Resume of
Larry S. Neilson, A.S.C.
(206) 579-4243
larryneilson@yahoo.com
Portrait Artist * Filmmaker * Fine Art Photographer
1954: Born at Northampton, Massachusetts
1962: Buys first camera with proceeds from selling flower seeds.
1966-67: Lives in Japan with
his family while studying Japanese language and culture. While there, experiments with
35mm photography and first performs darkroom magic.
1971: Graduates with Honors from WILLISTON-NORTHAMPTON
SCHOOL. While there, shoots yearbook photos. Studies art history and graphics
with BARRY MOSER, subsequently the winner of the American Book Award.
1974: First one-man photo exhibit in Northampton, Mass.
1975: Graduates Cum Laude from VASSAR
COLLEGE, Poughkeepsie, NY. At Vassar he immerses himself seriously in
photography as a hobby, documenting his schoolmates' decadent lives as well as their
cultural activities.
1975-76: Works in the printing industry as Cameraman/Offset
Stripper. Designs and produces an 8-page brochure of his photography.
1976-77: Yearbook photographer and darkroom ace for Springfield,
Mass. studio.
1977-79: Freelance writer and photographer for alternative
weeklies in the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts. Runs commercial product
studio on the side. Active in documenting New England jazz scene. Collaborates in five
multimedia performances combining dance, poetry, music, magic, and slides.
Nov. 1979: Studio burns, destroying cameras, prints and negatives,
slide files.
1980: Moves to Boston. Works in printing prepress while getting
his business re-established.
1982: Moves to Marblehead, Mass.
to concentrate on yachting and architectural photography.
1983: Works as Director of Publications for Ocean Research,
Gloucester, Mass., owners of the tall ship Regina Maris, engaged in research
on humpback whale behavior and ocean ecology.
1984: Grants Writing Assistant, Museum of Science, Boston.
1985-87: Goes to work in the Advertising business, creating slide
shows and print advertising for REEBOK INTERNATIONAL's
agency of record. Becomes familiar with 4-color graphic production and publications work.
1987: Shoots travel assignment on Nova Scotia, Canada.
1987-89: Becomes Production Manager for a Boston catalog agency,
responsible for buying and QC-ing color separations and 4-color printing. Agency wins New
England Direct Marketing Assn. Merit Award for Catalog Production.
1989: Studies with SAM ABELL, GALEN ROWELL, and others at
Rockport, ME. Produces a line of color postcard pictures for Marblehead and the North
Shore. Works as wedding photographer. OSW Award for photo OLD GRAND DAD. Death of the
artist's maternal grandfather, the subject of "Old Grand Dad."
1990: Exhibits at PEEL GALLERY of FINE ART, VASSAR COLLEGE
CENTER GALLERY. Shoots J-boats racing on commission for the EASTERN YACHT CLUB.
1990: Moves to Seattle.
Immediately goes in a more spiritual and naturalistic direction in lifestyle, reflected in
his photographic art work.
1991: Portfolio reviewed by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
Transcontinental photo shoot visiting Philadelphia, New Orleans, Texas, the Southwest,
Grand Canyon, Pacific coast from El Morro, CA to Port Townsend, WA.
1991: Initial Seattle shows at MARKETPLACE PHOTO, CRYSTAL STAR,
and SWEDISH HOSPITAL garner impressive sales.
1991-3: Wedding photographer for YUEN LUI STUDIOS. Brokers
"offshore" printing from Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea.
1993: Shoots several jewelry catalogs. Travel shots of California,
Cascades, Columbia Valley. Exhibits at STILL LIFE CAFE at the Center of the Universe,
Fremont, WA.
1994: Introduced to multimedia while working for ASYMETRIX
as Print Buyer. More jewelry catalogs, imported goods photos; formation of SASS street
artists' collective and first exhibitions of street art photos.
1995: Worldwide electronic publication through Funk Foto website,
February. Success instantly gushes down! World renown quickly follows. Can a MacArthur
Fellowship be far behind?
1995: June: 20th Vassar reunion. Death of the artist's father.
1995: July: Exhibits at Elliot Bay Bookstore Cafe in
Seattle's Pioneer Square.
1996: City of Art web site, originated and illustrated by Neilson,
gets favorable attention in the media: mention in Seattle Times; Tokyo-based
Ambassador Magazine; and "In-site of the Month" for May in //home.page/
Magazine.
1996: Four one-man shows displayed. Magazine publication of
sections of Seattle Kitsch undertaken. ILEANA LEAVENS, Ph.D, renowned expert
on Dada, collaborates on writing Kitsch articles and book chapters.
1996: Photos revealing Seattle's counterculture art scene
published in Altair, Barcelona-based travel magazine.
1997: Shoots radio quiz show for National Public Radio
88.5-FM, KPLU, broadcast from Seattle's magnificent Paramount Theatre, starring Michael
Feldman, Ruby Montana, and Ernestine Anderson. Shoots Global Reunion of the
American School In Japan in Seattle, June. Travel photos of Oregon, the North Cascades,
and the San Juan Islands.
July 1997: Wins trophy for Art Car Parade organized by Dr.
Schlock for the Greenwood Seafair Parade (Best of Parade, Wheeled Division). Trophy is
promptly mounted on spoiler of Rhonda the Honda and displayed at the Madcap Motorcade in Portland, Oregon!
1997: Produces commercial web sites for a number of clients.
November 1997: Appears as a guest on NBC-TV's Compton Report
as Seattle's Art Car Guru, with Jim Compton, national Art Car proponent Harrod Blank,
and members of the SASS Art Car
Squadron.
January 1998: Begins a hitch as full-time contractor with Microsoft
Corporation, managing to fulfill artistic commitments all the while.
