Elisa Leonelli as Santa Claus
After living in Los Angeles for a few years, in December 1978, I decided to photograph a self-portrait series of myself dressed as Santa Claus to show how different Christmas looked in this metropolis on the Pacific Ocean where it never snows.
The photo essay was published in the French photography magazine ZOOM.
Read below what I wrote in 1979 to explain the photographs.
I remember this today, Christmas 2022, when it’s 80 degrees and sunny in LA, and I am walking on the beach.
Happy Holidays everyone, wherever you are, wishing for Peace on Earth.
The Santa Claus figure is the symbol of Christmas in most parts of the world, but nowhere is it so pervasive as in the United States. Here he is not only a character from a fairy tale, that children dream about and hope to see some day. Everyone has a chance, at Xmas time, to meet Santa Claus and get a picture taken with him. There is a plethora of these red costumed figures walking around. Businesses, stores and institutions rent costumes and beards and hire unemployed actors to impersonate the old fellow. They hope to show their goodwill, get the people into the Christmas spirit, and sell more merchandise. In the country where fairy tales come true Santa Claus is a physical presence, the guy next door.
As Xmas approached last year, I, an Italian photographer living in Los Angeles (L.A.), was trying to figure a way to get into the Xmas spirit, so I decided to become Santa Claus. I went to a toy store, bought a Santa Claus costume, and put it on. With cameras and tripod I set out to the streets to take pictures of him (me) in L.A.
People from Europe and from the East Coast often complain that it doesn’t feel like Christmas in Los Angeles, because there is no snow, but actually I found out that there couldn’t be a more perfect setting for Santa Claus. The fairy tale character comes alive in a city that looks like a fairy tale dream come true. The gingerbread houses, the Disneyland-like parks, the art-deco buildings, the bright colors – Santa Claus is at home in L.A.
You may view the entire series in the Elisa Leonelli, Photojournalist Collection at this link
In 1982 I asked a friend to wear the Santa Claus outfit, so I could photograph more images in a similar vein, without having to use a tripod and self-timer, as I had done in 1978, when I was photographing myself. See that series at this link