I like to think of the work of Lon Casler Bixby as open, experimental and a bit rough here and there. Most of his work is in black & white and has that typical vintage look, with some very heavy contrasting shadow parts. He is one of the early contributors to the Art of Love, featured many times on our site. Finally the master speaks his mind in our six questions interview.
How would you personally describe the nature of your art?
The majority of my work is in Black and White and I like to think of it as Dark Art. I like the shadows and contrast to say as much about the mood and atmosphere as the model and setting does.
What artists, art periods, are an inspiration for your own work? And in what way?
Olivia. Bresson. Adams . Leibowitz. Also, the independent, unknown artist inspires me with their open and uncultured creativity. Sometimes I believe that the more famous an artist is the more scared they are to create something new or never done before, for fear of making a mistake. Some of my favorite pix were mistakes or came from me having made a mistake and then getting an idea from that mistake and working it into something beautiful.
Where are your ideas coming from? Does your work reflect your own erotic fantasies & desires?
Yes! And no! Sometimes an idea will come to me when I’m asleep or just day-dreaming and I can’t get it out of my head until I’ve worked it out in a photo session. I love the “dark & erotic” and I try to recreate in photography what I see in my head – sometimes it comes out just like I see it and sometimes it is well, let’s just say that sometimes it’s a “mistake” that gets worked into something beautiful.
What you biggest artistic frustration or main struggle in your creation process?
I’m not always good with the tech part of the photo biz. I love the creative process but knowing all the “photographic rules”, the proper f/stops vs. the shutter speeds, and having to meter the lights is a pain; especially after a shoot when people ask me all the tech questions on how I accomplished a certain look . I don’t keep track of what f/stop & shutter speed I used so it makes it difficult to answer those questions. And when I can’t answer the tech questions, people look at me like I don’t know what I’m doing and I find that very frustrating. And don’t get me started on how unprofessional most (not all, but most) of the models are. I am so tired of booking models for interviews and shoots and then they don’t even show. It is so frustrating and definitely hinders my creativity. To me, this is the most annoying part of doing a shoot.
Is it easy to find places to display your work (galleries, museums or shows)? Or is erotic art still somewhat taboo in your country?
I shoot a lot of “erotic art” and seldom shoot any explicit, open leg, genitalia. Yet, I have had quite a few galleries tell me that my work is too erotic for a show. In the year 2006 in the US one would think that art would be worshiped here as a freedom that some countries can not have, but the truth is people in the “fly over” states, and parents of children who let their children see all kinds of sex & violence on TV, the movies, comic books, and in video games, are afraid of their child seeing a nude body as a work of art. It’s a very sad statement on our society. So yes, finding a place to display my work can be difficult sometimes.
Can you provide a link to a website that you consider a must, a great place to visit?
Well, besides my own :-). I think that www.dv8xtc.com is a great website. This guy is one of the most creative artists I’ve seen in a long time. His photography is not only erotic, but beautiful as well. Every time I see his work, the models he chooses, the lighting, the setting, etc., it motivates me to be a better photographer, and inspires me to push the creative envelope.
