Lauri Lyons: Political Photographer and Thought-Provoking Critic of America
The photographer Lauri Lyons is a storyteller who utilizes her photography as well as words, both hers and those of others, to recount personal and cultural journeys. Her latest project is the multimedia piece, Barack Obama and the American Dream, about the 2008 presidential election and 2009 inauguration. She has deftly woven the images and voices of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama together with those of Americans and the international community into a story about the power of dreams.
Between 1995 and 2000 Lyons began documenting our national dreams by traveling throughout the United States. The product of her journey was Flag: An American Story, a photographic portrait series of Americans posing with the American flag. In summer 2007, Lyons took up the American flag yet again on a European tour that wove together still more reflections on America into Flag International. In Lyons work, the American flag, much like the American president, stands as a potent symbol for reflection upon individual and collective dreams – both those that inspire the joyous fulfillment of their realization and still others that land empty and short of their promises.
Eco Chick.com: We are used to seeing Americans (including the faces of recent immigrants, Olympic athletes, and soldiers) posed with the American flag, but not foreigners. This “outsider” international perspective was very novel. What do we learn by listening to the multiple ways Americans are perceived (positive and negative)? What did you learn from the responses to the U.S. flag?
Lauri Lyons: My first book Flag: An American Story (2001) explored how Americans viewed themselves past, present, and future. For Flag International (2008), my intention was to create a two way dialogue exploring how people living outside of the United States view America today. To accomplish that goal I traveled to eight countries to photograph and interview the international community with the American flag. The responses from people abroad inform us how American political policies have a real effect on their lives (i.e.: immigration, war, and the environment). We also learn how American culture, especially entertainment, heavily influences and at times dominates their own national identity. Mostly we are reminded that America is the only country on Earth which was created based on an ideal, and how at times we have measured up to that ideal and also fallen short. Shooting Flag International taught me to always find my own answers to questions. We don’t need to wait for CNN to tell us what’s going on in the world, we can find out for ourselves.
EC: If someone were to suddenly toss me the U.S. flag, I have no idea how I would react. I am confident that the exchange would take me off guard and feel like a confrontation with a set of ideals about being American. We all know that our national flag is supposed to inspire feelings such as patriotism, heroism, decorum, and respect. The treatment and use of the U.S. flag is also codified by regulations – for example, how it is supposed to be raised and lowered on a pole, how it should be folded, how it must not touch anything beneath it (such as the ground or floor), and how it may be displayed on certain patriotic holidays. That is to say, we don’t usually interact with the flag spontaneously outside of codified practices. What do you make of the spur-of-the-moment reactions of the people you photographed? How does the flag transform real, everyday people?
LL: While conceptualizing the project my biggest fear was that people would not want to interact with the American flag. I was also reminded by many Americans that the U.S. was not riding a high wave of popularity, and therefore I should scrap the idea. Because none of the participants were expecting to be photographed or interviewed they were quite surprised when I pulled out a 3×5′ American flag. However, once they realized they could use the flag as a form of personal expression (i.e.: do whatever they want with the flag) their candor and creativity widened. People made use of the flag as a turban, sarong, and also folded the flag in the traditional manner. Each person brought something new to the table and I never knew what to expect next. I think the subject’s interaction with a tangible American flag forced them to be honest and public about their opinions of the U.S. and American people.
EC: You combined both text and image in the flag project by interviewing and photographing subjects. Can you please comment on your choice of both word and image to document and tell a story?
LL. Giving voice to the participants was important for creating a personal as well as sociological narrative of America. The use of handwritten text was a tool for building a sense of intimacy and dialogue with the subjects and viewer. The handwritten text basically functions as personal letter from the participants in the series. The text is unedited and contains misspellings, profanities, dyslexia, etc. It provides an additional backdrop of the person’s class, history, and educational level, which may or may not be revealed in the photograph.
EC: I love how the U.S. flag develops relationships between individuals in your group portraits. It seems to link and embrace people. You crossed several international borders traveling with the American flag and bringing it to non-Americans. Nationality can create unity/be inclusive as well as create divides/be exclusive. Can you talk a little bit about the exploration of borders and bridges in your images?
LL: I personally believe that people are more similar than different, no matter what your nationality is. Traveling around the world has proven my theory correct. Most people want love, respect, dignity, prosperity, and security. Our desires and priorities only become complicated when we interject race, gender, nationality, religion, and sexuality as our primary definitions of morality. My photography is an exploration of the ideas and psychologies, which have the power to unite or divide people. To be able to create this type of work I am forced to engage people on an intimate level (usually within their environment) and challenge my own stereotypes and misconceptions, as well as the subjects.
EC: Tell me a little bit please about the theme of travel (being at home versus foreign places) in your portrait photography. In particular, how do you explore personal, cultural, or national origins through travel?
LL: I grew up in a military family, which required that I relocate very often, so by nature I’m very nomadic. Personally, traveling is really a form of adventure for me, so there is no difference for me in terms of being within the U.S. or abroad. However, each state and country is different in terms of their local culture (i.e.: Montana vs. Florida) and how they relate to being photographed. To get beyond being treated like a tourist and getting generic photographs, I do a lot of prep work before beginning a trip. The preparation includes reading a lot of historical and contemporary information about the local people, traditions, languages, and physical environment. The prep work becomes a foundation for confidence when engaging people. From that point, the joy of traveling is all about relating to people in regards to their life, while using a camera.
EC: Looking at your work (commercial and documentary photography), there are very interesting juxtapositions between portrait subjects and their physical settings (sometimes we see portraits within portraits as well as billboard graffiti and vibrant decorative patterns, geometric shapes, and colors). It seems like you are highlighting “systems of representation” through, at times, layering images within images, integrating text, and, in the case of the flag series, exploring the charged symbolism of the American flag. Can you please comment on the qualities of the US flag as a compositional component and symbol?
LL: The American flag is a very potent and omnipresent symbol. The flag has been commercially merchandised in every conceivable form such as bandanas and beach blankets. Everyone in the world can immediately identify the American flag, therefore it is a tricky symbol to artistically work with because it can easily become invisible or passe to the viewer. I realized the flag was essential to my project about America because it would function as the visual unifier for all the people and environments featured in the photographs. The flag is the most consistent and inconsistent element in the compositions. It is present in each of the images, but it’s form is dependent on the subject’s physical manipulation. Because the flag is consistently transforming in the images, it captures the viewer’s attention while reinforcing the theme of the project, which is the many views of America. Fortunately, the American flag has a great graphic qualities and design.
EC: You have described travel as a vehicle for exploring your own roots as well as tracing cultural diasporas and diffusions. You have also described your photography as a kind of cultural anthropology. Can you please comment on the role that a sense of time (past, present, and future) or history plays in your photography?
LL: I’m very curious about how culture migrates and transforms over time and distance. For my commercial work I like to fuse the categories of time (past, present, and future) into a new visual moment for the viewer. The idea of time and history can be easily manipulated by the choice of location, props, lighting, printing, and models. When people cannot easily identify a time period in an image, a broader sense of interpretation can occur on the viewer’s behalf. For my reportage work I am primarily concerned with providing layers of information about the subject’s class, identity, and traditions (old and new). While shooting reportage stories, I am clearly documenting the present, which ultimately becomes the past and inevitably raises questions about the future.
