Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Artist 1: Tom Chambers

Tom Chambers is one of the few contemporary artists whose work I'm familiar with prior to this class.

His pieces often feature women in beautiful, billowy dresses, and that just makes the 5-year old little girl inside of me happy. They use lots of symbolism from the cultures of different areas that he visits, and from the Christian tradition (ie: lambs, snakes, rosaries). Generally the symbolic elements, the way the figure is posed, and the setting tell some kind of story, relating to the overarching theme he is exploring within that series. Often the series focus on a certain culture or time of life, and explore the spiritual behind the physical reality, the unseen behind the seen.
Elements that I might want to emulate are the way he uses light and color to create a darker fairytale effect. A lot of the feeling of magic and the spiritual in his pieces involves the lighting. Also, the way he incorporates his symbolism into the pieces is very interesting he uses compositions that emphasize symbolic details instead of giving the whole picture. Also, it is making me think about the way costuming could enhance my pieces. He is very deliberate about the way his subjects are dressed, and it adds a lot to his pieces. That is something I might also want to incorporate.\

To see more of his work click here.

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