The Photographers' Gallery explores the shift in music photography in new show

Date
17 July 2015

The relationship between music and photography is a giddy and restless union, like a wild friendship where all the greatest adventures happen. The glamour, electricity and the emotion music photography can elicit is powerful and it’s why it resonates with so many of us. With the dawn of the digital age, the way we see these images has changed slightly and closed the gap between us and the stars we admire and it’s this progression that curator Diane Symth was keen to dissect when putting together We Want More: Image-making and music in the 21st Century, on now at The Photographers’ Gallery.

Looking specifically at the relationship between photographers, music makers and fans today, the exhibition aims to show the changes in music photography and how it’s distributed and seen. While big glossy photographs and editorial shoots are still prominent, there’s also a DIY culture of raw, candid images of musicians and the people that surround them that has become popular over the last couple of decades. Throughout the exhibition a mix of commissioned work and personal projects are presented to give an updated portrayal of music photography.

The two sit surprisingly comfortably next to each other creating a series of wonderful clashes when walking around the space. Inez and Vinoodh’s gigantic images of Lady Gaga look polished and lustrous alongside Deirdre O’Callaghan’s more intimate photographs of drummers in their home studios – but it’s this contrast that makes it so interesting.

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Daniel Cohen: Erykah Badu, Paradiso. Courtesy of the artist

It feels apt the show is split over two floors, with one level for the musicians and another for the fans, as though they’ve sneaked in backstage and set up camp on the Fifth Floor. The two regularly inform each other, with musicians needing an audience and the fans needing someone to worship. The murmur of devotion and affection on the fans’ floor is palpable and refreshing as you drift through the work.

Throughout the exhibition, the real star of music photography is questioned. When talking about the show’s curation, Diane was keen to point out how on a commissioned shoot the rock star being photographed is most important and the images are created around them. But with the ability to promote their work through self-publishing, photographers like Dan Wilton and Ewen Spencer have now become stars in their own right, and the musicians and people they photograph merely subjects.

With this in mind, it’s interesting how the images have been displayed. Designed by Sarah Boris, each photographer has their own sandwich board of information about them like an understated advert for a new gig and their work is presented proudly next to it. Even the hanging of the photographs is tinged with fandom as many prints are simply tacked to the wall with push pins, like posters in a teenager’s bedroom. This rawness and spontaneity offsets the slicker, perfectly framed editorial photography wonderfully.

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Deirdre O’Callaghan: Pauli “The PSM” – Damon Albarn, Jamie XX. Courtesy of the artist

Interspersing the image-clad walls are glass-topped tables which showcase some of the work in its original context. Whether self-published or commissioned they become equally as valuable, kept protected from clammy hands and showing the many modes of display music photography.

The show travels elegantly from the individual musician all the way to the huge faceless congregations seen at big concerts, with various shades of intimacy in between. The Photographers’ Gallery is just one in a handful of institutions now placing value in pop culture and the creative work that comes out of it. It’s a shift that will hopefully filter into other established museums and art galleries, as it provides an opportunity to explore parts of our culture we’re experiencing everyday.

We Want More: Image-making and music in the 21st Century is on now at The Photographers’ Gallery until 20 September 2015. On 14 September, The Photographers’ Gallery is holding Girls Rule The World, a panel discussion interrogating the thorny world of pop imagery and who controls it for female artists. Book here.

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Dan Wilton: From the series STOB EHT © Dan Wilton. Courtesy of the artist

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Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin: Lady Gaga / Dope – Artpop. Courtesy of the artist

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Pep Bonet: From the series Roadkill – Motorhead – Rock&Roll. Courtesy of the artist

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Ryan McGinley: You and My Friends 6. Courtesy of the artist

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Ewen Spencer: Twice as Nice, Ayia Napa. Courtesy of the artist

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About the Author

Rebecca Fulleylove

Rebecca Fulleylove is a freelance writer and editor specialising in art, design and culture. She is also senior writer at Creative Review, having previously worked at Elephant, Google Arts & Culture, and It’s Nice That.

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