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Britt Thomas

An Interdisciplinary Lens-Based Artist

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Home newsBeaumont Enterprise Interview

Beaumont Enterprise Interview

Posted on January 2020January 2020by Britt Thomas

I recently was interviewed by Syd Kearney at the Beaumont Enterprise in Beaumont, TX. Kearney asked questions about my photo series, Indian Spirit, that is currently on view at the Galveston Arts Center. You can find the interview below:

https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/entertainment/article/PN-G-traditions-intrigue-photographer-14977572.php

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My current job has given me a new appreciation for My current job has given me a new appreciation for frames, especially 1920s-1970s wood frames. I couldn’t pass these up this weekend at an estate sale. I can’t wait to clean them, repair them, and show them all the love! I don’t know if I will keep ‘em or set them back out into the world, but they will be taken care of regardless! 

#antiquepictureframe #vintagepictureframe #carvedwoodpictureframe #estatesalefinds
This is another artwork that’s on view at the Br This is another artwork that’s on view at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art @bmfaus through April 22nd. This image, I Am An American (In An Era of Flag Pin Patriotism), depicts small American flag pins covering Dorothea Lange’s photograph of a Japanese American business owner’s patriotic proclamation during Japanese internment in 1942. Inspired by President Obama’s 2007 “flag pin patriotism” scandal, flag pins obscure the original photograph as commentary on American exceptionalism and how the practice compromises American History education and our ability to learn from our past. 

I wanted this image to be sharp and for none of the pins to be reflecting too much light, so I photographed this piece in nine sections, took multiple photos of each section with different light angles, combined those images, and then digitally stitched the nine sections together to create a single print. This took time and planning, but it was worth it to me. 40” x 52” print. I eventually want to professionally mount this print, but the magnetic wooden strips were a great affordable alternative for this exhibition. I bought them on Amazon for $30 and slightly modified them for display. Thanks to the @flakphoto community for helping this cash-strapped artist find an affordable alternative for hanging a large print!

#BrittThomas #BrownsvilleMuseumofFineArt #TexasArt #PoliticalArt #AppropriationArt #FlagPinPatriotism #AmericanExceptionalism #IAmAnAmerican #DortheaLange
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to show t This past weekend, I had the opportunity to show the final version of this image, Red Hats, Red Shirts in an exhibition in Brownsville, TX at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art @bmfaus. Thank you to Mark Nelson @markart99 for your big idea and making it happen. This was my first visit to Brownsville, TX and it won’t be my last. 

This image is inspired by the metamessaging of René Magritte’s The Treachery of Images. I was reflecting on how red hats are no longer simply red hats and considered what they represent now. The image underneath is an appropriated photo of a group of Red Shirts posing in front of a polling location in 1898. This combination of overlapping images places the red hat in context with red shirts. The Red Shirts were southern white supremacist Democrats in the late 19th century who adopted red shirts to visibly intimidate and threaten southern Republican candidates and voters. 

The final image is 40” x 26” and displayed in a thin, metal bright red frame from @AmericanFrame. The last photo shows it installed next to my husband @princevthomas_art’s photos! ❤️

#BrittThomas #BrownsvilleMuseumofFineArt #TexasArt #PoliticalArt #PoliticalHistory #TheRedShirts #RedHats #MagaHats #ContemporaryPhotography
I have been so busy posting over @2postcinema that I have been so busy posting over @2postcinema that I haven’t had a moment to acknowledge it on this account! Back in 2020, inspired by the pandemic, I came to my husband with a crazy idea to create a free public backyard cinema utilizing the parking lot across the street. To my surprise, he simply said “let’s do it!” I’m so thankful to have a husband and partner like him so that we can create and fulfill crazy dreams together! 

We had one plan in mind, won an Idea Fund grant to execute it, found out it was more expensive than anticipated, received a city initiative grant to cover it, then things changed. We had an opportunity to build our dream live/work studio in a new neighborhood (still working through permitting). We had to restructure our plan so that our cinema could move beyond one location and continue long term. We ended up working with @epicscreens to secure an amazing inflatable screen so that this community film and video project could be a long term success. We are so happy with our screen, impressed by the artists we are working with, and can’t wait to share it with y’all tonight! It’s been a long time coming.

The inaugural screening, Tethered, will start promptly at 7:30pm tonight 1/28/23 in the parking lot at T.C. Jester Park (4219 T C Jester Blvd, Houston, TX 77018). Park your vehicle so that you face the screen across the street, tune in to 107.1 FM on your radio, and enjoy the screening! 

If you are not doing so already, please follow @2PostCinema on Instagram for the latest information and to learn more about participating artists. ❤️
I wrote a review of @fotofest’s biennial exhibit I wrote a review of @fotofest’s biennial exhibition for @glasstire and it’s live! Go read the review and then see the show or the other way around, it’s up to you! There are so many great artists in this exhibition whose art wasn’t covered in this review so make sure you catch the exhibition before November 6th! Thanks to Glasstire guest editor @lesliemoodycastro for working with me!

#glasstire #artswriting #goseesomeart
Just some light summer reading 😝 I’m envelope Just some light summer reading 😝
I’m enveloped in theories on propaganda techniques, what qualifies as propaganda, what makes us succumb to propaganda, and the similarities between artist and propagandist. 

If you have any recommendations for additional readings for my research, please share!

Now I’m going to go watch the January 6th committee’s prime time investigation. 😬👋
I am proud to share with y’all my most recent in I am proud to share with y’all my most recent installation in the Window Box at Box13 Artspace! It is on view through July 16th. Optimal viewing is in the evenings when it’s lit up after it’s been freshly topped off with air on Saturdays. FYI: there’s a delicious new Thai food restaurant a few blocks away called @streettokitchen. Make a reservation or place a to go order one evening and then check out my installation in the @box13artspace window as you’re coming or going!
 
The phrase, Mistakes Were Made, is regarded as the king of non-apologies for a reason. It is defined as, “a passive-evasive way of acknowledging error while distancing the speaker from responsibility for it.” Public figures such as politicians, CEOs, celebrities and influencers apologize using careful language and linguistic techniques such as passive voice, nominalization, and shifting blame, while inserting caveats and qualifiers to effectively disassociate themselves from the main point of contention.
 
Ultimately, these rote public apologies appear to be largely performative, expedient smokescreens for ulterior motives. These swift gestures of regret made for mass consumption fall short of addressing larger issues or creating actionable solutions. Summed up best in author Shaka Senghor’s words, “You can’t fix the things that you are unwilling to acknowledge.” However, people still demand to see the show and judge how worthy or unworthy someone is of forgiveness.
 
#BrittThomas, #MistakesWereMade #Box13Artspace #WindowDisplay #ArtInstallation #InflatableArt #PoliticalArt #WordArt #TexasArt WomenArtists
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