As I posted on various Flickr groups and reached out to different photographers in preparation for the event I wasn’t sure how many people would actually show up. I was so delighted when, as the Beets prepared to go on stage, I looked out at the assembled crowd and saw a whole pack of enthusiastic photographers looking back at me, cameras at the ready. I felt a flush of pride and a jitter of nerves that our idea actually worked. That feeling continued throughout the evening as Grass Widow and the Crystal Stilts played and the shutter clicked in time to the music.

The results were breathtaking! It was wonderful to see the photos in our Flickr group of the Museum looking so rock and roll.  Bob Gruen has taken a good look at the photos as well and contributed his feedback on the discussion board and here’s a slideshow of Bob’s picks below. Thank you again to all the photographers who participated for sharing your work with us!

As a public programmer I’m always looking for new entry points into an exhibition’s content and how to make that content accessible and engaging for Museum visitors. In conversations about public programming for the exhibit with Gail Buckland, the guest curator, she discussed how one of her goals with the exhibition was to focus on the photographers and the images they have created, not only on the musicians and bands featured in them. She also wanted to have an event that captured what up-and-coming rock photographers are doing now and invite them to participate.

Inspired by Gail’s idea, and because we love Brooklyn photographers, on First Saturday we are inviting local photographers to come and shoot the bands that are playing and post their photos to the Brooklyn Museum’s flickr group. Afterwards, Bob Gruen, a rock photography legend who is featured in the exhibition and has shot the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and The Clash, will look at the photos and blog about his favorites here!

The Beets.  Photo by Aubrey Stallard.  All Rights Reserved.

In addition, I couldn’t be more thrilled about the lineup of bands: The Beets, Grass Widow, and Crystal Stilts. In choosing the bands, my colleagues and I wanted to try to capture the feeling and energy of the Brooklyn indie scene that’s really taken off over the past few years.  To select the bands and capture the feeling of shows in clubs alternative spaces around the borough we teamed up with New York City indie show organizer extraordinaire Todd Patrick (aka Todd P.). I first went to one of Todd’s shows in Portland, Oregon in the late 1990’s, and felt there was something special and community oriented about it. Since then, he and I have both moved to New York and he’s been organizing shows in Brooklyn for years.  He really has his finger on the pulse of the scene here and able to spot talent as it emerges, while keeping that community vibe to his shows.

As a final note, even if you don’t take pictures you can participate by dressing up as your favorite rock star. I look forward to seeing you here with your camera and your outfit! You’ll know me, I’ll be the Brooklyn Museum staff member ensuring the bands have sound checked, the photographers are happy while dressed like a 1960’s French popstar.

Pouring over hundreds of photographs,  the exhibition slowly took shape . . . the section themes emerged . . . and I started to work with different design concepts.  Should the design span the past 50 years of rock, from blue suede shoes to psychedelic to punk to grunge to today? Or should it feel like an austere Chelsea gallery . . . like a “serious” photography exhibition? Should it feel more round and analog . . . or more geometric and digital? Like drums and guitars, with wailing vocals? Like Led Zeppelin is in the room?

The final design, which you’ll see at the end of the month, is the result of thinking through many ideas of what an exhibition about music could look and feel like and how the visitor should move through the space. Next week we’ll begin hanging the works in the gallery, one-by-one . . . but in final preparation, there is one special component of the show that I’ve had a guilty pleasure assembling: the album cover chronology.

Over the Summer, I’ve rummaged through most every rock-and-roll memorabilia store in the city . . . scoured listings on ebay endlessly . . . encountered many vinyl aficionados . . . and had quite a few “a-ha” moments. And yes, we’re including all formats . . . 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs . . . . but mostly vinyl . . . hopefully you’ll have a cool walk down memory lane, just like I did.

Michael Jackson, 1999. (printed 2000). Photograph by Albert Watson.

Well today, it’s a different world in Rock and Roll.  Michael Jackson died.  We have a huge 8′ x 6′ portrait of Michael Jackson in the show, by the world renown photographer Albert Watson. Before, my mind was on “Where should we put the 8 photographs of Elvis from 1956?” . . . and “Where can we fit the 6 panel lenticular photograph of Jimi Hendricks?” Today. . . my thought is, “In what special place can we put our great American artist Michael Jackson?”

In the last several days, I’ve had dozens of conversations about Michael and his music and dancing. It seems everyone has a story of where they were and what happened when they were listening to his songs. A similar thing happened late in 2007, when Michael Jackson came to the Brooklyn Museum for an Ebony magazine photo shoot to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Thriller. I’ve never seen such giddy, smiley people before . . . all wondering if they were going to catch a glimpse of Michael . . . and all saying how much they just LOVED THRILLER!

What’s your story?

Who Shot Rock will be guest curated by the distinguished photography historian Gail Buckland, who began her career in the early 1970s collaborating on a book with Cecil Beaton (The Magic Image: The Genius of Photography). I will design the exhibition and be the liaison between the Museum and Gail, and report here on the progress we make. As the exhibition is about 18 months away, I thought it would be a good time to give you a brief preview of how far along we are.

Gail has been researching the exhibition since 2006 and has met with over 100 rock and roll photographers to review their work. Often, she has been able to identify vintage prints from their personal archives during these visits. And so this exhibition will provide an opportunity for museum visitors to see these original prints as well as learn the names of the photographers who shot some of the world’s most iconic images. For example, Jimi Hendrix with his burning guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, photographed by Ed Carraeff. There will 175 works in the exhibition and we are just beginning to clear image rights, so you’ll have to wait for a preview of these great works nearer to the end of the Summer.

The exhibition will cover the rock and roll era from the 1950s to the present and will be organized in 6 sections with the following working titles: Behind the Scenes; Live Performances; Crowds and Fans; Portraits; Young Artists; Conceptual Images & Album Covers. Together these will represent the varied approaches to rock and roll photography . . . which is as varied as the artists themselves. Though not a compendium of everyone in the history of rock, the exhibition will include Ike Turner, Little Richard, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, Tina Turner, and Amy Winehouse. And of equal note, the photographers William “Popsie” Randolph, Barry Feinstein, Mick Rock, Richard Avedon, David Gahr, Pennie Smith, Jean-Paul Goude, Henry Diltz, and Max Vandukul.

A final checklist is near, and we are about to send out loan forms. Gail will be writing the book through the Summer. Once the loan forms have returned by Summer’s end, the design of the exhibition will begin.