Govinda Gallery

Master Jazz Photographer Herman Leonard Takes the ‘A’ Train

Chris Murray — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:26:48 +0000

One of the great jazz photographers of all time, Herman Leonard, passed away on August 14th, 2010. Govinda Gallery had the great honor of presenting an exhibition of Herman Leonard’s photographs in the fall of 1996, and enjoyed a warm friendship with Herman Leonard since that time. Leonard’s images of jazz musicians, singers, composers, and arrangers are among the best jazz photographs ever taken. Along with William Gottlieb and William Claxton, Herman Leonard’s photographs have come to define the visual imagery of jazz music.

Leonard attended his opening at Govinda Gallery in 1996, traveling to Washington from his home in New Orleans. Leonard’s book Jazz Memories was available at the gallery during the opening, and he happily signed every copy in stock.

There was a great after party for Leonard at Carol Gray’s home in Georgetown. The lively evening ended with an arm-wrestling contest, the final round pairing collector and decorator Carol Gray against artist Carlotta Hester. Hester was declared the winner, with Herman Leonard as the judge.

Richard Harrington’s feature story in The Washington Post (September 11th, 1996) about Herman Leonard and his exhibition at Govinda is a great summary of the photographer’s life and work. We present Harrington’s story for you here in The Back Room.

On The Beat

A Photographer’s Flash From the Past

Box of Negatives Is a Positive Jazz Treasure

Wednesday, September 11, 1996

By Richard Harrington
Washington Post Staff Writer

People don’t always realize when they’ve been in the middle of a historical moment. For photographer Herman Leonard, it took almost 30 years to reconnect to a key period in jazz history, one he had actually captured on film- and then forgotten.

“Does one ever know?” Leonard asked recently from New Orleans, where he has been working on a book about the birthplace of jazz. Forty years earlier, Leonard was in another city, New York, just as it was birthing a new form of jazz called bebop, carrying a heavy Speed Graphic to clubs in Harlem and on 52nd Street while capturing images of young adventurers named Parker, Gillespie, Blakey and Monk.

“I was just having a ball,” Leonard notes. “I loved what I was listening to, and I used the camera to get in free and photograph people I liked. By coincidence, it happened to be around the time Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker brought about the bebop movement, but I didn’t know they would turn things around musically.”

“When I was photographing Monk and Parker and these other innovators, I had no idea that later on they’d be looked back upon as being icons. Had I known, my God, I would have shot a hell of a lot more pictures!”

“Photography You Can Hear,” featuring the work of Herman Leonard, opens tomorrow at Georgetown’s Govinda Gallery (Herman Leonard will be on hand for the opening). What’s remarkable about the show is that for 30 years, Leonard’s classic black-and-white images of the bebop generation, as well as portraits of older giants like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Tatum and Louis Armstrong, sat undisturbed beneath a bed in a box that was at various times in the South Pacific, France, Spain and England.

Leonard, who shot his jazz subjects from 1947 to 1960, made his living as a commercial photographer in the fashion and advertising industries. Once in a while, he says, a jazz magazine might purchase a picture “to accompany some article if they knew I had a shot of some particular musician. But at that point, Down Beat [the leading jazz magazine] was paying 10 dollars per photo. There was no living off of that, so I had to do other things.”

When he’d first gone to Ohio University in Athens in 1940, Leonard recalls, “I was an aspiring young actor,” and working in theater may have been the inspiration for his distinctive portrait style- Leonard’s photos are often back-lit, full of swirling smoke and other evocative detail. “I spent a lot of time backstage looking at the audience, and from there practically everything is back-lit. I noticed that when figures moved across the stage lit the way they were, they stood out sharply against the dark back- ground of the audience. I was always impressed with the graphic imagery of that particular kind of lighting.”

In fact, while that technique would give Leonard’s photos their emotional power, he started using it by accident: When a big band came to Ohio University, Leonard asked trumpeter Ray Wetzel to pose for a portrait. “One of the front lights didn’t fire and I had only the back light- but I got exactly what I’d seen from backstage. I said, “That’s it, that’s the feeling I’m looking for.”

However, Leonard’s breakthrough was interrupted by World War II, as he was drafted and sent to the South Pacific. After returning to Ohio and graduating in 1947 with a fine-arts degree in photography, Leonard had an apprenticeship with Yousuf Karsh, considered by many the greatest portrait photographer of this century.

“I loaded the film, went to sessions, adjusted the light according to his direction,” Leonard recalls with unmistakable warmth and respect. “Anybody spending time with that man, watching him work with the people that he photographed, cannot help but be influenced. Talk about diplomacy and flexibility in dealing with the person in front of you- he should have been the president of the world!”

Unlike the elaborate and “informal” formality of Karsh portraiture, Leonard’s photos are defined more by action. For instance, his classic image of Art Blakey, shot in 1958, captures not only the drummer’s aura of perpetually energized motion but also the ecstatic spirituality at the core of his music. Because there were no editorial expectations or constraints- Leonard’s pictures were a private pleasure – there was no subtle positioning or direction.

“I never told a musician to turn to the right or left, I simply waited,” Leonard says. “I did not want to alter the feeling, the mood, or the attitude of what I was photographing.”

