Arthur Tress

"Fantastic Voyage is the first retrospective on the work of Arthur Tress, one of the most prolific and diversified art photographers working in America. Tress's forty-five-year career has spanned documentary and imaginary worlds; it can be seen as a long, fantastic voyage from early photo-journalism into the realms of surrealism, eroticism, staged imagery, and miniature worlds of his own creation. Tress's contribution and influence have earned him a place in the canon as well as a cult following. Hence this volume, published in association with an exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, has been long awaited in the photographic community.". "Fantastic Voyage features excerpts from all of Tress's photographic explorations - from his seldom-seen early documentary work to the dream imagery of his best-known series (among them Dream Collector, Shadow, and Theater of the Mind); from explorations of sexuality to the elaborate constructs of Teapot Opera, Fish Tank Sonata, and Requiem for a Paperweight. His latest work, visionary experiments in photographic distortion and collage, is published here for the first time. In the words of Philip Brookman, curator of photography at the Corcoran, this book (and the accompanying exhibition) is "a personal journey from the real to the imaginary - emphasizing Tress's unique language of surrealism, humor and psychosocial commentary... Tress's work, above all else, reveals a personal approach to photography, a subjective view of the work that continually reinvents itself while it ponders universal archetypes and myths."". "The 274 images in the portfolio are accompanied by an in-depth biographical essay about Tress written by curator and photographic historian Richard Lorenz. An essay by noted photography critic John Wood places Tress's work within the context of its time. Together with this unparalleled compiliation of Tress's images, they reveal the inner world of one of the most intriguing and influential art photographers at work today."--BOOK JACKET.