Artist Statement

As a pre-teen I spent all my time drawing and painting, but made the decision to abandon art and turn toward science, which also fascinated me. I never touched the sketching pencil again, but neither did I stop looking at the world with an artist’s eye. Now, sixty years later, I have begun to create photographic images, which reflect all I learned from my visual experiences.

Just as every block of marble contains a great sculpture and one need only to trim away the excess, the world is full of great images and the task of the photographer is only to keep an open eye. I keep trying to catch those magical moments when form and content come together. When they do then there are no questions, no doubts, and no ambiguity: the image is just right.

There is nothing subtle in my photography. Color or black and white, it is intended to grab your attention, and to demand a “wow.” Being a scientist in my other life, I strive for technical perfection, but that is only the first stage. The second is when the image connects with the viewer. I connect best with people, so my subject always includes people or a hint that people are nearby. The third stage of the “wow” is the soul-crashing impact that is rarely achieved, but once seen never forgotten. A photograph like that can be a life’s ambition. You have to aim high.

Bio

Janos Lanyi was born in 1937, in Budapest, Hungary, and grew up during the difficult years of World War II and then the communist system that engulfed Central and Eastern Europe.

He was something of a child prodigy in graphic art, but soon developed an interest in the natural sciences, which he made into his career. He studied Chemistry at the elite University of Sciences in Budapest, but his sophomore year was interrupted by the Hungarian uprising of 1956. After it was put down with force by the Soviet Army, he escaped to Vienna, and soon made his way to the U.S.

In 1959 he obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, and four years later a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard. In the years that followed, his research was on the forms of life that thrive in extreme environments, such as saline lakes.

In 1980 he became Professor of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of California at Irvine, a position he still holds. His publications since have been on colored proteins similar to the visual pigment of the eye.

Janos has traveled extensively with his wife, Brigitte, all around the globe, searching out different lands, cultures, and peoples. He regards photographic art, like scientific investigation, as means to understand the world and our place, as humans, in it.

Solo Shows

• Bob Poe Photographic Art. Bergamot Station Santa Monica, California
  April 17 - June 11
  
  
• Coffee Gallery, Altadena, California, Sept. 1 - Sept. 30.
  Curator: Katherine Carvellas

Juried Exhibits

• "Revisiting Beauty" Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California
  Juror, Peter Frank
  
  
• "Abstractions Exhibition" Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, California
  Juror, Diana Lo Schiavo
  
  
• "12th National Juried Art Exhibition" Baker Arts Center
  Liberal, Kansas
  Juror: Dan Addington
  
  
• "Southern California Open Regional Exhibition VIII" Valley Institute of Visual Art.
  Sherman Oaks, California
  Juror: Diane Calder


• "Photography: Impact of a Medium" 2nd City Council Art Gallery
  Long Beach, California
  Juror: Robbert Flick

Juried Exhibits

• "All-Media Show," Irvine Fine Arts Center, 2 prints.
  Irvine, California
  Juror: Mark Chamberlain
  
  
• Destination Gallery, 6 prints
  New York City
  Curator: Hisa Yamamoto
  
  
• "All-media Juried Exhibition", Palos Verdes Art Center, Palos Verdes, California
  juror: Christy Johnson
  
  
• "Urban Ambience" Exhibition, Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, California
  juror: Michael Daniels
  Honorable mention
  
  
• "Through a Lens: Contrasting Elements" Kellicutt International Juried Photo Show
  Half Moon Bay, California
  jurors: Charles Cramer, Michael Collopy, and Janet Jones
  
  
• "Through the Ages: Exploring the Cycle of Life" (2 prints) Exhibition, Beach Cities Health District and Redondo Beach Art Group
  Redondo Beach, California
  jurors: Stefani Conniff and Nina Zak Laddon
  
  
• "Earth, Air, Fire Exhibition" Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, California
  juror: Margaret Lazarri
  
  
• "2009 Juried Open" Topanga Canyon Gallery, Topanga Canyon, California
  juror: Laddie John Dill
  
  
Other


• The 6-image set “"Seoul Dreaming"” accepted for inclusion in Red Dog Journal Portfolios,
  Cygnet Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Editor-in-chief Tim Anderson



• Two images accepted for the 2009 year-end issue (#85) of LensWork
  Editors: Brooks Jensen and Maureen Gallagher



• print selected for inclusion in postcard box for fundraising sale, Redondo Beach Art Group

2008

Juried Exhibits

• "Love of Country" (1 print) and "Labor" (2 prints) Wildheart Gallerie, Carmel Valley, California
  jurors: Barbara Runge, Ilona Werner, and Larry Vogel
2nd and 3rd prizes
• "ArtSeen 3" -AIDS Research Alliance, Los Angeles, California
  jurors: Stephanie Dillon, Howard Fox, David Gere, Rebecca Morse, John Murdoch, and Glenn Phillips


• "My Space" SCA Project Gallery, Pomona, California
  juror: Suvan Geer
  
  
• "Love of Country" (1 print) and "Labor" (2 prints) Wildheart Gallerie, Carmel Valley, California
  jurors: Barbara Runge, Ilona Werner, and Larry Vogel


• "Visual Literacy" 2nd City Council Art Gallery, Long Beach, California
  juror: Cheryl Bennett
  
  
• "How I See Germany" (2 prints) OMC Gallery, Huntington Beach, California
  jurors: Rolf Goellnitz, Tyler Stallings, and Alan Griffiths
  
  
• "Left, Right & Center" Old Town Gallery, Tustin, California
  juror: Patrick Merrill
  
  
• "Dia de los Muertos" 2nd City Council Art Gallery, Long Beach, California
  juror: Cheryl Bennett
  
  
• "Shelter" 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, Oregon
  juror: Randy Gragg and Laura Russell
  
  
• American Juried Art Salon, Plano, Texas
  jurors: Charles Garoian, Lynn Fero, Charles DeBus, and Mark Gordon
  

Other


• print selected by Carol Wells for inclusion in the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Los Angeles, California
  
  
• 2 images featured in Boxcar Poetry Review, November 2008 web edition
  photography editor: An Xiao
  
  
• 2 prints in Art Bazaar, OMC Gallery, Huntington Beach, California
  

^ back to top ^