This week’s Featured Fractured Atlas Member is Tom Loughlin, a Colorado-based photographer whose multimedia installation “Pictures of You: Images from Iran” is poised to tour the U.S. throughout 2009.

Set exclusively in outdoor venues — specifically, according to Tom, “high-traffic areas, [where] it will be encountered by viewers who do not typically seek out art” — “Pictures of You” features large-scale photographs of everyday Iranians that are printed on silk. Viewers walk through and around a mosque-like structure and come face-to-face with both the Iranian subjects of the photos and their fellow viewers, whose reactions to the installation they are able to see because of the translucency of the silk.

Aside from experiencing the installation first-hand at one of its stops around the country, a good introduction to the project can be had through this video:

After reading the Q & A on the project’s website, I still had some questions, which Tom graciously answered.

I know you are in the process of fund raising right now, with the goal of “Pictures of You” continuing to tour through 2009. From a logistical standpoint, I’m curious about what your biggest expenses end up being.

Building a 90-foot-long custom aluminum frame and printing on several thousand square feet of translucent fabric were major expenses, but our biggest marginal cost is personnel and construction equipment. For instance, in Denver, we had to set the structure up overnight in the middle of a city park that was about as immaculate as a putting green -– and then we had to take it down two days later, all without damaging the turf or the surrounding flowerbeds. That requires a large, motivated, highly skilled crew who can work through the night. Similarly, we need the installation to be staffed with people who can meet visitors and effectively act as guides and diplomats in a sometimes-challenging environment. So we not only need a sizable number of people, we need those folks to understand how the art is intended to work, and we need them to be trained to deal with various stressful situations that might arise. We know we’ve done it well when visitors don’t notice all of that work –- they just comment on the power of seeing the installation.

The printing of your photos onto large pieces of translucent silk is impressive to say the least. What kind of technology is involved?

We use an innovative new technology that was perfected by our printer just last year. It was quite a happy accident! I had the concept for the show in my mind in the summer of 2007, but at the time it was only possible to print translucent images on very small panels. Fortunately for me, Duggal Visual Solutions, one of the pre-eminent commercial printers in the world, was busy developing a new printing method. We had a wonderful time working together on this show, because I needed their technology to make the show work, and they were delighted to have my project to showcase their new method.

How would the exhibition change if it were installed in a gallery, or a different interior space?

Actually, before putting together the outdoor installation, we tested the concept in an indoor space to work out some of the questions concerning scale, lighting, and traffic flow. The results were very encouraging, and what we learned indoors made the outdoor installation more successful.

I would like to take the show back indoors again at the end of the outdoor tour, but with new elements. The concept is pretty clear in my head, but it’s a little too soon to start talking about it.

What would you like people to come away with after seeing “Pictures of You”?

I want visitors to have a heartfelt reaction to the art, and to share their impressions with other people. In a perfect world, every visitor would come away with a powerful sense of our common humanity, but of course we don’t live in a perfect world. Visitors’ feelings are influenced by what they’ve drawn from the complicated history of U.S.-Iranian relations. Given the context, it’s not surprising that some visitors might feel that we’re horribly misguided in our dedication to putting this show on.

Whether they’re positive or negative, visitor reactions say something about where we are as a nation right now. I respect any heartfelt, authentic response to the installation, because it represents an important American voice that we should be paying attention to. I think you have to have that attitude if you’re making public art.

Would you want to be involved in a project that presented images of everyday Americans to Iranians in Iran?

I get asked that question a lot. In a lot of ways, we’re already doing that as part of this project. For example, our website includes written commentary from dozens of Americans, and contains a video featuring interviews with American visitors to the installation. We get a lot of email from Iranians who want to tell us what they’ve learned about the U.S. by visiting our website.

Why did you join Fractured Atlas and how do you use your membership?

From the outset, I have felt a real sense of urgency about this project. When I first visited Iran in the fall of 2006, people there (and many in the U.S.) genuinely feared that U.S. air strikes were imminent. That fear is ongoing. Just this month, the New York Times reported that Israel has actively sought U.S. support for an attack on the Natanz nuclear reactor. That’s a strange thing to contemplate when you’re playing with children in the shade of a plane tree in Natanz, as I found myself doing in May 2007. Given the timeliness of the subject matter, I wanted to be sure we could bring this project to fruition promptly.

Partnering with Fractured Atlas has allowed us to move forward much faster than we could have alone. We’ve really benefited from Fractured Atlas’ guidance on everything from grant proposals to workers compensation insurance. Fractured Atlas’ support lets us focus on what we do best: making art.

Learn more about “Pictures of You: Images from Iran” by visiting its website and/or following its blog.

Installation photos by Joel Lipovetsky.