Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/310878
M usicians have known this truth for years: If Lynn Goldsmith agrees to photo- graph you, you have arrived. Goldsmith, who divides her time between Aspen and New York City, effortlessly combines playfulness, intensity, insight, and intelligence in her photos—distinctive portraits of the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, and Patti Smith—that manage to be both idiosyncratic and definitive. Not bad for someone who does not regard photography as her life's calling. "The camera has been my passport to meeting people and traveling," she says. "I still don't think of myself as a photographer. I use photography as a tool of self-discovery." That driven journey is central to Goldsmith's identity. Because she recognizes no dis- tinctions between herself and her subjects, her life has often provocatively intertwined with theirs. Under the name Will Powers, she released the album Dancing for Mental Health in 1983. Proudly dubbed the world's only "comedy self-help dance record," it was recorded with the help of Carly Simon, Steve Winwood, and Todd Rundgren, among many other artists. Her recent book, Rock and Roll Stories (Harry N. Abrams, 2013, $60), is as fully a memoir as it is a compelling photographic record of the music from the past four decades. She candidly recounts affairs with Sting and David Byrne, as well as a tem- pestuous relationship with Bruce Springsteen just before he became a superstar. Indeed, it took a lover's eye to capture the vulnerability and brooding sexuality of her indelible portraits of Springsteen, a young artist whose stoic exterior concealed explosive intensity. After resisting photographing him, Goldsmith decided that she wanted to con- vey "a different kind of feeling about him," something with more appeal to "women fans." She got it—and then some. "They show a very true aspect of him," she says. For years Goldsmith divided her time between New York and Los Angeles. When she met architectural designer Sid Schneider, whom she married in 1999, a new possibility emerged. He lived in Sun Valley, so they built a home together in the mountains of the west. For Gold smith, Aspen came to represent the ideal location. "I'd always heard about Aspen from Hunt er S. Thompson, who had been my friend since the mid-'70s—and I imagined everyone wearing gold lamé ski jackets," she says, laughing. "When I came here, I was taken aback by the values that Aspen was founded on: the connection of body, mind, and spirit. That's the Aspen ideal. There's a real arts community here. People actually talk to one another. Between the physical beauty and the intellectual stimulation, I just said, 'Okay, let's live here!' It's a jewel." Lynn Goldsmith Ltd., 970-927-0320; lynngoldsmith.com AP Through the Lens IN HER NEW TOME, PARTTIME ASPENITE AND ROCK 'N' ROLL PHOTOGRAPHER LYNN GOLDSMITH DETAILS FOUR DECADES OF SHOOTING MUSIC LEGENDS. BY ANTHONY DECURTIS PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARL WOLFGANG 62 ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM VIEWS FROM THE TOP Superlatives PEOPLE, CULTURE, TASTE, TREASURES 062-072_AP_SP_VFT_V3_SUM_FALL_14.indd 62 5/7/14 3:18 PM