In the days when responsibility and the quest for money were not issues, my best friend Elizabeth and I hit the road in search of Freedom Park and Blind Babies Holiday, a 3 day music festival full of camping, beer and uh... bonfires. So at this festival we had the opportunity to catch up with friends who we maybe weren't seeing as often as we liked. One of these friends was a guy by the name of Scott Bye, who, while in middle of creating a rooster (I believe) masterpiece, put down his paintbrush and patiently waited to take our picture while we positioned ourselves quite perfectly. That photo is still hanging on my fridge, but I'd almost rather now, that it was one of Scott's paintings.
The same day that we discovered Ani Hoover's paintings hanging in the Buffalo Art Studios, I thought I saw Scott Bye walk past, but I was on a mission to find something worth seeing of course! Until, I was done with Ani's and discovered a surreal painting that seemed to be stained with... coffee?
I stalked Scott for the next week and out of the goodness of his heart, he laid it on me.
Laura Sargent: What medium do you generally work in?
Scott Bye: It depends on the subject being created and the resources that I have at hand or need to find. I use the medium suited for that particular piece.
LS: What alternative mediums have you worked with?
SB: When working with alternative mediums, you're not really held by tradition or basic techniques. You are open to the "anything goes" technique... if you want to construct a fourteen-foot beer bottle opener; you use mediums that give strength to the piece.
I have a love for instant coffee. It started because I noticed the artists that were using things like tea bags for an aging process. But I had instant coffee and I wanted to do more. You can add more or less water to thin it out or to thicken it and I found that if you let it sit for a day, you can create a really dark sludge that's awesome to work with and when it dries, it will dry like a clear gloss. I have been working with instant coffee for a year or two now and for that one particular painting (Cherry Field), I needed something to cover up a lot of the painting that was behind it - I had painted over a painting. It's a good cover up.
LS: Tell me about some of the challenges of working with alternative mediums.
SB: Finding the resources necessary to accomplish an idea. Also, transportation, size and space, and durability of the piece. Weight is an issue. What technique should I use to connect an umbrella to a vacuum?
LS: What tools do you typically use?
SB: I use the tools necessary to accomplish the task. If I don't have the tool needed, I use something that I do have.
LS: Do the subject matter and medium correspond in any way? Does the subject matter change depending on the medium?
SB: The mediums used in my artwork are a reflection of the subject itself. I take objects that are familiar to the average viewer and confuse their sense of the object. It's called "Confusication". The medium and/or material used as or with other subject matter are confusing. For example, there can be many meanings to one word, but to show the view I have, or the many meanings at once, can lead to confusion. We have this communication where we are speaking with and to the objects, but the objects are confusing in the space and order that they are placed in.
LS: Oh, ok, so you are taking an ordinary object and using it out of context in a way that the viewer may not have thought of, or not seen it used in, in such a way before. Where do you generate these ideas?
SB: My ideas appear in puns, contradiction, wit and candor. To think of the absurd and to build it is testing the imagination of the viewer. I would solidly say that I generate ideas through the capturing and use of random thoughts.
LS: How do you feel about working in such close quarters with other artists?
SB: The Buffalo Arts Studios has been a solid ground for my artistic career. Having a studio here is more than just a room, it's a kitchen, a print making room, photography dark room, ceramics studio, a major gallery and the best part is, I'm involved in the community. The rent is a small amount to pay for the love of the art and the people that surround you and make it happen.
LS: Do you get good feedback?
SB: I like being with other artists, seeing what they are working on, they comment on my work and we have silly babble. There is always positive thinking and that's the kind of atmosphere that I'd like to stay in.
LS: Was the transition from Lockport to the city difficult?
SB: I was fortunate to live in a house with three women upon arriving in the city - my studio was my bedroom and my first job was at a bar on Chippewa. After about four months and a couple of jobs later, I found the Buffalo Art Studios and a new home to live in. The months following were adventurous.
LS: Is this your primary source of income?
SB: No, I am an art proprietor, part time at the Albright Knox, and I scan medical documents part time at the Life Time Health Center.
LS: How often do you show?
SB: I show when I feel that I have a good, strong body of work and when I can sneak a piece or two in a small gallery around town.
LS: How do you market yourself?
SB: Ummm... ha. I don't have a website right now, just my MySpace - until someone will do one for cheap or trade! I usually try to join memberships at galleries, do shows of course, and a couple times a year, I display temporary sculpture for festival venues. As for right now, the BAS has been my only consistent means of marketing.
Scott is currently exhibiting at The Buffalo Arts Studio, at The Tri-Main Center, if you care to check out his work in person.
