AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TIM TADDER, An internationally acclaimed artist, photographer, and director.
Tim Tadder is an internationally acclaimed artist, photographer, and director. His powerful and graphic fine art photography employs bold colors and striking compositions to explore the value of truth, unity, and free-thinking in our current socio-political landscape.
Tadder’s art expresses the immense value of hope and imagination in an unprecedented period of world disruption.
In the face of threats to our planet and our democracy, Tadder’s work juxtaposes comfort and consumption, foreboding and freedom, in order to make sense of the world as it is today.
Tim Tadder is an advertising photographer in southern California, specializing in creating dramatic photographs of people, sports, action, and concepts. Tadder uses location photography combined with lighting effects to create truly unique images.
Tim Tadder is an internationally acclaimed photographic artist.
In 2015 Epson, the world leader in photographic printing technology, recognized Tadder as one of the top influential photographers, producing a TV commercial and worldwide ad campaign featuring Tadder and his work. Most recognized for his highly inventive conceptual advertising photography Tadder has been ranked in the top 200 photographers worldwide by the prestigious Lürzer’s Archive Magazine 8 years running.
In 2012 Tadder created a viral collection of images that was ranked by Time magazine as one of the top internet sensations of that year. The collection made news worldwide and became the top trending feature on Reddit for two days.
Tadder’s work hangs on world leaders’ walls in politics, business, art, and sport, having been commissioned to make personal portraits for notables like President George W. Bush, Bill Gates, and Manny Pacquiao.
In 2010 he was commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to make a collection of portraits then used in an art installation at the home of Bono. Other note subjects include the NFL’s best, Tom Brady, rap icon Ice Cube, the world’s best swimmer Michael Phelps, and countless other influencers.
Tadder lives in Leucadia’s sleepy beach town with his wife, two children, and a dog named Bailey.
Art Market Magazine: Before we start talking about your latest unique work series, let’s talk about your background as advertising and fine art photographer.
Tell us about your background in art; how and when did your passion for art develop? Did you come from an artistic-based family?
Tim Tadder: Yes, my father was a photographer, and I think I saw the ability to create from him at an early age. I would take pictures and develop them in his background and thought it was magical. When you see a picture come to life out of an image, it’s awe-inspiring—you just kind of get hooked on it.
A. M.: You are very successful in the advertising field, creating campaigns for Nike and Adidas brands, among others. Would you describe yourself mainly as a fine art photographer or advertising photographer? Would you say both fields combined in your work?
T. T.: I think both fields are combined in my work. If you look at my work altogether, it’s bold, graphic, sensibility with strong use of color and exquisite light in nature. I am an artist who solves visual problems for brands while also creating visual examinations of the political realm to inspire generations to come.
A. M.: Tell us about the shift from focusing on Advertising photography to Fine Art. When did it happen, and what is your main focus in the past two years?
T. T.: The shift was in 2017. One of my goals was to really present my work in a fine art fashion. I wanted to direct my personal vision onto an exclusive fine art medium. I first showed the work during Art Basel as a way to show the buyers, connoisseurs, and critics the impactful work. My main focus is to create more art pieces and creative projects and learn and connect with people in the art world that I can share my work with to recognize and appreciate its important work. I want the message to be shared with thought leaders and people that will help change the paradigm that the work is meant to change.
A. M.: In your outstanding series – Nothing To See – the viewer gets a strong use of colors, a clean line of minimalism, represented by beautiful visual nudity. What is the deeper meaning of this series? as you described it in the past, “resistance against a “new normal.”
T. T.: The ‘Nothing to See‘ repertoire responds to the political divisions America faces as a nation. The series depicts a moment of resistance against a “new normal” in which dishonesty functions as the currency of political success. This collection compels viewers to break free from ever-present narratives spun by politicians and media alike and take a moment to see, with fresh eyes, the nation as it is today.
A. M.: What comes first in your creation? The political approach and need of expression, or the visual idea and the necessity of creating a beautiful image?
T. T.: I think for me, it’s sticking within the genre of the visual. Understanding that I want to continue to express with form and then figuring out how that form will translate into concepts. For example, ‘Black is a Color’ was about using the African American features as a canvas to identify the racial platform and let the visual expression unfold from there.
If I can simplify the visual forms into the most minimal manner, then I can express the most powerful sentiment. That’s what makes the art so beautiful. It’s all about ‘how can you say the most, with the least. For me, that is what makes it so beautiful; the images are incredibly powerful because they are so simple and not overly complex. That’s what makes the art so refreshing. I’m not trying to wow you with production value; on the contrary, I’m trying to overwhelm you with graphic imagery and simplicity.
A. M.: In your series – United States of Purple – You focus on searching for moments of truth & equality in this tumultuous period for our nation during the Covid -19. Can you tell us more about it?
T. T.: The United States of purple is really connecting us with division and having us understand that forces are dividing us and turning us into binary buckets of red or blue states. Through social media and other polarizing algorithmic mechanisms, we are binaurally divided.
