S C O T T C A W O O D
M E T A L A R T I S T
M E T A L A R T I S T
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T H E A R T I S T
ARTIST STATEMENT
SCOTT CAWOOD
Approach......Resurrection, rebirth, reincarnation and redemption are terms used to define our
enigmatic passage...from life... to death... and back to life again. Physically or rhetorically, these
ageless ideas of tranformation are the fundamentals of our belief in our own exisitance. From
dust we rose and so to dust we shall return....only to rise again in one form or another. Infinitus.
Is not the Phoenix rising from the ashes but the union of yin and yang? I for one am betting the
farm on it.
This single concept is the premise of my understanding of life and therefore the heart and soul of
all my work and serves as my starting point regardless of what form I attempt to define, what
emotion I attempt to evoke, or what story I attempt to tell. My work absolutely must start with
this basic understanding or it would lose it's redeeming quality to me and therefore not be equal
to the effort of creating it.
So it is with this idea in mind that I ask you to approach my work. Examine the material...explore
the process...then see the piece as a whole and hopefully a larger comprehension will reveal
itself. It is my sincere hope that you will have a deeper understanding of what I am attempting to
communicate and that you may also come to a deeper understanding of your own...because
what is Art for if not to serve as a pathway to personal discovery.
Medium..... Sculptors of every medium speak of the fulfilment experienced in creating work full of
life and beauty out of the roughness of raw materials, such as the taming of raw stone into a
refined polished statue. It is with this understanding that I choose to begin my work with scrap
steel, which unlike raw steel is a material that has been preformed to facilitate its original use
and while on occasion I am able to utilize that original form... as often as not, I cannot. In those
occurrences I employ its unique texture to my advantage and manipulate or dissect the material
to accomodate my overall vision. Scrap steel is the detrious of industrialism and often has been
unceremoniously cast aside to await the recycler. I am fascinated by objects in a state of
deterioration because they are a testimonial to the concept of unyielding change... the only
constant mechanism and universal truth I understand. From junk to jewel, trash to treasure, shit
to shinola...it is that act of transformation which gives voice to my sculptural desires.
I use steel, especially scrap steel as my medium because I feel it's quailities and limitations best
reflect outwardly what defines me inwardly. Scrap steel has no equal in expressing my
obsession with the prevailing idea of transformation. The conversion of rusty surplus shelving
into the boots, bustier and satin skin of a lovely Siren... or the realization that a pair of old cast
off agricultural pitchforks need only the fire, my hands and my imagination to be reincarnated into
the plump, delicate and graceful curve of a woman's bosoms holds the key to my unique
understanding of life. This magical resurrection is my world's visual voice speaking directly to me.
It is a match made in heaven...or hell... but regardless...for me, it is the perfect fit. "The material
the earth offers you and what you make of it......". -Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
Shoes & Lingerie (1998-ongoing):
My original series of sculptures depicting women's lingerie was inspired by the architecture,
culture and baroque personality of the City of New Orleans. The pieces in that series are named
after selected city streets including the nine Greek Muses of the Lower Garden District.
My most recent lingerie works, which I call "Booby Traps", speak to the visual collisions,
insinuations and boundaries of culture I experienced while staying in the Williamsburg
neighborhood of Brooklyn NY. These pieces have a confrontational nature to them, they
lure....then scold.
I believe it was shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo who claimed that women's shoes were
merely corsets for their feet. My shoe sculptures are pure extensions of my lingerie pieces and as
with the lingerie pieces; it is my intention that one derive a certain familiarity and energy from
the piece, hopefully enough to be able to envision the person standing in the shoes.
Sirens of TI Chopper (2006):
My collaboration with Metropolitan Choppers in building the Sirens Of TI Chopper for Treasure
Island Casino in LV, personifies the term; "Art Of The Motorcycle". Our challenge was to use the
raw energy inherent of the custom motorcycle and transform that into a beautiful Siren surging
up out of the ocean. Again the "transformation" aspect of this project was paramount to its
success. It took six months to sculpt the piece in my studio out of mild steel and the process of
bringing her to life was nothing short of intoxicating for me. The ' Siren Chopper' is on view to
the public at Treasure Island Casino in LV.
