John Humble — An Honest Take

Los Angeles. Two words that mean so much to so many people, and yet mean something different to each one. It is a glitzy metropolis, it is a sprawling suburban span, it is an industrial wasteland, it is a kaleidoscopic petri dish of all of these things intersecting and growing together — and it is many more things. John Humble sees all of it and documents it with a view both honest and loving. His images are strikingly artful, and yet they shy away from none of the grit or grime of the truth. Rather, this texture of the real and the imperfections that it belies are the very essence of what seem to call him to his subjects. Despite the desolation and the grime, there is an elegance to his images.

The photographs have striking compositions, which juxtapose the seemingly arbitrary subjects which they capture — an intersection of freeway overpasses, a neighborhood at the edge of downtown, a corner street vendor, a section of the LA river. These seemingly ordinary things are framed and captured with a sculptural grace. Yet the photographer’s touch is so light that the images register as simply factual truth. Yes, the viewer thinks, I would see that from my car window. Yet, spending time with each image reveals layers of detail and meaning. The frame edges have been carefully considered, and the vibrant colors have a subtleness. Everything looks worn soft by the sun and reads like a patchwork of time-worn urban developments and additions. John Humble is an observer who sits outside of this time, and can see the land as it has been developed and shifted, added to and changed over time.

Venice Beach, .

Los Angeles River