Lola Flash facts for kids

Lola Flash (born in 1959) is an American photographer. Her amazing work often looks at important social topics. She also explores issues faced by the LGBT community and women's rights. Lola Flash was very active in a group called ACT UP. This group worked during the time of the AIDS health crisis in New York City. She was even featured in a famous poster from 1989 called "Kissing Doesn't Kill."

Lola Flash's art is all about helping communities. Her photos are kept in major museums. These include the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Early Life and Learning

Lola Flash grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. Her parents were both school teachers. She has both African American and Native American family roots. Her family has lived in Montclair for many generations. Her great-grandfather, Charles H. Bullock, was a teacher. He also started the first Black YMCA in Montclair. He opened other YMCAs in different cities too. Lola Flash was named after her great-grandmother.

Lola Flash started taking pictures when she was a young girl. She took photos for her high school yearbook. She also took many other pictures.

School and Art Studies

After high school, Lola Flash went to college. She first studied science and photography. She hoped to become a science photographer. But she decided to change schools to focus more on art. In 1981, she earned her first degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Later, she earned a master's degree from the London College of Printing.

Photography Career

After her first college, Lola Flash started using a special photography method. She used photo negatives and changed the colors. This made her photos look different from what people expected. She wanted to show viewers that they might see the world in only one way. Her early work focused on important social and political topics. This included photos related to the AIDS health crisis.

Starting in 1987, Flash was very active in ACT UP in New York City. In 1989, she and Julie Tolentino appeared in a public service poster. It was called "Kissing Doesn't Kill." This poster showed different couples kissing. It appeared on billboards and buses. The goal was to fight unfair ideas and educate people about HIV/AIDS.

Working in London

In the 1990s, Lola Flash moved to London. She got her master's degree there. While in London, she took pictures for a magazine about the gay community. She also started exploring new themes. She used traditional portrait photography. Flash lived in London for eight years. She worked for many different lifestyle magazines.

Lola Flash was also part of a group of artists called Art Positive.

New Projects and Themes

Flash later created two photography series in Trinidad. These were called "Scents of Autumn" and "The Quartet series."

Her newer work looks at how skin color affects Black identity. She also explores gender fluidity. She often photographs people from the LGBT community. One exhibit, called LEGENDS, showed members of the New York City LGBT community.

In a recent project called "SALT," Lola Flash photographed women over 70. These women are still very active in their jobs. Her photos show them in a classic portrait style. Many of these women are not famous. They include artists, activists, and designers. Some well-known women, like Agnes Gund, were also part of this series.

Lola Flash's photos are also in a 2009 book. It is called Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present.

Recent Exhibitions

In 2018, Lola Flash had a solo show called Lola Flash: 1986 – Present. This show looked back at 30 years of her important work. It was held at Pen + Brush in New York City. The show included her early work on the AIDS crisis. It also featured her later "SALT" and "[sur]passing" series.

In 2019, Flash was an Artist in Residence. She said, "I've been a committed artist for 40 years, now having finally gained a seat at the table."

Flash's current project is called "Syzygy, the vision." It is part of the Afrofuturist movement. In this series, Flash becomes a character. This character faces racism, sexism, and homophobia. But she also finds joy. She imagines a future where everyone is treated fairly. Flash is a member of the Kamoige Collective. She is also on the board of Queer|Art.

Camera Gear and Methods

Lola Flash started taking photos with a Minox camera. In high school, she used a 35mm Yashica camera.

She became known for her "cross-color" photography method. This technique changes or inverts the colors in her pictures.

Today, Flash uses a Toyo-view camera. She uses a special 4×5 film format.

Personal Life

Lola Flash lives and works in Kips Bay, Manhattan. Besides photography, she teaches visual arts and English. She teaches at the Williamsburg High School of Art and Technology.

Awards and Honors

• 2008: Light Works, Artist residency (New York, NY)
• 2011: Art Matters Foundation, grant for travel to England, Brazil & South Africa
• 2015: Alice Yard, Artist residency (Woodbrook, Port of Spain)
• 2019: Woodstock, Artist residency (New York, NY)
• 2021: Flash received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society.

Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

• 2016: Art AIDS America, The Bronx Museum of the Arts (Bronx, NY). This show included Lola Flash and other artists.
• 2022: Picturing Black Girlhood: Moments of Possibility, Express Newark.

Solo Exhibitions

• 2018: Lola Flash: 1986 – Present, Pen + Brush (New York, NY).

Collections

Lola Flash's work is kept in these permanent collections:

• 1993: Stay Afloat, Use a Rubber, Victoria and Albert Museum
• 2022: Cross Colour, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Filmography

• 2014: Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People