The Los Angeles Art Association is pleased to present a solo exhibition of photographs by Lori Pond titled “Menace.” The exhibition opens with a reception on October 17th from 6-9pm and continues through November 20th.
When danger flares, what do you do?
Since humans first experienced the fight or flight reflex, the subconscious brain has told us what, when, and whom to fear. This remains so. When faced with peril, our bodies respond with intensified adrenaline and racing heart beats. Survival depends on our instantaneous emotional response instructing us to run or stay, a millisecond before our rational self can decide.
While our brains have not changed, what we fear has. It is rarely a carnivorous beast that triggers our instinct to run. It is pictures of burning skyscrapers, reports of schoolchildren crouching behind desks to hide from bullets, or a gathering of teens in hoodies that make us tremble: Our 21st Century litany of what to fear.
But are these threats real? Lori Pond’s Menace challenges us to question what we “know.” Menace confronts us with frightening, darkened, wild animals that trigger the ancient instinct, while our rational mind knows we are in a safe, civilized space, viewing images.We look longer, closer, and realize the threat was never there: these are taxidermied animals, their images captured in bright sunlit shops, manipulated later by the artist to ferocity. They frighten, but are impotent.
Menace asks us to consider if our modern fears are justified, or if our contemporary bogeymen are figments of our imagination, mere empty threats manipulated by an unseen hand.
Lori Pond grew up in the shadow of Mickey Mouse’s ears in Anaheim, California. She shared a love of music performance and photography from a very young age with her father, who encouraged and inspired her in both areas. Studying flute Performance and Spanish at Indiana University Lori graduated Magna cum Laude. Continuing on to USC, she received a Master of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism.
For the past 25 years, Lori has worked as a graphic designer/operator for mostly live television events and productions. Her work has appeared on award shows, such as the Grammys, Emmys, and Academy Awards; reality shows, (Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance) talk shows and industrial productions. Currently, her work can be seen on Conan O’Brien’s talk show.
Lori’s award-winning photographs have been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work resides in the permanent collections of the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, CO, the Center for the Arts in Los Angeles, CA, and at the Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York. She is widely published online, in magazines and she has published two books, “Lori Pond–Self” and “Arboreal.”
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