Photographer's pictures worth a thousand words
Dyslexic man uses the lens for expression
By THOMAS SCHULTZ, NEWS-RESS STAFF WRITER
Athletic success deflected his academic difficulties -- until a pole vaulting accident brought paralysis and erased all hopes for a college scholarship.
Rehabilitation led to an unexpected recovery and, later, landscaping and tree care put food on his table.
But it was only recently that photography gave Chris Messner the freedom to express himself more fully, despite the confines of dyslexia.
"I feel like I've come full circle in life," said the Goleta man, 45, whose growing body of work features abstract lines, unusual perspectives and impressionist qualities.
"I've always seen these things since I was a kid, but could never explain it. The words that I have a hard time getting out, from my head and out, my pictures will say it for me. I realized that's what I've always been seeing."
Some people will recognize Mr. Messner for his civic contributions reviewing proposed construction projects as one of four land-use professionals on the nine-member Goleta Design Review Board.
Others might recall his unsuccessful 2004 bid for a trustee seat with the Goleta Union School District, a race he lost despite logging 5,499 votes while spending only $300. He credits the experience with forcing him to overcome embarrassment about his diagnosis.
Now, Mr. Messner is gaining ground as a fine art photographer. His work has increasingly popped up around town, at several restaurants and exhibits. He embraced the medium more intensely in the past two years or so following encouragement, he said, from photo shop pros and the late Paul Mills, former director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
In September, he was jury voted into the Santa Barbara Art Association.
Throughout November, a series of his prints will fill an anteroom of the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Library.
And a picture Mr. Messner snapped of the deserted and decayed Barnsdail and Rio Grande oil companies gas station on Hollister Avenue, shot from a bird's-eye view nearly 60 feet up in his bucket truck, now graces the lobby of Goleta City Hall. Mr. Messner gave it to the city on June 5.
"I got a lot of funny looks from everybody driving by," he told the City Council that day.
"This gas station I always loved as a child. I remember looking at it and looking at it. I love the deco art. I love all that it's about.
"When you see it, it says, 'Goleta.' That's what I love most."
His enthusiasm was not always so palpable.
Dyslexia, neurological in origin, is a learning disability characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor spelling and impaired decoding abilities.
Impacts vary, depending on the severity of the condition, according to the International Dyslexia Association. The most common effects are problems with reading, spelling and writing.
Studies suggest that 15 percent to 20 percent of the population has a reading disability. Of those, 85 percent have dyslexia, according to the association.
Educators were perplexed about what troubled Mr. Messner, who was held back in the first grade and not diagnosed until high school. As a boy, they moved him into a class with severely developmentally disabled students, suggesting he ride their special bus, he said.
"I felt like, 'Why? I can walk.' I felt way out of place," he said.
"We were called 'retards.' I made sports my way out."
By the end of high school, Mr. Messner had made his mark as a pole vaulter, winning league championships and placing well statewide. His school record of 14 feet, 1 inch held for years (the current high mark is 15 feet, 6 inches). His personal best vault of 16 feet came during practice.
But practice also got the better of him.
Shortly after graduation in 1980, Mr. Messner destroyed his right knee while training at Santa Barbara City College.
"They didn't think I would ever walk again," he said, adding that if he did, his leg would drag.
Though the knee today is far from perfect, he proved them wrong.
"I knew I had a strong back, and I was determined to keep walking. I believe in prayers, and I just kept going."
He turned to landscaping and tree care to pay the bills -- working off referrals. He later earned his contractor's license.
At one point, Mr. Messner oversaw five employees. More recently, he has begun selling off equipment and moving more toward consulting work and, of course, photography.
He lives on Princeton Avenue with his wife and their three young children.
"You should see the landscaping job on his house. It's beautiful," said Councilwoman Jean Blois, who encouraged Mr. Messner to apply for the city Design Review Board.
"He just seemed like a very dedicated Goletan who I thought would make a really good addition. I haven't heard anything negative."
Thomas Mann, president of the Santa Barbara Art Association, said it's not easy for a photographer to gain admittance.
"They have to be, you know, out of the ordinary," he said.
"We have a lot of photographers that try to get in, but they don't. All his photographs were very unusual. Some people even thought that he had manipulated some of them, but he hasn't. His stuff is wonderful."