William Mortensen – American Grotesque
Also showing: Jason Freeny – Molt and Miso – Cornucopia
February 6 – March 1, 2015
Opening Reception: Friday, February 6th, 8-11 PM
La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com
View all show images on the La Luz de Jesus site
American Grotesque is a lavish retrospective of grotesque, occult, and erotic images by the forgotten Hollywood photographer William Mortensen (1897–1965), an innovative pictorialist visionary whom Ansel Adams called the “Antichrist” and to whom Anton LaVey dedicated The Satanic Bible.
Mortensen’s countless technical innovations and inspired use of special effects prefigures the development of digital manipulation and Photoshop. Includes a gallery of more than one hundred striking photographs in duotone and color, many of them previously unseen, and accompanying essays by Mortensen and others on his life, work, techniques, and influence.
On Friday, February 13, publisher Adam Parfrey and authors Larry Lytle and Michael Moynihan will be present to sign copies of American Grotesque as well as The Command to Look: A Master Photographer’s Method for Controlling the Human Gaze, with Lytle speaking about Mortensen with a slide show. Other special collaborators are scheduled to appear as well.
