Shawn Hummel

A graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Shawn Hummel creates images exemplifying the Vegas scene, represented as lights and colors rather than realistic subjects. His photos are often described as ethereal and surreal, as he captures obscure perspectives of seemingly unremarkable subjects such as cars and streetlights. This effect has been described by the artist as almost accidental, as he uses no filters to create his pieces – only long exposures and an acute awareness of light. Hummel focuses on a particular detail, allowing the rest of the frame to go soft to form melded pools of incandescent light and neon blurs. As a result, his photos forfeit the norms of photography in favor of the mingling colors found in paintings. Hummel employs the effect of ''optical mixing,'' more often associated with oil glazing, by digitally printing the image to metallic c-print paper which is then overlaid with a glossy UV laminate. Thus, Hummel's photographs serve primarily as allusions to the form and luminosity of his subjects, rather than meticulous representations of their reality.