Reviews/News Coverage/Comments re: Projects/Exhibitions
My Dear Malevich
MY DEAR MALEVICH (MDM) (supabsmin.blogspot.com)
Review by JD Jarvis, Art Critic/Artist and coauthor of Going Digital: The Practice and Vision of Digital Artists (ISBN 1-59200-918-2) (Note: This review was written for the first exhibition of "My Dear Malevich" at the Art Gallery, Fine Arts Department, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, China [April 2 - 15, 2007]).
"Can an exhibition of art be both physical and virtual, a historical yet avant-garde, forward-looking homage with one foot in the current 21st century digital art scene and the other in the rich 20th century history of Modernist art? The answer is yes, if you are Tom Chambers and your base of operations is the Fine Arts Department of Zhaoqing University in the Guangdong Province of China.
For several years now, Mr. Chambers has treated his students at Zhaoqing University and their peers at selected universities ranging from Wake Forest University, the University of Louisville, the Art Institute of Boston, the State Art Museum of Novosibirsk, Russia, Rensselaer Polytechnic in Troy, New York (among others), as well as, anyone with access to the web to a cross cultural mix of student digital art and photography. Based on themes from "Self/Soul", "Into the Future" or the color "Red" these projects are brimming with culture and art. Chambers has infused his students with his own sense of wonder, introspection and a desire to examine and communicate.
Which brings us to one of Tom Chambers' own most recent and personal exhibitions entitled "My Dear Malevich" on display from April 2 through 15 in the art gallery of Zhaoqing University. This is the physical/virtual part of this exhibit. Wherein we see on the web a presentation of what must be, in real-time and space, a very striking exhibit. Consisting of many, large-size, black and white prints of hard-edged geometric designs "My Dear Malevich" is also an homage to the Russian artist who carried earlier Cubist work entirely into the abstract and non-representational. Kazimir Malevich founded the Suprematist art movement around 1913 and opened the door to true non-objectivity in modern art.
This exhibition expands inward (so to speak) from research into the progenitors of Minimalism, an artform in which Mr. Chambers has been experimenting for several years with his series of "Pixelscapes" exhibitions. Utilizing the most basic unit of any computer graphic; the single pixel, his "Pixelscapes" serve as colorful pathways into the purely metaphysical aspects of art which, by virtue of presenting so little, leads the viewer to so much in terms of their own emotional content.
With "My Dear Malevich", Chambers describes for the viewer a process by which he travels (via magnification) into a digitized photograph of Malevich and discovers at the singular pixel level arrangements which echo back directly to Malevich's own totally abstract compositions. This process is such an apt metaphor for Malevich's own journey deep with himself, as well as, his discovery of the non-objective soul of art contained within the objective world as to constitute a form of visual poetry.
This visual poetry contains the ironic connection between Modernist philosophy which moved visual art from figurative representational pictures of the physical world into an expressive and emotional world of abstraction; and, the digital realm in which the purely abstract unit of one pixel off - one pixel on, has been utilized to reproduce once again, with breath taking accuracy the physical world. Now, Chambers' has shown a path by which this tool, which so often serves hyper-reality, is forced to reveal the abstract soul at its very core. Was Malevich thinking in 'pixels' without knowledge of the term and even many decades before the fact of the technology, which utilizes this basic component? His association with Futurism might account for this sort of metaphysical connection.
And, so it is that we have the aspect of this exhibition that straddles a whole century of art. From the earliest beginnings of Modern art to the latest developments in the tools by which the newest works are being made. The ground that is covered is immense, but the time between the two virtually disappears in this exhibit. It seems that with "My Dear Malevich" it is not a matter of what is old (or new) being new (or old) again; but that what is 'old' and 'new' exists simultaneously. That which is 'gone' is also, at the very same time, ever-present."
Comment by Andrey Martynov, Curator, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Novosibirsk, Russia:
"Chambers' Pixelscapes have been exhibited in Novosibirsk and also at the Solovetsky Monastery. He is working with the idea of a small unit or cell of an image, which shows a fantastical world through print and animation. This new black-and-white series - 'My Dear Malevich' - is a part of the 'Fourth Novosibirsk International Festival of Digital Imaging' at the Novosibirsk State Art Museum (May 10 - June 10, 2007). It is a pleasure for us to show this series that stems from the Suprematist traditions of the great Malevich.
