John Scott
(1950–)
John Scott
1950–
John Scott (1950– ) is a Canadian artist and political activist born in Windsor, lives and works in Toronto. Scott creates his signature, raw-edge drawings that act as a social commentary on the dark side of politics, war and human nature.
At a young age, Scott worked at a factory to support his family after completing grade ten in high school. He was involved in union activity and became sensitized to workers' rights and larger political issues soon after. Scott is influenced by Toronto street cultures. He creates bold and rough graphic drawings that are characteristically crude, often made with the cheapest materials at hand. One of his working methods is to repeatedly soak paper in solvent and develop an image by grinding-in dark pigments, thick black paint, graphite and charcoal. Scott has depicted dark warplanes hovering over destroyed landscapes devoid of human presence. He has also drawn rabbit-like figures to stand in for the anxiety-ridden human being, the harassed victim of the technological threat, and militaristic oppression. Heavy dark lines record an impending sense of tragedy and terror. Through drawings, installations and transformed objects, Scott presents an apocalyptic vision of a world ravaged by war and threatened by destruction.
Scott has exhibited extensively across Canada for the past 40 years and is in the collections of many major institutions in North America including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Grinnell College Museum of Art, Iowa. In 2014, Scott had his first major travelling survey exhibition in the United States at the Grinnell College Museum of Art. Scott was awarded the inaugural Governor General’s Award in Visual Arts and Media in 2000.
