Nov 4, 1944 - Jan 29, 2011

Leigh St. Maur Stocker passed on January 29, 2011 in Long Beach, California.  Many knew him for his encyclopedic knowledge of the photographer's craft, and his gentle manner of conveying it across the counter at Terry's Camera, one of the last of the "old school" camera shops.  Not as many know that Leigh was a stunning visual artist in his own right.  Some of his work can be viewed at www.LeighStocker.com where you can also correspond with his family.  A memorial reception will be held on Sunday July 17, 6:00 pm at the Lafayette Mezzanine, 140 Linden Ave., Long Beach where some of his work will be on display.  

~ Los Angeles Times

This beautifully written tribute is by Leigh's brother, Michael (CHS 1973):

What is left behind.

When someone in our life passes on – leaves us, or dies – time continues to unfold, but the boundaries of time stretch and smear. Memories take their place on the developing horizon of time; some memories become monuments, others a haze or hue that color our thoughts of now. 

The remaining fact is that we can not confer with those we have lost; we have to use the shifting dimensions of our recollections and the relics of their lives to build on our continuing relationship with them.

Leigh St.Maur Stocker’s spirit left his body on the evening of January 29, 2011. What he left behind is a legacy of relationships, ideas, and artwork that continues to surprise me as the artifacts and tales of his life blossom for us to behold.

Leigh was a very private person. When he was not behind the counter at “Terry’s Camera” I could reliably find him at home, where I could dependably have long, literate and politically informed phone conversations with him. 

What I am now learning is that from behind the counter at Terry’s he had a broad impact on many other people. Apparently customers would come to the store, perhaps to buy a roll of film, some lights, or accessories. While other sale folks might offer to assist, they’d murmur that they were “waiting for Leigh” and mull around the store in some informal order, awaiting their turn at the counter.

This was because buying that roll of film, can of developer, or light pack from Leigh could unfold into an incredibly useful discussion on lighting, a comparative critique of Walker Evans and Dorthea Lange, or a concise lesson on how to use lens focal-length variables in photo composition.

I was told as he was dying that any serious student who went through the Cal State Long Beach photography program would include in their course of studies regular visits to Terry’s. 

One photographer mentioned that he would show Leigh his portfolio, and as Leigh would casually flip through the works he’d take particular note if Leigh paused just for an extra moment on a piece, knowing that there was something of value in that work. Another professional from half-way around the world simply stated “I would not be doing this work without Leigh.”

Leigh’s own work – some of which is shown here, is a product of a meticulous elegance that often reads as “casual” until you ponder the methods and techniques he used to arrive at these “casual” observations. He concealed complex commentary and political insights in his still-lifes, revealed the deep inner-beauty of sometimes very “ordinary” models, and honored some of his favorite artists – Klimpt, Sheile, Escher, and Bruni by capturing their gestalt on paper.

In the post-Photoshop era images have become “cheap.” Selective colorization, tonal effects, and compositional distortions can be fiddled with until the right piece emerges. Leigh did most of his work between the early 1970’s and the late 1990’s. Subtlety was his hallmark; you might not notice through the ‘nonchalance’ of his compositions that layers and layers of translucent Windsor oils had been applied to yield the dreamy pallet of a nude, or that countless days might have been spent with a three-hair brush to accentuate the miniscule letters on a map.

Leigh only did this for his own pleasure. Some lucky family members and close friends were given pieces. Most ended up on his own walls, or circulated through storage. He had one show in the early 80’s at the request of a dear friend and gallery owner, but he chose not to sell anything. How do you price an 8-1/2 x 11 “colored photograph” that has 60 hours into it?

His subtlety was also lost on the critics. ArtWeek reviewed the show and the writer was not able to see past the subjects – clearly stimulated, but seeing the nudes as “cheesecake glamour;” according a bit less ink to the still-lifes.

Leigh ventured through many phases in his body of work. The earliest pieces poked finely detailed fun at Warhol; he explored the abstract sensuality of flowers in tight frames and soft focus; elegant portraits, and erotic and sexual nudes; still lifes with packs of Camel cigarettes on seamless, still lifes with packs of Camels on maps, still lifes with packs of Camels on books, still lifes with packs of Camels with photos of his own paintings, and still lifes of his intimate surroundings.

