The Doors Brochure
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13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 1 Scaling the Lizard King The Doors : Large format photographs from the archives of Joel Brodsky Exhibition runs 21 April to 3 July 2007 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 2 Jim Morrison : The American Poet (extract) Archival pigment print, edition of 3, image size 50 x 50 inches (127cm x 127cm) 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 135 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 3 Scaling the Lizard King The Doors: Large format photographs from the archives of Joel Brodsky Exhibition runs 21 April to 3 July 2007 In 1967 at his New York studio, Joel Brodsky created what have now become the most recognisable portraits of Jim Morrison - capturing the self styled Lizard King at the peak of his physical and artistic powers. The Doors were poised to release two magnificent albums that year, their self-titled debut, The Doors, and, to many ears, their finest album, Strange Days. ‘Iconic’ is an overused word in the context of celebrity portraiture, but is bang on the money when used to describe Joel’s famous portrait, The American Poet, showing a bare-chested Morrison with arms spread out, staring into the camera. Joel Brodsky’s photographs appeared on the covers of The Doors first two albums, and subsequently on The Soft Parade and many Greatest Hits compilations. 2007 is the Doors' 40th anniversary year, and the surviving members of the band are planning a feast of Doors related activities to celebrate, including a 4 hour international radio special, a feature length documentary for cinema release, previously unissued live recordings, twin volumes of Jim Morrison's poetry, a coffee table photo/scrapbook, and significantly, a major exhibit of memorabilia at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. I wanted us to play our part in the celebrations, but how? The inspiration came from the new Doors biography by Ben Fong-Torres. The first ever rock ‘n’ roll billboard advertisement on LA’s Sunset Strip featured one of Joel’s portraits of The Doors, blown up to monster proportions. Seeing the archive pictures of this billboard ad on Sunset Strip in Ben's book really hit it home to me how the visual impact of certain photographs increases dramatically with size. I've always been struck by the power and purity of Joel's portraits of Jim Morrison, and it seemed a logical step, and a fitting one, that the larger than life character that was Jim Morrison should be seen larger than life. We approached Joel to create something very special and exclusive just for us and which involved larger than life size versions of some of his classic portraits. Working closely with master printer David Adamson of Atelier Adamson in Washington DC, Joel is exhibiting and offering for sale, for the first time anywhere in the world, very large archival pigment prints of twelve of his classic photographs of Jim Morrison and of The Doors. When framed, they measure 60 x 60 inches (1.5m x 1.5m). This is the first time that these photographs have been made in this dramatic size, a fitting tribute in this 40th anniversary year. Of course not every home or office has the wallspace necessary to take on these large artworks. Help is at hand as Joel's photographs are available inmore traditional sizes, and, for the first time, we are also offering a special 40th anniversary portfolio box set of nine 11x14 inch prints of Joel's favourite photographs that have appeared on Doors album covers over the years. You can read about all these later in this brochure. We really hope you can make it and look forward to welcoming you to Fort Dunlop, where you will be able to view this amazing collection in the flesh. And bring some extra breath with you - the photographs will be taking most of it away. Guy White Gallery Director March 2007 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 4 1.The Sniff 2.The Push 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 135 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 5 3.The American Poet 4. Over shoulder 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 6 About the prints Each of these large format photographs is made in a limited edition of just three examples worldwide. This is a very small edition, and reflects an increasing demand amongst collectors for artworks in smaller and smaller edition sizes, a sign of rarity and exclusivity. The prints are made by master printer David Adamson of Atelier Adamson in Washington DC, one of the top fine art digital printers in the world today. Each element of the process is designed by David Adamson to ensure that the final prints in the exhibition are the best possible examples of the digital printmaker's art: from the very high resolution drum scans made of Joel's original negatives, through to the choices of archival pigment inks and high quality heavyweight 330 gsm papers. The majority of photographs made in this large format are square, with an image size measuring 50 x 50 inches (127cm x 127cm). The paper on which the image appears measures 54 x 54 inches (137cm x 137cm). About Atelier Adamson David Adamson was born in England, studied fine art and printmaking at Newcastle University and the Slade school in London. He is a Tamarind certified Master Printer and is considered bymany to be the world’s highest-quality digital printmaker. His studio, Atelier Adamson, occupies a lofty position in the realm of digital fine-art printing. David launched Adamson Editions in 1979 asa lithography studio. In 1993 he launched an all-digital atelier devoted to fine art and photographic printing in Washington, DC. Adamson Editions' prints hang in many private and public museums and collections. Framing and shipping We would be delighted to organise framing for purchasers. The external framed dimensions of a large format photograph measure 60 x 60 inches (150cm x 150cm). We use UV protective perspex as the glazing material as this is lighter than glass - an important factor with work this size - and just as transparent and archivally stable. We can deliver unframed or framed photographs in the UK, and for overseas clients we would always recommend shipping photographs unframed. Other sizes We appreciate that not every wall can accomodate one of Joel's ultra large size artworks, so you may be interested to know that work can be purchased in smaller sizes as well. The separate price list shows full details of available sizes. Towards the end of the brochure you will also read about an exclusive 40th anniversary box set of nine 9x9 inch album cover prints, which are being offered in a limited edition portfolio. 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 135 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 7 5. The Young Lion 6.The Unknown Soldier 7.The Doors in mirrors 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 8 8.The Doors on Black 9.The Grasp 13589 06/03/07 Proof 4 135 13589SNAPGALL:Layout 1 6/3/07 07:39 Page 9 Joel Brodsky Born, bred and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Joel Brodsky attended Syracuse University where he took a course in photography. After graduation he worked at a local camera store acquiring the cameras he later went into business with. He served a stint in the army, and then worked as an assistant to one of New York's top fashion photographers. In 1967 he opened his first studio and after a period of mild starvation he made his first music photographs as a favour : they were used on an album cover, and he was on a roll. His fourth cover shoot was for The Doors self titled debut album and this photograph was nominated for a Grammy. He went on to photograph many diverse artists from Aretha Franklin to Judy Collins, from Iggy Pop to Isaac Hayes and from Country Joe and The Fish to Gladys Knight & The Pips. Among his last album sessions was wth Kiss in 1975. After losing his patience with musicians and frustrated by the reduced size of album artwork brought about by the introduction of CDs, he went back to fashion and beauty advertising photography. Photographing The Doors Most of Joel Brodsky’s photographs are the result of two studio sessions with The Doors in 1967. The first produced the Grammy nominated back cover photograph used on their first album, The Doors. This was a quadruple exposure combining portraits of the individual group members, a technically advanced piece of camera work long before the introduction of Photoshop editing software. This first 1967 session, in his Manhattan studio, also produced the photograph that was used on their fourth album, The Soft Parade, and many well known photographs of both the whole group and Jim Morrison alone (with his shirt on). Joel also made the Strange Days album cover photograph, which features a group of circus performers dancing in an alley. The Doors don’t appear in person on the Strange Days cover - they are featured in a poster on the wall behind the circus troupe - this poster image is also by Joel, and was used on the back of their debut album. The concept for Strange Days started with The Doors’ suggestion of two dwarves holding a mirror with their reflection in it.