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| © Thomas Holton |
| click photo to launch gallery |
Age: 36
Based in: New York City
Has assisted for: William Abranowicz
Nominated by: William Abranowicz
Website: www.thomasholton.com
Thomas Holton has seen enough of the world of photography to know how a desire to get paid and maintain a steady clientele can overshadow the creative aspects of the job. His advice to fellow assistants: "You should never forget why photography inspired you in the first place. One must remain dedicated to the medium and keep making his or her own work." As the son of a professional photographer, George Holton, Thomas has been surrounded by the medium all his life. "It defines who I am," he says. But he credits the work of Larry Sultan, William Eggleston, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Marcel Duchamp for teaching him the medium’s possibilities: "They enabled me to see the world in a new way, which raised new ideas and questions that I never considered before," he says.
Holton received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in 2005 and has since been "investigating my own heritage by exploring New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood," as seen in the image at right. "I gravitate towards documentary based work, but with a personal investment," he says. In addition to being published in magazines such as O, Skin, and CR, Holton’s work is in the permanent photography collection of the New York Public Library.
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