John McGarity: Tent 197

Great to recently see, close friend and artist, John McGarity’s Tent 197 installation piece in its video form.  John and I went to grad school at Pratt Institute together, where he concentrated on painting, and we’ve known each others’ work since 1999.  Very often, John works in elements of his own photography into the layers of his canvas’, works on paper or book projects.  He weaves in that imagery along with deep-rooted personal and/or family history, psychological tension and mystery through juxtapositions of codes and texts.  As with most of John’s work, it needs no explanation or statement as a back-story.

In his mixed media installation piece, Tent 197, he’s combined seven pulsing lightboxes, drawings, and an original sound score.

Below is a piece of John's, which is now part of my collection - from a trade we made, which incorporates that same pulsing element.  "Departure is a series of mixed media lightboxes.  Each lightbox has an internal controller that creates a slow "fade on , fade off" pulsing of the light."  This piece is titled "Pig-Iron Prophet", 2007.

Spend the time to take in the multitude of layers and chew on what he’s serving up through his work!  It's tasty!

John's website: www.johnmcgarity.com

Be sure to also check out the beautiful collaborative work of John and his wife Tiffany, who've been working together on a photographic level since 2002.  They were among the talent selected and featured in the 2008 PDN 30.

Their website: www.wallingmcgarity.com