Michael Dotson
Living Room, 2010, Acrylic on Canvas, 50 x 60 inches
Football, 2008, Acrylic on Paper, 18 x 24 inches
Straight to the Dome, 2009, Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 40 inches
Side by Side, 2009, Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 46 inches
Double Diving Holes, 2008, Acrylic on Paper, 18 x 24 inches
Turtle Lair, 2010, Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 48 inches
Dream Car Celebration at Tyrell Corporation, 2009, Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 48 inches
A Way Out, 2010, Acrylic on Canvas, 48 x 48 inches
My paintings are in a style that is reminiscent of computer-simulated environments. These places ask for our participation but remain primarily visual experiences. I am interested in creating spaces which deal with the dichotomy between the interaction and detachment prevalent in virtual reality.
We have reached a point in technology where it is possible to make any fantasy a complete virtual reality. These realities are navigable, and can be experienced on a limited sensory level, but always with a sense of remove. You cannot breathe the air, feel the temperature, taste or smell. Most importantly, you cannot touch anything. In essence, you are always just a viewer, and any sense of participation is illusory. This relationship is similar to the way we experience paintings which are also not to be touched.
I adhere with strict precision to the rules of linear perspective as I create my paintings. The irony is that by using this rule so strictly (which is designed to create illusionistic space), the artificiality is only heightened. This artificiality is comprehended in many other ways including the quality of color which is often bright and highly unnatural. The consistency of line quality – clean, crisp and mechanical throughout the piece – offers further evidence of artificiality.
I make the pictures seemingly playful through my use of color, subjects, and composition. This playfulness is seductive and may draw the viewer in, but there is a barrier due to the ultimate rigidity of the pieces.
Micaheal Dotson at Saatchi Online
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