Kazimir Malevich was a remarkable artist of the 20th century who looked deeply into the philosophical content of images. Chambers uses this same philosophy in his long-term art projects such as Pixelscapes. And what is especially pleasant is that he brings his understanding and knowledge to art students at Zhaoqing University in China who are just beginning their artistic studies."
Comments:
"JD Jarvis' review is a most essential discourse of not only this historically portentous exhibition but of you and your oeuvre stratagem, an investiture of nearly ineffable wonder that says virtual past-present-future brought to the e-world and now the reality of tangible documentation in a venue that Malevich would have been proud to share with you." HJB
"Synchronicity is alive and well as I view your Malevich exhibition ... so reminiscent of the work and intentions of my husband's work, Laurent Boccara." SB
"What you are doing looks very exciting." CL
"It's an elegant idea and well executed." ST
"While China itself is going through a kind of postproduction remix phase, I'm interested in the way you are remixing the digitized version of Malevich, as an image, within the traditional context of both gallery and object, while highlighting the pixel as the primary visual element in the making of new work. Congrats on your show! The documentation of it makes it look very exciting and I am intrigued by it." MA
"Kazimir Malevich covers a wide range of styles and color/black-white imaging. Tom Chambers has isolated and deepened that side of Malevich's non-representational and devilishly focused square (and what we now see in the pixel). The presentation is austere with no one -- unlike Chambers' other online shows with many others in dynamic interaction, but rather we see reflections of the same images in the ceiling and the floor, creating a space not unlike the George Lucas sci-fi THX-1138 movie. The absence of people in the exhibition rooms mirrors their absence in the imagery.
But is this calm? Is it provocative? Are there any emotions? Malevich's striving to strip away content associations may have been poured into his work, but how a viewer sees these images can be quite otherwise. So, too, Chambers' images.
Tom Chambers has created a dialogue running back and forth in time about this very seductive side of making images. Of course, should Chambers continue down this path, what will happen to the pixel analogy when he chances upon Malevich's black circle? I'm sure we will all be delighted." JN
"As an old believer in the singular importance of Tom Chambers' creative explorations with regard to driving a leading-edge stream of evolution of the digital-still-image-as-art into this new millennium, I am absolutely delighted to see him go back to print after the fascinating Pixelscapes diversion, with this stunning new exhibition, 'My Dear Malevich'. Not that I know anything much about fine arts, but in this rising new era of burgeoning empowerment of individuals by technology across all streams of human endeavour, all over the world, when the more popular leading-edges of many creative streams are often about little more than fascination and infatuation with the shiny new baubles of new mediums in themselves, it is important to so manifest and be reminded that high art should certainly derive from, and serve, much deeper folds in the brains of any individual, community and generation." SB
"Your art epitomizes the double meaning of the word: a fragment, an incised part of something already in existence ... and just because of this incision ... is an injury to the finished surface, to the tangle of writing or a finished picture. It is the same and not the same at the same time. Once the signs are scars, then the wounds will tell tales of some non-alleviated history. The post-human art of our era has moved the farthest away from the ideal which reached the calmness of total emptiness by putting instincts to silence ... consequently, your Pixelcapes." IH
"Tom Chambers is blessed with an uncanny ability to marry high-concept with visual beauty. He demonstrates his ability to do so in his 'My Dear Malevich' exhibition, where he riffs on the work of the Suprematist artist, Kazimir Malevich, to create wonderfully intriguing Pixelscapes. Chambers' Pixelscapes merge the analog and digital worlds, and merge the past with the present to create a new kind of imagery that brings wall-based visual art into the 21st century. His work is interesting to think about, and pleasant to look at. What more can we ask for from the art on our walls?" AR
"I very much enjoy the critical, analytical and aesthetic nature of the artwork. As you are aware, much of my own work is an exploration of the digitally minimal and the fundamental structures that comprise media technology - so I feel well-placed to understand and comment on your artistic concerns in this area. I feel that many contemporary artists working in New Media utilise the pixel without understanding its core essence in terms of both technology that creates it and the connections it has to the art historical past.
I did not have such negative feelings when considering this body of work. I find the premise of the work is a relevant extension of the Suprematism and Minimalism art movements of the 20th century, in which you revisit critical explorations from the past and augment your investigations with present day technologies and context." MTM
"At the beginning of the 20th century Kazimir Malevich was at the forefront of a revolution in art. His work took chances and explored new directions in representation. Malevich was an experimenter, pushing art to the edges.
