Scotty Gorham and Modern Urban Follies

Scotty’s art show was an incredibly contemporary and abstract experience.  It was powerful in an understated and confusing way.  Scotty has a simplicity to his design and an immense complication to his concept.  There was everything from QR codes to astro turf to flying Pho to cinder blocks.  I greatly enjoyed the show and it was also very illuminating to hear Scotty’s explanation/rambling.  The show was intentionally vague and scattered.  There were a lot of components and it was really enjoyable to try and fit them all together.  It is next to impossible to describe the show succinctly, but a shallow examination would be that it was about ancient tradition mixed with urban materials and timless human practices.  The show had an archaic yet contemporary subject matter and there were references to antiquity sitting right next to modern QR codes.  There was a feeling of spirituality/reference to ancient religious practices that were one again mixed with contemporary materials and designs.  There was also a whimsical element to this show and even though the pieces were lofty and abstract there was something very enjoyable about scanning the QR codes and walking through this deserted playground of sorts.  To summarize the show, I would say that it was an incredibly abstract and contemporary play on ancient human traditions and practices.  It was about the continuous growth humans experience and the repetitious cycle we fall into every time we try to spread our wings.  It is a collection of modern materials that are left in a deconstructed state.  The entire show had a feeling of contemporary ruins.  Again, these explanations are just scratching the surface, but I think that the clash between the modern age and antiquity if a central part of this show.  In an abstract way it reminds us of our morality, of our humanity, and our traditions.