Wild Don Lewis is a Los Angeles photographer known for his compelling
portraits
of artists in a live setting.
In 1978 he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Cornell University,
where he majored in painting and photography, graduating at the top
of his class.
Later that year, he turned down acceptance to the MFA Program at
UC Irvine, and instead moved to Los Angeles in search of punk rock.
He built a studio, played in bands, and hooked up with the Stains as their
photographer. He designed the band's album cover on Black Flag's SST
Records, which led to album covers for other bands on the label.
From 1990 to 1993 he photographed and wrote for Los Angeles fanzine
Ben Is Dead. It was through Ben Is Dead that his documentation of the
underground music scene became more widely known.
This led to a Staff Photographer position at New Times Los Angeles
from 1997-2001, and an ongoing Contributing Photographer position at
the LA Weekly. His work has been featured in the "Live in L.A." section
of the LA Weekly, as well as on the cover and other inside features.
His work has appeared in Blender, Spin, Rolling Stone, Hustler, Artforum,
Alternative Press, and People, among others. Record companies who
have used
his work include Geffen, Atlantic, and Priority.
Group exhibitions include:
"Physic3", Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA, 2004
"Damnation", Holly Matter Fine Art, Los Angeles, 2000
"Santa Fe Art Colony Artists at The Brewery", I-5 Gallery, Los Angeles,
1999
"Oak Mort Delusions", Karl Eisenbach Gallery, San Pedro, CA, 1999
"Cacophony Society Retrospective", Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA, 1997
Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, 1992
Wild Don Lewis operates from a studio near downtown LA, where he produces
work for magazines, book publishers, and record companies.