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Scott Matyjaszek
Photography
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"I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and moved to Rochester, New York in 1971. In 1983 I studied Audiovisual Technology at Monroe Community College graduating in 1985 with honors. During my college years, I developed a keen sense for a different kind of photography.
I began to photograph subjects without using tricks, filters or special lighting techniques. Natural available light source is used for nearly all images. After shooting and composing my subjects, 35mm negatives (unless I have used a digital camera) are scanned into a “digital darkroom” using an ultra-high resolution film scanner. Photo manipulation software is used to color correct, change density, edit and/or modify the image. Digital editing gives more control than I had been able to achieve using traditional techniques.
My photography has been called "painterly" in that it transcends the limitations of regular photography through the composition of color, texture, shape and design of objects in their natural state. Some images have been described as "urban landscapes which transform what might be viewed as the dullest subjects imaginable -- old walls -- into elegant deductive composition". I have been described as having a "sensitive eye for abstract beauty in mundane places, and it has been noted that the use of sumptuous, penetrating color turns the smallest images into urban spice boxes". My work has also been referred to as a kind of trompe d'oeil.
What makes my photography unique is that all photographs are hand-cut and layered to create a technique I describe as Photo-Sculpture. The images are digitally printed two or three times. Then the photographs are hand-cut with an exacto-blade, assembled, layered and glued together again to create depth and perspective.
In addition to my photography work, I am also the maker of Artephax Photographic Jewelry which, adding a new twist to an old theme, is a montage of original photographs transformed into 3-dimensional miniature sculptures in the form of earrings and pins.
My work was shown at the 1985, 1988 and 1996 Regional Finger Lakes Exhibition at the Memorial Art Gallery (Rochester, New York) and was twice selected for the "Best of Photography Annual” sponsored by Photographer's Forum Magazine. Also, my photography has been featured in a number of galleries, most recently at 171 Cedar Arts Center in Corning, New York. It is also a part of a private collection owned by Corning Inc./SCC plant".
