Artist Email: contact@georgebatesstudio.com
Artist Website: http://georgebatesstudio.com
Medium: public art (glass, metal, stone, murals), painting, collage, illustration, digital art, drawing, typography, hand lettering
Artist Statement
A major theme in my work is the micro and macro nature of systems. I’m interested in how a viewer can have an
immersive experience with these depictions to bring about a moment of thoughtful reflection. Through this experience the works invite the viewer to reconsider or affirm their own understanding of systems, find a sense of one’s own
place within them, and gain a new or different perspective on understanding in general. If a viewer begins to ponder the
vagaries and wonder of how one actually navigates systems, and reality in general, then the works have done their job well.
Every culture has it’s own history and belief systems in regard to connectedness, relatedness, and individual experience in relation to larger society and nature as a whole, but it’s within Aesthetics that I find these themes can be more universally and deeply examined. These themes are extremely relevant to modes of contemporary thinking in regard to searching for a more effective means of being in concert with, and finding balance within and between, society and nature as a whole. I see these themes in the current Groundswell/ Atlantic Avenue mural and consider that any proposal I’d create based on my interests, my artist statement in regard to public art and the site specific nature of the project would be in a natural dialogue with the existing mural in terms of speaking to the very nature of relating to larger and smaller systems.
My interest in Public Art and how I see the works operating in the world is in the belief that—Art uses reality avoidance to say something about the nature of reality, our understating of it and the potential for greater understanding and dialogue. I can’t think of a better venue for this sort of inquiry than Public Art.
I have created and managed two (2) permanently installed large scale Public Artworks for the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Currently I’m creating, managing and installing another two (2) Public Artworks for the FasTracks RTD-Devner and CATS CityLYNX—North Carolina systems and have also had a month long, temporary, outdoor Billboard/Mural public artwork shown in Los Angeles, CA. My interest is to continue to create and provide public, aesthetic experiences of a site-specific nature. Through these projects I have managed and fostered relationships with artisans and companies that can realize all aspects of lasting & durable outdoor art, mural creation, fabrication and engineering of my proposals in a variety of materials including glass, metal and stone all within designated budgets and timelines.