TOM MEZZANOTTE
Artist StatementTom Mezzanotte uses the camera in a unique manner creating images that look painterly rather than photographic. Lately, Tom has been working with Looketha who is the subject of much of his new work. The painted image, together with Tom’s photographic process, creates a vital and lively form.
Mezzanotte states, “On its surface the subject of my work has always been the people around me and at times, myself. That is, the formal aspects of these bodies and faces, two things our visual cognitive system is designed to recognize quickly and with a paucity of information. These subjects have interested artists since the Venus of Willendorf was created 24,000 years ago. My interest however goes beyond the subject. It extends to the mechanisms of perception and the delivery systems for visual information. I am an artist, but I see no differentiation between the role of the artist and the role of the scientist.” Tom further states, “These works of art are the residue of the process of discovery. Their aesthetic qualities have as much to do with the joy inherent in that process as with any intention of the maker.”
