Lew Thomas
Peter d’Agostino © 1988/2022 Video installation Preview: 4 of 15min loop Edition: 5+2 AP
Lew sat for this video when he was at my home in Elkins Park, PA 1988. He addresses his photography and NFS Press collaborative projects.
Lewis Christopher Thomas (1932-2021) His approach was derived from St. Thomas Aquinas, the 13th century Dominican intellectual and philosopher. He embraced Aquinas’ theory that God’s miracle was in all light and movement.
“There was this classical tradition of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston kind of photography in San Francisco and Lew changed that. He was engaged in a radical rethinking of the place of photography in the art world, and he challenged the old classical ideals. It was the beginning of conceptual art in photography here.” Sandra S. Phillips, curator emerita of photography at SFMOMA