TAB 2013: ROCK SHOOTER AT TELLURIDE GALLERY

20 Feb TAB 2013: ROCK SHOOTER AT TELLURIDE GALLERY

Opening of the work at the Gallery on Friday, February 22, 3 – 5 p.m. Dinner with Bob Gruen auctioned off at Telluride AIDS Benefit gala fashion show. Book-signing and artist reception at the Gallery, with Between the Covers bookstore, March 3, 4:30 p.m.

The Statue of Liberty, NYC. October 30, 1974. © Bob Gruen

It all began in Park City. In 2012, Telluride AIDS Benefit board member Ana Coe and her sister attended the Sundance Film Festival, where she met the iconic rock photographer.

“My sister and I were in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival a few weeks ago. We love checking out small bookstores and stumbled upon a great store on Main Street. We walked in just moments before a “famous photographer” was about to begin his book-signing. We headed to the back of the store to check it out and to our surprise and excitement the “famous photographer” was Bob Gruen. Surrounded by a small audience, he begin to chat about his life and the outlandish adventures he shared with John and Yoko, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Elton John and more. Bob is so down to earth and approachable that after the talk I had him sign my book and told him about the Telluride AIDS Benefit, sharing my passion for TAB and Telluride with him. I followed up with an email a couple of days later. He responded promptly and offered to donate his most famous John Lennon photograph – signed.”

That was then. Last year, it was one unforgettable image, but no artist. This is now. Now the artist himself is on his way to town, to participate in a series of events honoring the man and his work.

It all begins Friday, February 22, 3 – 5 p.m., when Telluride Gallery of Fine Art hosts a show of 14 of his iconic images (through March 5) from the early days of the cultural phenomenon known as rock ‘n roll, including photographs of Led Zeppelin, John Lennon in New York City, Bob Dylan, Mick  and Keith from the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Debbie Harry, Kiss and more, all from the 1970s. Each print was produced from an original negative and is dated and signed by Bob Gruen.

Gruen is one of the best known and most respected photographers in rock and roll history. From John Lennon to Johnny Rotten; Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones; Elvis to Madonna; Bob Dylan to Bob Marley; Tina Turner to Debbie Harry, he recorded the music scene for over 40 years in photographs that have gained worldwide recognition.

Bob Marley on stage The Beacon Theatre, NYC. May 1976. © Bob Gruen

Shortly after John Lennon moved to New York in 1971, Bob became John and Yokoʼs personal photographer and friend, taking pictures of their working life and private moments. In 1974, Gruen created one of the most iconic images ever taken of Lennon.

Extrapolating from an article that appeared in New York magazine in 2010, here’s an abridged version of the story behind the shot.

“On an August day in 1974, a nearly-34-year-old Lennon, was back in the Big Apple recovering from his year and half mostly in Hollywood making big time hay. The singer-songwriter needed a cover shot for his new album, but was anxious to get back into the studio. He knew Gruen, then 29, was a quick study and fast shot. Gruen purportedly asked Lennon to dress in a T-shirt he’d bought from a sidewalk vendor for $5. It was white with NEW YORK CITY in bold black letters emblazoned across the chest, its black sleeves cut off with a buck knife for a tougher, Jets-in -“West Side Story”- effect. Gruen snapped the shot of the pale, unsmiling reprobate-in-recovery, arms folded across his stomach.”

Pay dirt.

And that was the image of Lennon Gruen donated to Ana for TAB last year.

According to the photographer, Lennon was uncomfortable about the cutoff sleeves.

No one, however, was uncomfortable about bidding BIG.

Nor should they be this year.

And this year it is the artist himself people will be bidding on.

(L-R) John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin in front of plane in NY. July 24, 1973. © Bob Gruen

At TAB’s glam slam for the cause, the gala fashion on Saturday, March 2, again thanks to an invitation from Ana, dinner with Bob Gruen is one of the featured auction packages. If the chance to dish with a man about rock legends is not motivation enough, then remember the funds TAB raises that evening go to support other nonprofits working to help people living with HIV/AIDS from the Front Range to Africa.

Following the show, on Monday, March 3, the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art in collaboration with Between the Covers bookstore, hosts a book-signing with the artist starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Gallery, 130 East Colorado.