Gallery

CONTEMPORARY

Tom Marks (American b. 1956)

Tom Marks is an American photographer born outside of Detroit, Michigan in 1956. In his early 20s he bought an old 35mm film camera from a friend and was instantly and profoundly hooked. The simple decision to buy that camera changed the course of his life with photography becoming his creative passion and livelihood. He worked as a photojournalist for almost two decades and actively continues to pursue a variety of creative photography projects today.

In the Artist’s own words: I use photography to time travel backwards, creating my own alternative universe, full of images and ideas that stir my emotions. The weathered, dusty essence of rural places is like magic to me. I often feel like an anthropologist when I’m out photographing, looking for signs of life that might reveal secrets about the past, and hint at stories that never got told. When I was young, my brothers and I roamed far and wide through the fields and woods of rural Michigan, exploring and creating our own world of paths, forts, abandoned shacks, ponds, and other secrets known only to us. We knew the smell of dirt and dry fall grass, and lying in a field with the sun on our faces. I think this is where it all started for me, the magic of being out in the country, and feeling like the middle of nowhere was my own special place.