Bakotopia

All > Rants & Raves > Stories
SPOTLIGHT: Lysa Luna's Imagos Manifestos
Topics: LysaLuna, Lysa, Luna, 2007, Imagos Manifestos, Bakersfield, art, photoshop, Bakotopia, october, Magazine, Korn, jonathan davis, Joel-Peter Witkin
Posted by matt Tue Oct 16, 2007 01:32:19 PDT
Viewed 8412 times
0 responses 5 comments

Lysa Luna's Imagos Manifestos

("Self-Portrait" - Lysa Luna)

By Matt Muñoz, Bakotopia Editor

Welcome to Lysa Luna's beautiful nightmare - a place where love reigns supreme under a cloak of darkness.

Not a newcomer to the local art scene, Luna, 37, has been creating some of the most striking works to grace the walls and computer screens all over Bakersfield since the late '90s.

But if you have distaste for the twisted, Luna's offerings just may scare you away.

“Most of my ideas come to me when I'm falling asleep,” described Luna during a quiet afternoon outside of Dagny's coffeehouse downtown. “I think it's that state where your mind just lets go.”


(Lysa Luna)

Looking at her work and one can see how she brings the netherworld to life on canvas or in photography, almost reminiscent of greats like horror novelist / painter Clive Barker or H.R. Giger, responsible for creating “Alien.”

Luna's work also goes beyond the styles attributed to big name artists, making her an original in her own right.

“People come up to me sometimes and say, 'You're the girl who does those creepy pictures',” said Luna. “It gets old, but I carry on.”


(Art by Lysa Luna)

For Luna, the term 'creepy' is relative, especially when your upbringing and background are responsible for molding you as an artist.

“I had a very dark upbringing from childhood into adulthood,” she explained. “All I have to do is (pointing to her head) go in there. I don't have to reach too far for pain.”


(Lysa Luna)

Pain includes teenage rebellion, depression and a stormy relationship with her biological father who is now deceased.

But pain, along with beauty, are trademarks of the Lysa Luna style - overtly dark tones of mixed black and browns, shrouding images of ghoul-like characters and white-eyed phantoms.


(Lysa Luna)

To create such imagery, Luna has learned to apply her original style of working with film into the digital world. Now, instead of slaving in the dark room, she now is able to create works faster without sacrificing her vision.

Luna remembers her early dreams of being a painter and photojournalist in the '80s, a far cry from her current passion.


(Art by Lysa Luna)

“My background is actually painting and drawing,” she said. “The first camera I used was an old manual Nikon camera from a friend's boyfriend. I fell in love with it.”

Pursuing photography any chance she got, she decided to teach herself the 'How-To's' of photography by buying an entire 20 book set of the Kodak Photography Encyclopedia at a yard sale.

“I read those books cover to cover and taught myself everything,” said Luna. “Then I got my first beautiful black Nikon camera of my own on Market Street in San Francisco and got into architecture and experimenting with lighting in '89.”

After devoting time to learning different areas of photography, Luna's tastes in the '90s began shifting into another area - photojournalism and people.

“I loved taking pictures of people doing everyday things, and I learned a lot from just observing,” she said.


(Art by Lysa Luna)

The tail end of the '90s marked a turning point in Luna's life, when she began spending more time in the darkroom - manipulating imagery and discovering her biggest influence, American photographer Joel-Peter Witkin, for whom many compare as her current style.

“Witkin's work struck a nerve in me…it was so dark,” described Luna. “He did this one piece called 'Testicle Stretch with the Possibility of a Crushed Face' that got him into a lot of trouble when it came out.”

'Testicle Stretch' is not for the weak.

The photo depicts a man lying on a moveable wooden slab while a weight at the end of a rope on a pulley successfully raises his body. The other end of the rope is tied to the subject's testicles.


(Joel-Peter Witkin's - "Testicle Stretch with the Possibility of a Crushed Face")

“I've seen so much of his work, and people often compare us to each other,” Luna said. “But I don't think it's the same.”

One day Luna decided to seek out Witkin to express her admiration for his work, which at a time was a source of comfort during her darkest days. By simply calling information, she was able to get Witkin's number and address. She proceeded to write the artist.

“I wrote to him (Joel-Peter Witkin,) and actually got a response,” she said smiling. “He said, 'Be true to who you are'. That stayed with me.”

Moving back to Bakersfield, her tiresome darkroom days were about to end when she was introduced to the world of Photoshop, a computer program that turned the art world upside down and cut work hours in half.

“My fiancé Eric taught me digital art and says, 'I've surpassed him by leaps and bounds',” said a gleeful Luna. “I can just do so many more things with my work now and who wants to sit the darkroom for five hours?”


(Eric - Luna's fiancee')

Luna's process starts with a digital photo of an object or human, nothing special, just a presence.

It's Luna's eyes that bring forth the unearthly vision - a talent unforeseen by many of her subjects, one of which was her cousin, Jonathan Davis of KORN. Luna remembers approaching the singer after a concert.

“I had this idea to create a Tarot card photo set with Jon as 'The Devil' card,” she explained. “He agreed to sit for a photo, and I had him wear a black velvet cloak and do the Star Trek 'Spock' hand pose. He began teasing me about it saying, 'What is this? This is so silly'!”


(Jonathan Davis of KORN)

After easily coaxing her cousin into the pose, Luna went to work on one of her most popular sets to date. The 'Tarot card' collection impressed not only Davis and KORN fans but was instrumental in helping her amass an even bigger fan base, many of which scoop up anything with her name on it.

“I have certain photographs that I can't keep in stock, but everything is for sale,” she said. “I have a waiting list of people wanting to be photographed.”

Luna's dream project includes a wish-list of musicians and artists.

“Mike Ness of Social Distortion, Diamanda Galas, Peter Murphy, David Bowie, My Chemical Romance, and Marilyn Manson,” she said. “People may roll their eyes because I said Manson, but aesthetically, he's perfect for what I do.”

Still, atop the star-filled roll call, there is one person who stands the tallest - Luna's five year-old daughter, Bella.


('Saint Bella')

“She's been my model for two photos,” she said. “The 'Sun Tarot' card, and 'Saint Bella.' She told me, 'I look so scary and beautiful'.”

 

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation

Comment From: LUNATIC

*blush* Comment From: devoidaluv

I'm so proud and working on that fan site!!! Comment From: ThreeChordWhore

Not only is her art beautiful, be she herself, is beautiful inside and out! We have been huge fans of Lysa and her work for a long time, she should show off some of her jewlery too!The most impressive thing about her is that she is so humble when talking or showing her art. If I had that talent I would be an ass for sure.Thanks Lysa for actually agreeing to do an interview, and thanks to Bakotopia for having the good sense to Ms. Luna on the cover. Comment From: ErikFox

Loved Lysa's works on display at BTW... my first time seeing her work and it is truly amazing and provocative. Bravo! Comment From: asashley

LYSA ROCKS!!!! One of the TRUE artistic talents in BAKO!