Visual Art Essay Blog: UPDATED ESSAY (still not complete)

Tom Chambers’ images create a body of work that come together to tell a story, photographers today use modern technology to enhance, create and model images to create a desirable outcome that will portray their idea or concept on a broader scale. Digital technology adds a surrealist element to any photograph, due to that fact that with technology such as photoshop artists and photographers can create an image that does not follow the ordinary lines of reality. Chambers creates stories within his work to evoke emotional reactions from the viewer of the piece, to do this, the way he constructs, lights and places his images are vital. “Surrealism came into being after the French poet Andre Breton 1924 published the first Manifeste du surrealisme” (HuntFor.com). Surrealism is a major part of Chambers’ images, they depict out of the ordinary scenarios and stories, it works to the artists’ advantage, it adds a new dimension to the story that is being told.

The artists’ intentions and meaning behind the images are communicated by using a range of visual elements, the use of digital technology helps enhance these elements and become a crucial part of the images formation. Lighting is one of the major elements that make Chambers’ photographs so meaningful; he uses dull lighting to convey a simple idea, yet complex concept. The lighting gives a dark, almost daunting feeling but at the same time is very warm and comforting. In images such as ‘deliverance’ the light is dull, but the colours are warm, this evokes certain emotions when looking at the image. Photoshop gives photographers the chance to put their imagination onto the screen and later make it a meaningful artwork. “With digital photography I desire to move beyond documentation of the present, and rather seek to fuse reality and fantasy in musing about possibilities of the future” (Chambers, T, Burn). Chambers was a graphic designer and it was definitely a job that opened up the doors of using design technology in his works, “Without a doubt, my work as a graphic designer has enhanced my abilities for design and use of colour ” (Parallax 8).

The emotional engagement of a viewer is a critical aspect that an artist should look at. A piece of artwork should make the viewer think and analyse and connect to it, whether is be because it conjures up childhood memories or just because looking at it makes certain emotions present within them. “Through photo montage I present unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer ” (Burn). Chambers grew up in the Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so it is no doubt that a majority of his works are constructed from memories as a child and his time in the military. His images certainly evoke emotions when I look at them, horses are a big part of my life, so when I look at the ‘Marwari’ photo’s I instantly think of my childhood memories and my upbringing on a farm. It is possible to over-manipulate a piece and therefore it may have lost all meaning to the artist and the viewer “when it's done right, it opens the narrative field and transports the viewer into another reality where double takes are welcome” (Brooks, K).