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How long have we been doing this? Why 'found objects or 'found resources'? What is the background of the Artistic Director? How does the Artistic Director work with other artists? What artists have influenced the work? Do many of the works involve public participation? Where have the artists exhibited, performed and/or traveled? How have critics responded to the work? What do we do? Amanta's artistic practice revolves around the challenge of the unknown: specifically creating art from the diverse resources available to her. Commencing a work without preconceptions as to the end result is a key element in her artistic process. She thrives on the element of chance, surprising juxtapositions and the not-yet-determined. How long have we been doing this? Why 'Syncretic Art'? “Syncretic Art” as coined by Peter Oldham and Amanta Scott in 1996, is a reaction to the discipline-based isolation of the arts in western cultures. To paraphrase a colleague, Doug Worts (Educator/ Interpretive Planner - Art Gallery of Ontario): Traditionally the arts have been a vehicle through which individuals connect to the deeper cultural reality of society. By living with and reflecting deeply on cultural symbols, individuals developed a personal consciousness of the world in which they lived. As our modern world of specialization evolved over recent centuries the arts have been increasingly relegated to institutions: galleries, museums and theatres – thus removing the arts from any integrated form of symbolic experience in the lives of individuals. Today there is a profound public need and desire for symbolic experience that reconnects individuals at a deep level to nature, other people and the past.
For years people urged Amanta to come up with a term to describe what she does. As Amanta says: "My work fell between so many cracks I had no option but to create my own niche!" Despite addressing environmental issues and using found objects, the term Environmental Art is deemed inappropriate by purists as her work does not specifically involve the ‘environment’. Although she creates happenings and performances her work doesn’t fit purists’ definition of the term Performance Art because her work does not focus on the body. With her interest in chance elements, found resources, cultural symbolism, philosophy, mythology, performance and sound she is philosophically aligned with the Abstract Expressionists . . . Post-AE? Neo-Cubist?: artistic expression from multiple angles? Some may lump her in with Post-Post-Modernism, given her use of cultural imagery. Amanta is frequently told no one else on the planet has done or is doing precisely what she is doing. Well then: “Syncretic Art” it is. As ‘the fusion of disparate elements’, the term, albeit unfamiliar, most effectively summarizes all elements of her work: sculpture, video, installation, sound, performance, etc. Amanta's work explores the role that culture plays in the sustainability or unsustainability of human life on our planet. Lastly, Amanta strongly believes in and cultivates unity in diversity, as initially advocated by her grandfather, composer and author Cyril Scott, who wrote extensively on Theosophy and Occultism: a synthesis of science, philosophy and world religions. Hardly surprising then, that Amanta, a composer and artist, would gravitate to the concept and term Syncretic Art. What is Syncretic Art? Why 'found objects or 'found resources'? Amanta is inspired by the energy and mystery surrounding the found object or resource: where it has been, what it has done; also by its inherent sonic potential, by the spontaneous chance element and the potential for surprising symbolic juxtapositions. Found sound-sources are also human. The degree to which participants engage in our projects determines the degree of intimacy we may achieve in our work. In our experience, the interview process encourages people to open up and share inner moments. People say the most amazing things. The process validates and empowers them as individuals and seems to promote engagement in the creative process. It also fosters the development of new audiences! We feel the creation process of gathering resources should be as profoundly moving for all concerned as is the final result. In Amanta's recent work, Glove Forest, she again used found source materials much of which were derived from interviews with participants from across Ontario. The audio collage was built upon found words; the video: found visuals; the sculpture: found gloves, just as her other works were built upon found objects. Amanta's work has been described as a contemporary archaeological dig. Every object radiates an energy or spirit offering clues to the society and culture in which it is found. This energy is tantalizing. In addition, after years of culling sculptural objects from recycle centres and landfill sites in Ontario, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Amanta has developed a deep commitment to environmental conservation and recycling. Through art exhibitions, installations, performances and workshops Leading Tone cultivates environmental awareness and responsibility. Using recycled materials is a way to look at objects and explore the idea of perception beyond the way we usually look at things. Found objects as sculptural/ sound sources take us beyond the ordinary. Exploring new sounds and movement frees the spirit, promotes growth and contributes to a healthy community. What is the Artistic Director's background?
Amanta Scott has a degree in composition and theory from the Faculty of Music: University of Toronto. Amanta also studied sculpture for many years at the Central Technical School Art Centre. She was honoured with Artist Fellowship Awards from both the Government of Japan - Agency for Cultural affairs and the Japan Foundation. (For more information . . .) How does the Artistic Director work with other artists? What artists have influenced the work? What inspires the artists? Arising Phoenix, (featured at the National Gallery of Canada, April 2004) was inspired by the reunification of East and West Germany coinciding with the outbreak of war in Yugoslavia. The work makes reference across time and culture, introduces myth and symbolism, and demonstrates the relevance of art in everyday life. The symbolism ranges from the practical (i.e.: providing an example of creative recycling: reusing rather than discarding) to the spiritual (i.e.: the phoenix rising from the ashes representing rebirth, regeneration of a community, personal recovery or hope arising from despair.) Why 'symbolic' objects? Do many of the works involve public participation? Where have the artists exhibited, performed and/or traveled? She has traveled extensively, circumnavigating the world several times. After living on a mountain in Japan she moved from a funky coach-house in downtown Toronto to a studio on the windy sunset shores of Lake Scugog. In 2006 she returned to Toronto.
How have critics responded to the work? |
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