Today, at the beginning of the 21st Century, Tom Chambers' work bridges 100 years of art history and creates connections between his own ground-breaking work as a digital artist and the ground-breaking work of Malevich. Chambers' Pixelscapes explore issues of digital representation as well as refer back to the seminal dialog about representation that Malevich and his contemporaries initiated. Look beneath the elegant simplicity of the art of Malevich and Chambers and you will find the essential building blocks of art. Look closely at Chambers' images and you will find the building blocks of today's digital revolution." HO
"My first thought upon seeing your powerful show in black and white was an homage to the 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier' and also the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn novel, 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich', where with the least amount of freedom and the smallest bit of material, the hero saves a bit of comb and some trinkets. His soul is still his soul, and he can make something of nothing - no color, no material - and no one can take that from him. Stark? Yes. Art? Yes! Congratulations!" CH
"Black Square (1915), consisting of nothing more than a black square on a white field ... one of Kazimir Malevich's earliest works into Suprematism ... becomes the starting point, ninety two years later, for an exhibition by Tom Chambers simply titled My Dear Malevich.
This is not necessarily new work for Chambers. In 2000 he explored the pixel in what has become his ongoing exploration under the namesake of Pixelscapes (A pixel [picture element] being a single point in a graphic image, an abstract sample.). In his article, 'The pixel as Minimal Art', reference is made to Malevich's 'Black Square' (1915) and 'Black Cross' (1923). What is new about 'My Dear Malevich', is Chambers removing the pixel from the screen and placing it on a gallery wall as large digital images, a transfer that becomes an all at once opportunity to see the totality of the work. To enter a space and see larger than life pixels displayed one after the other in all their complex diversity allows for a truly meditative experience. What is more interesting is Chambers' starting point for the project, a photograph of Malevich in which he turned the telescope around and concentrated on a small area of the image. By enlarging this one small area, the pixels become a vast universe of the nonobjective out of which emerged the exhibition 'My Dear Malevich'." BH
"I do not know much about Minimalism, but I am interested in finding the basic unit of thought, learning, intelligence, and personality. Where the realm of thought intersects with the laws of physics that govern this plane of existence may hold the answers to the nature of human experience including art appreciation and other high levels of thinking." BS
"A refreshing extrapolation of the pixel, and it appears to be well accepted [balanced] all around." CB
"Fascinating project - image reduced to its fundamental core, pointing with delicious lyricism to the singularity of the source." PC
"Malevich is a traditional resource of art. Chambers uses it like a Chinese Artist uses the traditional form of brush painting. The abstract works of Malevich were studied by Chinese artists 10 to 15 years ago. Why did this study cease? I think because this kind of art doesn't have Chinese roots. We can become enlightened again through Chambers' exhibition. Most contemporary Chinese artists do not address this form with ease like their predecessors." XH
"Tom R. Chambers is a blend of the West and the East ... frank and charming with a disposition of an Eastern writer ... and this combination seems consistent when viewing his early photographic works, which are full of humanity, morality and caring.
His recent creative work, 'My Dear Malevich' has a very different connotation: bright and fashionable, which conjures up skin texture within a multi-colored grid or graph. The meaning is manifested within a Western world's characteristics of materialism, public display and desire with curious, affective tonal range and realm of imagination ... it's beckoning.
Chambers seems to want to elucidate a subject ... make a significant attempt at clarifying a notion. His appreciation of Kazimir Malevich's Suprematist artwork is only a way or an excuse to present an artistic trend through iconography that borders on 'religion'. The Pixelscapes that comprise the project represent a collective expression.
