Amy Winehouse by Max Vadukul. From the Brooklyn Museum exhibition Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present, on view through Jan., 31, 2010
Finding a new angle on the history of rock and roll — a subject that’s been studied, mythologized, discussed and dissected ad nauseam — is no easy accomplishment, but we think the Brooklyn Museum’s new exhibition on rock photography actually lives up to the hype. Viewed from the perspective (like, literally) of rock’s most important photographers, the exhibition gets us to rethink the images that have shaped the genre’s legends.
The shots range from larger-than-life (Henry Diltz’s mid-concert snapshot of an ecstatic Tina Turner) to uncomfortably intimate: Max Vadukul’s provocative wedding-day photo of Amy Winehouse, for instance, is about as close to the star as you can get if you’re not Blake Fielder-Civil.
Can’t make it to BK? The podcast with audio clips from the photographers is as awesome as the images: Bob Gruen gives the back story of the John Lennon “I heart NY” photos; Don Hunstein describes the day he shot the cover for The Freewheeling Bob Dylan; David LaChappelle gives a peek into Little Kim’s crazy brain; Ian Tilton describes photographing a sobbing Kurt Cobain, and what the resulting photo has come to mean since his suicide.
Check out highlights from the show at the museum’s website and download the podcast here.
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