Organic #13

Walk the aisles of any grocery store’s produce section and you cannot help but be inundated by the kaleidoscopic colors of the perfectly shaped fruits and vegetables that line the walls. Unblemished, they have come to be expected in a world of mechanized farming and the desire for picture perfect exteriors with little concern for the inner beauty. “Organic” by Thomas Card posits that the true value of food is more complicated than the surface appearance of these pristinely pruned baskets. Straight from the Earth, raw, broken, and unmodified, the gnarly garden vegetables are the celebrated stars “Organic” in their natural flawed perfection.

 

“Organic” becomes a case study at the intersection of painterly still life and classical portraiture. Removed from the intricately arranged bowls of the still life genre, and even any form of traditional table setting that is, Card orchestrates each composition so that these vegetables begin to anthropomorphize. They appear to embody the poses of classical models, outstretched and contorted, revealing new facets of the dynamic shapes. The often discarded nature of these marred vegetables is upended by Card’s whimsical yet intimate approach as they take on forms that resemble the human body at its peak of idealized beauty.

 

In this contemporary twist on our understanding of fruits, portraiture, and even our own consumption, Card displays each vegetable with intense clarity atop a white background. In his own take on Avedon’s white seamless, he creates his own miniature tabletop to place each vegetable upon. Once arranged, he allows the natural light, incorporating the energy of the sun that grew these plants into his work, to bathe his subjects. While small prints, the vegetables consume the frame bombarding us with their variations in color, asymmetries, their bumps, bruises, and lumps. At this moment, these vegetables, which would otherwise be dismissed, take on an unencumbered beauty in their raw authentic form. This familiar subject matter illuminates an unexpected dialog about how each of us relates to our consumption of food but also our perception of our own flaws.

Thomas C. Card is an American artist based in New York. Card has always seen the world through the lens of art, questioning how to elevate the most simple and mundane aspects of life into their most aspirational state. And similarly, how to make the most fanciful and whimsical elements communicate their most profound meaning. Underlying Card’s work you will find mathematical formulas and symbolism that draw on scientific theories and art history alike.

 

Born in Johnson City, Tennessee and raised in Decatur, Illinois, Card rose out of the rough and tumble industrial environment through his achievements in art. Card’s work gained national attention even before graduating from high school, landing him a scholarship to the School of Art at Washington University in St. Louis. Within a short time after graduation, Card had already developed a reputation as a master printer working for top photographers in New York City. By the age of 23, his own work was published in international magazines.

 

Card’s large-scale landscape photographic collages, entitled “Alone Together,” form the central focus of his most theoretical work. With this work, Card uses the single image as a mark playing with repetition, sequencing, context, and tonal values to create complex layers of coded meaning. By repeating the print images in collage form, the role of the singular image changes, no longer solely functioning as an isolated representation but rather a part of a larger meaning. The image continues to convey a singular meaning, but enhanced by a contextual meaning, further enhanced through sequencing and finally through repetition. The form and pattern emerge with balance and assigned values, all referencing historical norms, while playing with new context and symbols.

 

Card’s first book and multi-media show, “Tokyo Adorned,” explores the expression of individuality and self through intimate studio portraits of Tokyo’s fashion tribe members. Work from this sold-out book has been seen in multiple shows across the country. Tokyo Adorned received high praise from major media outlets, and Card was interviewed repeatedly regarding his process and experiences surrounding the book and the show.

 

Card has been featured in numerous international publications including American, German and French Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, the London Sunday Times, Vogue Gioiello and the New York Times Magazine. His sense of beauty, wit, and whimsy permeates his style of storytelling and can been seen in his collaboration on numerous advertising campaigns including Gucci, Ferragamo, Issey Miyake, Baume & Mercier, Marc Jacobs, Apple and more.