South Minneapolis, MN, 2007 by Tom Wik

What makes a home? As a status symbol and as the first impression of—or first look into—a person's individuality, the home is likely the largest visual representation of identity. Exploring the facades of various homes in different neighborhoods, Contender Tom Wik captures the unique "personality" that home owners imbue onto their property.

South Minneapolis, MN, 2007 by Tom Wik

Untitled, by Tom Wik

Wik explains in his artist statement:

For the past several years, I have been working on documenting residential facades—straight-on front elevations of houses in the neighborhoods of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, and Palm Beach County, FL. Through these "just-the-facts" portraits of houses and their immediate surroundings, my focus is on the often subtle and sometimes awkward expression of home ownership. The marks of individuality found within the details of these houses suggest a wealth of experience just outside their frames. My pictures are not meditations on ideas but observations on the economic and aesthetic condition of private ownership. It is the comically and beautifully "off" that reveals each modest house in full character.

South Minneapolis, MN, 2010 by Tom Wik

Tom Wik, a Minneapolis photographer, has spent much of his photographic career recording his native city's neighborhoods. He studied photography at the University of Minnesota, and he has exhibited his work nationally. The recipient of a McKnight Fellowship in Photography in 2007, and Artist Initiative Grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2005 and 2011, he also works as a building contractor.