Images of Healing: Photographer Lenkus Builds A Bridge Between the Photographic and Healing Arts
by K.M. Lake
view images: http://www.linnealenkus.com/pressphotos2.html
Hollywood, CA -- August 10, 2005 -- Unflinching, intensely personal, and powerfully authentic, the photographic images that define Linnea Lenkus' body of work speak directly to the importance of human connection. This quality made her work the perfect choice to represent the mission of Whispering Winds, a non-profit provider of therapeutic massage for the critically ill. The 15-foot, black and white, billboard image of a mother kissing her baby and a father's gentle hands cradling the feet of an infant, presents a commanding, split-second message of the need for healing touch to the thousands of Sunset Boulevard commuters passing by every day.
Finding the right photographer had been a difficult task for Whispering Winds founder, Doran Hawkins. The work of providing therapeutic massage for people living with serious illness is challenging and communicating the great need for these services for sick infants and children made choosing the right image vitally important. "I was having trouble getting my message across and it was frustrating that the photographers I was working with did not share my vision…" states Hawkins. "They seemed to view massage only from a luxury item perspective. When I saw Linnea's work I knew right away she was the one. I made up my mind that she was the photographer I wanted to work with …there was something about the image, something that touched my soul."
Lenkus' gift for capturing more than the eye can see in her representations of people makes her photographs more than simple portraiture. Her images deeply engage the viewer, making them momentarily a part of the subject's life. They are compelling both in their compositional elegance and their, very human, very natural, ease. This visual connection with life that made Lenkus' work a perfect bridge between the visual image Doran Hawkins needed and the important message she wanted to convey.
The billboard, unveiled this month, is located at Sunset and Kings road and is one of two donated by Brian Kennedy, of Regency Outdoor, in support of Whispering Winds. Doran Hawkins feels that the Lenkus' images will strike just the right note with the people she is trying to reach, "We hope to attract a lot of attention and let people know how important healing touch is to the seriously ill. The healing touch of a caring and nurturing heart is not a luxury… it is a necessity of life and it can be life-saving."
Lenkus, already an internationally published commercial photographer, opened her first studio in Pasadena, CA in 1998 in order to apply her skills to fine art portrait photography. Her expressive editorial style, focusing on sensitive, evocative, portraits of families and children, has created a dedicated following. Her second studio opened in Long Beach in 2004 and her clients travel from as far away as Hong Kong to have their family portraits taken by her. Lenkus' series of photographs of pregnant women is drawing much attention and will become part of America's broader media image of prenatal care this fall on the set of NBC's new series "Inconceivable," starring Angie Harmon, . Lenkus and her husband live in Long Beach, California with their very well photographed children. For more information about Whispering Winds please call their 24-hour, toll free number (877) 679-5352. For more information about Linnea Lenkus and her work please go to www.LinneaLenkus.com or call (562) 981-8900.