The subtle grays, blacks and whites combined with the cross symbol remind us of a certain 'awe'. The artworks transmit a solemnity and moving atmosphere. The expression is direct and effective, which is the most obvious characteristic of contemporary art." WN
"Tom R. Chambers has been an iconoclastic digital artist and passionate teacher of digital art for many years. He is most recently visiting lecturer on digital and new media art and digital photography in the Fine Arts Department of Zhaoqing University in Zhaoqing, China. His own art is a celebration of digital abstraction and reductionism in a long series of works that he calls 'Pixelscapes'. His most recent series is called 'My Dear Malevich' and is a tribute to the celebrated Ukranian-born artist Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935) who was founder of Suprematism, a non-representational art that featured geometric forms and shapes. These new images are a confirmation of Chambers' dedication to minimalist art and to the pixel, in all its potential and limitations." DA
"I really like 'My Dear Malevich'. I think the concept behind 'Pixelscapes' is fascinating. It is also interesting that Malevich is important for new media/net artists." LL
Black Square Merge: Nature
BSI-7/BLACK SQUARE MERGE: NATURE (supabsmin.blogspot.com)
Review by JD Jarvis, Art Critic/Artist and coauthor of Going Digital: The Practice and Vision of Digital Artists (ISBN 1-59200-918-2) (USA):
"Well over a decade ago, Tom R. Chambers began to look at the pixel within the context of Abstraction and Minimalism:
The Pixel as Suprematist/Minimalist Art (supabsmin.blogspot.com)
His work in this vein draws our attention to the visual singularity that makes up everything we see in the digital universe. Since the pixel equates to what we call a 'subatomic particle' within our physical universe, Chambers' work engages us directly with the feeling that the Russian Suprematist described as the non-objective spirit that pervades everything and pays due homage their belief in the ability of Abstraction to convey 'the supremacy of pure feeling in creative art'. Indeed, an earlier edition within this long series of work explored the visual meaning behind the works and words of Suprematist painter and theorist Kazimir Malevich:
MY DEAR MALEVICH (MDM) (supabsmin.blogspot.com)
In this latest edition of images and prints Chambers seeks to metaphorically merge inner and outer worlds by presenting photorealistic nature as it transitions into digital abstraction at the pixel level. 'Black Square Merge: Nature' is precisely what it says it is. We see, almost in cinematic form the movement from a picture of reality to a picture of pure abstraction. What this viewer finds most interesting is that area of transition between these absolutes. It satisfies me that in this grey area where nature begins to break down and abstraction appears to be taking hold that we find the greatest latitude and possibility for creative energy.
I was overcome, at first, by the sheer number of images in this edition, but when I saw on my computer screen a thumbnail of a large number of these works gathered on a single page I realized that each image is like a jewel and that the effect will be quite wonderful when the physical prints of these images are finally displayed back in the realm of physical reality. In such a display we will find ourselves inside that journey that Malevich described and which Tom R. Chambers so elegantly materializes."
The Pixel as Suprematist/Minimalist Art
The Pixel as Suprematist/Minimalist Art (supabsmin.blogspot.com)
JD Jarvis, Art Critic/Artist and coauthor of Going Digital: The Practice and Vision of Digital Artists (ISBN 1-59200-918-2):
"Mr. Chambers has been experimenting for several years with his series of "Pixelscapes" exhibitions. Utilizing the most basic unit of any computer graphic; the single pixel, his "Pixelscapes" serve as colorful pathways into the purely metaphysical aspects of art which, by virtue of presenting so little, leads the viewer to so much in terms of their own emotional content. This visual poetry contains the ironic connection between Modernist philosophy which moved visual art from figurative representational pictures of the physical world into an expressive and emotional world of abstraction; and, the digital realm in which the purely abstract unit of one pixel off - one pixel on, has been utilized to reproduce once again, with breath taking accuracy the physical world. Now, Chambers has shown a path by which this tool, which so often serves hyper-reality, is forced to reveal the abstract soul at its very core."
Retro Providence: 1985-1990
Amanda M. Grosvenor, Editor, Providence Monthly, Providence, Rhode Island, October 19, 2016.
"Those who’ve lived in Providence for a while can tell you that quite a bit has changed since 1985 when Tom Chambers first started working as the official mayoral and city photographer. Now, with sponsorship from the City Archives department, Tom is exhibiting Retro Providence: 1985-1990, a “time capsule” of 60 photographs taken of city life during the six years he held the position.
A native of Texas, Tom found he needed a fresh start in life following the painful passing of his mother in 1983, so he moved to Rhode Island. His first job here was as part-time university photographer and photo department manager for URI. Although he enjoyed the position, the pay was minimal so he took up freelancing, eventually meeting Mayor Joe R. Paolino on an assignment.
The mayor and his team liked Tom’s work so much that they offered him a full-time position. He trailed the mayor and snapped photos at all major events, from ribbon cuttings to celebrations to handshakes. During these moments, Tom would also point his camera outwards into the crowds. 'I’ve had a lifelong love of history, and I lived all over America growing up,' he says. 'I had also always enjoyed the documentation aspect of recording history. The next logical step for me was to find a camera and start using it.'
The city photographer position was high profile and helped Tom to achieve other opportunities after he left Providence in 1990, when Mayor Paolino lost the gubernatorial election. He went on to join the Peace Corps in Zimbabwe and later taught at Zhaoqing University in China. He still takes some pictures but focuses mainly on other visual mediums these days, such as abstraction and digital art.
