People To People, Kumho Art Center, Gwangju, South Korea (accepted as a part of the Kumho Art Foundation Archives) (1997)

 

People to People

- May 18, 2021

Chambers had the opportunity to collaborate with Choi Ok-soo, a South Korean documentary photographer, by putting together a two-person show, "People to People" for the Kumho Art Center, Gwangju, South Korea. 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' photo sessions are staged in the sense that the subjects are posed in relation to their surroundings. A 20mm lens (extreme wide angle) is used to "condense" the view, and show the backdrop/background. The subjects' posture and expression come across as natural, but their "look" is manipulated through constant encouragement. They're not smiling, and in Chambers' opinion, a documentary portrait should not include this kind of expression. As soon as a subject smiles for the camera, he or she breaks character. This action dilutes the nature of the image, and it becomes nothing more than a standard studio portrait.


Media coverage: "An American Called Tom Has Photo Exhibition In Korea", Kumho Culture Monthly, May,1997: "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." (Yoon Jeong-mi, Reporter; translation by Kim Hye-Kyung)

Exhibition:

"People To People" (two-person show), Kumho Art Center, Gwangju, South Korea (accepted as a part of the Kumho Art Foundation Archives), 1997.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Retro Providence: 1985-1990, City Archives, Providence, Rhode Island (October 14 - December 14, 2016)

Image
Chambers' Photo Coverage of the Mayor's Office and the City of Providence, Rhode Island (1985-1990) June 20, 2021 Tom R. Chambers was Mayoral and City Photographer for Providence, Rhode Island (1985-1990. He made thousands of exposures over a period of six years, and his coverage (negatives and prints) now resides at City Archives, City Hall, Providence, Rhode Island.  Chambers was the first official City/Mayoral Photographer for Providence. Several images, which were exhibited with others as  "Retro Providence: 1985-1990"  at City Archives in 2016 follow: Chambers put together  "Hot City"  in 1989 based on his coverage of  Providence ,  Rhode Island  as Personal Photographer to  Mayor Joseph R. Paolino, Jr.  and City Photographer. At the time, it offered an interesting aspect to historical, visual documentation. Usually, this type of display shows past generations involved in various activities, and the viewer can only attempt to relate to what is perceived
Read more

My Dear Malevich, Suprematism Infinity: Reflections, Interpretations, Explorations (Group Show), Atrium Gallery, Harriman Institute, Columbia University, New York City, New York, U.S.A. (December 1, 2015 - January 22, 2016)

Image
My Dear Malevich and Red Sweep Black Square "Suprematism Infinity: Reflections, Interpretations, Explorations" (December 1, 2015 - January 22, 2016) showcases works by Tom R. Chambers, Mark Khidekel, Irina Nakhova and Max Semakov. It explores works inspired by the legacy of Suprematism through new forms, styles, media, and technology. Invented by Kazimir Malevich a century ago, Suprematism became one of the most radical and influential art movements of the 20th century. It brought the Russian avant-garde into a state of absolute non-objectivity, based on "pure feeling." Suprematism created a perception of multiple dimensions without horizons or boundaries and translated these perceptions into energetic relationships between primary geometrical forms. Suprematism also produced a synthesis that merged exploration of the imagination with revolutionary changes in modern science; it allowed development while embracing science and technology as creative tools. Tom R. Cham
Read more

My Dear Malevich, Black Square Interpretations and Other Suprematist Explorations (two-person show with Max Semakov), CaviArt Gallery, Russian Cultural Center, Houston, Texas (March 6 - April 7, 2015)

Image
My Dear Malevich and Black Square Interpretations This year (2015) marks the 100th Anniversary of  Kazimir Malevich 's  "Black Square"  and introduction to  Suprematism . Tom R. Chambers (Houston, Texas) and Max Semakov (Moscow, Russia) come together at the Russian Cultural Center "Our Texas" in Houston to pay tribute with interpretations of "Black Square" and explorations of other Suprematist forms. "Black Square" and other Suprematist works became the turning point in the development of Russian avant-garde when Malevich showed them in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg), Russia in 1915 at the   "Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0.10" . Suprematism is an art movement, focused on basic geometric forms, such as circles, squares, lines, and rectangles, painted in a limited range of colors. The term refers to an abstract art based upon "the supremacy of pure artistic feeling" rather than on visual depiction of objects. Chambers
Read more