Jeffery Scott : Photographer, Sculptor, Painter
Jeffery Scott began his creative explorations at an early age with sculpture. He later discovered painting, which led him to photography. Now he uses digital tools to "sculpt" his exquisite photographs, which focus on the human form. Here Jeffery shares the passions and frustrations that drive his art...
What artists interest you and who are you influenced by?
I have always been fascinated by artists that bring something new and true to the table. Warhol, Picasso, Ernst, Dali, Pollock.......these guys weren't playing games.
And when they were...they were straight up about it. They all had something to say. All were very busy pointing the finger at society, saying.........
"look at us. Look what we have done.......and continue to do. Isn't this ridiculous? Isn't this beautiful? Isn't this grotesque? Isn't this wonderful?" They were honest. They were honest with themselves and the world around them. They were observers. They were documentaries of their ages. The way that I see these artists and my impression of them is what has influenced me.....................to be true to myself....realize who and what I am, and in turn, let the work reflect that. Also...................some photographers that have, and do influence me are: Helmut Newton, Ken Marcus, J.K. Potter, Floria Sigismondi, Chad Michael Ward and Ian Wurth........These people are modern day poets with their cameras!
Your portfolio includes photography, sculpture and painting. Why do these forms of expression appeal to you and which did you study first?
I started sculpting and drawing when I was two. That's when, I think, I really started looking at things and translating what my impressions were into 2d and 3d renderings. At a very young age I grew a large fascination with the design, mechanics and architecture of the human form. It was like, my working in clay or on paper were nothing more than notes on my observations. I understand........and it makes more sense to me now about what I was doing then. I was rehearsing for what I would be doing later in life. I always just seemed to live in awe with the idea that one could create something from nothing. "Here's a lump of clay, or a blank piece of paper.........now it's a person sitting on a chair" Painting came later. I think was I was about 10 or 12. I think I have milked the painting thing for everything that' it worth to me to death. I have really no interest in doing that anymore. Well.......now wait. I say that................but that's not really true. I love the "idea" of painting. I had heard all of these stories about how relaxing and therapeutic that painting can be. I have never experienced that. I have absolutely no idea what people are talking about when they say that. For me...........Painting is an arduous process. It's exhausting. I would finish a painting.....and my whole body would just ache. Every muscle in my body would be sore. I would stay up for three days straight working on a piece. No rest. No peace of mind. Definitely not therapeutic. Hard..................like coal mining. And for what results? I was never happy with any of my paintings. They all just seem to represent one thing to me..............compromise. I felt like I was always just "settling" for a lesser image. They were never exactly what I had in my mind. I started photographing my models for my paintings with a Polaroid. Then I discovered digital photography. I was really happy with some of the images I was taking as "photographs". That's when I started to realize that I had something with photography. At that same time.......I was playing around with photo manipulation with Photoshop. Soon after that I discovered that..............through digital manipulation of all of these photographic elements, I didn't have to compromise anymore. Now I can illustrate EXACTLY what is in my head. I just keep going until it is accurate to my vision. I love it! However, I won't discard painting altogether. I am starting to fall in love with the idea of abstract painting. Through that I have found that therapeutic aspect to painting. It's extraordinarily relaxing to me. Just letting it all flow out like that. Randomly. Totally subconsciously. That's where my connection for painting now lies. So no one will ever be seeing works from me like they have in the past. Not paintings like the ones that are still, to this day, hanging on my walls in the apartment. I just want to move on. Evolve. Photography is just the final stage in that evolution..........and even THAT is changing. All the time. The painting was merely a stepping stone to that area that I feel that I truly belong in. The abstract paintings that I speak of...........They will no doubt just replace what I have now. They will just be for my own enjoyment. The Photography, on the other hand, is something I want to just get out there. I want everyone to see. It is the way that I speak now. This is how I say things that I have always wanted to say.
Some of your paintings and photos depict the female nude in frightening or disturbing ways. Why do you combine beauty with darkness?
There is nothing more astoundingly beautiful than the female form. If we look at the thought of God as an artist............. and that the artist keeps creating until he finally creates that certain something that he feels is the end all, be all of his creative process, and then stops....then we have part of the answer to that question here. God made all of these things-the land, the oceans, the trees, the animals, man.......then woman. The last thing he made was the woman. Everything that was created contains parts of the previous creation. All leading up to one inescapable conclusion. All parts lead, somehow, to a final...............and then you stop when you feel you have reached the optimum. The last creation was woman. Something that contained all of the beauties and elements of the creations before it. There has been nothing new since then. So I guess the Artist was happy......and then just....stopped....feeling that that was the optimum creation. That it couldn't get any better than that. This is what "woman" represents to me. I love women. It doesn't get any better than that. Now to mix that exquisite beauty and architecture with something man made and frightening, or disturbing, as you put it, creates an incredible contrast to me. It is basically my on-going motif of, "this is what we were...this is what we have done to what we were" thing. Light/Dark. Yin/Yang. Positive/Negative. This sort of thing. We love the land.....but we destroy it. We have faith in our religions.............but we bastardize them. We elect our political figures....................but don't trust them. We say that we are strong and independent.................but shoot drugs into our veins and chemicals up our noses. The list goes on and on. We have created a world full of contradictions and contrasts. I am always rather intrigued by that question and quite surprised to hear it as much as I do. It's all been made rather standard in the world around us. All I am doing is reflecting those contradictions and contrasts in my work. Using the female form as a standard form for that expression.
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