Gallery 25 member, Steve Norton will exhibit two bodies of work called “European Digital Prints” and “Vintage Pop 2”. Norton’s widely popular art work deftly integrates traditional art media with
cutting-edge technology producing a compelling body of work.

ArtHop - September 2, 5 - 8 pm.

Vintage Pop 2

My love of the hunting and gathering of rare and curious ephemera from the past century is the genesis of inspiration for this developing series. I particularly love depictions of outer space from the 1930s through the 1960s, and the “thrill of the kill” when I find an unusual and new image only fires this passion. I collect images that catch my eye, and find imagery from past pop culture fascinating and inspirational. After acquiring the images, I scan or digitally photograph them at a very high resolution, create the assembly of imagery, and it is only after my artistic eye is satisfied, I print them out at the “larger than life” size you see on the completed canvases. As you study the pieces, you may notice each individual image has been meticulously cut out in the digital process, thereby saving every frayed and hazy paper fiber edge. It is this aged condition in which I discover my collected ephemera that contributes to the finished piece’s contrast of altering old into new/pop. The images are combined digitally according to my own aesthetic—thematically, conceptually, and formally. Beyond these aspects of each finished piece, all are meant to be just plain fun to look at!

European Digital Prints

These digitally based prints were made from photographs that I took on a trip to France and Italy in 2006.  In a multilayered complex process, each piece was made to look like an old etching or drawing using software programs Adobe Photoshop® and Filter Forge. The finished pieces were printed on Epson Velvet Fine Art, an archival, 100% cotton paper.