Assemblist uses degree to change perception of art

on Monday,December 13,2010 21:12

Many people assimilate artists with paint and canvases, but one Ohio native is proving that art is in the eye of the beholder. Scott Smith is one example of an individual who used his degree from Ohio University to revolutionize what people deem as art, according to The Huntsville Times. As an assemblist, Smith uses mediums ranging from rice paper to steel.

"For a long time I was a professional printmaker in Maine, Florida and New York," Smith told the news source. "As a printer, you are working with things that are fragile. When I decided I didn't want to make my images in the traditional sense, the move was to deal with rust and how I can handle rust."

Smith has found a following upon transitioning from traditional print art to assembling pieces out of resources that other people may consider junk. The artist just finished a two-month showcase with his colleague, Dana Brown, at the Carnegie Visual Arts Center.

Smith's works can be found at the New Orleans Museum of Art in Louisiana, along with the Art Alley and Willis Gray galleries in Alabama.

Employment of artists is predicted to increase by 12 percent over the next eight years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics