What if Dionysus was reincarnated and wanted to direct a movie in 1950s Hollywood about a clown? I for one, would see any movie he made. But then again, if the God of the Grape Harvest and winemaking, fertility, festivity, ritual madness, theatre and divine ecstasy could be reincarnated, why in the world would he come back in the repressive 1950s?
However, maybe that would be the point of his return – coming back to a time where he could make a real contribution. I mean, what would the point be of a wild party animal like Dionysus coming back to the free sex, free-loving late 1960s for example. He wasn’t needed then. They were already immersed in sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
Dionysus’ wine, music, and ecstatic dance were considered to free his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subvert the oppressive restraints of the powerful. Now that’s something they could have used in the ‘Leave It To Beaver‘ and ‘Father Knows Best‘ 1950s.
Well I guess we’ll never know. But I was able to tie these three things together for the Hollywood 2026 exhibition at The Lab on Santa Fe gallery in Denver, Colorado. The exhibition ran this past February to April.
Related: Any Clown Can Make a Movie
Wine with Dionysus, Any Clown Can Make A Movie and 1950s Hollywood in 2025 were the three photos of mine that were in the exhibition.
Wine with Dionysus also was exhibited in the In Vienna 2026 exhibition at Galerie Frank, Vienna. The show was organized by Blank Wall Gallery of Athens, Greece.
I shot Any Clown Can Make A Movie while shooting a short film at the Santa Monica beach in 2000 with a cheap 35mm film camera. It’s been fun seeing it making the rounds at a few galleries after pretty much forgetting about the shot for the past 25-26 years.
It’s also been in and won:
- Candid 2026, Carlotta Gallery
- Joy Unfiltered 2025-2026, Allora Gallery
- Winner Los Angeles Photography Awards 21st Edition 2024, Behind the Scenes
- Winner ICE CineFest 2024, Behind the Scenes
With a theme of “Hollywood” how could you not include, 1950s Hollywood in 2025?
This was my homage to photographer Earl Leaf, who photographed an actress around the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Vine in 1957. My idea for this series was to do a contemporary version of his photos, recreating the look and feel while shooting as close to the same locations as possible.
Other exhibitions and awards for 1950s Hollywood in 2025:
- L.A. Open 2026, The Artists Gallery (TAG), Los Angeles
- London Photography Awards 2026, Fashion-Vintage Honorable Mention
- Muse Photography Awards 2026, Fashion-Vintage Winner
- Monochrome Awards 2025, Fashion-Beauty Honorable Mention
I’ll never know what kind of a movie director Dionyus could have been in the modern world. All I’m left with is imagining the possibilities. I’m reduced to having to raise a wine glass, or several, and to see what kind of ecstatic frenzy, revelry and merriment the God of the Grapevine can induce in me.
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