ABOUT

Paho Mann is a contemporary visual artist working in photography and related digital and lens-based media. He holds an MFA in Studio Art from Arizona State University and a BFA from the University of New Mexico.

In his work, Mann investigates personal and cultural relationships to the objects we surround ourselves with, addressing shifts in values, perceptions, and memory. The use of present and cutting-edge technologies to observe and transform the world is central to his investigations. Mann is fascinated by how these tools mediate how we see and understand our world. His images serve as metaphors for the constant transition of photographic and imaging technology, reflecting a turbulent relationship between the old and the new.

Recent works combine traditional photographic approaches with computer vision. Tabletop arrangements in the studio feature broken cameras, cell phones, and objects found in still-life paintings, like flowers and remnants of consumption. Hundreds of photographs of these arrangements are used to build 3D models through photogrammetry software. As he works, Mann investigates the hidden layers of digital processes, accessing and manipulating the intermediate calculations and data visualizations generated during the transformation. Mann uses these ephemeral digital entities, typically unseen and discarded by the algorithms themselves, to create new, abstract compositions.

Mann’s work has been exhibited at venues including the Arizona State University Art Museum, the Tucson Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Carnegie Museum of Art. His work is included in collections such as the Tucson Museum of Art, the Museum at Texas Tech University, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Fidelity Investments, the Northlight Gallery Collection, Arizona State University, and the City of Phoenix Public Art Program.

Born in 1978 on his parents' homestead near Snowflake, Arizona, Mann moved with his family to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1992. He received his BFA from the University of New Mexico in 2001 and his MFA from Arizona State University in 2007. Since then, he has been teaching at the College of Visual Arts and Design at UNT. Currently, Mann lives and works in Dallas, Texas, and is represented by Galleri Urbane in Dallas, TX.