Peter Hujar, *Iggy Pop in Striped Jacket*, 1969
Vintage gelatin silver print
16-1/2" × 13-5/8" (41.9 cm × 34.6 cm), image 17" × 14" (43.2 cm × 35.6 cm), paper
No. 128130

Written by Nikkala Kovacevic

Photo Edited by Christiana Nelson

Seemingly incongruous to one another, music and photography share a symbiotic bond that appears to supersede ongoing changes in the entertainment industry. Studio to Stage at the Pace Gallery provides a chronology of music photography spanning seventy years. Featuring seminal photographs of musicians such as David Bowie, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones, the exhibition acts not only as a rich documentation of music history, but as an appreciation of the great contributions photography has made to the industry over the years.

There is a great variety of style in the collection, with some more simplistic portraits like Janette Beckman’s Sade, (color, New York City) (1983), a tight-framed photograph of the artist leaning against a police car, staring directly into the camera. Works like this fit into the documentation of music history because they humanize the artists, deflating their massive celebrity. The image is posed yet intimate, the trust between photographer and subject evident.

Contrasting these portraits, yet arguably equally personal, are the photographs capturing the so-called music “scene,” focusing viewers’ attention toward the fanbases that buoy the music industry. “The photographs on view capture not only what it means to be a performer, but what it means to be a member of an audience.” This sentiment, as expressed by the Pace Gallery, is clear in the works of Itzel Alejandra Martinez, whose displayed works primarily focus on the crowd’s perspective.

Nick Waplington, *Untitled from The Sound Factory series*, New York, 1989-93

C-type print mounted to Dibond
27" × 40-1/4" (68.6 cm × 102.2 cm), image, paper and mount
Edition 1 of 6, Edition of 6 + 1 AP
No. 82857.01

In a roundtable discussion with the gallery’s curatorial director, Mark Beasley, Martinez explains that on-the-ground perspective stems from her earlier days as a photographer, when she couldn’t get backstage access to performances she wished to cover. Instead, Martinez photographed from the center of the crowd, finding that oftentimes the crowd itself proved to be an equally if not more interesting muse as the performer. Her piece Moshing in Brooklyn (2016) contains so much movement and emotion that it feels as though it was captured by the naked eye. This journalistic approach to music photography strays from some of earlier decades’ more spectacle focused photography and provides an intimate insight into the crowd energy that works with musicians to truly make a live performance.

Rahim Fortune, *Erykah Badu*, 2020
Gelatin silver print mounted to board and Dibond
24" × 19" (61 cm × 48.3 cm), image, paper and mount
Edition 1 of 7, Edition of 7 + 2 APs
No. 82972.01

Irving Penn, *Miles Davis, Hand on Trumpet*, New York, 1986
Gelatin silver print
10-1/8" × 10-1/2" (25.7 cm × 26.7 cm), image 13-7/8" × 11" (35.2 cm × 27.9 cm), paper Edition of 9
No. 109742.06

Like Martinez, photographer Nick Waplington’s introduction to the live entertainment industry began in New York City’s rave scene. Pieces like Untitled from The Sound Factory series (New York, 1989-93) capture ravers and other enthusiasts reveling in their love of the music in vibrant, communal moments. Clubs and other venues where fans would gather—and where photographers immersed themselves—were special havens of self-expression and art.

Each image further emphasizes the importance of music photographers. Their ability to disappear into the scene but actively transport the viewer into a distinct moment is individual to this medium. This series encapsulates the many changes entertainment photography has undergone, and appreciates the many photographers who contributed to, and continue to immerse themselves, in music culture.

Studio to Stage is on view through August 19, 2022, at Pace Gallery, 540 West 25th St, New York, 10001.