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<H3 ALIGN=CENTER> <IMG WIDTH="465" HEIGHT="30" ALT="Urban Desires"
SRC="./Images/art_top.gif"><BR><BR>
<IMG SRC="./Images/header.gif" ALT="Teresa Tamura"
ALIGN=MIDDLE WIDTH="220" HEIGHT="36" BORDER="0"><BR> By Jonathan Tann
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<BLOCKQUOTE> <P> <IMG SRC="./Images/r_cap.gif" ALT="R" ALIGN=LEFT
WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="34">ice bowls, her grandmother's bachan,
a scrap of silk from an old kimono, a green stone Buddha, textured
paper, the landscape of Mt. Fuji and antique fans all seem to be
relics of the past. Yet, in Teresa Tamura's seemingly simplistic and
straightforward digital collages they convey a sense of order, balance
and formality. Their relationship to the composition exemplifies
their role in the present. Through this simplicity and rigidity, she
transforms traditional Japanese iconography, color and geometric shape
into art that reflects the progression of her own genealogy. In
Issei, The First Generation, Tamura describes this progression,
"I began with two copy photos of my grandparents when they first
immigrated to America. One photo shows them in traditional,
turn-of-the-century Japanese attire; the other photo shows them in
Western attire. The three colorized images in red, white and blue were
black-and-white infrared photos I took on my first trip to
Japan." </BLOCKQUOTE>
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<NOBR><A HREF="./Docs/nf_amnis.html"><IMG SRC="./Images/amnis.gif"
WIDTH="93" HEIGHT="116" BORDER="1" HSPACE="5" VSPACE="0"></A><A
HREF="./Docs/nf_snap.html"><IMG SRC="./Images/snap.gif" WIDTH="93"
HEIGHT="116" BORDER="1" HSPACE="5" VSPACE="0"></A><A
HREF="./Docs/nf_jwom.html"><IMG WIDTH="93" HEIGHT="116" BORDER=1
HSPACE="5" VSPACE="0" SRC="./Images/jwom.gif" ALT="Japanese
Women"></A><A HREF="./Docs/nf_rice.html"><IMG BORDER=1
SRC="./Images/rice.gif" ALT="Rice Bowls" WIDTH="93" HEIGHT="116"
HSPACE="5" VSPACE="0"></A></NOBR> <P>
<BLOCKQUOTE> <IMG SRC="./Images/t_cap.gif" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH="32"
HEIGHT="34">amura's images are immediately recognizable as being bound
to traditional Japanese art, but on closer examination, one sees that
she uses this relationship to explore the transformation of the
traditional on a uniquely personal level. By liberally recreating
traditional Japanese art forms with a camera and digital imagery, she
removes her subjects from the realm of the past and places them
distinctly in the present. "The design of [many of the images] in
this project [is] loosely based on the format of a Japanese or Chinese
scroll painting, surrounded by ornate borders, usually a painting on
silk, designed to blend tradition with technology." </BLOCKQUOTE>
<P ALIGN=CENTER> <NOBR><A HREF="./Docs/nf_fuji.html"><IMG
SRC="./Images/nf_fuji.gif" WIDTH="91" HEIGHT="72" HSPACE="5"
BORDER=1></A><A HREF="./Docs/nf_buddha.html"><IMG ALT="Buddha Head
& Leaves" SRC="./Images/nf_buddha.gif" WIDTH="90" HEIGHT="72"
HSPACE="5" BORDER=1></A><A HREF="./Docs/nf_befo.html"><IMG
SRC="./Images/nf_befo.gif" ALT="Before & After" WIDTH="112"
HEIGHT="72" HSPACE="5" BORDER=1></A><A
HREF="./Docs/nf_issei.html"><IMG SRC="./Images/nf_issei.gif"
ALT="Issei - First Generation" WIDTH="107" HEIGHT="72" HSPACE="5"
BORDER=1></A></NOBR>
<P> <BLOCKQUOTE> <IMG SRC="./Images/t_cap.gif" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH="32"
HEIGHT="34">eresa Tamura's art unites the traditional with the new.
While this is a delicate relationship and balance, through the use of
color, shape and subject, she is able to portray the immediacy of this
transformation to the viewer. These self-exploring images, then,
become a catalyst for individuals to embrace their past and realize
that it is never that far away from the present.<BR> </BLOCKQUOTE>
<P ALIGN=CENTER> <NOBR><A HREF="./Docs/nf_souv.html"><IMG
SRC="./Images/nf_souv.gif" ALT="Souvenir Woman" WIDTH="71"
HEIGHT="116" HSPACE="5" BORDER=1></A><A
HREF="./Docs/nf_bachan.html"><IMG SRC="./Images/nf_bachan.gif"
ALT="Bachan's Scarf" WIDTH="80" HEIGHT="116" HSPACE="5"
BORDER=1></A><A HREF="./Docs/nf_sansei.html"><IMG
SRC="./Images/sansei.gif" ALT="Sansei - Third Generation" WIDTH="93"
HEIGHT="116" HSPACE="5" BORDER=1></A><A
HREF="./Docs/nf_gaysha.html"><IMG SRC="./Images/nf_gaysha.gif"
ALT="Gaysha Starr" WIDTH="65" HEIGHT="116" HSPACE="5"
BORDER=1></A></NOBR>
<P> <BLOCKQUOTE> <IMG SRC="./Images/t_cap.gif" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH="32"
HEIGHT="34">eresa Tamura's work at once evokes her personal past
and its connection with the person that she has become today. Her work portrays her personal vision and identity. "I've
always thought of the photograph as a finished product, the end result
of my personal vision." Yet, in her art, one is able to relate
to her individual vision with the implication that we are all shaped
by our past and the generations that have come before us.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
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