Analysis for PalmOS (Website Link)
Analysis is a contemporary
artwork produced entirely on a handheld computer; it is 4 feet high and
16 feet wide. The version of this piece included in this
show is a selection of 'paintings' from the larger work.The digital quality
of the painting is quite apparent. The Palm screen has a low resolution.
Because each small painting is printed at actual size the individual pixels
are clearly seen. These contrast with the obvious swiftness and complexity
of the movements used when wielding the tiny electronic brushes.
"I am fascinated by writing. All of my paintings are attempts to
capture writing as a physical, human movement. The Palm painting is a
record of one thousand such attempts. Each of the small paintings was
made with the movements we are all familiar with in our everyday writing.
However, none of them contain any known characters or letters."
Tom Kemp is self-taught and his early training was in lettering and typography. After becoming more and more fascinated by writing as a phenomenon, he started to develop the specific Western lettering techniques into a way of painting which approaches writing but does not include letters or characters. He now works with a large range of different tools, including many digital ones, in a process he calls "Formal Painting" which relies, above all, on the essential characteristics of the tool being present in the final work.
Tom has exhibited in several group shows in the UK and is currently represented by the Rivington Gallery in London where he had his first solo show in May 2001.
curator@voyd.com
