THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2011
ARTS
PAGE 3
Rolling Stone photojournalist reflects on career
JOHN GARFIELD
jgarfield@kansan.com
Jimi Hendrix wafts, personifying his guitar through his expressions. He looks, acts and performs in a manner that will come to define what it is to be a rock star for years to come.
"You couldn't take a bad picture of limi Hendrix," said Baron Wolman, chief photographer for Rolling Stone throughout the 60s. At Wolman's exhibit, which will be running through October 1 at the Lawrence Arts Center, its apparent that he certainly never did.
Wolman made $50, a windfall at the time, for his first published photographs, a series on the Berlin Wall's 1961 construction and its initial effect. The series was published in its entirety, marking the start of a lifelong career in photojournalism.
Though surrounded by rock
Wolman lectured Saturday at the Lawrence Arts Center about his role at Rolling Stone and his time as the magazine's chief photographer.
stars, Baron Wolman remains curiously personable. Unmistakably forged in a different era of music, he bears the watermark of a time when the music industry was far more tangible and direct, devoid of public relations, security and corporate hype.
"The moment I picked up a camera, I felt really comfortable about communicating with images because, believe it or not, I don't talk very well. I communicate better with photographs." Wolman said Saturday at the lecture.
The lecture accompanied his photo exhibit and tour for his book "Every Picture Tells a Story; The Rolling Stone Years." While the exhibit is immediately captivating in its portrayals of blues and rock legends, Wolman's accounts of his photographs breathe a deeper meaning to the roles that each artist played in the transformation of western culture.
Emily Johnson, a freshman from Lawrence at the Boston Art Institute from Lawrence, said she valued Wolman's black and white photography.
"I really appreciate that," Johnson said of Wolman's versatility in developing his iconic works, especially those of the Berlin Wall and the stern portrait of Johnny Cash on display at the Arts Center.
Johnson currently has photos on display at La Prima Tazza on Massachusetts Street, and has had several art shows around Lawrence.
Upon his return to the United States from Germany in the 60s, Wolman moved to San Francisco and chose to live in the Haight-Ashbury district. Free love, free drugs and free music defined "The Haight." One publication, Rolling Stone, would rise from the cultural maelstrom and documented music's role in the world.
"Jann said from the
one! He said, "There's no question, don't even compare ourselves to them; we are different, and we are going to be here for the long run." Wolman said, who quoted Jann Wenner, the magazine's founder
beginning. We are not a hippie publication. We are not giving it away. We're selling. We are going to be professional from day
was simultaneously asked for an investment. During a time when Wolman took any work he could, he asserted that he was unable to invest, but would work for free. However, he demanded stock in
and long-time editor.
When Wolman was asked in 1967 to be the chief photographer for the new magazine, he
the magazine and the photos' rights. This serendipitous decision would make him rich and famous and give him a front-row seat to American history.
"That was the great thing about Rolling Stone. You could do anything, and we did," Wolman said.
Wolman spoke of the magazine's humble beginnings, the Linotype manual-font-setting, the awkward encounters with musicians unfamiliar with the magazine, and the dark underbelly of the Haight-Ashbury culture. He spoke of personal encounters with legends, the
"gifts" they gave him when they looked at the camera, and the way they shaped each other's lives. He spoke of Woodstock, the delirious drug-infused performances that defined artists' careers, and of dairy cows living in adjacent farms that didn't produce milk for months. The overarching theme of his anecdotes was the humanity of the cultural titans he profiled and the lessons he learned in photography along the way.
"I loved these people and that's why I tried to show the best side of them. I tried to take a picture that made them feel good about themselves and flattered them," Wolman said. "I realized that I had to listen very carefully as the music came and anticipate the picture and start shooting before I got to the moment that I really wanted to photograph, because if you had seen this photograph in the viewfinder you missed it, you know, it's gone."
Edited by C.J. Matson
PARTY WITH THE SUA
Jessica Haberstock (left), a junior from St. Louis, tries to win a prize at the horserace game Saturday night at the SUA Carnival. The carnival took place in the Ambler Recreation Center parking lot from 8-12 p.m. and is one of SUA's biggest events of the year to kick off the fall semester at KU.
PHOTOS BY JESSICA JANASZ/KANSAN
Breanna Crall, a sophomore from Olathe and SUAvolunteerandvolunteersattheCottonCandy stand during the Carnival Saturday night.
Freshmen Elliot Yokhim from Lawrence, and Sam Jackson from Washington D.C., battle it out at the SUA Carnival Saturday night.
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