To see more of his work, please visit his Website and Blogs.Getty.

Tress is now currently based in Cambria, California.Īll images courtesy of Arthur Tress, and are published with permission. He later traveled worldwide, mostly in Asia and Africa, focusing on ethnographical photography. Tresss first book, The Dream Collector (1972), was an attempt to visualize childrens dreams, often featuring children whom Tress had interviewed as models. The wonderful staged surrealism of Arthur Tress’s black and white photographs, bordered in white on a black page, are set opposite the words of novelist John Minahan, guiding us through the images, dreams and encounters that inform each page. His interest on photography began as a teenager exploring the fascinating world of surrealism. First Edition, published by Westover, Richmond, Virginia, 1972. The children would be asked means of acting out their visions or to suggest ways of making them into visual actualities… These inventions often reflect the child’s inner life, his hopes and fears, as well as his symbolic transmutation of the external environment, his home or school, into manageable forms.” ~ Arthur TressĪrthur Tress is a notable American photographer who was born in Brooklyn, New York. “Dreams or nightmares were collected by conversations with children in schools, streets, or neighbourhood playgrounds. But the most astounding revelations were the dark, disturbing visions stunningly captured in surreal fashion, and enhanced with black and white photography. Thanks to his creative talent!Ĭhildren revealed their inner life with hopes and fears. Signed, titled, dated, and multiple stamps in black ink with the photographers Riverside Ave., NY stamp on the verso, 'Dream Collector book,' reproduction notes. He asked the children to play out their dreams in the real world. It’s a series of terrifying images of dreams and nightmares captured through his conversation with children. Photographer Arthur Tress created a project titled “Dream Collector” back in the 1960s.

The Dream Collector by Arthur Tress