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One Atlanta Artist’s House-Sized Canvas
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Like many artists, John Otte has painted houses for extra cash. But this latest project is different, to say the least. Otte is putting the finishing touches on the exterior of a new, contemporary home in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward. In recent weeks, he has splashed unmixed black latex house paint against the side of the house, slathered iridescent acrylic paint, splattered brown and black paint and added texture by pressing bubble wrap into the thick layers. He created streaks that look like rain “I’ve even painted shadows onto the house,” said Otte, an Atlanta-based artist who also is well-known as a private DJ.
From a distance, the effect is subtle. Architects David Yocum and Brian Bell are admirers of Otte’s artwork and asked him to create a rich, dark patina on all of the home’s exterior cement-board panels. “We were interested in the house absorbing the colors and the dirt and grime around it — a visual sponge, if you will,” Yocum said. “From the beginning, the clients were interested in the idea of a darker house.” “We think of it as a ‘blackwash’ instead of a whitewash,” said Bell.
Calvin Florian, who is building the house with his girlfriend, Kelly Hart, said the couple love contemporary architecture, “but we didn’t want one of those modern, striking-white houses. We wanted it to blend in with the environment a little bit more.”
For more on the house, visit the architects’ website and the owner’s blog.
Otte’s artwork can be seen in a solo show called “Seen/Unseen” at Whitespace Gallery in Inman Park, which runs through Feb. 23, and in a group show in the Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College in Decatur. The group show, “The Possibility of Framing Infinity,” runs through March 16.
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By dee
February 7, 2008 2:31 AM | Link to this
atlanta prides itself on being a progressive city, yet it keeps reproducing the same craftsman style home in different colors. people, understand that architecture is the original form of human art. kudos to this couple for spicing up a pretty predictable neighborhood with the jolt of a modern masterpiece.