Collection Overview
Curator's Statement
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Thomas Allen's inventive photography has garnered the attention of
critics and artists alike (among them, the illustrious Chip Kidd)
Susannah Schouweiler
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Susannah Schouweiler
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Thomas
Allen's inventive photography has garnered the attention of
and artists alike (among them, the illustrious Chip
Kidd, who was immediately drawn to
to speak)—in galleries,
of course, but also on
jackets, and in a number of print publications, among them
Quarterly Review and
Though
Tom lived and worked in Minnesota for years,
he just recently moved back to his home state of Michigan
with his wife and young daughter to live in a two-story farmhouse only a mile
from Lake Michigan. He describes his distinctive
photographs as simply, "dames, dicks, and deadbeats 'cut loose' from the
covers of vintage paperbacks to mix it up for the camera, blending pulp with
pop-up, dime novel with diorama, and illustration with illusion."
recently about pop-up books, cowboys and detectives, and how sometimes
photography feels like performing magic tricks.
He uses
kids’ books, anatomy textbooks, and most prominently pulp novels as his source
material. Drawing from his fascinations as a kid, his subject matter could be lifted right from
cowboys, Indians, and detectives; each image is infused with a kid's love of space exploration, clear heroes and villains, and dime-store sirens. (Just when you think you've got him figured out, though, he mixes it up a little. His
newest collection will offer an unexpected take on the Western novel, exploring the homoerotic
tinges to these cowboy stories.)
“I started cutting up books as an undergrad.
Before that, I was taking old family snapshots and reconfiguring them, cutting
words out of dictionaries into tiny slices and reassembling the definitions. I
loved pop-up books when I was a kid, making dioramas. I played with
train sets. I think it's just the idea of putting yourself into another world.”
He describes
himself as a quiet, introverted child who read lots of books and kept to
himself. He only began turning these interests to more serious artistic purposes in college. One of his professors liked his work so much he encouraged him to do more and even to go to grad
school. Tom took that advice, and over the course of many years completed his M.F.A. (Tom’ll proudly tell you he put himself
through both undergrad and grad school by working for 18 years at Toys ‘R’ Us,
a time he remembers fondly.)
When
asked about whether or not he uses digital technology to mess with his photos,
he responds with an emphatic “No! For me, it’s almost a moral issue. I want to be
able to tell people that the photos represent exactly what I saw through the
lens when I took the picture. I cut the books, pop out the images and arrange
them how I want them. If I want a blank page, I take an X-Acto knife and scrape
off the ink; I use tape and pins to fasten the cut-outs the way I want them.
The complete illusion is more like a magic trick than anything else—pulled off with props and by fooling the eye. It
just wouldn’t be the same if I did all that on the computer—there’s no
challenge in that. For me, the art is as much about the process of creation as
the end result. It’s all connected.” In fact, he constructs his elaborate
scenes and photographs them at home, in his basement.
Each
of the resulting prints is part of a limited edition and when they’re sold out,
they’re gone. And collectors are buying them… but strangely, he’s been noticed
more by New Yorkers than by critics and collectors here at home. (You should
know, Thomas
Barry carries a selection of his prints for sale here in
it’s the drama, the mythological scope of these pulp stories that Tom loves.
These lurid images are larger-than-life, saturated with the colors of human
conflict and angst. In the process of manipulating these characters into such
appealing forms, Tom Allen also manages to offer deceptively substantial
commentary on pop culture, literature, and a uniquely American mythology.
--Susannah Schouweiler
Related Links
Tom's blog
To keep up with Tom's shows and latest news, check in with his blog, The Art and Farm Report.
Collection
Collection Classification
access + ENGAGE, Book Arts, Photography