If you stop by the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, S.D., over the next couple of weeks, be sure and keep an eye out for a familiar name from the Northwestern ranks.
Art Professor Phil Scorza recently answered an open call from the Pavilion for artwork, and a large black and white photo of his titled “Private Property” was selected. The piece will hang in the Washington Pavilion until the end of November.
Scorza has other work out in response to various open calls in the area currently. Just last week, two 20-by-30-inch color photos have been accepted to an exhibition at Dordt College coinciding with a conference there called “The Christian Evasion of Popular Culture.”
The first piece is titled “God bless,” which Scorza said he finds “attractively unusual.”
“From the bright yellow-gold house color to the herd of concrete deer resting in the shade, this image is just aesthetically pleasing to me,” Scorza said.
The second piece is titled “Everyday Madonna” and focuses on “all of the junk that gets in the way of what’s important to us as people of faith,” according to Scorza.
“I am amazed at all the worldly ‘stuff’ that seems to be placed in the foreground of our faith,” Scorza said about the piece.
Scorza uses easily recognizable symbols or signs that are intended to draw viewers in.
“I want to give the viewer a sense of familiarity with what they are looking at,” Scorza said.
Scorza said he hopes there is a connection in the audience’s mind and that the familiar is seen differently.
“It’s somewhat of an illusion of having previously experienced something, the everyday, even though you are encountering it for the first time,” Scorza said. “When I experience this, it is uncomfortably familiar.”
Scorza’s recent work reflects individuals, pop culture and the contemporary world. The two 20-by-30-inch photos will be hung in the Dordt College Gallery starting in November; prints of the photos can be currently viewed in Scorza’s office.
“There tends to be an underlying odd or humorous aspect to the imagery I capture,” Scorza said. “I hope it leaves the viewers with a smile.”
