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Photograph by Paul Myers
This detail from 'Orbitz,' a space-age version of an old-fashioned drive-in diner, is among dozens of whimsical dioramas by Paul Nowicki at the Tait Gallery in Los Gatos.
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Exhibit brings miniature worlds to life
By Shari Kaplan
Artist Paul Nowicki likes to ask a lot of "what ifs." What if there was a skateboard that eight kids could ride--what would it look like? What if American Graffiti took place in the year 4173--who would you expect to see there? What if bugs needed to get a cup of coffee each morning--where would they go?
The Bay Area native explores these and other ponderings in "Dreamscapes," an installation of lifelike, three-dimensional dioramas constructed in mediums as varied as plastic, wood, dried plants, resin, salt, glue, wire, metal, paper, foam, cotton and plaster. The exhibit is up through Sept. 29 at the Los Gatos Museum of Art and Natural Science, at 4 Tait Ave.
"I use parts of unrelated objects and 'kitbash' them together to build eclectic models," explains Nowicki in his artist's statement. "I read and envision how authors would three-dimensionally view their writings. I look at art and put my twist to their creations, all of which I place into environments or circumstances that can either be commonplace or fantastic."
"I take my thoughts, experiences and emotions to build a visionary creation from my imagination," continues Nowicki, who says he has loved drawing, building models and tinkering with electric trains since childhood. "I want my models and environments to make noise, appear to move, show textures, have odors or produce a taste. If they can do this, then they are successful."
Although he sometimes sells his whimsical dioramas, that's not always the case. To keep food on the table, Nowicki uses knowledge from his high school drafting classes, his bachelor's degree in architecture and his lifelong love of art to teach at art schools and community colleges.
Additionally, he owns the Graphic Blade Studio in San Francisco, which builds scale models and dioramas for architectural presentations. He has since expanded to include product design, prop fabrication for the film industry, and toy and game design.
Nowicki has the most freedom, however, when he answers to no one but himself, as he does in "Dreamscapes." For those not familiar with his 3-D worlds, a look at the miniature ones enclosed in plastic cubes might be a good introduction--they're in the Tait's smaller gallery on wooden shelving.
The majority are realistic, rather than surrealistic. Among them are beavers building a dam, moose trekking in the snow, a coiled snake guarding a headhunter's skull stash, a clothing-optional beach and a group of men hanging around a bench discussing the Viagra billboard behind them. Nowicki spares no detail in these, right down to bubbles in water and weeds growing from pavement cracks.
His imagination runs wilder in most of his other pieces, including Leave the Light On, Always Take Protection on a Date and Starbugs. The first gives viewers a peek into the exquisitely disarrayed bedroom of a boy terrorized by monsters that are hiding out in his closet, behind his curtains and in other choice spots.
The second consists of a leather-clad, no-nonsense woman debating what type of weapon to bring to her rendezvous--a purse-size handgun, a futuristic machine that could annihilate whole worlds, or something in between? Starbugs is among the most amusing of all, poking fun at the maniacally popular coffee house chain of a similar name. It also gives viewers a detailed look into a world that could never exist--from menu items such as parasitic pastries, potato bug pie and raspberry roach roast coffee, to customers such as the stag beetle and scorpion waiting placidly in line and the spider hanging from the ceiling to read the morning newspaper.
In complete contrast to his Dreamscapes, Nowicki has also hung drawings and sketches on the Tait's walls that show the kind of artwork he did during his elementary school days through high school. Even then, he evidently was skilled beyond his years.
The public is invited to an artist's reception on Aug. 25 from 1 to 4 p.m.
The Los Gatos Museum of Art and Natural Science is open Wednesday through Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. For directions or more information, call 408.354.2646.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
