Tom Fields
Nativescapes - A View From the Interior
North Gallery - July 18 - September 18, 2011
Fields explains that his photography is about producing images that are both creative and realistic and are inspired by "the emotional landscapes of Native people." He says, "I'm always looking for those personal moments when people share hope and are expressing and living their culture." This aim is illustrated here in Nativescapes - A View From the Interior.
Many of the photographs in this exhibit portray specific moments of spiritual and cultural expression. "These take many forms for Native people, as each tribe and family had to determine the best path for their wellbeing and survival," says Fields. "You can't dream these images up in your head and give it a title, one has to be present to experience the moment, then make the photograph."
Fields was educated in film by the Community Film Workshop Council in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He also studied art at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. Since he began exhibiting in 1979, Fields has become widely recognized for his exhibits and projects. In just the past decade, Fields' art has been featured at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe; the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada; the New Orleans Museum of Art; and several exhibits in Oklahoma.