Is It Time To Create A Rock Photography Museum?
ArtandSeek.net March 15, 2019 27Hady Mawajdeh and Art&Seek have been at SXSW all week. Read the coverage
Earlier this year, Dallas’ alternative news website Central Track decided to throw their first music awards showcase.
And like the Dallas Observer’s annual awards show, the folks at Central Track wanted to shine a light on the talented musicians, producers, and venues in the North Texas music scene.
The entities voted to receive Top Honors in the Central Track Music Honors will each receive a custom limited run vinyl pressing from our friends and sponsors at @handdrawnrecords featuring an etching of the 2019 Central Track Music Honors logo on one side and a fully playable collection of our seven “Best Song” nominees on the other. These are not available to purchase, and only 100 exist in the whole wide world.But when Central Track first announced their showcase, one of the exciting awards they planned to give out was for a category I’ve never seen locally; the Best Concert Photographer. It makes sense that an award show celebrating music would also celebrate the people who capture the images that both document and promote musicians and their music. But again, I’d never seen it.
It was an awesome thing to do. They selected seven outstanding photographers, all beloved in the region, and they shined a light on them. (You can see their work below) It made me think differently about who’s capturing the images at concerts, what challenges live music photographers face and why don’t more people know who these artists are?
That last question is something that Uber Archives’ founder Drew Evans and Modern Rocks Gallery’s Steven Walker think about quite often. They’re also wondering, who’s preserving the photos from concerts in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. Art&Seek spoke with them about the topic after the “Why The World Needs a Rock Photography Museum” panel at SXSW.
They say they’re still a ways away from breaking ground. But Evans and Walker believe museums could be built in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Austin, and London. The pair says photographers can teach courses on preservation and technique in the future museums’ learning centers. And aside from educating the next generation of rock photographers, they see limitless possibilities for live events and merchandise.
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it’s only my third day out here #tbt
