Artist - Tom Chambers

TOM CHAMBERS
http://www.tomchambersphoto.com

Chase Young Gallery, Boston, MA
http://www.chaseyounggallery.com
Galería Hartmann, Barcelona, Spain
http://www.galeriahartmann.com

Prom Gown 3

From the series : Rite of Passage

Archival Pigment Ink on Cotton Rag Paper

Aground

From the series : Ex Votos

Archival Pigment Ink on Cotton Rag Paper

Saccharine Perch

From the series : Entropic Kingdom

Archival Pigment Ink on Cotton Rag Paper

Winged Migration

From the series : Entropic Kingdom

Archival Pigment Ink on Cotton Rag Paper

Tom Chamber's work was introduced to me through Lauren in our second individual meeting.  Out of all of the photo-collage artists that were brought up, I felt as if Chamber's final images had the most outstanding impact on me visually and conceptually.  A lot of his work deals with ideas like tension, vulnerability, and collision.  In many of Chamber's pictures, the viewer can interpret what they want from it, as stated in the first quote by Chambers himself below.  I like the idea of not being too straightforward, yet having some sort of vision and working with what you have as the material.  Chambers combines elements of both his film and digital images, scanning in the film to make the final product look seamless.  The idea of combining the two aspects of photography advocates what I hope to produce with my work.  I would like to replicate his dream-like quality of his images, but I am hesitant only because Chambers states that each of his photographs take about a month to produce, so I must find a way to produce a similar result in much quicker turn around. 

INTERVIEW
http://www.tomchambersphoto.com/pdfs/Chambers_Shots_Article.pdf

BIOGRAPHY
“Tom Chambers was born and raised on a farm in the Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Tom completed a B.F.A. in 1985 from Ringling School of Art, Sarasota, Florida with an emphasis in graphic design and strong interest in photography. For many years Tom has worked as a graphic designer, including the design of packaging and magazines. Since 1998 Tom has devoted himself to photomontage for sharing the intriguing unspoken stories which reflect his view of the world and elicit feelings in the viewer.

Currently, Tom is represented by a number of galleries in the United States and Europe. His work has been shown nationally and internationally through solo and group exhibitions, as well as in a wide range of print and online publications. Recently, NPR's (National Public Radio) "All Things Considered" and "All Songs Considered" presented a collaborative Project Song based on the photograph "Black Dog's Retreat" (October 12, 2009). Tom has received recognition for his photography through a variety of awards, such as Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, First Place Digital Enhanced; Fotoweek DC, First Place Fine Arts (2009) and Second Place Fine Arts (2008); Critical Mass Top 50 (2008 and 2006); and Texas Photographic Society National Competition Third Place (TPS #18, 2009) and First Place (TPS #15, 2006). Tom has received fellowships from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.”
-Tom W. Chambers; “about” section on http://www.tomchambersphoto.com

QUOTES
"Through photomontage I present unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer. These mythical illustrations might address the fragility of childhood or the delicate transition experienced by a child passing into adolescence and then adulthood. Others express the tension in the uncertain coexistence between man and his environment, a delicate balance too often ignored and damaged. Each photomontage is carefully constructed, using both images that have been planned and those that unexpectedly enhance the story. With digital photography I desire to move beyond documentation of the present, and rather seek to merge reality and dreams in musing about possibilities of the future."
-Tom W. Chambers; http://www.tomchambersphoto.com found under "portfolio"

“… the assemblages by Chambers show scenes from a world one would believe to come straight from the dreams of a sleeping child’s spirit, a world where exaggeration and fantasies are the driving force of searching a sense of mystery and one’s faith. Still, his images are open to individual interpretation: “I try to create scenes that are ambiguous, where it is up to the viewer to interpret what is happening.”…Tom Chambers' works of art bridge the gap between an inspiration belonging to the past and decisively modern techniques.”
-Tanguay, Antoine. Photo Selection Magazine, Culture. Page 20. http://www.tomchambersphoto.com/pdfs/Chambers_Photo_Selection.pdf