INTREPID TRAVELER L DIANE JACKSON CAPTURED TIMELESS IMAGES OF THE WORLD WITH HER HANDHELD LEICA.
AND WHAT A WORLD!
A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN HER WORK: WITH INNATE CURIOSITY SHE STILLS THE EVER MOVING SCENE. LOOK AT THE IMAGES TO SEE THE HUMAN SUBJECTS RETURN HER GAZE!
NOTE THE DIVERSITY OF HER VISUAL INTERESTS.
NOTICE HOW DIANE CAPTURES IN ONE SPLENDID MOMENT SQUALOR AND BEAUTY, STILLNESS AND SPEED, AGE AND YOUTH, SO MANY CONTRASTS, ELUDING TIME AND PLACE, CREATING A UNIVERSAL ARCHIVE WE ALL SHARE.
“O WONDERFUL, ...AND YET AGAIN WONDERFUL...” -WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
–CAROL BEESLEY, CURATOR
In her youth Diane attended Casady, where she made many life-long friendships. She excelled in athletics and expressed an interest in the fine arts. Contrary to stereotypes, this head cheerleader became a curious independent liberal thinker whose talents ranged from creative writing and music, specifically the piano, to photography.
Diane was possessed with wanderlust for travel preferring less developed even virgin parts of the world. After completing her education degree specializing in anthropologyat the University of Oklahoma in 1971, she headed to Central America. Her first destination was Guatemala. She was there during the historic earthquake of 1976 and recounted her experience of helping victims who had been injured and displaced. She demonstrated her quiet empathic sensitivity during this experience that would serve her when she began her photographic career.
Diane moved to Los Angeles to pursue her avid interest in photography by completing an MFA in Photography from the Parsons New School of Design. She completed two major photography projects involving former vaudeville entertainers, interviews that resulted in documenting their memories of vaudeville days and stunning portraits of the now aging entertainers. Diane also worked as a photographer of stills for the movie, “The Right Stuff” and a play performed by former vaudevillians and aging actors, “Ode to a Bit Player.”
Diane studied ashtanga yoga for many years. She lived in Mysore, India, for three months as a student of the famous guruji, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Many of her most captivating photographs record daily life in India. Diane opened the first yoga studio in Oklahoma City when she returned from California in the mid-1990’s, taught yoga, and brought several notable ashtanga practitioners here for workshops with local students.
A world traveler, Diane captured artful black and white images of the people she encountered in diverse settings. Her kindness and sense of humor, combined with a genuine empathy for others, was key to her ability to record vulnerable moments. People who did not speak the same language were open to having Diane take photographs, a great skill for a photographer! The photographs show her intense love for children and animals, but the images are always sensitive and never cloying.
