Art is In the Trash Can of the Beholder.
Ignore the critics. There is no line between art and trash in Utah. Junk art is not new, not as an art form or the works themselves. Comprised from landfill bound stuff, this style exceeds the sum of its parts. These mixed media compositions turn cast off items with no value into aesthetic fun. Art can be commentary, satire, activism, expression. For Scott Whitaker, it is found wherever you look. In a consumerist society found art is the redeemer of the prolific tonnage of waste we create.
Scott has a particularly unique vision. In an Ignite Salt Lake City lecture titled “Junk Art, Aliens and Alternative Energy,” Scott says, “One day I was at Burning Man and I was abducted by aliens and I decided to quit my job and build a solar-powered flying saucer.” Cashing out his savings earned over nearly 15 years in cyber security and ignoring his mother’s warnings, he indeed built a solar-powered flying saucer. He took his flying saucer back to Burning Man to “commune” with the aliens that spirited him away. He was not successful. Undaunted, Scott went to Roswell, NM thinking surely there must be some aliens there. Again he had no luck but lots of fun. What Scott did find was a host of admirers, fascinated by his mix of lucid innovation and idiosyncratic vision. With this audience he strung lights onto the disc, put on some speakers and made music.
People were listening so Scott took this opportunity to create a forum for political activism and education. He puts on shows for elementary school children and at events such as Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Fair, spreading his message of making the old.
*To learn more about Scott Whitaker go to: http://solsystemsproductions.com;
www.jenkstar.com or www.scottysoultronic.com *To see the fine works of Michael Bingham
visit: http://www.michaelbinghamstudio.com/