Tom’s Providence stint was before the days of digital photography, and most documentation of this nature tends to end up in city archives collecting dust. He decided he did not want such a fate for his images, so he reached out to Caleb Horton, Deputy City Archivist at Providence City Hall, and pitched the idea of a retrospective exhibit. Caleb enthusiastically approved, and in June of this year, Tom flew back to Providence for the first time in 30 years and spent four days wading through hundreds of images to curate 60 highlights.
His favorite was taken in 1986 during the 350th anniversary celebration of Rhode Island’s founding. Tom caught a shot of a reenactor dressed as Roger Williams standing on Roger Williams Landing at Gano Street Park, dramatically silhouetted by the sun. He hopes that many who visit the exhibit will be able to pick out familiar faces in the prints. 'Something that means a lot to me is that there’s a possibility people could attend the show and find themselves or someone they know in photos from 30 years ago,' he says. 'At many historical shows, the people being photographed and the photographers are long gone. What’s exciting about this one is that many are still around.'
Retro Providence: 1985-1990 On display through December 14 City Archives, Providence City Hall 25 Dorrance Street.
Mother's 45s
Mother's 45s (photoartshistory.blogspot.com)
News coverage: "Lifebeat - Putting Mama On The Record", Providence Journal Bulletin (April 20, 1990), Providence, Rhode Island: "In a show that opens today at Gallery One, the Texas-born artist bares a more personal, less public side of himself. The result is a moving tribute to his own mother that Chambers hopes will stir memories and emotions in everyone."
News coverage: "8 Days A Week", The Phoenix's New Paper (The Providence Phoenix) (April 19-25, 1990), Providence, Rhode Island: "Make room for my 45s right beside your 78s, Jackson Browne once sang to his father. Tom R. Chambers mixes his media to come up with a spin on that particular sentiment. Mother's 45s pulls the rug out from under ordinary nostalgia by pinpointing specific sections of his mom's snapshots and strategically-placed seven-inch records (selections include "I Get Ideas", "Playing For Keeps" and "Little Small Town Girl"). An era is documented; the woman's pleasure concerns become evident; and a dying art form is given another purpose. In one fell swoop, Chambers chronicles how we interact with our memories and how those memories are forever irretrievable."
Exhibition catalogue (ISBN #0-932706-20-7, 1992): Parents, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio: "Like myself, artists Tom Chambers and Carrie Mae Weems can find themselves unexpectedly reliving their childhoods by the chance encounter with a 1930s record hit or the sweet chocolate-like aroma of fresh-brewed coffee." (Ron Geibert, Curator, Wright State University)
Comments during the opening of "Mother's 45s" at Gallery One, Providence, Rhode Island (April, 1990):
"The Yellow Rose of Texas, you know how the song goes." PS
"No other word means as much as mother." DP
"Great idea and concept. Good luck. I'm sure your mom is proud, especially today." AW
"Wonderful, warm, wistful. You done your mama proud." JA
"This show has a wonderful feeling." JM
"Great idea. Loved 45s and images with each. Keep up good work." RS
"These photos and music bring many memories back to us." CW and HW
"One of the gold dust twins and soon to be RISD grad - thanks for mothers." JG
"Great concept, brings back memories of our parents and I'm sure everyone else's. Mothers are not to be forgotten." DC and BC
"Great show." DV and NZ
"Very excellent." TRD
"Insight and imagery of times past." LN and VN
"I think it's a form of concrete poetry. Are you familiar with it? Great show." IC
"You must have some great memories here - a very interesting idea - we are looking through a time tunnel at the past." TM
"Talk about recording the past - clever idea. It was a pleasure to trace a life of someone I never knew." KB
"Another great show - thanks for sharing - what is next?" MV
"Touching blend of sight and sound - how a song captures a face, place, time, feeling - all those details of personal memory. Thanks for the associations." MS
"As usual, very nice, and this particular show definitely has a special subjective emotion in the love you felt for your mother. Great." RM and LM
"Thanks for sharing your family with us. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory lane." SS
"A real down to Earth (day) show. Great. Congratulations again, and good luck. I'm fortunately old enough to have bought all those records in their original." TB
"Never know what to write - good show - liked it a lot." SL
"Such a wonderful tribute to your mother. Thanks for sharing." PK
"Is there a part two? I was so intrigued that I wanted to know and see even more. Wonderful tribute." DT
"Great show, very inventive." DE
"Brilliant display." KM
"Lots of love displayed here. She'd be proud of you." JF
"What a wonderful work of inspiration." VL
"You are the best." KH
"Tell me why someone elses roses give just one more chance to say - I’ve been there. In deep appreciation." SM
Mattie Oline: Thoughts of a Grandmother
Mattie Oline: Thoughts of a Grandmother (photoartshistory.blogspot.com)
Grandson's tribute built around her diaries, The Nocona News, December 4, 2014:
"Nocona native, educator, and artist, Tom R. Chambers has taken his affection for his grandmother by creating a project devoted to the diaries of Mattie Oline Meekins. The project is a tribute to Chambers' grandmother (1899-1997).
