Brummett, Thomas

Thomas Brummett, Philadelphia, USA

Thomas Brummett has been working as a professional photographer and artist since 1983 when he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. His work is in both museum and corporate collections including the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Cranbrook Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art Rio de Janeiro.  The Collection of Joaquim Paiva / Brazil,  The Silverman Collection in Detroit, Michigan, The Wilmington Trust Collection, Wilmington, Delaware and many others both in the USA and abroad. His work was recently honored as 2nd best in the world by the World Photography Awards in Cannes, France. Brummett’s studio is in Philadelphia, PA.

Desert Series

Thomas Brummett: „Desert#5“, Iris-print, 50x50cm, 2002, edition 25
Thomas Brummett, "Florida", silver gelatin print, 15x15cm, 2004
Thomas Brummett, "Florida", silver gelatin print, 15x15cm, 2004

“…In all his works the artist depicts various stages of organic life forms and plants using different highly specialized printing techniques in order to create images in which he transcends the "realistic" observation of nature into dreamlike images of high aesthetic quality.

The so called "Desert Series" has been realised in a journey by the artist to a desert in Arizona. While photographing in the natural landscape, Brummett puts single objects like cactuses, flowers and tress, into view. Hethus creates a surreal atmosphere - never revealing the landscape as a whole - in order to initialise the viewer's own imagination. As he puts it:

"I have moved from a dialog of reproduction, observation and scale to a conversation about nature, technology and memory; the act of acute observation as it pertains to science and religion, the historical notion of an 'object of wonder' along with the development of a personal natural history 'collection' or 'cabinet'. What I am now attempting is to try to mine the areas where these concerns and ideas overlap. () I collect these natural objects and photograph them in such a way as to turn them into a type of cultural memory. By finishing them as Iris prints I hope to add a final layer of meaning" (Brummett)

In the series titled "Re-Thinking the Natural " which relates also to the above stated ideals, Brummett concentrates on single flowers and fruits using a restrained palette of brown and earth like tones. The stippled surface of the Iris prints used here adds to the otherworldliness in which the simple subject is imbued. Taking the objects out of their natural context, the artist creates images of high beauty with a floating, dreamlike atmosphere, a "memory space" which rises questions about the passing of time and the vanity of life.

Thomas Brummett, born in the United States in 1955 and working as a photographer since 1983, has widely shown in galleries and museums all over the United States. His work has been collected in numerous American private and public collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston Thomas Brummett lives and works in Philadelphia.”

Galerie Karsten Greve , März 2003

Books about Thomas' work

His online book is at this link:
www.gogglepix.com/Book/

Thomas Brummetts work in Museums and Collections

Philadelphia Museum of Art
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Cranbrook Museum of Fine Art
Museum of Modern Art Rio de Janeiro
The Silverman Collection, Detroit, Michigan.
Willmington Trust Collection, Wilmington, Delaware
Dechertt, Price & Rhoads Collection, Philadelphia
Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley Collection, Philadelphia
Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers Collection, Philadelphia
The Cranbrook Academy Museum and Library, Bloomfield Hills, Mi.
AAA Collection, Philadlephia,
Collection of Senator Arlen Spector
Joaquim Paiva / Brazil
AXA Insurance / Belgium

Links for Thomas Brummet

>>> photographers:network selection 2004

>>> Thomas Brummett