Thomas Schultz
Born in Oceanside, California in 1967 and spending his youth and early adulthood traversing the Sonora and lower Mohave deserts of Arizona and California, Thomas has been following the decay of the western landscape for over three decades. Using his camera, Thomas documents the interaction of human resolve and a harsh unforgiving environment. His subject matter could be considered mundane; sun-bleached highways, abandoned structures, derelict signs, collapsing shopping centers, vacant motels, deserted gas stations, and vast landscapes are prevalent in his work.
Visual narrative in the form of sequences became a format for showing his work as early as the creation of his first flipbook in the mid 1970’s. Early exposure to films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange, coupled with a middle class suburban upbringing during the early Reagan years brought about the confluence of boyhood innocence, censorship, and raw, unedited artistic social commentary.
Interested in reckoning disparities, Thomas’ perspective presents the viewer with a visual narrative of the evolution of time, space, and structure while exploring issues of transformation , and transience, life and death, temporality and abandonment. His images evoke feelings of loneliness and despair immersed in sublime beauty.