Spire (2004):
This sculpture was commissioned by the City Of Frederick MD to commemorate the 75th
Anniversary of the city's Baker Park. The concept for my public sculpture "Spire" was to directly
reflect the architectural landscape and the diverse citizenry of the City of Frederick, MD. I
achieved this by utilizing the icon of the spire, making an immediate connection and reference to
the "Clustered Spires of Frederick" as depicted on the city's official seal. I assembled found metal
objects in such a way as to reflect directly to the growth and history of the community and
fashioned together in a spire-like form, they relate to each other in such a way as to denote
diverse segments working together in harmony. I feel the piece relates as well to the future as it
does the past and present. Perhaps its best quality is its ability to relate to and include citizens
from all walks of life.
Evolutionaries (1999):
The 'Revolution of Evolution' installation consisted of three movements: "Survival Of The Fittest",
"Embracing Technology", and "Flight To The Ancient Future". Costumed actors, who changed
costumes with each movement, intermingled with my Metroglyph sculptures and audience
members who were wearing antennae given to them upon entrance and asked to evolve. An
audience participation installation infused with pre-millennium tension.
Personal:
Born in Baltimore, MD, 1954. Graduated Middletown High School 1972. US Coast Guard
1975-1979. Cawood lives and works at his residence in historic Antietam MD. where he has been
a professional artist since 1992. His log house, circa 1790, was built to house workers for the
nearby Antietam Iron Works (1758-1880) . Other than metal sculpting Cawood tends to his
prolific organic garden and writes short essays about his more subtle observations of life.
His work is included in public, corporate, and private collections nationwide. He has exhibited his
work at Chi', Brooklyn, New York; Galerie Francoise, Baltimore; Zenith Gallery, Washington DC;
Bettcher Gallery, Miami; House Of Lounge, New Orleans as well as countless local, regional and
national venues. His sculptures have been commissioned by: City of Frederick, MD; Baltimore
Public Works Museum; Courtyard By Marriot: MTV's Real World New Orleans; and The
Contemporary American Theater Festival to name a few.
SCOTT CAWOOD
Approach......Resurrection, rebirth, reincarnation and redemption are terms used to define our
enigmatic passage...from life... to death... and back to life again. Physically or rhetorically, these
ageless ideas of tranformation are the fundamentals of our belief in our own exisitance. From
dust we rose and so to dust we shall return....only to rise again in one form or another. Infinitus.
Is not the Phoenix rising from the ashes but the union of yin and yang? I for one am betting the
farm on it.
This single concept is the premise of my understanding of life and therefore the heart and soul of
all my work and serves as my starting point regardless of what form I attempt to define, what
emotion I attempt to evoke, or what story I attempt to tell. My work absolutely must start with
this basic understanding or it would lose it's redeeming quality to me and therefore not be equal
to the effort of creating it.
So it is with this idea in mind that I ask you to approach my work. Examine the material...explore
the process...then see the piece as a whole and hopefully a larger comprehension will reveal
itself. It is my sincere hope that you will have a deeper understanding of what I am attempting to
communicate and that you may also come to a deeper understanding of your own...because
what is Art for if not to serve as a pathway to personal discovery.
Medium..... Sculptors of every medium speak of the fulfilment experienced in creating work full of
life and beauty out of the roughness of raw materials, such as the taming of raw stone into a
refined polished statue. It is with this understanding that I choose to begin my work with scrap
steel, which unlike raw steel is a material that has been preformed to facilitate its original use
and while on occasion I am able to utilize that original form... as often as not, I cannot. In those
occurrences I employ its unique texture to my advantage and manipulate or dissect the material
to accomodate my overall vision. Scrap steel is the detrious of industrialism and often has been
unceremoniously cast aside to await the recycler. I am fascinated by objects in a state of
deterioration because they are a testimonial to the concept of unyielding change... the only
constant mechanism and universal truth I understand. From junk to jewel, trash to treasure, shit
to shinola...it is that act of transformation which gives voice to my sculptural desires.
I use steel, especially scrap steel as my medium because I feel it's quailities and limitations best
reflect outwardly what defines me inwardly. Scrap steel has no equal in expressing my
obsession with the prevailing idea of transformation. The conversion of rusty surplus shelving
into the boots, bustier and satin skin of a lovely Siren... or the realization that a pair of old cast
off agricultural pitchforks need only the fire, my hands and my imagination to be reincarnated into
the plump, delicate and graceful curve of a woman's bosoms holds the key to my unique
understanding of life. This magical resurrection is my world's visual voice speaking directly to me.
