WAR. HISTORY. ANONIMITY. VIOLENCE . . . all this and more played through the mind of artist Scott Hook as he creates huge oil paintings - - some of them the size of blankets - - depicting the blood and gore of men and military animals convulsed in battle. In
his 1998 work titled “The Enemy Is Come” the large central figure in a
blood-soaked army uniform of light blue sits astride what could be the body of
a naked woman as fierce battle rages around them. Of this powerful canvas eight and a half feet
wide and six feet in height the artist says: “Yes, she is being raped, although
viewers seem not to be sure, because of the angle. To me knowing adds to the horror of it all.”
BORN INTO A FAMILY OF MILITARY TRADITIONS, Hook was troubled by mankind’s fondness for war: “Man’s proficiency for battle is horrifying and despite staggering costs, he continues to be captivated by it." Hook's work explored the harsh realities of modern war and its ability to dissipate the very physical and mental individuality that man strives so hard to achieve.
The artist described his single biggest fear as anonymity. “Soldiers are anonymous, especially on a battle ground. There is a sameness, and sometimes in ordinary daily life we need to fight the trend toward becoming routine, numb to our surroundings - - the search is for uniqueness.” Hook’s quest for uniqueness kept a paint brush in his hand. Viewers are drawn into his huge paintings through his use of deep, somber reds and browns; an uneasy serenity seems prevalent. Only slowly does the work expose itself to true devastation covering the landscape. Hidden in the shadows and indiscernible filth are torn and gaping faces, mangled bodies, butchered animals and raped bodies of women. Above the carnage a clear blue sky mocks the hopelessness below. Bodies, guts and blood have seeped together into a rich mush leaving a few remaining combatants waist-deep in decay. Scott Hook describes his style as “uneasy realism” which delineates “the capacity for violence which lurks in us all.”
WITH SUCH POWER BEHIND HIS PAINT BRUSH, it comes as no surprise that Hook’s leisure time passion is the vigorous and sometimes violent game of hockey. He played hockey in all of school years including Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York where he earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art. He completed his master’s degree in painting at the Maryland Institute of Art in May of 1998 and established a studio in Queensbury, New York.
EMPLOYING CHARCOAL DRAWINGS but mainly preferring to work with oils, Hook refers to a quotation by Leon Trotsky as one best summarizing Hook’s fascination with warfare: “War is the locomotive of history”.
IN EXPLAINING HIS PHILOSOPHY, Scott Hook also wrote this to a friend: “Perhaps man’s greatest possession is himself. His personality and individuality is all he can truly call his own. My paintings deal with the loss of this valued possession in a world of madness and confusion . . .”
BORN INTO A FAMILY OF MILITARY TRADITIONS, Hook was troubled by mankind’s fondness for war: “Man’s proficiency for battle is horrifying and despite staggering costs, he continues to be captivated by it." Hook's work explored the harsh realities of modern war and its ability to dissipate the very physical and mental individuality that man strives so hard to achieve.
The artist described his single biggest fear as anonymity. “Soldiers are anonymous, especially on a battle ground. There is a sameness, and sometimes in ordinary daily life we need to fight the trend toward becoming routine, numb to our surroundings - - the search is for uniqueness.” Hook’s quest for uniqueness kept a paint brush in his hand. Viewers are drawn into his huge paintings through his use of deep, somber reds and browns; an uneasy serenity seems prevalent. Only slowly does the work expose itself to true devastation covering the landscape. Hidden in the shadows and indiscernible filth are torn and gaping faces, mangled bodies, butchered animals and raped bodies of women. Above the carnage a clear blue sky mocks the hopelessness below. Bodies, guts and blood have seeped together into a rich mush leaving a few remaining combatants waist-deep in decay. Scott Hook describes his style as “uneasy realism” which delineates “the capacity for violence which lurks in us all.”
WITH SUCH POWER BEHIND HIS PAINT BRUSH, it comes as no surprise that Hook’s leisure time passion is the vigorous and sometimes violent game of hockey. He played hockey in all of school years including Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York where he earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art. He completed his master’s degree in painting at the Maryland Institute of Art in May of 1998 and established a studio in Queensbury, New York.
EMPLOYING CHARCOAL DRAWINGS but mainly preferring to work with oils, Hook refers to a quotation by Leon Trotsky as one best summarizing Hook’s fascination with warfare: “War is the locomotive of history”.
IN EXPLAINING HIS PHILOSOPHY, Scott Hook also wrote this to a friend: “Perhaps man’s greatest possession is himself. His personality and individuality is all he can truly call his own. My paintings deal with the loss of this valued possession in a world of madness and confusion . . .”