The States Project: New Hampshire: Scott Bulger

The States Project: New Hampshire: Scott Bulger by Nancy Grace HortonOctober 24, 2018

Scott Bulger was introduced to me via our mutual MFA program at Lesley Art + Design, though we did not attend at the same time. Scott is prolific and I was struck by his many well-developed series showcased on his website. I was drawn to his photo-based mixed-media works because of the large scale construction with alternative processes. He is an explorer and continues to push in many directions using photographs from his home studio in Nottingham, NH.

Scott Bulger is best known for his large scale alternative process photographic prints. Scott is an alumnus of Savannah College of Art and Design where he received his undergraduate degree in Visual Communication with a concentration in Photography (magna cum laude). Scott continued his education at Lesley University College of Art and Design where he received his MFA in Visual Arts. Teaching photography courses at the college and university level for ten years, and teaching at a private art school for five years prior to that, Scott developed a style that made connections between his subconscious and the tangible world, creating a map of explorations into the origins of his being. Currently a Resident Artist at The Art Center in Dover, NH, Scott has had his work exhibited both nationally and internationally, and his work is held in many collections, both public and private.

“It’s the world that’s stable, yourself that’s contingent, that’s nothing apart from its surroundings.”

– Rebecca Solnit in A Field Guide to Getting Lost

Descending deeper into the search for the origins of who I am, questions to continue to arise that grab at my feet like a stick on a path. Occasionally, one of these sticks turns out to be a bramble which when stuck into the earth comes to life and provides new information. As I struggle with which memories are accurate and which are not, I begin to wonder if it even really matters. Can a memory become real by a sheer force of will?

Some of these event memories have become markers in my life. A red baseball cap, a meat grinder… a voice on the telephone late at night…a giraffe that makes no sense. Some of them innocuous, some of them traumatic, but each must have left some kind of imprint upon my being. They persist and vanish. Clues lead and guide me to that unknowing place I am looking for. My work explores my own contingent relationship to, and understanding of the external world. How have these memories shaped me, and if these memories are false, am I really just performing an impersonation of myself?

Reality is not the goal, the feeling is the goal. The feeling is an iteration of a memory. They persist and vanish. Clues lead and guide me to that unknowing place I am looking for. My work explores my own contingent relationship to, and understanding of the external world. – Scott Bulger