The Art of Scott Joseph

Scott Joseph grew up in a very conservative religious family in Utah, where even the mention of any kind of sex was discouraged. Still, there were influential teachers who made a big impact on him artistically, and taught him not only art or music techniques but also the importance of experimentation and discovery. Joseph also learned the freedom that comes with self-expression. Fueled by his sexual repression, Joseph set out to leave his Mormon upbringing behind. He tried to be an illustrator, but ended up traveling the country as an actor until he landed in New York City.
One of Joseph’s biggest loves is the theatre. He started out as an actor and ended up doing design work for most of the theatre companies he worked for. He eventually started his own design company, where he learned the art of storytelling in design. Joseph created key art for theatre posters and ad campaigns for Off-Broadway shows like Thom Pain and Lesley Jordan’s one-man show My Trip Down the Pink Carpet. It was an easy jump to becoming a merchandise designer for Broadway shows. If you bought a t-shirt or souvenir book from any number of Broadway shows like Rent, Kinky Boots, Taboo and many others, there is a good chance that it was designed by him. As a graphic artist, Joseph created hundreds of posters for the restaurant, and events and performances at the Algonquin Hotel and their Oak Room Cabaret Room. He had the privilege to work with such artists as Andrea Marcovicci, Karen Akers, and Maureen McGovern, to name just a few. It was here that he matured as a designer and learned the impression and impact that design can have on the public. But it was going to grad school at FIT that led Joseph back to his roots of wanting to be an illustrator, and his love for drawing the human body. FIT gave him the freedom to explore and experiment to find his pen and ink style -- now a way for him to openly and proudly express his artistic and passionate side that once was taboo, and coming full circle in a moment of personal growth.

“From my first figure drawing class in high school to the present, I have loved drawing the human form and the beauty of the body. After years of being a graphic designer, I found my way back to the line of the human form, and with some simple strokes from a marker, turning that line into a three-dimensional image. For me, it gives the line shape, emotion and inner depth.”

Over 20 years ago Joseph started his painting series, “Painting Broadway,” where he annually creates a painting that contains something that represents each show that played on Broadway that year. “Virtual Broadway,” the first painting in this exhibit, is the first one of this series.