Forbes , Reagan , Spacek , Andretti and King Hold Still for Tom Shillea Thomas Shillea ’69 is comfortable with fame; after all, his photographic portraits of famous Americans like Coretta Scott King, Malcolm Forbes and President Ronald Reagan grace galleries and museums throughout the world. But that doesn’t mean that from time to time, he isn’t caught off guard when he sees his own work on public display. “I was touring the Philadelphia Museum of Art with some of my
colleagues, when we rounded a corner, and there was my photography on exhibit. It was quite a surprising moment,” Shillea says. It is not surprising that Shillea,
a successful artist, author and educator, doesn’t have time to keep exact track of the whereabouts of his work. When he is not in the classroom, on the lecture circuit or writing books, he continues mastering an artistic craft that is challenging and laborious. Using a classic 100-year-old, 8-inch-by-10-inch view camera for his photo sessions, Shillea will yield 10 to 12 negatives that he will develop by hand. He then handcoats a piece of highquality art paper with a sensitizer of platinum and palladium metals. When dry, the paper becomes light sensitive and is exposed to the negative via the use of ultraviolet light – a technique known as the platinum printing process. The results, unique handmade photographs with dynamic tonal range and archival permanence, grace the collections of the George Eastman House, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Portrait Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art and National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian), to name a few. His still-life compositions
bring forth details as delicate as the paper-thin variances of tulip petals and as ephemeral as the interplay of light and shadow caressing bottles on a kitchen counter. His portraits capture mood and beauty, leaving a potent impression that the viewer has had a very intimate glimpse into the character of the subject.
Opposite page: Shillea readies his 100-yearold equipment in a photo taken by his wife, Santa BannonShillea. Above: “Sharon Incognito” and “Parrot Tulips.” Left: Coretta Scott King
Winter 2012 | Tower 15