What’s Black, white, and read everyday? Barcodes of course. Few artists have experimented with these simple graphic icons. But wouldn’t you have guessed it, I found an artist who turns them into mosaics! Florida based artist Scott Blake has devoted his creative passion to barcodes. From web work to paintings, Blake has dabbled in almost every field of artistic expression. Due to my love for photo mosaics, I want to focus on his digital mosaic portraits. I appreciate that these mosaics have an actual pattern to them and are not simply laid on a vertical and horizontal grid. 

 On his website, Blake explains his creative process:

“I have made more than 30 large-scale digital portraits of cultural icons using actual barcodes connected to some aspect of their lives. My Barcode Elvis portrait is made with barcodes from his music CDs. Barcode Bruce Lee and Barcode Marilyn Monroe are comprised of barcodes from their movie DVDs. Barcode Oprah is made with the ISBN barcodes from her book club. Interact with my art. Move beyond form to function. Scan the barcodes with your smartphone.”

Similar to the online photo mosaics we’ve posted in the past such as the American Diabetes Association mosaic, these portraits are personal and interactive. The use of barcodes pertaining to these cultural icon’s lives helps to deepen the affect on the viewer. In addition, the ability to be able to interact and scan each barcode creates a memorable experience for the audience. Blake not only took to the time to make these mosaics exceptional looking, but also made time for each viewer to have an exceptional interactive experience.