I’ve long enjoyed the work of Lisa Law, her name pops up in the neatest places and her photographs tell wonderful stories. We were in Santa Fe and I knew this to be where Lisa called home and after a few calls we met at a gallery opening. Our initial visit was terrific and was followed by the insider tour of her house and studio. She is generous with her stories and her hospitality knows no bounds, we had a terrific time. By this time in our trip to New Mexico we had amassed quite a group of friends and several of us made our way to a nearby Mexican restaurant where the stories bounced back and forth around the table as we all got to know each other. Before leaving town Lisa and I decided to collaborate on an art project. Now that has been done we hope to another soon.
Photography has an element of
opportunism; you have to be there to get your shot. But a great shot needs more
than being in front of a neat subject. There are plenty of awful shots of great
things. In the right hands a photograph of the most mundane things can be
wonderful, but you have to have an eye for beauty and composition and the skill
to capture them. She’s got it. Her images hold up to artistic scrutiny and
coupled with great subjects and events you get a grand package, the work of
Lisa Law.
Lisa Law is a wonderful
photographer who began shooting in the early 60s and today finds herself with a
wonderful archive of iconic photographs. Tip of the iceberg. Once upon a time
there was a house called “the Castle” in LA where musicians, artists and
herbalists found a place where they could just “be themselves”. This was Lisa’s
place for a time, taking care of the guests and keeping the place up until
other ventures beckoned. Other opportunities came in the way of participating
in and shooting concerts, festivals, communal experiments and feeding the
masses at Woodstock. In her driveway is the bus from the Hog Farm days, the
last one still running, and she has run it all over North, Central and South
America. I don’t know how many miles she’s put on it but she keeps it
mechanically maintained; and aesthetically it is both psychedelic and current
in its decoration. She uses it in parades and campaigns in town.
Today Lisa maintains a strong
advocacy for the ideas and ideals of the 60s. She is warm and generous and
humbly speaks with authority about her role in the spiritual awakening. She is
primarily known for her photographs and associations with iconic figures. She
has been in some extraordinary situations and expressed them on film. Watching
her work is a wonder. I don’t know how she does it, her sense of composition
must have become so intuitive that she can shoot from the hip; maybe living in
the wild west has influenced her. I’ve never seen anyone do that
(successfully). She is so non-chalant as she talks about the difference in
digital and analog photography, all the while clicking off these terrific shots
in a most candid way.
All periods of time have diverse
cultural aspects. The period from the end of the Korean War to the end of the
Viet Nam war is particularly compelling. Once snapped out of the Depression the
nation entered a period of production and prosperity. Young people who grew up
in this time found the material gains were at the cost of spiritual development
and some set out to recapture spiritual awareness. These are the people that
populate Lisa’s life and fill her books. They have a valid story to tell and
can be found in her images. She has two great books, Flashing on the Sixties
and Interviews with Icons, and an excellent movie on the times, Flashing
on the Sixties, A Tribal Document. If you have any interest in the soul of
the 60s I suggest you investigate these sources.
