Matthew Garrison

Through sculpture, video, and digital imaging I explore the pervasive influence of technology and media in daily life. My work distills these themes into objects and videos evocative of the media’s vibrant palettes, and deconstructs them through radical experimentation with materials and technology. The graphic sensibility in my work infuses it with specific feelings and ideas while generating personal associations, memories and metaphors.

For example, the piece, In the Rain, employs the language of cinema and dance through the recreation of Gene Kelly’s famous dance, Singing in the Rain. Central to In the Rain is a traditional paper collage incorporated into a video object. I present myself in the piece as a dancing silhouette on a flat screen television mounted behind a transparent collage. The collage consists of hundreds of drop forms attached to a sheet of paper treated with plastic, making it transparent. Green screen technology is utilized in the recreation of the dance in order to isolate my movements in slow motion against a white background. In addition to the actual collage, the object as a whole utilizes the layering sensibilities often associated with collage. My clumsy attempt at dancing with an umbrella affectionately references Gene Kelly’s iconic performance, while connecting the values and ideologies of the film’s 1952 release to contemporary aesthetics and attitudes.

http://garrisonarts.com/