Awaiting salvation

Infused with religious imagery, Dana Scott's artwork is thought provoking and familiar.

Displayed now through Saturday at the College Street Art Gallery located downtown on Allen Street, Scott's artwork yearns to display her lifelong grapple with political ideals, personal discomfort and religious exposure.

"My work re-conceptualizes religious imagery while furthering my effort to exorcise the demons of my past and to comment on the superficial nature of today's society," Scott said.

This is Scott's premiere art exhibit at which she is displaying five pieces. "Faith" is a faceless statuette reminiscent of the virgin mother kneeling in prayer, blindfolded and blood-spattered.

Each of the pieces created include clay in some facet. Scott recalls her youth playing in the mud and remembers feeling in touch with the earth and finds a connection and comfort in clay.

Her work, "We Can Do It," hangs on the wall in five separate pieces. A horribly melted amalgam of Barbie doll pieces encased in a coffin-like box and restrained with a black mesh wire serve as a lucid statement against society's vanity.

While the idea of the burnt Barbie is not necessarily novel, Scott's addition of the "Rosie the Riveter" adds a personal touch.

"(Scott's work) gives me a feeling of been-there, done-that," said Jennifer Martino, a Buffalo resident.

A piece entitled "Save Me" involves three rusted-copper wall pieces. The central portion displays a picture of a young girl seemingly spinning in a self-induced haze. To the sides of the whirling girl are numerous bottles of prescription drugs: sleeping pills, antidepressants and pain pills all prescribed to Scott.

Her work drips with pain. Scott's paint-covered fingers have obviously been dipped in addictions or crutches, her shrine to bourbon, "Remember When," and "Save Me" allude to such experiences.

Many of Scott's pieces were reminiscent of "church bowls." An oval-shaped wall ornament with a shallow bowl attached to its base was traditionally meant to hold a candle, to display a holy figure, or to hold holy water; Scott's held whiskey.

The "Arts and Icons" opening reception was a small, intimate affair but attracted a fair number of onlookers. Some found Scott's artwork redundant and obvious while others felt close to her message and familiar with her portrayals.

Gallery owner Mike Mulley stated that he thought Scott's work is best understood after having read her brief biography displayed on site. Her words provide insight into the depth of her artwork more clearly conveying her difficulty with religion and the force she felt as a child to succumb and conform to Christianity at her parents' will.

Dana Scott's emergence onto the Buffalo art scene is promising. Her bold artwork brims with religious connotation allowing her beliefs to be expressed through her pieces.