“The music’s here then it’s gone — like a dream.” William Eggleston
Weinstein Hammons Gallery is pleased to present Music Box, a historical group exhibition devoted to music and musical expression in celebration of our 25th year. Comprising works by more than 40 artists, the exhibition encompasses over nine decades of music, in photography and related media. The exhibition will be on view by appointment starting January 30th.
Ever since the gallery began in 1996, it has periodically presented unique historical group shows with the aim of delving deeper into specific, interesting themes and times in history. Past exhibitions, for example, include The Fashion Show, works by women fashion photographers spanning over nine decades, The Pyramids: 150 Years of Photographic Fascination, and Rites of Assembly the first show dedicated to photographers who specialized in images of large groups of people. The inspiration for the current exhibition comes from August Sander’s famous Circus Artists, in which he captured seven circus artists in their most candid moments. Caught up in the intense expressions of the circus artists sitting around in a circle, a detail often overlooked is the record player that not only holds the photograph compositionally, but also characterizes the spirit of the era in which it was taken. Music Box seeks to visually explore this spirit and the timeless emotional response it brings.
The works selected for the exhibition illustrate different facets of the long relationship between music and photography, traversing through such quiet moments as the photograph of John Lennon's lips and a still life of a disco ball, to the intense reaction of a crowd taking in a performance by Lil’ Bow Wow. Visually, the content varies from still lives and portraits of performing musicians to the people for whom they perform, through such disparate settings as recording studios, city streets, domestic spaces of performance, bar scenes, and concert venues. Throughout the exhibition the presence of music becomes extractible through one of the most realistic art forms: photography.
Viewed all together, Music Box is an eclectic exhibition that aims to magnify the emotional ethos of music and photography. Included are works by Tom Arndt, Dawoud Bey, Bruce Davidson, Ed Van Der Elsken, Eliott Erwitt, Gail Albert Halaban, Erik Madigan Heck, Andre Kertesz, Annie Leibovitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, Luis González Palma, Gordon Parks, Marcia Resnick, Nancy Rexroth, August Sander, Martin Schoeller, Sanlé Sory, Alec Soth, Mike and Doug Starn and Weegee, among many others, including unknown 20th century photographers.
Please enjoy the Music Box playlist with songs inspired by the images in the exhibition by Twin Cities musician and friend of the gallery, James Taylor.
Bruce Davidson
(American, born 1933)
East 100th Street (couple dancing near jukebox in front of American flag), 1966-68
Signed in pencil on print verso
Gelatin silver print; printed later
10 x 10 inches, image size
14 x 11 inches, paper size
© Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos
Cass Bird
(American, born 1974)
Pleasure, 2016
Signed on verso
Archival pigment print
30 x 30 inches
Edition of 10
Robert Mapplethorpe
(American, 1946-1989)
Iggy Pop, 1981
Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Estate stamp on verso
Gelatin silver print
16 x 20 inches
Edition of 15
©Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.
Alec Soth
(American, born 1969)
St. Augustine High School Marching Band, 2015
Signed, titled, dated, and numbered on verso
Archival pigment print
30 x 40 inches, image size
33 x 43 inches, paper size
Edition of 9 plus 2 artist's proofs
Erik Madigan Heck
(American, born 1983)
Roy Haynes, 2014
Signed on verso
Chromogenic print
30 x 40 inches
Weegee
(American, 1899-1968)
Listening to Frank Sinatra, Palace Theater, 1944
Vintage gelatin silver print
13-1/4 x 10-5/8 inches
Dawoud Bey
(American, born 1953)
A Young Boy from the Marching Band, Harlem, NY, 1977
Signed on verso
Gelatin silver print; printed later
8 x 12 inches
Jean-Pierre Ducatez
(French, born 1941)
Beatle Lips: John Lennon , 1966
Vintage gelatin silver print
8-1/4 x 12 inches
Paolo Ventura
(Italian, born 1968)
December 18th, 2020
Signed and dated on recto
Acrylic on paper
54-1/2 x 39 inches, painting size
Paolo Ventura
(Italian, born 1968)
December 13th, 2020
Signed and dated on recto
Acrylic on paper
54-1/2 x 39 inches, painting size
Anthony Barboza
(American, born 1944)
Roberta Flack, Singer, for Essence Magazine, 1970s
Vintage gelatin silver print
13-1/4 x 10-1/4 inches
Elliott Erwitt
(American, born 1928)
Valencia, Spain, 1952
Signed, titled, and dated on verso
Gelatin silver print
20 x 24 inches
Elliott Erwitt
(American, born 1928)
Mexico, San Miguel de Allende, 1957
Signed on verso
Gelatin silver print
30x40 inches
Gail Albert Halaban
(American, born 1970)
Rue du Faubourg-du-Temple, Paris-11e, 2012
Signed on verso
Archival pigment print
20 x 27 inches, image size
Edition of 10
André Kertész
(American, born Hungary, 1894-1985)
Wandering Violinist, Abony, Hungary , 1921
Gelatin silver print
13-1/2 x 10-3/4 inches
Annie Leibovitz
(American, born 1946)
Bette Midler, New York City, 1979
Archival pigment print
38-1/4 x 38-1/4 inches
Robert Mapplethorpe
(American, 1946-1989)
Yoko Ono, 1988
Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Estate stamp on verso
Gelatin silver print
20 x 24 inches
Edition of 10
©Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.
Robert Mapplethorpe
(American, 1946-1989)
Patti Smith , 1987
Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Estate stamp on verso
Gelatin silver print
20 x 24 inches
Edition of 10
©Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.
Gordon Parks
(American, 1912-2006)
Invisible Man Retreat, Harlem, New York, 1952
Gordon Parks Foundation stamp on verso
Gelatin silver print, printed later
20 x 24 inches
Edition of 10
August Sander
(German, 1876-1964)
Circus Artists, 1926-1932
Gelatin silver print
18-1/2 x 23-3/4 inches
Burk Uzzle
(American, born 1938)
Woodstock Album Cover, 1969
Archival pigment print
20 x 24 inches
Jerry Schatzberg
(American, born 1927)
Smoke Bob Dylan, 1965
Signed on verso
Gelatin silver print
30 x 40 inches
Edition of 30
Martin Schoeller
(American, born 1968)
Prince, Close-Up, 2004
Archival pigment print
35 x 43 inches
Martin Schoeller
(American, born 1968)
Lil Bow Wow Concert, 2001
Archival pigment print
30 x 40 inches
Martin Schoeller
(American, born 1968)
Dolly Parton, 2015
Archival pigment print
24 x 20 inches
Sanlé Sory
(Burkinabé, born 1943)
Mali Djeli, 1984
Signed on verso
Gelatin silver print
24 x 20 inches, paper size
Edition of 10 plus 3 artist's proofs
Mike and Doug Starn
(Americans, born 1961)
Poor little greenie , 2017
Signed on verso
LP album covers, acrylic paint and magnets
12x24 inches
Ed Van Der Elsken
(Dutch, 1925-1990)
Audience at the concert of Benny Goodman in the village Blokker, May 15, 1958
Signed on print verso Printed by the artist
Vintage gelatin silver print, printed c. 1958
12 x 15 1/2 inches