We are no longer the United States of America; we are red states or blue states. Whereas I feel that we need to be more purple, we need to be the mix of the two. We need to find the middle ground, and that’s what happens when you mix the red and the blue; you end up with the simplicity of the purple. We need to find a way in which to not be so binary in our political views.
A. M.: Let’s discuss your artistic style. In all of your series, the figures are on the border between humans and sculptures. On the one hand, there is no movement, the figures are still and look like a sculpture, but on the other hand, we can feel such a strong emotion. How would you describe your artistic style? What is the workflow from the point of the idea to the final artwork outcome?
T. T.: The idea is to represent the human form and not take a picture of someone but to make an image about something. That’s why I strip away all the identifying characteristics of the talent in the image, such as hair, skin tone, eye color, and I try to make the image about the form and how the form is being presented or in ‘Black is a Color.’
To focus on how the body form creates the canvas itself, it creates the medium at which the art is represented.
It’s very intentional that they have this mannequin-like feeling because it is truly stripping away all those things that make us unique and showing us and revealing us all the things that make us succinct, which is our basic form.
At the end of the day, if we strip away our hair, skin tone, and eye color, we are just a form. We are just shaped. By composing that itself, I’m able to create images at a higher level.
A. M.: Tell us about the remarkable series – Black Is A Color – when was this project created? Did you make this project as an expression of your feelings at the time of the “Black lives matter” movement?
T. T.: At the height of the BLM movement & post-George Floyd, I had spoken about the assault on freedoms & division, but I haven’t created anything that spoke to how I felt about systemic racism & social injustice or the way society perceives race as a binary stem. I wanted to explore a non-literal & unconventional way to share with people a different point of view. A view that boldly illustrates a slice of what is missed by a binary approach to race.
This collection demands that we look past skin tone and into beautiful, infinitely complex humans. We experimented many different paint viscosities and dilution techniques which created some serendipitously beautiful colors that enhanced the project. We always started with a triad of colors that were mixed together that created a powerful marbling-like effect. The colors I utilized are highly methodical and deliberate.
A. M.: This project is exciting also from the “Making of” point of view. What was the Model reaction during the photoshoot? What kind of editing do you do? Do you use image editing apps?
T. T.: This concept is idiosyncratic in that we were looking to capture models with completely bald heads. We utilized social media & casting agencies in Los Angeles to find the models. We cultivated relationships with the models and helped them feel comfortable with the paint pouring process.
The synergy was great, and the models were executed with real professionalism, regardless of the fact that they couldn’t speak or open their eyes during this process. Ultimately, I attempt to speak to mankind as opposed to an individual, and that’s what you get when you include such simple features as just the head and eyes of the subject.
The only thing that was done to the image was a light correction in photoshop, meaning touch-ups, and fixing any blemishes in the painting. A lot of the imperfections were intentionally left in the image. There is no artificial CGI 3D generation in any of the photographs.
A. M.: I can see on your website that you offer artworks for purchase in a limited edition out of 30, manually signed and numbered. Do you sell your art mostly privately or through galleries around the world?
T. T.: We currently have an exclusive relationship with Avant Gallery in New York, Miami, and Dubai.
A. M.: What’s the future hold? Are you already working on a new project? Where will our readers be able to see your work in the upcoming year? (Exhibitions & Art Fairs)
T. T.: I’ve been intentionally not producing work because of COVID-19 out of respect for the healthcare workers and out of respect for the process of not exposing people while the virus is more prevalent than ever. We are waiting for the vaccine to take hold and allow us to get back to work without jeopardizing the people’s health and safety in front of the camera. COVID-19 has really affected me watching the impact it’s had on our nation with over 500,000 deaths. It has really made me focus on safety and the healthcare workers. I’m currently working on developing some projects, but I’m waiting until there’s less risk during the production process.
A. M.: Do you feel successful? Can you describe your main goal in life?
T. T.: I feel very successful in life goals because I’ve been able to take a passion and turn it into a profession. It has allowed me to educate my children and provide my family with financial security.
In that regard, as a father, husband, and artist. I have been able to use my creativity to accomplish everything I’ve ever wanted in life. But as an artist, I feel that my success is just beginning.
I feel that the impact of my work is starting to resonate. It’s starting to truly change the way people think and feel, and that is the ultimate success for me is to have my message, and my point of view adopted because I feel that that perspective will only make the world a better place for my children and my children’s children. On a selfish level, the things that I have made make me feel successful, and the things I’ve created for my family make me feel successful.
On an artistic level, I feel that the work is just beginning and that I’m starting to see the real impact of my work and how it’s inspiring people globally. From being used as a symbol of dissonance in China during the uprising again the COVID cover-up in February of last year, to the way the work has been adopted by celebrities and artists in the African American community, that makes me feel that this resonates to inspire, change, and move people and that is ultimately how I would judge my success as an artist is the impact my work has in the thought world.
Website: www.timtadder.com
Fine art: www.timtadder.art
Instagram: @timtadder