May and September 1998: Featured on KING 5-TV's Evening
Magazine as Seattle's Art Car Guru, with John Stofflet and members of the SASS Art Car Squadron.
December 1998: In his persona as Dr. Schlock, Neilson is
profiled in a full-page feature article by Vassar Quarterly.
January 1999: Elected to the Board of the Fremont Arts Council.
May 1999: Appears on nationwide TV in Japan with members of the SASS Art Car Squadron.
February 1999: Exhibits at Benaroya Hall (Seattle's new
Symphony Hall), demonstrating City
of Art web site and introducing the Seattle Kitsch photo
essay to the public.
March 1999: Begins work as a webmaster for King County, Washington, the
nation's 12th most populous county. His work may be seen on-line at the County web site.
June 1999: In conjunction with Leopard Lady Kelly Lyles, masterminds a major
invitational Art Car rally at
Seattle Center as part of the artsEdge Festival.
September 1999: Filmed for
TV with fellow Art Cartists on a caravan to San Francisco for the Art Car Fest. Hangs in the
Haight. Parties with Wavy Gravy. Partipates in the "How
Berkeley Can You Be" Parade and Festival. Photographs the beautiful coast of Oregon
extensively on the return trip.
Autumn 1999: Gets national news coverage as he
spearheads the fight against Art Censorship in Seattle in defense of the Picardo Venus statue.
October-December 1999: Exhibits at Elliot Bay
Brewing Company, 4720 California Ave. SW in West Seattle.
March 2000: Shoots a beautiful sequence of 20 photos of the Kingdome Implosion from a nearby office tower. The Implosion Series
proves his best-selling photo story ever.
May 2000: Fund-raising activities supporting Art Car invitational include
major exhibition of new work and Art Car photos at Benefit Auction.
June 2000: With Kelly Lyles and others, organizes the second invitational Art Car Blow-Out in Seattle's famous Fremont District. Seattle
Cartists host some 20 visiting Art Car creators and owners from across the country.
Visits Poughkeepsie and NYC for 25th
Vassar Reunion.
July 2000: During MerKaBa's concert at Experience Music Project in Seattle, dances onstage at the Sky
Church to celebrate release of this group's fine new CD, self-titled.
In his "Buddha Buggy" Art Car, leads 4th annual
Greenwood Art Car parade.
August 2000: Television appearance on Speedvision Network's
Car Crazy (filmed in June at Art Car
Blow-Out 2000 in Seattle) - broadcast date 8/23.
Official photographer covering the Seattle Hemp
Fest, August 20.
September 2000: Revisits Bay Area Art
Car Fest.
2001: Joins in the Funeral of Democracy,
Seattle street protest against the Republiscamps' stealing of the 2000 presidential
election. His rendition of the "Kennebunk Hillbilly" parody will long be
remembered. Are you listening, Benaroya?
Designs labels and signage for Shangri-La Spring water, pure holy water
from Kham Province, Tibet, and materially assists in startup marketing push for this fine
product from the Tibetan "Fountain of Youth."
June 2001: Shows his Art Car at Tacoma Art Museum's Contemporary Folk Art
exhibit. Helps to coordinate Seattle Art Car Blow-Out 2001, June 15-17.
2002: Returns to school to buff up his Web design and scripting skills. Continues studies through summer 2003.
September 2001: Shows his Art Car in the Vancouver (Canada) Funky Art Car Fest. Becomes a Charter Member of the A.S.C. (ArtCar Society of Canada).
June 2002: Fourth and final year coordinating the Seattle Art Car Blowout, which peaks with 72 vehicles.
2002-03: Shows his Art Car at San Jose Art Museum's special show in September, part of the Bay Area Art Car Fest.
Becomes Webmaster for the Seattle NOT IN OUR NAME chapter, attempting to coordinate protest against the looming war against Iraq.
March 2003: Publishes his Quicktime movie THE WORLD SAYS NO TO WAR shortly before the bombs begin to fall, meanwhile producing four more anti-war films.
June 2003: Shows his Art Car in Seattle Art Car Blow-Out.
2003: Studies filmmaking in Vancouver, B.C.
June 2004: Shows his Art Car at Fremont Fair, Seattle, during Solstice/Blow-Out Weekend. Tables for Northwest CyberArtists in Social Action Village, an enclave ringed by American flagged coffins and dominated by a 12-foot puppet of President Bush as a coke-crazed Texas gunslinger brandishing nuke-u-lar six-shooters.
2003-06: Art shows and conferences dedicated to resisting Bush and the neoconservative takeover. Art of Resistance Conference, Weapons of Mass distrACTION multimedia art show, Ship of Fools political art show, Fear Channel News - scriptwriting and acting; Not In Our Name webmaster, Fremont Freedom Flicks weekly community movies, Greenlake Peace Vigil.
2004: Contributes to the anti-war and Stop Bush movements in Seattle. Kucinich delegate to Washington Democratic Convention, May. Voter registration drives, summer - fall. Get out the vote drives, September through the election. Op/eds, editorials, online rants and phillipics -- nonstop.
Dec. 2006: Buddha Buggy Art Car destroyed by uninsured driver Troy Jerome Curtis, who was checking a number on his cell phone instead of watching the road at the time. Compensation offered was limited to partial cab fare home on the night of the accident.
2007: Neilson's multimedia play Fear Channel Late News performed before an audience of over 500 cognoscenti at Seattle's four-star Fairmont Olympic Hotel, June 14. Songs produced for the show are available online.
2007: Nature study movie, "Water Sequence" published on Larry's myspace site.
2008: Art Car rises again -- new red CRX purchased for transformation into the Phoenix Car.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