Chambers researched her diary entries over the years, and then chose the ones that have significance for him and society. His grandmother rarely missed making a daily entry in her diary during 45-plus years - an astonishing 16,000-plus entries. Chambers was born in July of 1947, so her diaries were ongoing from when he was about six months old through the age of 45.
In the early 1900s, she moved with her family to Texas in a covered wagon. Later, she got married to Bill (Willie) Meekins, and raised a family of five in Hynds City, a small village eight miles north of Nocona.
As one views the diary entries in chronological order, American History unfolds. Mrs. Meekins reveals her concerns and desires about family and the community as a whole. The entries are practical, heartfelt and country-bred."
Thoughts of a grandmother, The Nocona News, September 21, 2017:
"Tom R. Chambers (a native of Nocona) returns to his hometown to pay respect to his grandmother, Mattie Oline (Battles) Meekins (1899-1997) through an installation of selected diary entries that she made from 1948 through a part of 1993, which will be on exhibit at the Tales 'N' Trails Museum (Nocona) in October.
Chambers hopes that his grandmother would understand why he has chosen to go public with some of her diary entries: to pay tribute to an individual who helped raise him; and to indicate his sense of longing for her presence. As an educator, he also sees merit in using family diaries as educational tools.
As it relates to the physical exhibition of "Mattie Oline: Thoughts of a Grandmother", it conjures up emotions in a collective sense that touches all families - all grandmothers. It can be treated as textual art evidenced by the actual entries made by his grandmother. Her script over the years morphs/evolves, and it draws the viewer in, because of its personal nature and sense of immediacy - setting up an intimate connection with this woman who once put pen to paper.
His grandmother's actual diaries are encased within a glass vase as the centerpiece of the exhibition. There is an audio component of piano music that his grandmother used to listen to. When the viewer steps into the installation, he/she immediately steps inside Chambers' grandmother's mind via the diary entries. There is also a sense of "time travel" as the entries move the viewer through 45 years of existence, 1948-1993.
There are three basic reasons for making entries in a diary: the first is to record what has transpired; the second is to make notes on future activities/events; and the third is for the entries to be kept with other diary entries to become a personal history. Chambers considers his grandmother's collection of 46 diaries a personal history including family and friends with occasional comments about and reactions to societal events."
People to People
People to People (photographyonthestreets.blogspot.com)
An American Called Tom Has Photo Exhibition In Korea, Kumho Culture Monthly, Gwangju, South Korea, May, 1997 (Yoon Jeong-mi, Reporter; translation by Kim Hye-Kyung):
"Tom R. Chambers' thirty-third exhibition is currently being held at the Kumho Art Center in Gwangju. The title of the show is 'People To People', and it takes a look at the Korean people through documentary portraits. His photographs are combined with those of a Korean photographer, Choi Ok-soo, to offer a Western/Eastern perspective of documentation.
Mr. Chambers said that photographs are made from different viewpoints, and these viewpoints represent the respective photographer's feelings about reality. And he continued by saying that his images project these feelings and make others aware of their own reality. Mr. Chambers spoke slowly and articulately during the interview for this story. He wanted to make sure that he was understood. He said that his way of speaking had become a habit since residing in Korea.
This month is very special for him because of his current exhibition and his recent marriage to a Korean woman. At the age of fifty, he decided to say adieu to single life, and got married to Cho Eun-mi at Hyangkyo in Gwangju. He had a Traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony, and Choi Ok-soo documented the event. Three of those photographs are a part of "People To People".
Mr. Chambers continued to talk about his photographic style by saying that he makes photographs only in black-and-white, because color detracts from subject content. His works in this exhibition focus on harmony between a human being and his/her environment. He documents people just as they are, naturally and truthfully."
Variations on the Dan Mask
Variations on the Dan Mask (photoartshistory.blogspot.com)
Review: Interesting Photograms By Chambers On Display, The Sunday Mail Magazine, Harare, Zimbabwe (December 17, 1995) (Pikirayi Deketeke - Art Critic):
"After missing a couple of Tom R. Chambers' photographic exhibitions, I finally caught up with his work at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe where he is showing some interesting photograms based on a African Traditional mask form from the Dan Tribe in Eastern Liberia. Titled, 'Variations on the Dan Mask', Chambers offers his interpretations of the mask form depicting different shapes and symbols from which the viewer can also give his/her own interpretations.
Though based on a Traditional mask, the different images have a much more contemporary appeal with graphical designs that have both humor and symbolic meaning. The artist's approach is said to border on abstract art as it reduces natural appearances to simplified forms. He says the first is the depiction of the essential or generic forms of things by elimination of particular and accidental variations. The other is the working away from the individual and particular with a view to creating an independent construct of shapes which will have aesthetic appeal in its own right. In some instances, the images reflect the moon and darkness while others depict a face hiding behind bars of different shapes."
Comments:
"Great Concept - very modern. Economic, yet powerful. Congratulations, Tom!" (Tony Mhonda, Art Critic)
"Wonderful, engaging work!" (Stephen Williams, Regional Director, National Gallery in Bulawayo)
"The strength and impact of the image comes from 'pushing' the static information. There's a nice sense of play that also respects the formality of the image. Masks transform and transcend the wearer and these photograms alter the mask in the same way. Congratulations, Tom, and good luck!" (Sylvia Bews-Wright)
"What a fabulous idea. I wasn't able to stay on opening night, but have thoroughly enjoyed it today. V6, V7 and V8 are my favorites. Best wishes!" (Lucy Hall, Director, United States Information Service, Harare)
"I could see a very deep and creative work. I realized that foreign people who choose to live on this continent are really searching something higher than ordinary life. Congratulations and success!" (Alexandra Almeida, Global Government of Humanity, Brazil)
"A unique form of art!"
"The Work is beyond humanity!" (Smart)
"Well done Tom. Keep up the beautiful work!" (Molly)
"Tom, congratulations on your very interesting work - good stuff!" (Ean)
"Congratulations, makorokoto, amhlope - our son and all the best for the future!" (The Chakanyuka Family)
"The exhibition has been well done and with respect. Let it be like this!"
"The art is very beautiful and very creative. Keep it up!"
"Your art is quite different, but very beautiful!"
Descendants 350
Descendants 350 (photographyonthestreets.blogspot.com)
Thomas J. Morgan, Staff Writer, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Providence, Rhode Island, 1986:
"Tom Chambers unique exhibit sponsored by Providence 350. The stern features of Trooper William A. Rathbun, Sr. gaze out at the onlooker from the veranda of the Surf Hotel on Block Island, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the whispers of history. The photograph of the seated Rathbun is one of 40 portraits of Rhode Islanders, all descendants of founding families, by Tom R. Chambers, sponsored by Providence 350, Inc. The exhibit is on display in the Fleet Center, 50 Kennedy Plaza, through next Wednesday. Chambers, official photographer for Mayor Joseph R. Paolino, Jr., said the original idea was his own. 'I approached Providence 350, and they liked the idea and gave me a $1300 grant,' he said.
Rathbun is a 10th-generation descendant of John Rathbone, one of 16 purchasers of Block Island, who died in 1702. Another portrait shows Auxiliary Bishop Kenneth A. Angell, whose ancestor, Thomas Angell (1618-1694) settled Providence with Roger Williams and served as commissioner, juryman, constable, freeman and town clerk. The bishop is shown relaxed in the Superior Court House. Charles C. Whipple crouches over an ancestral tombstone in Providence's North Burial Ground. He is a 10th-generation descendant of John Whipple, 1617-1685, a purchaser. Harold Champlin shows another side of the founding families - a member of the Narragansett Indian tribe, he stares out from a pier at India Point Park, the waters of the Providence River dark behind him.
Chambers found his subjects through publicity in newspapers, magazines and television. 'Several people called in,' he said, 'then I got a call from Robert Allen Greene. He's a 12th and 13th generation - two different families - descendant of John Coggeshall, 1591-1647, a signer of the Portsmouth Compact. Robert Greene is a genealogist. I would give him certain first family names I had researched out, and he would plug in the descendants.'
Chambers said he relied on the 1969 revised edition of the Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island for his data. 'I would reach people and explain the project,' he said. 'I would ask if they were willing to let me take a documentary portrait. Not one person refused me. They have a lot of pride in their ancestry.'
