Editing Scott Mutter

{{Short description|American photographer (1944–2008)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name           = Charles Scott Mutter
| image          = 
| image_size     = 
| caption        = 
| birth_date     = January 14, 1944<ref name="about">{{Cite web |title=About |url=http://www.scottmutter.com/about |access-date=October 29, 2023 |website=Scott Mutter Fine Art}}</ref>
| birth_place    = Chicago, Illinois
| death_date     = March 5, 2008<ref name="about"/>
| death_place    = 
| education      = Masters degrees in fine art and Chinese studies
| occupation     = Photographer
| known for      = Photomontage
| nationality    = American
| website        = https://www.scottmutter.com
}}

'''Charles Scott Mutter''' (January 14, 1944 – March 5, 2008) was an American photographer best known for his [[photomontage]]s. His photos were shown in galleries and printed on a wide variety of media, from posters to mouse pads.<ref name="about"/>

==Early life==
Mutter was the second of three children of Charles and Lucille Mutter, who lived in the [[Woodlawn, Chicago|Woodlawn]] area of [[South Side, Chicago]].  The family moved to suburban [[Park Ridge, Illinois|Park Ridge]], Illinois, where he graduated from [[Maine East High School]] in Park Ridge in 1961. Mutter received a B.A. in history from the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] in 1966 and two master's degrees, in fine arts and Chinese studies. While at university he was part of the [[counterculture|counter culture]], or [[hippie]] culture. He protested against the Vietnam War at the [[1968 Democratic Convention]] in Chicago. He lived in Champaign into the early 1980s where he ran an antiques shop and showed classic and foreign movies in rented halls such as the McKinley Foundation or the [[Unitarian Church of Urbana|Red Herring]].<ref name=tribobit/>

He had no formal art training.

==Career==
[[File:Scott_Mutter_-_Untitled_(Library).jpg|thumb|''Untitled (Library)'', c.1980, showing Michigan Avenue superimposed on the University of Illinois card catalogue]]

Most of Mutter's work was done with images of and around the Chicago area, with some of his earlier pieces incorporating scenes from [[Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Area|Urbana-Champaign]] and the University of Illinois.<ref name="Fein">{{Cite web |last=Fein |first=Seth |title=Scott Mutter (1944–2008) |url=http://www.smilepolitely.com/arts/Scott_Mutter/ |access-date=December 3, 2013 |website=Smile Politely}}</ref> Mutter was never comfortable with being considered a surrealist, and coined the term "surrational images" to describe his work.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2008 |title=Scott Mutter: A More Perfect World |url=https://photographymuseum.com/scottmutternewgallery/ |access-date=October 29, 2023 |publisher=The American Museum of Photography}}</ref>

His first show was at the downtown Chicago bookstore [[Brentano's]] in the mid-1970s. He then published calendars and posters through several publishing houses, including Avalanche Publishing. His best known work, ''Surrational Images'', was published by the [[University of Illinois Press]] in 1992.<ref name=Fein/>

Some of his most famous works include a montage of fans using flashlights to illuminate [[Wrigley Field]], which was then known for not having lights or [[night game]]s; a photo of [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]] skyscrapers superimposed upon an image of the [[Library catalog|card catalogue]] at the [[Library-University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois Library]]; and a forest growing out of a [[Krannert Center for the Performing Arts|parquet floor]].<ref name=tribobit/>

Mutter never transitioned to the cut and paste technique afforded by Photoshop and similar software but recreated every original print in the darkroom as he thought this was the only way that they were truly "originals". From the few existing originals of each piece he would select the one he considered the most appropriate for reproduction as posters.<ref name="tribobit">{{Cite news |last=Jensen |first=Trevor |date=March 13, 2008 |title=Scott Mutter, 1944–2008 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/03/13/scott-mutter-1944-2008/ |access-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref>

He was found dead in his home in March 2008, age 64; his death was ruled a suicide.<ref name=tribobit/> He experienced depression for much of his adult life, and had cardiovascular problems.<ref name="about"/>

==Artistic philosophy==
[[Sergei Eisenstein]], a Russian filmmaker (1898–1948) and author of two books, ''The Film Sense'' and ''Film Form: Essays in Film Theory'', greatly influenced Mutter's ideas about photographic "montage", a technique of combining and superimposing images into a single picture.  Mutter believed "there are theoretical reasons why a montage works or is something. But you have to also understand and keep your mind open to the fact that what works, works. That's the bottom line." His images were an attempt to represent something that is reality, not physical but rather a representation through metaphor.

==Exhibitions==
His work has been exhibited at the [[San Francisco International Airport]] and at the opening of the Beam Performing Arts Center in Tokyo. His photographs have appeared in magazines and newspapers including the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', ''[[Herbert's]]'', ''Japanese Avenue'', and ''Print Magazine''. His photos have been critiqued and viewed in many public schools across the country.

==Bibliography==
* ''Surrational Images: Photomontages'', 1992. University of Illinois Press. Foreword by Martin Krause. ({{ISBN|0-252-01935-0}})

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official site|https://www.scottmutter.com}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutter, Scott}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American photographers]]
[[Category:Artists from Park Ridge, Illinois]]
[[Category:Artists who died by suicide]]