Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5213
- MFA in Media Arts, The Ohio State University
- Transdisciplinary arts and cultural studies
- Visual literac
- Multi-discipinary studio practice
Paul Solomon is an associate professor in the Gwen Frostic School of Art at Western Michigan University.
Solomon teaches undergraduates from across the University how to become conversant with ethical, social and political issues by looking through the lens of contemporary and historic art forms. Future medical providers, entrepreneurs and scientists benefit equally from experiences in the arts that enhance visual perception and cultural literacy. In his teaching, he emphasizes the development of skills that strengthen face-to-face communication and empathy.
Solomon’s creative research as a photographer and a writer is informed by concern for the diminished abilities many people have to function face-to-face in real time and space. He was drawn to photography as a synthesis between his boyhood passions for science and art. His photographic work explores the limits of human capacity to perceive and understand the world around them with their eyes. His work is also designed to challenge today’s consumers of visual data: many people have become lazy consumers of imagery because of their passive consumption of photographs and videos on screens of all sizes. Writing is an essential part of Solomon’s creative process both as an adjunct to making visual art and as a focus in its own right: text is the original image processing software. In the two plays he’s written, Solomon emphasized narratives about individuals who suffer from cognitive disorders, loss of memory and various psychiatric disorders.