I worked at Warner Bros. for 11 years as a graphic designer on the show, “Conan”. Every day at lunchtime, I wandered around the lot, where something unusual was always happening. One day, I stumbled upon a 50-foot tall plaster version of Michaelangelo’s David sculpture. I also roamed through the incredible assortment of furniture, objects, even a stuffed swordfish inside the lot’s venerable props department. I also had access to the Backdrops department, where backdrops were hand-painted before the advent of CGI and AI. I really did feel that the world of Warner Bros. was my oyster! All along the way, I made photographs of each random assemblage I could find, knowing full well the scene on the lot was impermanent, always changing, always, beguiling. Just like Hollywood! –Lori Pond
Bio:
Lori Pond is a photographic artist based in Los Angeles, California. Her photography encompasses themes such as fear, good vs. evil, life and death, the impermanence of all things, and most recently, how our brain interprets “reality” in her series, “As I See It.” Her most well-recognized work is “Bosch Redux,” in which she replicated details from 15th century painter Hieronymus Bosch’s works using models, props and specially-made prosthetics to create and celebrate his oeuvre. She has delved into infrared photography, drone photography, wet plate collodion, and silver and gold leafing. She was a semi-finalist in the Critical Mass Awards in 2014, 2015, and 2017.
Her interest in photography has been lifelong, starting with using a Polaroid Land Camera for her junior high school newspaper. She has studied photography with such luminaries as Aline Smithson, JoAnn Callis, Richard Tuschman, Dan Burkholder, Keith Carter, Lori Vrba and Joanne Dugan.
Her work has been shown at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Oceanside Museum, MOAH (Museum of Art and History), The Center for Fine Art Photography, and the Center for Photographic Art, to mention a few. Her work has been widely published, most recently appearing in “Shots” Magazine, “The Hand Magazine,” “The Sun” , “Analog Forever”, and “California Love—A Visual Mixtape”.. She has accumulated accolades and awards including a first place win in the Architectural/Interiors category of the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards in 2020, the 2020 Cornel/Henry Art Award, and a 2021 Merit Award at the Center for Photographic Art for her photograph “Someone Knows You’re Coming” from her work, “Learning to Walk in the Dark.” She just received an Honorable Mention in the 18th Edition (2022) of the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards for her series, “As I See It.”
Solo shows include her “Bosch Redux” series at the Griffin Museum in 2018, “Nothing in the Entire Universe is Hidden” at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia in 2015, “Menace” at Gallery 825, Los Angeles in 2015, “Bosch Redux” at Gallery 825, Los Angeles in 2018 and “Bosch Redux” at Orange Coast College of Fine Arts, Costa Mesa, CA in 2016.
In her life outside of photography, she worked in broadcast TV for 35+ years as a graphic designer. She worked on shows such as “Conan,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Access Hollywood,” the annual “Academy Awards Pre-show,’ “Independent Spirit Awards,” and “Entertainment Tonight,” to name a few. She still has anxiety dreams about Hollywood.
323.630.3311
https://www.facebook.com/lori.pond.7/
https://www.instagram.com/loriapond/
Feature Image: David’s Butt ©Lori Pond
