InSITE STL | Artist Profile – TIMOTHY PORTLOCK
Timothy Portlock
Currently on view, the second in the InSITE STL series, A Hometown Folk Tale, and Other Stories. For this collection of digital projections Portlock led collaborations with six artists with ties to St. Louis: Tim Lane, Blaize’B Daniels, Marina Peng, Sage Dawson with Courtney Huang, and Mee Jey.
The main feature, A Hometown Folk Tale, by Portlock and Lane, illustrates random encounters during a late 19th century journey down the Mississippi River. Additional short animations reflect the varied ways that the artists took their inspiration from the history, culture, and architecture of the site.
The artwork will be on-view on the west-facing façade of the T-REX Building, 911 Washington Avenue, starting November 2, 2022, from sundown to 11:00 p.m. It closes on December 17.
In the first of the InSITE STL series, Tim Portlock and collaborator Blaize’B Daniels kicked off InSITE STL in March 2022 at The DUC Park. The Fatted Noonan, a multi-story digital projection was named for notable former businesses that occupied the site which is now a Pocketpark at 10th St. and Locust St. The artwork bathed the façade in moving murals of light and color, illuminating the forgotten history of the building that once existed there. The Fatted Noonan was a one-night only event.
The Fatted Noonan Photo Gallery
Click on the photo below to get started!
A Hometown Folk Tale, and Other Stories Photo Gallery
Click on the photo below to get started!
Tim Portlock creates artwork using special-effects software, and the visual conventions of 19th-century American painting to creatively simulate contemporary cityscapes. In his work with outdoor video projections, Portlock creates temporary public art through the incorporation of new media and the visual language of murals, while engaging with architecture and city space. Portlock is a winner of the 2020 Great Rivers Biennial presented by the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and the Gateway Foundation; 2019 Regional Arts Commission Fellow; and a recipient of a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. His exhibitions include SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York; PULSE New York; Ruffneck Constructivist curated by Kara Walker at the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art; the Tate Modern as a member of the artist collective Vox Populi; Christie’s London, represented by Philagrafika. Portlock has also exhibited at the 404 Festival in Argentina and Italy, the ISEA electronic arts festival in Japan, and Ars Electronica, Austria. He is a professor and Chair of Undergraduate Art at Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis.