Biography
Tom R. Chambers
3500 Greystone Drive #101
Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
832-873-0207
chambersdva@yahoo.com
https://digsup.my.canva.site/journey-through-photography-and-the-arts
Tom R. Chambers is a visual
artist (digital/new media and mixed media), documentary photographer, curator
and educator with over 100 personal exhibitions worldwide. He has also curated numerous
exhibitions in the U.S.A., Zimbabwe, China and India.
He is currently working with
the pixel as Suprematist and Geometric Abstractionist Art, and Kazimir
Malevich’s “Black Square”. His "My Dear Malevich"
project has received international acclaim, and it was shown s a part of “Suprematism
Infinity: Reflections, Interpretations, Explorations”, Atrium Gallery, Harriman
Institute, Columbia University, New York City, New York (December 1, 2015 -
January 22, 2016) and in conjunction with the "100 Years of Suprematism"
conference, Shapiro Center, Columbia University, New York City (December 11 -
12, 2015) (Organized in celebration of the centenary of Kazimir Malevich’s
invention of Suprematism and the first public display of his Suprematist
paintings in December, 1915.).
Chambers is participating in
an online artist residency with St. Petersburg Art Residency (Russia) re: his
work with Suprematism and Kazimir Malevich's "Black Square".
He was invited to give his “Fifty Years Ago
at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory” (research analyst during Project Apollo)
presentation as part of the "Stardust
Festival" in Cochrane, Ontario, Canada (August 1-6, 2022).
His "Analog,
Appropriation, Digital - Repurposing of the Analog via the Pixel" presentation was
delivered as part of "Within the Frame: Continuum of the Still
Image", SPARKS/DAC/SIGGRAPH, December 3, 2021 (Moderated by Dena Eber and
Sue Gollifer.). The 10th SPARKS session welcomed the presentation of artworks
and projects that represented the continuum of image making and that revealed
the essential ways that digital tools have moved it forward.
He conducted two (June 5 and
October 9, 2021) street photography workshops at the Precision Camera Education
Center, Austin, Texas. Both workshops culminated in exhibitions at the Artworks
Gallery in the city.
Chambers' "Black
Square TransFORMations", "Black Square Embellished" and
"The Pixel as Suprematist and Minimalist Art" projects were presented as book
presentations at the "Second Russian Congress on Color", The
International Conference of the Color Society of Russia, Smolensk, Russia
(December 1-5, 2020).
He was invited to give his “Fifty Years Ago
at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory” (research analyst during Project Apollo)
presentation as part of the "Apollopalooza" event (Apollo 11 50th
Anniversary Celebration [1969-2019]), Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space
Museum, Denver, Colorado. He also gave the same presentation and a "NASA/School" presentation to teachers, and he conducted
an Apollo
Space Summer Camp for
students (8-12 years old).
His video, "Black
Square Desecration" ("Black
Square Interpretations") was officially selected for viewing as part of
Experimental Animation and Video Art Program, LINOLEUM International
Contemporary Animation and Media-Art Festival, Ukraine (September 28 - October
1, 2017).
His tribute piece, “Mattie
Oline: Thoughts of a Grandmother”
was exhibited at the Tales and Trails Museum, Nocona, Texas (2017). Chambers’ grandmother kept a diary from 1948
through part of 1993. He researched her entries over the years and chose the
ones that have significance for him and society. The project 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 Chambers'
grandmother.
Her script through 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.
He returned to Providence, Rhode Island in 2016 to exhibit a sampling of his coverage as Mayoral and City Photographer for Providence, 1985-1990. The project, “Retro Providence: 1985-1990” is similar to the "Hot City" project that Chambers put together when he worked for the City of Providence in 1989. At that time, American Photographer magazine listed the exhibition in its "Notable Exhibitions" section in their July 1989 issue. These photographs/prints and all negatives that Chambers made during his tenure are part of the Providence City Archives as the "Tom R. Chambers Collection".
Chambers curated the
two-person (him and Max Semakov [Moscow, Russia]) exhibition, “Black Square
Interpretations and Other Suprematist Explorations”, which was shown at the
CaviArt Gallery, Russian Cultural Center, Houston, Texas (March 6 - April 7, 2015).
A portion of this exhibition was also shown as a part of “Post Scriptum 100 +
8”, OMG Gallery, Moscow, Russia (June 8 - July 8, 2015) (Chambers came together
with seven Russian artists in Moscow to celebrate the 100th anniversary of
Suprematism [1915-2015].)
He taught Technology
Applications (STEM/STEAM, broadcasting, photography, video/audio editing, web
design, digital art, layout/design production) for middle school students at
Raul Yazguirre School for Success (Hispanic charter), Houston, Texas (2007-2013).
Chambers put together and advised a “students teaching students” program in
which his students taught students at other school districts to use hardware
and software to generate digital art as it related to core subject areas.
He was
Visiting Lecturer in digital/new media art for the Fine Arts Department,
Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, China (2005 – 2007). He joined the department to
develop and teach a digital/new media art program. He and his students collaborated with Beijing Film Academy (Beijing, China), Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.), Maine
College of Art (Portland, Maine, U.S.A.), Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York, U.S.A.), National Chengchi University (Taipei, Taiwan), Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.A.) and University
of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.) in
joint student projects/exhibitions, off- and on-line.
He collaborated with Zhao Zhenhai, a Chinese
documentary photographer, by putting together a two-person show,
"Zhao/Chambers Joint Photo Exhibition". Zhao's photos cover the past
twenty years throughout China, and Chambers' photos are from 2004 under the
namesake of "The People of Longhu Town, China". This was the first
time in Henan Province, China for a Chinese and American photographer to come
together to offer an East/West perspective on the Chinese People and Culture.
The project was exhibited at the Yellow River College of Technology and Sheng
Da College, Zhengzhou, China (2004 and 2005).
Chambers was invited by the
National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, India to conduct a three-week,
new media art workshop for its new media design graduate students. The workshop
culminated in the exhibition, “NMA@NID”
(2006) (The no-constraints workshop encouraged self-expression through computer
technology within a fine arts context. Chambers also documented the streets of
Ahmedabad titled “Ahmedabad, India”.
He was Executive Committee Member
and Juror for
the International Digital Art Awards (IDAA) (2003-2005) (based in Australia).
He was instrumental in expanding the content of the IDAA to include new media
art, and he served as online New Media Director (2004-2005). He was also
instrumental in helping to bring the 2005 IDAA Exhibition to Beijing, China under the auspices of the
Beijing Film Academy. He was also invited by the Fine Arts Department, New
Media Art, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China to give a retrospective
lecture, “Dyer Street Portraiture to Pixelscapes” (April 8, 2005).
He collaborated with Choi Ok-soo, a South
Korean documentary photographer, by putting together a two-person exhibition,
"People to People" for the Kumho Art Center, Gwangju, South Korea
(1997). This was the first time in Gwangju for a Korean and American
photographer to come together to offer an East/West perspective on the Korean
People and Culture. The project resides as part of the center's Permanent
Collection.
Chambers completed a three-year tour as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in the Arts (curator/archivist and initiator/instructor [“The McEwen Photographic Studio”]) for the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe (1993-1995). He was instrumental in writing grant proposals and receiving funding (Social Science Research Council, New York City) to computerize the gallery’s Permanent Collection information. He also curated numerous exhibitions from the Permanent Collection.
He was invited by the
National Gallery of Zimbabwe to exhibit “Variations on the Dan Mask” (Chambers used an African
Traditional mask from the Dan Tribe in Eastern Liberia [a piece from the
Permanent Collection: PC - 6400 – 0147] as the object for the photogram, then
manipulated the non-exposed area generated from this original mask form to vary
the look.) (December 1995; officially opened by the U.S. Ambassador to
Zimbabwe).
While in Zimbabwe, he also
received a U.S. Government Grant via the United States Information Service
(USIS), Harare to exhibit “Southwest Of Rusape: The Mucharambeyi Connection” at the USIS Gallery
(June-July 1995; officially opened by the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe; and
accepted as a part of the USIS Archives Permanent Collection).
Chambers' tribute piece (mixed media/interactive work), “Mother's 45s” was selected through national search for exhibition as a part of the “Parents” show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio (catalogue #: ISBN #0-932706-20-7) (1992). This work was also shown at Gallery One, Providence, Rhode Island (1990). He matched his mother's 45rpm records with the family photographs to create assemblages by using the hole spaces of the records to frame the images. He eventually arrived at a satisfactory combination, incorporating forty-five 45rpm records with images and a portion of each song onto an audio cassette to be used as a part of the exhibition. He faded-in/faded-out the songs and looped them for continuous play and in order with the wall display of the photo/record assemblages. The photographs of his mother were sequenced according to the chronology of her life, which spanned almost 60 years. When the piece is viewed along with the songs, the sound stimulus pulls the viewer from record to record (1-45).
American Photographer magazine listed one of his documentary projects, “Dyer Street Portraiture” in the Notable Exhibitions section of its March, 1986 issue ("The black-and-white images record a diversity of common people in an urban habitat with an ambiance of film noir."). A reviewer states, “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.”
Chambers founded and directed
a not-for-profit, photographic arts organization and gallery, “Viewpoint”,
Lubbock, Texas (American Photographer magazine reviewed one of the
exhibitions at the gallery in its April, 1983 issue) (1982-1983). He also
founded and directed a not-for-profit, photographic arts organization,
“Photoreach”, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. (1990).
His
documentary project, “Descendants 350” was shown throughout Rhode Island, and
accepted by the Secretary of State (Rhode Island) as a part of the Rhode Island
State Archives Permanent Collection (1990). The project received a Governor's
(Rhode Island) Proclamation. This photo album of
Descendants of many of the First Settlers of Rhode Island pays tribute to the trials and tribulations that their Ancestors
were subjected to during the early to middle 1600s. It offers a unique look and study of the
State's early history as it relates to images of Descendants (contemporaries)
as icons or symbols to pay tribute to and talk about their Ancestors' (First
Settlers') contributions through text extracted from The Genealogical
Dictionary of Rhode Island (and other sources).
Chambers was listed
(1984-1991) in the Artists-In-Education roster with the Rhode Island State
Council for the Arts (RISCA), and he served as an advisory panelist for RISCA
to determine funding for residency programs. He also served as an advisory
panelist for the State of Connecticut Commission on the Arts to determine
funding for residency programs.
He provided photo
documentation of city life and politics (Executive Office of the Mayor,
Providence, Rhode Island). He also provided photo documentation for the Rhode
Island Delegation at the Democratic National Convention, Atlanta, Georgia
(1988), which culminated in the exhibition, “Hot City”.
Chambers conducted Polaroid
workshops for
at-risk, inner-city youth in Providence, Rhode Island for Metro Arts, and
served as an advisory panelist for the organization (1986-1990). He also
produced and directed visual arts/performance arts presentations, “VP90” (“Release”)
and “CYSX2” as a part of First Night Providence, Providence, Rhode Island
(1989-1991).
He worked with Harvey J. Bott
(Loft on Strand) to document his sculpture and assemblages. He also had a
two-person show with Bott providing his (Chambers’) perspective on the
sculptor’s Fetal Form series, “Tom Chambers Looks at H.J. Bott”, Rosenberg
Library, Galveston, Texas (1974).
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