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| Carl ’Djinn’ Lewis' exhibits JazzIcons at the Jazz School by imajinnWEST Carl Lewis, a pioneer in photographing in-concert laser imagery, merges his rare captured laser illusions with photographs of jazz legends at the premiere exhibition of the JazzIcons, Saturday, May 19 2007, Addison Street in Berkeley, CA. A practicing visual artist for almost thirty years working in a variety of visual media from photography to jewelry, Lewis primarily uses photography to create abstract and allegorical images. One of his main concerns is not to lose sight of old techniques while incorporating new technologies. To this end he studied with Master furniture designer and sculptor Jose Marmol learning the old world surface treatments used in the JazzIcons. A blend of two facets work, Mugfiles of jazz artists in performance, and the captured light laser images of Lumiere Capturee Carl adds the 'human touch' to the resultant giclee prints through old world finishes such as gold leaf or eggshell. The exhibition includes "Byrd-Man" of trumpeter Donald Byrd; "Mingus-inspired" a bass-formed multihued laser image; and "El Corazon en Clave, " featuring Bay Area percussionist Pete Escovedo. The JazzIcons project began as a 2004 dialogue between Lewis, ex-Basie trombonist Nelson Harrison and North Bay saxophonist Marcia Migét as a way to educate young people to Classical American music (Jazz) and its impact on the world. The 2006 splash of MeeJ, a flute-nosed, keyboard-chested, sax-winged creature paired with her signature sound on Migét's site was followed by the 2007 IAJE Convention birth of Harrison's Betto. Developing characters like these are part of Carl's animated education concept. "I see Jazz as incorporating the same concept of using classical elements to make modern imagery.", Lewis says "As we evolve from a creative to a merchandising vehicle for jazz musicians, we can capture an audience that responds to visual media and needs more intellectual stimulation as well as information. We're currently working on a series of Blues and Latin icons to tap other markets." Lewis' imagery is in the collections of such institutions as Texas Instruments, the Brooklyn Museum, the Schomburg Collection for Research into Black Culture, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Amon Carter Museum and the Smithsonian. In 1993 he was selected to be one of ten artists included in the Smithsonian Institution's African American Museum Project, co-author of Lumiere Captureé (Captured Light), an overview of the history of laser imagery as art Lewis is listed in a number of publications, such as African American Lives by Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Black Photographers 1940-1988 a bio-bibliography and Deborah Wills' Reflections in Black; Black Photographers 1940 to the Present. Select images from Lewis' work are on www.imajinnation.com, AllAbout Jazz.com, CharlesMingus3.com and available on demand through the New Lab in San Francisco. Founded in 1997, the JazzSchool preserves and promotes jazz and related music styles through a comprehensive program combining study and performance with world class music educators and musicians. Hailed as one of the most comprehensive jazz schools in the country, the Jazz School offers instrumentalists and vocalists of all ages and levels a broad spectrum of performance and lecture classes, short-term workshops and private instruction. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |