TJ Norris

Early life and education

Norris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. The son of longshoreman Kenneth C. Whiting and chef Phyllis M. Whiting (née Norris). Making visual art from found objects and materials was evident as early as age six, and developed into elementary school where he would win his first student awards. The paternal side of Norris' family are English and his maternal side is Canadian, more specifically Newfoundland. At an early age Norris worked various odd jobs from an insurance claims clerk, security services and purchasing agent. Between the late 1990s and 2000s he put his thoughts into writing as a journalist for such publications as ARTnews, Signal to Noise, Leonardo (journal) (MIT Press), Resident Advisor, Igloo Magazine, Art Ltd. and Willamette Week among others.

Norris was educated in Catholic schools from pre-school through high school. He studied at Massachusetts College of Art with influential American photographers Abelardo Morell and Laura McPhee and at Nova Scotia College of Art & Design.

Work

Since 1990 Norris' studio practice is multidiciplinary, a hybrid of photography, installation, video and sculpture. He had his first one-man show at age 25 in 1990. His work has been primarily based on the urban environment, bridging philosophy and concept. His work has been referred to as dystopian, lo-tech and sterile engaging postmodern issues of loss, surveillance culture, parallel universe, racism, ego, phobia, and death. Some of Norris' greatest influences have been rumored to be disparate figures in the world of the arts and sciences including J.G. Ballard, Roald Dahl, Emmanuel Levinas and Marcel Duchamp.

Norris has been developing work for a new book and series, "Shooting Blanks", a collection of constructed photographic images and installation, for exhibition at the Ellen Noel Art Museum in 2018-19. The series depicts the banality of the urban landscape and was developed after the artist traveled to over a dozen U.S. states to capture industrial detritus for an earlier photographic series, "No Sign" (2008-2013).

Exhibitions

His work has been shown in the Americas and in Europe and is in the collections of the Fuller Museum of Art, Museo de la Ciudad, Vanhaerents Art Collection (Brussels) and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts as well as numerous private collections. Norris was featured in the 10th Northwest Biennial at the Tacoma Art Museum and at the Center on Contemporary Art (Seattle).

Collaborations

Norris has developed several collaborations with sound artists and composers such as Scanner (Robin Rimbaud), Asmus Tietchens, Leif Elggren and Christian Renou (Brume) among others. These collaborations led to many critical observations about the intersection between sound and visual art. His work has been cited to be influenced by Experimental music and Post-punk, though he has simply referred to himself as a Minimalist.

Go Figure News

In 2014 Norris founded and published Go Figure News (gofigurenews.com) as a resource for adult collectors of art toys produced by indie toymakers. The popular online magazine boasted a sizable international social media following in its third year of publication. Now defunct, the site presented interviews, reviews and features on artists including Luke Chueh, Jason Freeny, Frank Kozik, and Sket One. Brands such as Kidrobot, Medicom and several others were regularly featured in a daily format. The primary focus of the magazine was to illustrate the scope of the independent designer toy scene and those creating limited edition 3D works in vinyl, resin and other materials. The site completed its three year run in May 2017.

Soundvision

In 2002 Norris founded his signature gallery, Soundvision, which focused on sound-related work, installation and performance. Soundvision was recognized as one of the "10 Best New Places in Portland" by The Oregonian. The gallery featured audio/visual and multimedia work with a focus on installation, 2/3D by artists including Terre Thaemlitz, Robin Rimbaud, Cary Leibowitz, and Janek Schaefer. The space also played host to a series of performances including Belgian composer Vidna Obmana, Illusion of Safety, and Ethan Rose. The gallery closed in November 2003.

Published works

Discography

In 2003 Beta-lactam Ring Records released Norris' compilation The Tribryd Installation Soundtracks. This collection of soundtracks, were based on his photographic works of the urban and industrial Pacific Northwest. In 2006, The Innova Recordings/American Composers Forum released mixed, reconstructed versions of compositions by eleven sound artists including Nobukazu Takemura, Andrew Lagowski, (Lustmord) and Troum.

Awards