ARTIST OF THE MONTH


Tyson Crosbie has found himself in some peculiar places – in a trash can, on the ground in an alley, in front of gangsters and in handcuffs.

Once, the bearded 32-year-old was even mistaken for a homeless man.

“I was in an alley with my camera and this kid ran up to me and gave me five dollars,” he says. After some protest, Crosbie used the money to buy a coffee.

These odd circumstances have become the norm for Crosbie, a Phoenix photographer who meanders Downtown to find subjects like Dumpsters, telephone poles and curbs to shoot.

Seven years ago, a parking garage pillar inspired Crosbie to focus – up close – on the urban landscape. “People had just backed up into it hundreds of times,” he says. “It’s that layering and transparency that interests me.”

Crosbie devotes an annual series to these colorful and texturally rich findings. In Phoenix 22, a selection of 22 photos released in March, Crosbie concentrates on unintentionally repetitive marks and the naturally chaotic patterns that emerge in a city environment.

But Crosbie’s interests as a photographer aren’t always in the gutter. Recently, Crosbie tackled an interactive typography project. Crosbie gathered 26 volunteers, photographing each one sounding out the letters of the alphabet in different ways. Some participants shouted, others whispered.

Focusing on only their mouths, Crosbie created a photographic typography alphabet.

“You really can spell out words with the images,” he explains. “It’s weird how easy it is to recognize what they’re saying.”

Tyson’s Phoenix 22 exhibit is on display at Alta Phoenix Lofts’ gallery (600 N. Fourth St., Phoenix) on June 4 for First Fridays and in Sutra Midtown Yoga (2317 N. Seventh St., Phoenix) until June 7.