Retrospective of Photographs by Sara (Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001; all rights reserved)

In 1982, I ran away from Los Angeles to the Sorbonne. I assiduously studied food, alcohol, men, and art. (I was supposed to be studying French and French history.) I think I got the equivalent of a "B" in everything.

the artist and a close friend looking fabulous When I came back to California, everything there suddenly seemed trivial. Of course it did; I was 19 years old. All I wanted to do was sit in cafés drinking coffee or something stronger and smoking expensive foreign cigarettes, laughing bitterly but bravely over the essential futility of existence, and looking fabulous while doing so. I simply could not face returning to my university education, so I dropped out and enrolled in art school. Since I was paying my own way, these were choices I felt perfectly free to make.

the artist taking herself seriously in a suburban bathroom I loved photography, and for a few years after that, my camera was my voice. It went everywhere with me, because I couldn't stand to miss a shot. I wanted to capture the essence of everything and everybody on just the right paper in just the right light. But one day I stopped using it -- probably because I was off somewhere being impoverished and couldn't afford film -- and then the next time I thought of picking it up to take a picture, several years later, the winding mechanism was broken. Somehow the right combination of factors to get it fixed just never happened until very recently, when my fabulous boyfriend Erik finally insisted upon taking care of it. So now, as a far more mature artist, I find myself with almost a missing body part restored to me and a new vision of how to use it.

the artist improving her mood in an Alaskan photo booth But I still have all these old pictures, images of places to which I probably won't ever return and people with whom I lost contact over a decade ago. The prints I've posted here are some of the ones I like best. Together they form a kind of yearbook, a travelogue of my extreme youth.

(If you or someone you know is featured in any of these photos, please drop me a line and let me know where you are and how you're doing, and if you mind having your image stuck up on the web this way. Oh, and by the way, Ronnie? Your prints are ready...)

Except where indicated, all images property of the artist; copyright 1999 Sara; all rights reserved. Some of these images have been digitally retouched to enhance online presentation.

Characters
(shots from portrait and portfolio sessions) Souvenirs
(scenes collected while gadding about)

Celeste Balcony entrance to a room in Paris, France

Dolores A Basin Roadhouse, Juneau, Alaska

Dolores B Carface

Fern Century City, Los Angeles, California

Frank Creepy Tomb in Paris, France

Janet Dumpster in Santa Cruz, California

Mark Dungeon window in Normandy or Bretagne

Michelle's little sister Girls playing seaweed jumprope, Laguna Beach, California

Ronnie A Girl stuff

Ronnie B Glacier from a small plane, Juneau to Lituya Bay, Alaska

Sirius Gravel and leaves in Juneau, Alaska

Stephanie Graveyard trees, autumn, Juneau, Alaska

Suzanne Hotel balconies, Oahu, Hawaii

Jim Morrison's grave, Paris, France**

Conceptual Portraits Little ponies have big teeth, Oakland, California

Boy between crying and laughing, Oakland, California Lucky tennis shoes, Los Angeles, California

Hope Parking posts, Los Angeles, California

Impression of a fuzzy sweater in Santa Cruz, California A rare, sunny day, Juneau, Alaska***

The Joke Studying for finals, Santa Cruz, California

Life Wildflowers, Juneau, Alaska

Self-portrait for a business card Winter graveyard, Juneau, Alaska

Time

**Currently hunting negative to redevelop due to damage to original print (and if you have a copy, could I please borrow it?)
***Not actually sure if I took this picture or if I'm in it. (The figure passed out on the starboard bow could easily be me.) If I didn't take it, my good friend Elisa Alvarez did, and if she took it, the rights are her property. But I wanted to include it because it's pretty and it doesn't have a graveyard in it.