String Too Short to Use Recent Works by Todd Watts
String Too Short to Use Recent Works by Todd Watts
Todd Watts’ new series of large-scale color photographs was created especially for this UMMA exhibition. The artist’s creative process combines traditional photography with the dynamic act of drawing. Utilizing an array of photographs taken with an 8 x 10 camera, Watts painstakingly constructs new compositions using digital software and other means. The artist layers, stretches, inverts and manipulates the images. By juxtaposing the familiar with the ambiguous, he creates fictional environments that challenge the viewer’s visual perception. Additionally, Watts’ skill as a colorist is reflected in a vibrant palette that also extends onto his custom-painted and constructed frames. A number of these new works convey the artist’s awareness of significant environmental issues and the alteration of our natural resources.
Watts was born in New York City and graduated from the School of Visual Arts, NYC. He moved to Maine in 1999. His works are included in many prestigious museum collections including: The Albertina in Vienna, The Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Art Gallery.