In his work he tipped his hat to the surreal in-camera work Les Krims and Duane Michaels, the circular anti-logic of M.C. Ecsher, the detail-obsession of Andy Goldsworthy and Pieter Bruegal, the absurd trompe’l'oeil of Fredric Peto and William Harnett, the photo-realism of Richard Estes and Ralph Goings, the anachronistic traditionalism of Masame Teroaka, and of course the hyper-sensual honoring of women found in Gustav Klimpt and Egon Scheile.

Through the arc of Leigh’s work there is a distinct perspective and execution which is clearly his own. In his passing the entire corpus has become available to view. I look forward to this excavation.

Leigh in Viet Nam

In 1966 Leigh signed up for the army. Even at my naïve age of eleven I saw the recklessness of his enlistment. Later I assumed that it was a bit of a death-wish after his wife disappeared into a fog of methamphetamines. “Speed Kills” stuck on the bumper of his Volkswagen; it was then I learned that “speed” had nothing to do with driving.

But this may have only been part of the story. I just recently heard from a favorite model that he had been arrested at an anti-war protest and given the sentence of spending a long time in jail, or enlisting. This common legal deceit was – and still is perpetrated on many kids who end up becoming the mulch for our “free market” economy.

Being otherwise a smart fellow he was quickly advanced to an E-6 and sent over to Viet Nam to become leader of a LRRP team - Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol; “Rutters and snipers.” He took his team out on patrol for assigned periods of time to assigned areas of operation. They all knew that the detail was a make-work issue. There was no honorable purpose for the “policing” of Southeast Asia. The only winners were those who provided the cigarettes, beer, and weapons to the troops.

Leigh’s personal strategy was to take his team out into the field, find a good defensible hold-down and have half the team stand watch while the other half read books and worked on their tans. 

They had encounters. They had to clear trails. They – out of necessity killed NVA soldiers who were defending their country, but just as often were just trying to find their way home to their families.

Leigh spent 14 months in Quâng Tri - right against the DMZ.  He came back not shattered, but deeply disillusioned. The very first thing he said to me when he returned was that if I was called up he would serve in my place – because he did not "want another life to be ruined." 

His take on Viet Nam was more complex than the prevailing perspectives. He laughed out loud at Copola’s “Apocalypse Now” for its simplistic, hyperbolic presentation of the idiocy of the affair. In an immoral, forced engagement the only heroes are those who can dive in deeply enough to save their own soul. This for him was not so much a struggle, but a slow moving tableau; a mediation on circumstance and consequences more accurately represented in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” – through the calculated, calm violence of Charles Bowden’s “Blood Orchid.”

In mid-tour Leigh took an “R&R” break to Japan, where he spent his soldier’s salary on a couple of nice jazz guitars, a few Pentax “Spotmatic” cameras and a bunch of lenses. While he didn’t take many photographs in Viet Nam, on his return he became an avid shooter – working on composition, form, technique – a continuation of his formal fine arts studies prior to enlisting, though with film, lenses, and light as opposed to pen, inks, acrylics, and oils. At some early point he began painting the photographs, stripping out the density of the silver with Potassium Ferro-cyanide which left an ethereal base over which he laid his fluid colors.

It was clear from the outset that he had a gift. He fed his art by working the counter at camera stores and sharing his insights, understanding, and knowledge with customers and coworkers. One coworker commented that she wore out the elbows of three sweaters leaning over the counter at Terry’s Camera talking with Leigh.

While I know that he was a complex character, I thought that through our history of visits, global adventures, family dynamics, and regular phone calls that I had a pretty good bead on who he was. In his death his privacy begins to unfold. I find experimental pieces that are surprising; intricate stories from people unknown to me; and evidence of inquiries he never spoke about. 

Time begins to stretch and smear. A humble giant occupies some locations on my time-horizon. Light emerges from dark corners. A melody twists above. I begin to learn about this man, appreciating even more what I am just beginning to see.

Michael Stocker, 
June 2011

Leigh's portfolio can been seen online at the link listed below:

http://www.leighstocker.com/Leigh_St._Maur_Stocker_Photography.html