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Maximum density. Thick Visions Nate-O-matic Fabrications at 21 Grand By Kelly Eginton Nate Scott's bombastic collages and assemblages are a lot to take in all at once. An obviously devoted process of working with fantastic varieties of "stuff," fabricated and found, invest these objects with an aura of hysteria. This heavy-handed use of materials delivers a cathartic means to an end on devotional pieces such as Nature Emerges from the Ash. Scott is most generous when he's leading the viewer to beauty, staving off the urge to indulge in total compulsion ... the air gets a little thick with Dogboy. Elegant construction totaling up to a large horse running against a blue sky felt good in Caballo, and would feel even better with more gallery space around it to honor its presence. The glowing sci-fi landscape set within the picture screen of an old console TV jacked-up on crooked legs and buzzing with TV sound bits and freaky Theramin wails is charming, although peeking in at the words "consume" and "dotcom" spelled out for the viewer to consider left me cringing for a moment. But the rich use of lo-tech special effects made it forgivable. While large collages such as Open Mind and Prophet got a little murky in their making, the series of small light boxes made with color transparencies of collages are quite nice. These images benefit from a degree of separation between Scott's hand and the viewer's eye. The clarity gained from the backlit images allows the viewer to really appreciate Scott's deft use of color in striking, active compositions. Also, this smaller and seemingly more deliberate scale of a reproduced image lightens the mood and makes the loaded imagery more digestible and easier to look at longer. Inspiring elements in Nate-O-matic could be delivered more effectively with a strong, but caring curatorial hand. At times, less is more. [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]