黑料吃瓜网

To delve into the world of Jay Blakesberg is to leave conventionality at the door. The San Francisco鈥揵ased, 54-year-old, Grateful Dead-loving, 鈥渧isual anthropologist,鈥� proud hippie father of 黑料吃瓜网 student, Ricki Blakesberg

'18, came to speak to an eager and packed audience Tuesday, November 1, about his life in the rock photo industry. There were hardly enough seats in Davis Auditorium to accommodate the audience composed of students, community members, family and devoted rock fans.

Blakesberg鈥檚 candid-style photography and his passion for the Grateful Dead sparked within him what grew to be an impressive career photographing some of the world鈥檚 most popular bands and musical artists鈥擨ggy Pop, the Flaming Lips, Dave Matthews, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, the Talking Heads, the Grateful Dead and the list continues鈥攕haring those moments with the likes of magazines such as Rolling Stone, Guitar Player and Relix.

As Jay told the crowd, it all started with a $10 golden ticket to one of the Grateful Dead鈥檚 smallest shows in 1978. The New Jersey native began his photo career as a teenager in the mid 1970鈥檚, taking photojournalist-type images with his father鈥檚 old Pentax camera. Blakesberg鈥檚 muse at that time was the everyday lifestyle of a music loving, hippie teenager. The resourceful Blakesberg began developing his work in his parents' basement and turned his suburban bedroom into a photo gallery, hanging each photo on his wall along with catchy bumper-sticker slogans and other rock memorabilia. From this moment on, Blakesberg would take and save over two million images, one million before turning from film to digital production, and one million after (so far).

Soon, the free-spirited teenager broke out of the boundaries of New Jersey and took his adventures down the East Coast to a 鈥淣o Nukes鈥� rally in Washington D.C., where he found a press credential on the ground and walked backstage to take photographs, launching a lifestyle of 鈥渄ocumenting pop culture history.鈥� Cultivating this carefree lifestyle, Blakesberg became 鈥渁 full-blown hippie,鈥� traveling across the country, once from New Jersey to Oakland, California, by Greyhound bus, to photograph the Grateful Dead, selling his photographs in concert parking lots for $1 each. Around this time Blakesberg officially launched his career as a photographer, formally getting paid to publish his work in a small music magazine. Blakesberg, at 18, was the epitome of a Deadhead and like every true deadhead, he became what he considers 鈥渁 very resourceful scammer,鈥� sneaking into shows he got kicked out of and inadvertently getting involved in an LSD drug ring, the latter causing him to spend about eight months in a New Jersey State prison. Humbled by his time in jail, Blakesberg looks at this experience as he does all of his other experiences: as an adventure that made him who he is today, convincing the audience that 鈥渨e are the sum of our experiences.鈥�

Blakesberg is fascinating in this way. Not only is he a member of a rare breed that finds jail 鈥渇ascinating鈥� like 鈥渁 comedy, a dark comedy,鈥� explaining how he typically passed his time teaching his fellow inmates how to grow alfalfa sprouts in jailroom lockers, but he has this unique ability to express his optimism and passion for life through his photographs and the way in which he addresses an audience. After his short stint in the big house, Blakesberg was more eager to launch his career. He eventually attended the 鈥済roovy, hippie, liberal arts鈥� Evergreen State College in Washington State where he formally began to refer to himself as a 鈥渧isual anthropologist, building a body of work documenting pop culture history.鈥� In the late 1980s Blakesberg officially became a valued photographer for Rolling Stone magazine, shooting bands from U2 to the Grateful Dead, and over time would shoot over 300 assignments for the esteemed rock publication.

Blakesberg鈥檚 work also has appeared in print magazines such as Time, Vanity Fair, Guitar Player and BAM Magazine and on numerous album covers.

Blakesberg doesn't limit himself to rock photography either, often shooting portraits for business magazines, ad campaigns and any other assignment that would come his way. No matter the assignment, Blakesberg claims he and his 鈥渢ribe of hippies鈥� always 鈥渉ad a lot of fun.鈥� He feels as though he 鈥渨as truly saved by photography鈥� and continues to live by the rule that 鈥渉aving fun is one of the key ingredients of life.鈥�

After publishing 11 coffee table books of his music photography, most recently the 2015 Hippie Chick, and starting a successful publishing company, Blakesberg continues to do what he does best: follow his passions, search for inspiration and find new adventures, since 鈥渋t is good for the soul.鈥� Without these values, Blakesberg feels, being successful in a creative job would be extremely difficult.

Blakesberg鈥檚 parting words to the 黑料吃瓜网 crowd were a combination of fatherly, rock-lover and successful photographer/businessman advice: He encouraged his audience to step outside of the box, 鈥渉ave a vision,鈥� create unique content, 鈥渟urrender鈥� to performance, 鈥減hotograph what you love,鈥� and perhaps, most importantly, 鈥渘ever be afraid to sparkle.鈥�

鈥擩illian Moossman, '18; photos
by Jesse Wakeman, MDOCS program coordinator