One SCAD student has embraced the phenomenology of the bar code, and its many intricacies, and has devised his own system to manipulate these graphic artifacts into works of art. Scott Blake has had a fascination with bar codes since he was a kid and is "continually contemplating the barcoding of the world." Drawn to their complex mappings of lines and numbers, he learned how to decipher their contents with ease. He has developed an affinity for these icons, which he now incorporates into his artwork as an aesthetic to make statements about his subjects. His artwork relies heavily on computers, which translate individual pixel properties into mosaic bar code mappings, a similar process used by photomosaic artist, Rob Silver. Scott’s most recognized work includes gigantic barcode portraits of hall of fame movers and shakers like Bill Gates, Andy Warhol and Jesus (not to mention SCAD’s own Paula Wallace).

District recently sat down with Scott to ask him a few questions about his unique style of creating art.

D: When you transferred to SCAD from the Academy of Art in San Francisco, you were seeking a balance between fine art and technology in your work.

Scott Blake: I like the fine art – it’s definitely my focus, I think it is so easy to get wrapped up in technology just for technology’s sake. I focus now more on what can I do with the technology instead of being awed by it.

D: You have said that one of your biggest influences is mosaic painter Chuck Close who is opposed to the idea of creating art with computers and yet your work is so reliant upon them. Can you explain the connection with Close in relation to your technique?

SB: I find other tile and mosaic artists as influential as Close, but I think the fact that he is contemporary artist and that he creates his art one unit at a time, much like a computer screen where the art is created one pixel at a time. Close’s work is also very large. His paintings are 10 feet tall, much like the first bar code portraits I created which are ten by ten feet, so there is definitely this common macro/micro element that engages the viewer in a sort of dance with the work. This is also a relationship that I have tried to develop on my website.

D: Recently, you’ve created some of these computer-generated elements by hand. Do you find that you approach the work the same way? Do you have the same connection with the completed image?

SB: I like the idea of doing something that I go through all the trouble to get so accurate. We trust computers to make these accurate lines and numbers… when we see bar code we don’t even think that it would be possible for a human to understand it. With a calculator, a T-square, and my hands, I can sort of prove all that wrong, and remind people that man made computer.

Scott Blake is an Interactive Design major at SCAD and has frequent shows at his own "Ghetto Gallery." His website is www.barcodeart.com

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