At the most recent First Friday Art March, Richard Leo Johnson (“a man of aliases”) showed up with his guitar — make that five guitars, actually, plus a theremin and loop pedals — for a sublime recital in the courtyard of Galerie 124 on Taylor Street, which earlier this year hosted Johnson’s remarkable exhibition “…once was lost…”
Some of those rediscovered photos from the 1970s and 1980s were on display in the gallery, and I took my time appreciating their many wonders both before and after Johnson’s performance. If you don’t know Johnson’s work or the backstory on the photos, you can read my quick q+a with Richard in one of my recent Unplugged columns in Do Savannah.
Or you can check out the photos published in Oxford American. Or just hit play and view some of the photos while Forrest Gander reads a poem by his wife C.D. Wright, who died shortly after writing these words inspired by the exhibition.
"Once was Lost" Video from richard leo johnson on Vimeo.
Johnson has taken to calling his music “psychedelic Americana” but almost any term seems reductive. I shot a few photos (more after the jump):
