Photography is a familiar topic that has been discussed during The Art Now lecture series at the University of Lethbridge. However the lecture that was presented by Nancy Towsely on the work by Scott McFarland was not only unique but triggered a new way of thinking about the photograph as an art object. Scott was born in Hamilton Ontario and studied art and photography in Vancouver. Working as a studio assistant for Jeff Wall he was able to develop a unique style within the artistic community. I have long considered the act of taking a photograph as capturing a snapshot of a moment in time. Conversely Scott believes the act of capturing the image is only one aspect of photography, and is interested in manipulating and constructing an image using technology and processes that have existed for centuries. Nancy explains that Scott asks the question “Does looking at a photograph make it a photograph?” Nancy adds “he makes rather than takes focusing the emphasis on himself as the image maker rather than the image taker” In other words he uses multiple images fused together using Photoshop to create large panoramic images that sometimes consist of hundreds of photographs taking over a period of weeks and sometimes months. The product of this is a photograph that not only challenges your perception, but also forces you to question the reality and contest of what you are viewing.
The method of combination printing is not a new concept within the photography community; rather Scott uses new technology to create works that are seamless as he is able to blend images together. In two thousand and two Scott has his first experience with composite printing as Nancy explains “the images become removed from photography, he manufactures a scene creating an ideal. He chooses the best setting that suite the figures.” Some would say his images are staged and lack content, rather I believe he takes the photograph beyond its inherent nature and begins to sculpt and mould something that only exists in a two dimensional space. The ability to combine figures and background that alone have no immediate relationship and create a scene that seems so natural and purposeful is amazing. Viewing his work for the first time I found it hard to distinguish what is quote “copied and pasted” and what is original to the scene.
He does make reference to classic images captured by paintings, and is also interested in the year when photography was first introduced as a new medium within the artistic community. Nancy affirms “Scott revisits a time when photographs were shared by painters in eighteen thirty nine when both mediums existed together.” This is very apparent in his works were he makes reference to nineteenth century motifs. He enjoys working in large series sometimes changing just one element of the photograph such as the sky and placing the images side by side. An example of this I found very interesting was the work “the garden” were Scott presented two images of a garden in bloom, however he combined images of plants and flowers blooming during different seasons in the same image. This impossibility within the photograph was very visually interested. For me he creates a suspended reality, submitting his own ideals within the realm of the image. There is something beautiful in being able to make a scene that seems to satisfy all our senses and not limiting to strictly visual. Nancy agrees saying “Scott creates a visual montage, two seasons shown at the same time the impossibility of simultaneously layered references.”
I agree that the work of Scott McFarland is worth investigating, if you are interested in photography. His unique presentation of the photograph leaves you questioning your own perceptions of reality.
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