Clarence John Laughlin (1905 - 2 January 1985) was a U.S. Photographer who took surrealist pictures of the U.S. South. His southern heritage is frequently shown in his work, and his interest in literature also heavily influenced his works. Once his family lost all their money in a failed rice farm, they had to move to New Orleans where his dad got a job as a factory worker. Once his father died, he turned to the Church in which he was strongly influenced by; He dropped out of high school after his freshman year was over, but was self-educated and highly literate. He originally wanted to be a writer and wrote many poems and short stories which reflected his Southern French heritage, but was not published. He began working as a freelancer photographer once he got a job with Vogue magazine; he disliked the constraints of Vogue magazine and after a conflict with the editor in chief, he quit. He began shooting surrealist pictures that reflected the his southern heritage and the slave-filled past of the South. He showed no interest in newer camera equipment, and used older models until he died.
%2Bcopy.jpg)