It is a match made in heaven...or hell... but regardless...for me, it is the perfect fit. "The material
the earth offers you and what you make of it......". -Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
Shoes & Lingerie (1998-ongoing):
My original series of sculptures depicting women's lingerie was inspired by the architecture,
culture and baroque personality of the City of New Orleans. The pieces in that series are named
after selected city streets including the nine Greek Muses of the Lower Garden District.
My most recent lingerie works, which I call "Booby Traps", speak to the visual collisions,
insinuations and boundaries of culture I experienced while staying in the Williamsburg
neighborhood of Brooklyn NY. These pieces have a confrontational nature to them, they
lure....then scold.
I believe it was shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo who claimed that women's shoes were
merely corsets for their feet. My shoe sculptures are pure extensions of my lingerie pieces and as
with the lingerie pieces; it is my intention that one derive a certain familiarity and energy from
the piece, hopefully enough to be able to envision the person standing in the shoes.
Sirens of TI Chopper (2006):
My collaboration with Metropolitan Choppers in building the Sirens Of TI Chopper for Treasure
Island Casino in LV, personifies the term; "Art Of The Motorcycle". Our challenge was to use the
raw energy inherent of the custom motorcycle and transform that into a beautiful Siren surging
up out of the ocean. Again the "transformation" aspect of this project was paramount to its
success. It took six months to sculpt the piece in my studio out of mild steel and the process of
bringing her to life was nothing short of intoxicating for me. The ' Siren Chopper' is on view to
the public at Treasure Island Casino in LV.
Spire (2004):
This sculpture was commissioned by the City Of Frederick MD to commemorate the 75th
Anniversary of the city's Baker Park. The concept for my public sculpture "Spire" was to directly
reflect the architectural landscape and the diverse citizenry of the City of Frederick, MD. I
achieved this by utilizing the icon of the spire, making an immediate connection and reference to
the "Clustered Spires of Frederick" as depicted on the city's official seal. I assembled found metal
objects in such a way as to reflect directly to the growth and history of the community and
fashioned together in a spire-like form, they relate to each other in such a way as to denote
diverse segments working together in harmony. I feel the piece relates as well to the future as it
does the past and present. Perhaps its best quality is its ability to relate to and include citizens
from all walks of life.
Evolutionaries (1999):
The 'Revolution of Evolution' installation consisted of three movements: "Survival Of The Fittest",
"Embracing Technology", and "Flight To The Ancient Future". Costumed actors, who changed
costumes with each movement, intermingled with my Metroglyph sculptures and audience
members who were wearing antennae given to them upon entrance and asked to evolve. An
audience participation installation infused with pre-millennium tension.
Personal:
Born in Baltimore, MD, 1954. Graduated Middletown High School 1972. US Coast Guard
1975-1979. Cawood lives and works at his residence in historic Antietam MD. where he has been
a professional artist since 1992. His log house, circa 1790, was built to house workers for the
nearby Antietam Iron Works (1758-1880) . Other than metal sculpting Cawood tends to his
prolific organic garden and writes short essays about his more subtle observations of life.
His work is included in public, corporate, and private collections nationwide. He has exhibited his
work at Chi', Brooklyn, New York; Galerie Francoise, Baltimore; Zenith Gallery, Washington DC;
Bettcher Gallery, Miami; House Of Lounge, New Orleans as well as countless local, regional and
national venues. His sculptures have been commissioned by: City of Frederick, MD; Baltimore
Public Works Museum; Courtyard By Marriot: MTV's Real World New Orleans; and The
Contemporary American Theater Festival to name a few.
| Upcoming Exhibitions: * Scott Cawood at the Ricco Gallery June 12th - August 2nd Opening Reception Friday June 12th 6-8pm * City of Baltimore Public Works Museum, Cawood exhibits his work with other selected found object artists as part of the museum's new exhibit about recycling and the effect on the Chesapeake Bay. Opening April 24. 2008 thru October 2008. * Siren of TI Bike feature article in May 2008 Issue of Hot Bike Magazine (on newstands in April) * Southern Living Magazine - September 2007: A profile of Scott Cawood will appear in the regional insert called "Mid-Atlantic Living" * "Booby Traps"; February 2007- August 2007; Celebrities Galleries, Maui , HI; 1.800.578.6991, Wailea, HI; 1.800.428.3338, Lahaina, HI.; WWW.CELEBRITYFINEART.COM * "Retrospective"; July 2007- September 2007; Contemporary American Theater Festival, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV; 1.800.999.2283; WWW.CATF.ORG |