BY: ROB HOFFMAN
A new photo series by Steve Schapiro shows evidence of a hippie movement that did not die out in the wake of the ’60s and ’70s, but has rather transformed into a thriving community of vibrant neo-hippies with similar attire but shifting values.
Steve Schapiro is a veteran in the realm of socially stimulating photojournalism, his work making appearances on the covers of magazines including TIME, Vanity Fair and Sports Illustrated. He also has captured iconic portraits of a variety of people from Robert De Niro to Martin Luther King Jr. This particular series is the product of two years of travelling to hippie hotspots in the U.S. including California, Hawaii and Oregon, as well as certain spots in Europe. Schapiro’s son, Theophilus Donoghue, had long been well versed in the contemporary hippie movement and helped guide Schapiro through the project, which he claims, “basically was his idea.” From 2012 to 2014 they spent their summers exploring the likes of Rainbow Gatherings, Oregon’s Mystic Garden and festivals including Burning Man, Electric Forest and Mount Shasta.
Schapiro, who had previously captured portraits from the ’60s hippie movement, describes a major shift in mentality where contemporary spirituals focus less on LSD and more on meditation and an organic lifestyle. For his book Bliss, Schapiro told TIME magazine that he aimed to capture “people feeling and expressing joy.”
PowerHouse Books will be releasing the hard-cover version this month entitled, Bliss: Transformational Festivals & the Neo Hippie.
Source: time.com