| From Photoworkshop.com Images from the Industry  CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF GREG THOMAS' IMAGESAll images © Gregory Thomas
We're always looking for subjects for our "Images from the Industry" feature. If you know someone who is deserving of the spotlight, contact us at editor@photoworkshop.com. Double Exposure: Tell me about the new program you've developed at Kansas University. Greg Thomas: When I came to KU there were seven areas of study in Design: VisCom (Illustration & Graphics), Industrial Design, Interiors, Textiles, Ceramics, Art Education and Metals & Jewelry. We had a photo area complete with darkrooms, several faculty and sort of a curriculum. This was utilized however, as more of a service area to the University. If a student in Liberal Arts wanted to take a photo class, they came here. I learned about two and a half years ago that we were losing 10-15 students per year from area high schools because we did not offer a major in this area. With that said, I requested that the faculty develop a curriculum and within one semester, I brought it to the approval of the University and the Kansas Board of Regents. With its approval, it has become the only photo program of its kind in the State of Kansas. The name of the area of study is “PhotoMedia,” which was developed to capture the equity in traditional photography, digital imaging, video and media studies relating to these areas. The program was officially signed off last summer, which was too late to do any formal recruiting for the fall term. During the fall, we informed students and at the beginning of the Spring '08 term we had 16-20 students transfer from various areas of Fine Arts—both Design and Art. Fall '08 will be the first “official” launch, with approximately 20+ freshman who have declared it as their new major. We estimate this major will become the second largest (VisCom is 200) in Design and by Spring '09, it will possibly be larger than the Department of Art. Even without advertising, we have obtained some great press coverage, equipment support from Nikon, a $200,000K remodel of our former photo area (we are still keeping some traditional “wet” darkrooms) from senior administration.
DE: Are you heading up this program? What is your title? GT: Yes. I came to KU after 35 years of professional practice in Los Angeles. I owned a small but internationally known branding firm. I am Professor, Chair/Department of Design, School of Fine Arts, University of Kansas. DE: What is your photographic background? GT: I began my formal training in photography under Lloyd Schnell at the Kansas City Art Institute (BFA 1967-1971). This was a very formal education beginning with the pinhole camera, use of 4x5 and then 35mm (film). I shot mostly Tri-X and Kodachrome, and went on to a Masters program at California Institute of the Arts (MFA 1971-72), where I continued to shoot street portraits with a 4x5. I studied under Ben Lifson. He had an English literature background, and before we could shoot, we had to read six pieces/books on Los Angeles—ranging from Maltese Falcon to Reynard Branham's “Los Angeles.” This was a very valuable experience, for when we were finished we knew exactly where/what we wanted to shoot, and why. I finished that degree and moved on to the program at Yale (MFA 1972-74). I was better able to experience the last few years that Walker Evans was alive, and had Herbert Matter for photography. Herbert was photographing the works of Giacometti, and we watched him as he moved one pin light around a table sculpture for hours—never said a word—but we all learned from watching. Afterwards, I used the camera as a tool in my graphic design (GD was what my education was in but this was pre-computer and the camera was our only way of getting the “visual” component in our work).
photographic subjects? GT: My office in Los Angeles was a branding firm, and we used photography quite often. Usually I would shoot projects for our clients, but sometimes we hired an L.A. photographer and did a shoot for 100K for 10 pictures for high-budget projects like Kahlua. Of course, we took everything she shot for that. Over the years the branding niche developed into specific “destination branding” and we obtained clients such as the Australian Tourist Commission, New Zealand Tourism Board and Tahiti Tourism. The first thing I did was promote the need for new images from a North American’s point of view. This provided the opportunity to travel to these places a number of times, as well as Austria and Taiwan in later years. My corporate clients, such as Litton industries, had me traveling a number of places in Europe. During the '80s, we shot a number of projects with the Japanese and traveled there as well as to Singapore. Of course, my favorite subjects were the people in those countries. They are what make the destinations fascinating. Being a designer, I have photographed hundreds of signs, typography, billboards and any other culturally unique materials. My wife is the first one to comment that I travel the world to shoot a small sign, but within those you can put your finger on the “pulse” of the place. Over the past four years I have been branding certain U.S. cities such as Astoria OR, Durham NC and others. A significant part of the branding process involves documenting these places extensively, so I usually have hundreds of images that capture the “essence” of these destinations. DE: Are you still able to do photography along with your duties at the university? GT: Yes. As I mentioned previously, I am still actively engaged in the profession. Both the University and myself felt this is important to be professionally involved as long as it doesn’t interfere with my daily duties—which can be hairy when you think I’m in charge of a three-million-dollar budget, a faculty of 30 people, developing a curriculum and making KU Design a brand-name source for design education. Projects are usually scheduled in my down times (December holidays or summer). I continue to shoot around Kansas, which has its fair share of photographic opportunities. DE: What are your goals with the program at Kansas University? GT: As with anyone else starting a program, I would say we want to be as unique from the others as possible. The main thrust of the area will be in professional practice. We want to engage in the fine arts side of photography—there is a resurgence back to traditional darkroom “pulling
DE: Do you have any special photo projects coming up in the near future? GT: We will be doing some branding work in Oregon this summer, so I hope to spend some time building my images of the Pacific Northwest. DE: What kind of camera equipment are you using? GT: My early shots from NY/LA were done on a Calumet 4x5 camera with a Schneider lens. For many years I used a Nikon FTN 35mm camera, and entered into the digital world in 2004 with a Canon EOS 30D with a Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Autofocus Lens. To learn more about Kansas University's Photomedia program, visit www.ku.edu/~sfa/dsgn/ CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF GREG THOMAS' IMAGES© Copyright 2002 by Photoworkshop.com |
