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"Old Man",
b/w gelatin Oklahoma City, OK - "I define art as the ability to make the complex appear simple and the ordinary appear extraordinary. My job as an artist is to stop and notice the beauty that rushes past. In order to concentrate on the subject, I simplify my technique: one camera, one lens, one film, and one paper. As the composition evolves, I record my impression on film. In the darkroom, I interpret what that impression means to me." Tom Lee got his start in photography in 1984 when he bought a camera for a family reunion. He soon found his personal style - bold, black and white photographs that are dramatic contrasts of light, shadow, and texture. Injured in an automobile accident in 1974, Lee designed a specially adapted lap tripod for his wheelchair and operates his camera by mouth, biting down on cable releases to work the shutter. He gets his inspiration from a variety of sources, photographing everything from nudes to commonplace buildings to Native Americans in ceremonial dress. In addition to his usual black and white photographs, Lee has experimented with infrared film that picks up radiation, making green leaves look white and blue skies looks black. He has achieved great success at photography shows, placing third in professional black and white photography at the Norman Arts and Humanities Council Biennial Photography Exhibition in Oklahoma and placing second in the 17th Annual Sister Kenny Institute International Art Show of artists with disabilities. |
