Dooby Tomkins
WILLIAM R. “DOOBY” TOMKINS, JR.
BIO
Dooby Tomkins earned his degree as a bachelor of fine arts with a concentration in painting and drawing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in May 2005. While at UTC William became very interested in the postmodern painting practice of image appropriation. William is also very interested in mass media imagery and its re-juxtaposition when used to create new meanings and images, due to his study of Spectacle theory during his time at UTC. William uses oil paint in conjunction with acrylics, encaustic, and other mixed media to create dialectic between both flat and impasto painted surfaces in his work. William currently resides in the Greater Nashville, TN area.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“The continued unfolding of our epoch has merely confirmed and further illustrated the theory of the spectacle.”
-Guy Debord
The Society of the Spectacle
There exists in society today a consistent outwitting and outflanking system known as the “spectacle”, an entity made up of the conglomeration of advertising and corporate marketing which was first identified and named in 1967 by the French philosopher Guy Debord. The spectacle is in place mainly within capitalist societies in which mass media and corporate ideology and imagery from advertising and television have become prolific and unstoppable due to advancements in society, which have aided in the dissemination of these images such as the television and the internet. Historically, although people continue have struggled against this system and rebelled against the spectacle’s omnipresence they are continually out-paced by the spectacle’s innovations in advertising and finding new ways to reach and attract people. As a painter I must contemplate rebelling against the spectacle simply through my process of slowing down images from the spectacle, demanding that they be seen as important through their transformation into painting. While I believe the spectacle can neither be accepted nor rejected, it must be acknowledged due simply to its overwhelming affect on a new generation of consumers and youth in the world. Through the process of painting and the recognition of the spectacle I am also simply feeding back into the spectacle due to the fact that any art made today is now mechanically reproducible and can be used to fuel the spectacle through advertisements, television, etc, making the spectacle’s domination of capitalist society inevitable.
My methodology for selecting this imagery is derived from the massive technical varieties of media the spectacle absorbs, including images of architecture, popular culture, appropriated art, coloration and diagrams. The large scale of the paintings is an attempt to envelope the viewer within the field of the canvas forcing them to interpret my imagery at a close and personal level, filtering through the imagery which we encounter every day both as a society and as individuals. Using advertising, pop-culture iconography, and Modernist art historical references, the viewer’s brain acts as a sort of “storage house” or ever-expanding super-library for these images and ideas. My interest in the spectacle lies in my contention that humanity is made up of a series of connections from these mass media images, and through their use I am making the spectacle known. With the juxtaposition of images according to surroundings, such as when they are first encountered, or in what environment they are encountered, the differences in humanity and what society views as individuals are created. Through the examination of my “storage house” or “ super-library” I utilize specific images that are of interest to me. The juxtaposition of dissimilar imagery acts to illicit individualized responses from the viewer without imposing a predetermined system of moral or ethical regulations to restrict the combinations of imagery. The stylization of appropriated images acts to establish ownership and develop a sense of cohesiveness within the paintings. This in turn creates a sort of systematic but continually shuffling method of classification for these media.
“It is up to all of us to find new energy in the familiar.”
- Robert Rauschenberg
RESUME
Education
August 2001- May 2005 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Concentration: Painting and Drawing
Employment
May 2007 Present Assistant Preparator
Frist Center for the Visual Arts
July 2005 Present Art Handler
Frist Center for the Visual Arts
August 2005 December 2005 Custom Framer
Michael’s Arts and Crafts
June/July of 2005/2006 Intern/Summer Camp Counselor
Frist Center for the Visual Arts
Awards
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Art History Award 2004, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Honors Day
1st Place Painting Award- UTC Juried Student Exhibition 2005, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Art Accent Printmaking Award 2005
Organizations and Honoraries
Member UTC Art Co-Op, 2001 to 2005, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Publications
2005 UTC Website, www.utc.edu, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, February, “silverpoint drawing” reproduced
Chattanooga Free Times Press February 6, Chattanooga, Tennessee,” silverpoint drawing” reproduced
Sequoyah Review, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, “Who’s Afraid of the Spectacle? No. 1,” oil painting reproduced
2004 Sequoyah Review, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, “Christmas 1 No.2,” oil painting reproduced
2003 Sequoyah Review, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, “Anatomical Drawings,” graphite drawing reproduced
2002 Sequoyah Review, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, “Collage work”, graphite drawing reproduced
2000 The Gallatin Examiner, May, Gallatin, Tennessee, “self-portrait”, oil painting reproduced
Exhibitions
2006 Twist Art Gallery, Sugar and Spice Show
Twist Art Gallery, Gambit Group Show
Downtown Presbyterian Church, DIG group show
2005 The Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN, Who’s Afraid of the Spectacle? -Solo Show
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Fine Arts Building, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee, London Silverpoint Exhibit
George C. Cress Gallery, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee, UTC Student Juried Exhibition
2004 The Association of Visual Arts, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Juried Student Exhibition
George C. Cress Gallery, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee, UTC Student Juried Exhibition
2003 George C. Cress Gallery, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee, UTC Student Juried Exhibition
2002 George C. Cress Gallery, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee, UTC Student Juried Exhibition