Catch a glimpse at the fascinating world of contemporary music photography at The Photographers' Gallery exhibition this summer.
What has happened to music photography?
The music industry and the nature of music photography has changed drastically over the last few years with the rise of digital technology. Images are produced, shared and consumed in radical new ways, and the relationship between photographers, fans, stars and their labels has shifted.
With fewer commissions from specific publications, freelance music photographers now have more control over context and creativity – and musicians themselves play a far more active role in what is captured and where. Inevitably these changes have impacted on the aesthetics of music images today.
Exhibition highlights
Presenting an incredible variety of contemporary music imagery, from crowd shots, to portraits, to snapshots of backstage life and rehearsals, We Want More unpicks the mysterious genre of music photography. The show explores the various new platforms for production and display, including photobooks and zines, and examines the current stylistic trends within music photography.
In particular the exhibition highlights a tendency toward high concept imagery – look out for Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin’s photographs of Lady Gaga (2014), where the Bad Romance star assumes a number of different poses, ranging from the angelic to the downright gruesome.
Backstage access
We Want More also invites us behind the scenes – an element of exclusivity that music photographers still enjoy, despite the recent explosion of fan photography. We are particularly excited to see Pep Bonet’s atmospheric images of English rockband Motorhead – shot from the stage to show the crowd from the band’s perspective – and Daniel Cohen’s candid snaps of singers and bands just before their encores.
Explore the role of photography in defining music culture at this thrilling exhibition in London this summer.
What has happened to music photography?
The music industry and the nature of music photography has changed drastically over the last few years with the rise of digital technology. Images are produced, shared and consumed in radical new ways, and the relationship between photographers, fans, stars and their labels has shifted.
With fewer commissions from specific publications, freelance music photographers now have more control over context and creativity – and musicians themselves play a far more active role in what is captured and where. Inevitably these changes have impacted on the aesthetics of music images today.
Exhibition highlights
Presenting an incredible variety of contemporary music imagery, from crowd shots, to portraits, to snapshots of backstage life and rehearsals, We Want More unpicks the mysterious genre of music photography. The show explores the various new platforms for production and display, including photobooks and zines, and examines the current stylistic trends within music photography.
In particular the exhibition highlights a tendency toward high concept imagery – look out for Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin’s photographs of Lady Gaga (2014), where the Bad Romance star assumes a number of different poses, ranging from the angelic to the downright gruesome.
Backstage access
We Want More also invites us behind the scenes – an element of exclusivity that music photographers still enjoy, despite the recent explosion of fan photography. We are particularly excited to see Pep Bonet’s atmospheric images of English rockband Motorhead – shot from the stage to show the crowd from the band’s perspective – and Daniel Cohen’s candid snaps of singers and bands just before their encores.
Explore the role of photography in defining music culture at this thrilling exhibition in London this summer.
| What | We Want More: Image Making and Music in the 21st Century, The Photographers' Gallery |
| Where | The Photographers' Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London, W1F 7LW | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Oxford Circus (underground) |
| When |
17 Jul 15 – 20 Sep 15, Monday-Saturday 10:00 – 18:00 Thursday 10:00 – 20:00 Sunday 11:30 – 18:00 |
| Price | £Free |
| Website | Click here for more details |
