Photographer Jay Blakesberg proved long ago he’s got a discerning eye. But even a cursory glance at his latest book, Secret Space of Dreams devoted to images of Jerry Garcia titled, suggests his vision is becoming sharper all the time.
The cover shot doesn’t tell it all, but like the best choices for such designs, it is indicative of the content within. A closeup of the late guitarist and songwriter, peering over his glasses, his beguiling grin alight with delight, is a facial expression to which Dead and Company’s John Mayer alludes in his foreward and, not surprisingly, that inimitable smile is readily apparent in many of the photos here taken from performances and portrait sessions.
But the presence of that expression, sometimes brighter than others, belies the contrasts depicted over these two-hundred eight pages. A picture like the one on the back cover, where Garcia is absolutely beaming, only renders more vivid the comparison with the serious visage of Jerry’s. Such comparison, in fact, aligns with Dave Schools’ bittersweet tone in his ‘Afterword.’ a dynamic sense that makes it possible to read this book in a conventional sense: the photographs are often accompanied by the text of quotes and other verbal observations, from the iconic musician himself and other peers and admirers.
Trixie Garcia’s essay most fully communicates the tenderness peers and admirers felt for her father, but that emotion isn’t much less palpable in the comments from moe.’s Al Schnier or the String Cheese Incident’s Michael Kang. Or the excerpt included from the statement Bob Dylan issued upon Jerry’s passing—talk about high praise!? Not all are as perceptive and articulate as that or Oteil Burbridge’s–fittingly, the last in the book–but the verbiage does, to a greater or lesser degree, shine a light on the photos with which they are juxtaposed.
As with the aforementioned prose, there’s many a citation of Jerry’s singing over the course of this tome, (though hardly as many as for his guitar playing). A deceptively complete vision of its subject as a man and a performer, Jay Blakesberg’s latest collection also benefits from a well-annotated index: what at first might seem merely superfluous quickly becomes an invaluable feature as a means of imprinting in memory the most eye-catching images throughout the book: page one-hundred twenty, taken during performance at Henry Kaiser Auditorium, is just one of many indelible visuals.
Implicit in David Gans’ slightly wordy ‘Introduction,’ this latest book of the San Francisco-based photographer and filmmaker is very much akin to enhanced focus with a camera. Unlike Eyes of the World: Grateful Dead Photography 1965-1995 or Fare Thee Well: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Grateful Dead, this combination of photos and words will no doubt surprise as often as it illuminates the multi-faceted and sometimes contradictory aspects of this late and very lamented cultural figure. And leave it to the recently-deceased Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia’s long-time composing partner, to de-romanticize the subject so lionized otherwise elsewhere (though his comment belies a photo of the two together laughing quite heartily).
The layout of Secret Space of Dreams is carefully considered and purposeful. For instance, those images that also include other musicians and singers readily reveal how those individuals reflect Jerry Garcia’s own mindset in the moment. And it’s not just the intensity bandmates Phil Lesh and Bob Weir radiate in the shots from performances at the Warfield Theatre; there’s also the simpatico joy David Grisman shares with his beloved co-musician as well as the dense concentration of the JGB ensemble on stage as they mirror both the mental and physical manifestations of their musicianship of their leader.
So many of these shots leap from the page that the visceral reaction both rewards and compels repeated perusal. As a result, it’s also true that, as with the most involved and complex writing, it’s occasionally necessary to stop and savor what’s been absorbed through any given point during Secret Space of Dreams. And that’s what makes it perfectly appropriate, perhaps even a necessity, that shots of Jerry Garcia’s guitars occupy the inside front and back covers of this approximately 9.5” by 12” hardcover: the fine detail in the craftsmanship of those acoustic and electric instruments solidifies the impressions arising from all the various times and places captured in Jay Blakesberg’s expert work here.
