The artist: Laguna Beach-based photographer Rob Gage has spent much of his 50-year shutterbug career in advertising – including working on Chevrolet campaigns for more than 25 years. His work has taken him to 70 countries and most states. A graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Gage taught there for 15 years and has served as a board member of the Laguna Beach Art Museum. Three summer exhibitions in Laguna Beach showcase his work: the Ballerinas series at foaSOUTH, a retrospective at Wells Fargo Laguna Beach and a series titled “Form and Grace” at the Festival of Arts.
In Gage’s words: “The inspiration for this shoot came from the amazing behind-the-scenes tour I was given at the Pageant of the Masters. An idea was forming in my head. … Wouldn’t this be a wonderful complement to my ballerina series, the animate with the inanimate? Many of my prior photographs with the dancers have had the primary theme of removing the dancer from her reality and then placing her into a scene that captures the viewer’s imagination. This series would take that concept one step further. My ballerina model, Jade Grace Hendricks, is a former member of the Washington Ballet. She was wonderful to work with and moved beautifully. The shoot was done in one day and involved body makeup, hair and makeup, my hard-working assistant, and a helpful crewmember from the Festival of Arts. We took this photograph in the Newport Harbor next to a dredge barge. The boat that the ballerina is on is being driven by one of the barge company workman.”
