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The History of Rock & Roll Photography

Filed under: Books


Gail Buckland's new book Who Shot Rock & Roll is the first to truly explore the extraordinary work of the photographers who captured the "energy, intoxication, rebellion, and magic" of rock, with images of icons ranging from Elton John to Led Zeppelin, Bjork to Janis Joplin, and James Brown to John Lennon, that have become icons unto themselves. Featuring more than 250 photos, including many rare and never-before-seen images, Who Shot Rock & Roll is an unparalleled compendium of portraits, live concert shots, behind-the-scenes snaps, and studio work selected for their aesthetic quality and power. The extended captions tell stories from the photographers, including everyone from Bib Gruen to Richard Avedon and David LaChappelle, that reveal their role as both "creative collaborators and tireless journalists."

Covering 1955 to the present, "Who Shot Rock & Roll is a silent window into a world of sound," Buckland says. "There are photographs of crowds and fans reminiscent of the great historical paintings of battle scenes where bodies blend and bend and faces radiate with what can only be described as transcendence. Snapshots reveal the passion, ambition, and insecurity of aspiring young musicians. There are portraits of godheads, objects of mass adoration; the best could hang next to paintings of Renaissance princes, so similar are these royals with their finery, wealth, and power." An accompanying exhibit just opened at the Brooklyn Museum and will run through the end of January and before traveling across the country through 2011.

Artist Dash Snow Dies, Heroin

Filed under: Art

New York artist and gallery darling Dash Snow died Tuesday at the age of 27: heroin was the culprit. The hot artist's work lives on at the Saatchi Gallery in London, where his project "Abstract America: New Painting and Sculpture" is on display. His work has also been shown in Gagosian Gallery, Deitch Projects and is held in permanent collections at the Whitney and Brooklyn Museum.

Snow has worked in graffiti, photography and even his own semen. Though he has famous roots (Uma Thurman's his aunt), Snow preferred a gritty life on the Lower East Side involving theft, jail time and the narcotic that caused his demise. The world has lost a creative force – but one that was destructive at the same time.



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