5 x 5 Submission 36 - Tom Hall

Tom Hall
Tom Hall's website

BIO
Tom E Hall spent his formative years near Binghamton, NY, and his interest in structure originated with the bridges and industrial architecture of that region.
In 1997 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the State University of New York at New Paltz; and moved to Seattle in 1998.

STATEMENT
I’m invested in process and fascinated by structure and space.
The subjects of my work are chosen on an intuitive basis. I feel compelled to interact with them and the act of making the work is a means of inquiry for me, a probing into the identity of these structures.
These works are created primarily on location from direct observation. I use an ink dropper for making the marks and there is no preliminary layout. Extra sheets of paper are added if the piece expands beyond a single page. Subtle distortions result from the limitations of perception. This allows for an organic aspect to the image, which can impart an animated or anthropomorphic quality to the structure, thereby allowing it to have a pulse or personality.
Buildings frame our physical space and project our cultural ambitions. As well, they have the capacity to outlast the human lifespan. With this in mind, it is intriguing how frequently the American built environment is reshaped, reformatting our physical space and modifying our sense of place and history.
My demolition series is an account of some of these structures, now missing, from Seattle, WA. I’m searching for the temporary identity of these spaces, as they are in flux between the state of being and not being. There is a penetrating beauty and curiosity within them coupled by a sense of mortality, exposed by their accelerated decay.