Ray Laskowitz: Krewes, Clubs, Indians and Brass
December 10-31, 2015
Opening: Thursday Dec 10, 4-7pm
About Ray Laskowitz
A little bit about me. I’ve been photographing, editing, designing and even teaching a little bit over the past 40 years. My career has taken me to some interesting places, I’ve photographed some interesting faces and I’ve gotten into some fun spaces. Alright, alright. I’m not much of a poet. But, you get the point. Most of my work is known for its strong use of color and graphics. I believe that those who came before me — Ansel Adams and Gene Smith, in particular — would have used every post production tool available to them to make pictures that spoke using their vision. I do too. But, as the late great father of color photography Ernst Haas once said about the technology of his time, “that’s just stuff.” No matter what you do to the picture, no matter how you capture the picture, no matter what camera you use to do that; what really matters is the picture.
When I returned home from exile in the high desert of New Mexico after Hurricane Katrina, I decided to explore the culture in which I live. Four years ago I began photographing second lines, the Mardi Gras Indians, the Baby Dolls and jazz funerals. This collection of photographs is an overview of my work in the streets.