Sure, he may not be gay, nor is he a writer, but we thought it'd be fun to feature Thomas Allen in conjunction with our coverage of Marijane Meaker.

A photographer based in Michigan, Allen's made a career of tearing other people's work apart. Literally. Armed with an X-acto knife, a stack of old paperbacks, and a camera, Allen works, as he says, to create new worlds. In his artist's statement, he writes:
"I've always been fascinated by pop-up books, dioramas, 3-D glasses and the View Master for they all have the ability to picture false realities." Fitting, then, that he should use pieces of fiction in order to create new worlds of his own.

As old paperbacks form the back bone of his work, much of Allen's work features idyllic images of masculinity - images that, in many ways, no longer fly in today's society, or, at least, not as high: adding another layer to his so-called false realities.

Check out more of Allen's work after the jump. Then, head on over Foley Gallery for more on his background, his artistic vision, and about his upcoming show: "Posse," which revolves around cowboys. Yee-haw!

Images (From Top):
Red, 2001
Bookend, 2004
Recover, 2003
Teeter, 2004
Intrude, 2003
Encore, 2005