RAW MEAT & REEL IMAGES or Doing "Justice Howard" to the Female Form...as printed in Rebel Rodz magazine

[Justice Howard]

Artists from DaVinci to Modigliani to Vargas to Geiger have sought to capture the essence of woman as art, each viewing their subject through the filter of their era, culture and aesthetic sense. While they used palette and brush to construct their images, photography opened the window to an alternate reality so to speak, the snap of the camera shutter capturing a precise and unique moment in time and according to some societies, capturing the very soul of the subject.

You could say that L.A. wunderphotog Justice Howard has accumulated a world of souls, her archives now writhing with some 300,000 high impact images. Her high profile subjects have included a wide spectrum of celebrities from pin-up legend Mamie Van Doren to Sybil Danning and Xene Cervenka to a host of Penthouse pets and Playboy playmates. Her internationally acclaimed work, often of an erotic yet empowering nature, has appeared in some 25 countries via gallery exhibits, book anthologies and magazines the latter running the gamut from French Vogue to Esquire to Easyriders….and of course, RebelRodz. In addition her art is prominently displayed in a well-known Washington D.C. watering h***, The Tattoo Bar, also appearing on billboards in Las Vegas where her subjects have included the Blue Man Group and Siegfried and Roy while also sought by Disney to promote their films.

Speaking from her 2,500 sq. ft. studio in Torrance, CA, when asked to describe a normal day at work, she replied, “Last night I was photographing a girl covered in blood and eating raw meat, so I don’t have too many normal days.” We then learned she had art directed the photo shoot for an L.A. gallery art show centered around the mysterious Chubracapra aka “goat sucker,” a bizarre beast that has been draining the blood from various animals around central and South America. Says Justice, “I put together my own version, sort of a femalian version of the creature.”

Asked to sum up her photographic style/philosophy, she says, “Call it edgy, call it distinguishable, from high-end fashion shoots to dark-edged kitsch. As far as subject matter, I’ve always shot women as art. I learned photography from the ground up first as an apprentice. I just didn’t pick up a camera and start shooting like some do. That would be like picking up a scalpel and start performing operations.” Coincidentally, her photos have been described as “visions that are visceral and razor sharp, vibrant and crisp, supernatural and intense.”

On the technical side she says, “While I was a traditional film person for many years spending hours in the darkroom developing my own prints, I moved on to digital and love it although I still rely on both a Hasselblad film camera as well as my Nikon digital equipment.” One look at her images seen here and her mastery of the artform is obvious, whatever the method. Like they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, especially when Justice is holding a camera.

In addition to her focus on the female form, she has photographed a wild spectrum of guys including leading bands and rockers from surf guitar legend D*** Dale to Eric Burden to Dave Navarro and Marilyn Manson. Famous or not, she is also available for individual photo shoots if you’re looking for something special. For more information log onto www.justicehoward.com or call Justice personally at 213-820-5587