Chasing Dragons: An Uncommon Memoir in Photographs - Hardcover

Chasing Dragons: An Uncommon Memoir in Photographs by Bill Hayward tells the story of one artist's quest for self-discovery and new modes of expression, tracing the evolution of photographer Hayward's work from traditional portraiture to increasingly abstract and altered images, figurative paintings, dance, performance, and film.--Annie Coreno "Publishers Weekly, June 19, 2015 " Uncommon it is, and beautiful, and quite possibly the first of its kind. Chasing Dragons documents in photographs, paintings, and film stills, Bill Hayward's evolution over five decades from portrait photographer to abstract painter, filmmaker, and multimedia artist.--Stacey Harwood "Best American Poetry " One of the beauties of Chasing Dragons (hunting the dragon smoke of the imagination) is (going back to the patterning, grouping, repetitiveness of the images) that you can see Hayward, the artist, thinking without words, thinking with the images themselves, making and remaking, with slight variation, the same gesture, scene, idea. The effect is mesmerizing; rarely do you get to see so many materializations of the same artistic thought.--Douglas Glover "Num ro Cinq, October 2015 "

Chasing Dragons is the magnum opus of a highly-esteemed fine art photographer unlike any that has been published before because of its distinctive presentation that includes virtually all 2D media. This stunning visual autobiography shows the artist's development over five decades, includes everything from celebrity portraiture to abstracted imagery. Features an introduction by Sam Barzilay, founder of United Photo Industries, one of the premier photography organisations in New York City. As a child, Bill Hayward traversed thousands of miles of American highway, peering out the window from the backseat of his father's 1940 Chevy. On the road, Bill and his sister, Janet, embarked upon an epic journey of the imagination, making believe they were "chasing dragons" through vast, shifting landscapes. This playful, childhood undertaking has had a profound impact on the life of the prolific, multimedia artist. For more than fifty years, Hayward has endeavoured to bring light, through his art, to the strange and wondrous forms that lie hidden beneath the surface of things, revealing what is left behind when conventions fade away. In the artist's own words, "I inhaled the essence and enchantment of play, permission, and possibility... I came to understand that the truly meaningful will be experienced outside the known world of fact and frame." Presented here is a stunning visual autobiography, chronicling more than five decades of artistic vision. Arranged in five acts, Chasing Dragons traces the evolution of Hayward's work from traditional portraiture to increasingly abstract and altered images, figurative paintings, dance, performance, and film. Join Hayward on this creative odyssey, exploring the fundamental elements of humankind and probing the mystery that lies at the core of your own being.