Rebelling against the machine with Scott Clark

Originally from Calgary, Scott is an established Artist who has left an indelible mark on the artistic landscape through his extensive involvement in community murals and projects. His portfolio boasts two striking murals created for the Calgary Stampede and more than 20 captivating murals scattered across the city. Most recently, he received the honour of crafting a Legacy Mural for the Alberta Summer Games in 2023.

For this series, he was inspired to discover online stock images and AI generated art, which were used as a base in which to draw over. (His own way of rebelling against stolen human-made art). He then incorporated his creative intuition to draw, skew, design, and alter the images with this original spin of illustration and mark-making. If there's anything which combats destruction and ruin, he believes it is art.

Pride In Business: This will be your second year participating in Pride in Art, what has changed for you in the last year? Would you mind sharing some of your successes or other news since last time we spoke?

Scott Clark: 2023 was quite a successful year for me. I was chosen to oversee 3 Mural projects. One in Airdrie, Okotoks and a 3000 sq ft community mural at the redevelopment of Northland mall.

PIB: In your introduction you mention that Fauvism, Cubism, album art, psychedelic art of the 60s/70s, surrealism and the vibrant queer/pop art of the 80s inspires your current style. Can you share where you first were introduced to this style and what about these movements drew you to them?

SC: I was introduced to many styles of art while attending art school in my 20s. This is where I fell in love with Fauvism and Cubism. Their use of expressive colours and abstract forms were absolutely stunning. Art school was a great gateway to discovering queer works of Mapplethorpe and Tom of Finland.

PIB: You note that your collection this year was influenced by AI-generated art. Within the last few years, AI has had a profound impact on the creative industry. How have you seen the art industry change with its introduction?

PIB: I see the proliferation of AI art to be problematic. I don’t care if you’re a person who has fun playing around with AI imagery. However, if you’re promoting yourself as an “AI Artist”, you are a pretend art director with a defective moral compass. I purposely chose a couple of AI photos and deliberately painted over them. A human touch adds experience, emotion, and thought as opposed to the plagiarism and mimicry of AI.

Scott Clark – Visual Artist
"A Kiss Is A Kiss Is A Kiss"
Coloured Pencils – 8.5" X 11"
Limited edition

PIB: The pieces chosen this year all have strong elements of hyper-sexuality and the male gaze, what would you like people to take away when they view your work at the exhibition?

SC: I never like to spoon-feed what my art is saying. I prefer to leave it open to interpretation. Having said that, I hope people get a kick out of the subject matter. To see the joy and beauty of the queer gaze. Swimwear is my jam; my drag. How fun it is to erase shame. To live authentically in my true nature.

The Calgary-based artist, Scott Clark, has an evolving approach to his art — Scott Clark – Visual Artist

PIB: As a working artist in Calgary, how has the community evolved in respects to arts and culture over the years?

SC: It has grown leaps and bounds. It is absolutely wonderful to see more opportunities for local emerging artists. I recently finished a community mural project with a redevelopment construction company. They were very open and respectful when they hired me for this project.

PIB: If you had to provide one piece of advice to new artists, what would you share?

SC: Stay the course, and believe in yourself. Even if the world doesn’t recognize your art-making, you will have found a lifelong companion – the act of creating is always a step into the unknown; an adventure waiting to be revealed.