create prints, drawings, installations, performances and projections where fragments of reality mix with exaggerated environments and grotesque characters. I believe that despite our best efforts to look important, rational, and dignified, we all make fools of ourselves in the end. I like to think of my work as an investigation into the ways that this tendency manifests itself in our individual lives and in society as a whole. I’m a big believer in the notion that we learn something important when we laugh at ourselves, and that we should be fearless when we evaluate the society we are all complicit in creating for each other.
I have always loved the idea of using visual art to create narratives. Much like a writer or filmmaker I have built up a pantheon of reoccurring characters and environments that allow me to investigate some of the social, political, and ethical issues that confront private individuals and communities in contemporary society. I prefer to fragment my stories rather than rely on a traditional narrative structure – so most of the pieces I produce are vignettes and brief glimpses of a larger slapstick comedy world. For example “Jeremiah” is an uncompromising street preacher who wanders the city and proclaims God’s judgment on the people who live in it. He consistently finds himself in conflict with the physical and cultural environment around him. “Heavy Man” is a middle class man who mysteriously becomes spontaneously heavy when he interacts with some of the more disturbing elements in our culture. He breaks office chairs, falls through floors, and wanders around lost in a haze of doubt.
My recent studio practice is focused on creating digitally manipulated animations that are projected over static wall drawings. I mix together video footage of my characters with intentionally clunky animation techniques and then allow the moving images to interact with site-specific temporary drawings. The resulting documentation is a record of both the performance as well as the drawing – using the means of mechanical/digital reproduction to create experiences that are impossible to reproduce through mechanical or digital mediation.
Artist’s Biography:
Scott Kolbo was born in Washington State in the early seventies and grew up the Northwestern United States. As a kid he spent countless hours drawing to stave off boredom, and drawing continues to play a dominant role in all his work. He became interested in the tradition of satire by looking through art books in the library and realizing that he was most attracted to prints with funny looking people in them. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking from Boise State University in 1996. The University of Wisconsin-Madison brought Scott into the Printmaking program on a fellowship in 1997, and as part of his graduate work he worked for a short while at Tandem Press, a university based print workshop. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000.
Scott lived in Spokane Washington for twelve years while working as a Professor at Whitworth University, and in 2012 he took a faculty position at Seattle Pacific University. He teaches a variety of courses including; Printmaking, Drawing, Design, New Media, and Contemporary Art History. His interests revolve around the study of culture, aesthetics, literature, film, and the tension between religious faith and contemporary art. In his studio art work he is interested in the incorporation of new technologies into traditional art making strategies and mixing together elements from high and low culture. Scott exhibits his work locally, nationally, and in web-based formats.
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