The Urban Artifax series of photographs by Don Jim glorifies common metal objects imbedded in the streets of Los Angeles.
 
Bullets, can openers, nails, screws and bits of miscellaneous metal take on human and symbolic form in the photographs by Don Jim. The compositions and subtle but masterful lighting effects take these images to an almost iconic status. Much like an archeologist, Don prowled the streets of Los Angeles during the 1970s, head down, eyes focused on the asphalt, looking for uncommon beauty in everyday, flattened pieces of metal.
 
Don‘s Asian heritage shines through in these photographs. Much like a Zen artist, he tried to suggest, by the simplest possible means, that there was an inherent aesthetic nature even in the most over-looked and battered of objects.
 
When Don Jim died in 2006 at the age of 84, he left behind a prodigious treasure trove of work, most of which has never been seen publicly.
 
Margo Jim (July 2, 2008)
 
Biography
 
Don Jim, a photographer who transcended the world of commercial photography to the visual arts, stands out for his singular attention to transforming everyday images into works of abstract beauty.
 
Born in Hawaii, the young Chinese-American surfer grew up with an eye for abstract form and beauty in the natural world around him. After 2 years in the army during WW II, Don came to Los Angeles to study photography at Art Center College of Design.
 
In the 1950’s Don began shooting the Los Angeles Beach areas. Included in the collection of his photography are black and white prints from Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, circa 1953, and the Long Beach Pike which is no longer in existence.
 
During his professional career, Don became recognized for his perfectionism in lighting difficult subject matter, especially shiny and reflective surfaces such as glass and chrome. He worked with notable designers such as Saul Bass, shooting the album cover for the film Exodus. He became a photographer-on-demand in the 1960‘s music scene, doing covers for Jimmy Cliff, The Byrds, Deep Purple and many others. His technical mastery also served him well in the era of 3-D photography. He did a majority of the 3-D View Master photographs for major California tourist attractions such as Disneyland and Hearst Castle.
 
By the time he reached his 50‘s, Don began to apply his technical expertise to non-commercial work, and embarked on a visual arts journey that can best be described in one word: alchemy. He transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary. Paint scrapings on buildings, tar drippings, and metal objects imbedded in the streets of Los Angeles (such as the "angel" above) became his special gems. Very little of Don Jim‘s work has been seen by the public. He became reclusive as health problems began. He stayed in his Los Feliz home, creating beautiful black and white prints in his darkroom and organizing his life‘s work.
 
Don passed away in December of 2006.
 
Exhibition
 
A selection from the Urban Artifax series was shown at the Drkm Gallery (Los Angeles, CA, USA) from November 10, 2007 until January 2008.