Providence Business News, Providence, Rhode Island, February 2, 1987:
"Descendants 350, an exhibition by fine arts photographer, Tom R. Chambers, views like a stately procession of New England nobility. The show consists of black-and-white portraits of 40 Rhode Island scions who singularly and collectively convey an intense bond with local governmental, social and religious beginnings. Chambers photographed each descendant in settings reflective of their ancestors' respective backgrounds.
So we meet William A. Rathbun, Sr. looking stern-faced on the deck of the Surf Hotel on Block Island. He's a 10th-generation descendant of John Rathbone (b. -, d. 1702), who, along with 15 fellow settlers, made his mark on the Ocean State by purchasing Block Island, according to The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. George Williams appears in front of the Roger Williams Monument and Burial Site at Prospect Park in Providence. Roger Williams (b. 1599, d. 1683), of course, founded 'Providences of the most Holy and only wise I called Providence.'
Pictured in the Council Chambers at Providence City Hall, Jeanne M. Desrosiers, an 11th-generation descendant, rekindles the spirit of Thomas Olney (b. 1600, d. 1682), a deputy and town councilman whose signature was among those that ratified this state's government. Ninth-generation scion, Charles C. Tillinghast, gazes at the lens from aside the Tillinghast Monument, which stands on Benefit Street in commemoration of Pardon Tillinghast (b. 1622, d. 1718), pastor of the First Baptist Church and overseer of the poor.
'They strike a certain pose, posture or expression to convey a sense of self-worth, pride and an awareness of my presence,' says Chambers of his ancestral subjects. 'Descendants 350, A Photographic Tribute to the First Settlers of Rhode Island,' which was funded by Providence 350, Inc., is hanging in the Roger Williams Park Museum through Feb. 15. The exhibition will be displayed at the University of Rhode Island's Extension Center Gallery from March 2 through 27 and at the Narragansett Pier Free Library from April 5 to May1."
Dyer Street Portraiture
Dyer Street Portraiture (photographyonthestreets.blogspot.com)
Comments/Reviews:
"The black-and-white images record a diversity of common people in an urban habitat with an ambiance of film noir." (Notable Exhibitions section, American Photo magazine, March, 1986)
"Your images are strong, direct and honest." (Arthur Goldsmith, Editorial Director, Popular Photography magazine) (1984)
"The images are well seen, and the concept seems to be viable. The series is a clean, well-photographed group of pictures." (Beaumont Newhall, Photographic Historian, The University of New Mexico) (1984)
"I hope a wider public will have an opportunity to see the pictures." (Peter Bunnell, Photographic Historian, Princeton University) (1984)
"It was very good to see the images, and I found them quite strong, both formally and emotionally." (Keith Davis, Curator, Photographic Collections, Hallmark Cards Incorporated) (1984)
"You have some very good pictures. I wish you lots of luck." (Mary Ellen Mark, Documentary Photographer) (1984)
"I always appreciate another person's very sincere efforts at his craft." (Judy Dater, Fine Arts Photographer) (1984)
"I was pleasantly surprised to look at your work. I believe it's the strongest I've seen." (Robert Hirsch, Director, Southern Light Gallery, Amarillo College) (1984)
Response from a reader:
"Just completed the Photo-Seminars series concluding with your piece on Documentary Portraiture. The subject content on the human condition presentation by your 'Dyer Street Portraiture' series was somewhat disconcerting; these photos were definitely not the cotton candy glamor queen shots. Assessing the concept of creating a studio portrait vs an ageless portrait is evaluating the selection of the appropriateness of one of the facets of the gesture of a smile vs non-smile gesture leans more depth and ambiance to the portrait. The overall impression of your portrait lesson left the impact of a haunting punch.
I Believe my preference is your masterfully delivered jab of enlightenment. Perhaps with a slight upper cut (a short swing blow from beneath to the opponents chin) - your portraiture article helped me to condense and to fine tune my portrait style into - in your face - defined more precisely as close up and personal, simplify, crop out the surrounding unnecessary clutter and to utilize the look and non-smile gestures to the advantage of the moment while seeking the authenticity of the moment being photographed. At the moment your e-mail was being generated, I was reflecting upon the following quotation: The so-called past is the top of the heart; the present is the top of the fist; and the future is the back of the brain. Zen saying."
The McEwen Photographic Studio
The McEwen Photographic Studio (1993 - 1995) (edtecharts.blogspot.com)
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