In 1956, Leonard went to work as Marlon Brando’s personal photographer as the actor was looking to set up a film company in the South Pacific. This was long before shooting Brando would require a wide-angle lens- “he was slim and slender and beautiful then,” Leonard points out- but nothing ever came of the film company. Later that year, Leonard moved to Paris, working first for a major French record label and subsequently in fashion and advertising. By 1960, he’d stopped photographing the jazz men and women who came to Paris “because I didn’t have the time.”

Leonard didn’t even keep any prints- the jazz-era negatives were stuffed in a box and kept under his bed, where they languished until 1987. By that time, Leonard and his family had moved to the Spanish island of Ibiza and finally to London.

“I had no sense of what they meant,” he admits. “In fact, because I’d shot them for myself personally, I didn’t think they had any commercial or retail value of any kind. Nor did I attach much historical value to them because I knew there were others around who had photographed the same people.”

When Leonard pulled the well-traveled box out from under the bed, he was, he says, in a state of total depression. “I was flat broke, with a family on my hands, and here’s a bunch of old negatives, misfiled, with no prints.” Leonard then experienced another setback. “I was turned down by all the best galleries in London, and then picked up by a very little one in Portobello Road. And from there on, it was a different story.”

Leonard’s first show, in 1988, was widely heralded by critics, and the exhibition was attended by more than 10,000 people. For Leonard, the only disappointment was learning that somewhere along the line, he’d lost almost 50 percent of his treasure trove (he kept finding old contact sheets for which no negatives existed, including pictures of Frank Sinatra, Cannonball Adderley and Thelonious Monk.) “I have very few of Monk,” Leonard says regretfully, “but I’ve got what I’ve got and I’m grateful for it.”

So are jazz fans.

World’s Biggest Music Festival, U.S. Ambassador Daniel Rooney, and Donovan in Dublin

Chris Murray — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:12:40 +0000

I am in County Cavan Ireland for the All-Ireland Music Festival, Fleadh 2010. This is the largest traditional music festival in the world with over 10,000 musicians, singers, and dancers performing.

Govinda Gallery artist Carlotta Hester is also in Ireland working on a series of ‘action’ drawings documenting The All-Ireland Music Festival. Plans are in the works for exhibitions in Ireland and the United States of Carlotta’s Fleadh 2010 drawings. Here is one of Carlotta’s drawings from an extraordinary pre-festival performance at the Cavan County Museum featuring harpist Catriona McKay and fiddle master Chris Stout.

I recently had the great pleasure of meeting United States Ambassador to Ireland, the Hon. Daniel Rooney and his charming wife Patricia. Ambassador Rooney was visiting County Cavan on July 29th and I presented him with a copy of photographer Alfred Wertheimer’s book Elvis 1956. It was in 1954 that County Cavan last hosted the All-Ireland Music Festival. Wertheimer’s touring museum exhibition Elvis at 21 opens at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. on October 23rd.

Other exciting news from Ireland is that Donovan’s Saphographs will be exhibited in Dublin at Sol Art Gallery on Dawson Street beginning October 1st. This exhibition is organized in conjunction with Govinda Gallery. On October 6th Donovan will be debuting his new musical work Ritual Groove at the beautiful Olympia Theater in Dublin. The concert and exhibition will be an amazing display of Donovan’s creativity.

Buzz Aldrin, Andy Warhol, and the Moonwalk

Chris Murray — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:07:07 +0000

Buzz Aldrin has been in the news a lot lately, on Dancing with The Stars, as well as the recent anniversary of the first lunar landing. Govinda Gallery is very fortunate to count Buzz and his beautiful wife Lois as friends.

I first met Buzz with photographer Chris Makos in Houston at a concert/fundraiser for the Challenger Center for Space Science Education being established to honor the space shuttle Challenger, which “exploded before the eyes of our nation” on January 28th, 1986. Carolyn Farb, another great friend of Govinda Gallery, organized the fundraiser. Govinda Gallery assisted Carolyn in arranging for the use of Warhol’s Moonwalk image for the Gala Benefit Concert.

Inside of the program for Challenger Center Benefit Concert, March 31st, 1988.

Left to right: Chris Murray, Christopher Makos, Buzz Aldrin and Lois Aldrin at benefit concert.

Note from Chris Makos to Chris Murray.

Govinda featured Andy Warhol’s Moonwalk print at our exhibition The Last Prints: Silkscreens, February 11th through March 12th, 1988. We have reproduced here the invitation to that exhibit and some other interesting material from the Govinda Archives.

Monday, August 1, 1988
Arts Beat

Warhol & The Man on The Moon

By Kara Swisher
Special to the Washington Post

“When you’re the second man on the moon, you might not expect to be as remembered as the first, but former astronaut Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., part of the crew on the 1969 Apollo XI flight, has been memorialized by a star.

Aldrin, who followed Neil Armstrong down the ladder on the first lunar landing, was in town last week to receive a gift copy of the print “Moonwalk,” by artist Andy Warhol, from Govinda Gallery. The work, one of the last prints made by Warhol before his death last year and the first of a planned Warhol series on great moments in television, depicts Aldrin standing on the moon with an American flag. There are 160 “Moonwalk” prints, in magenta and yellow, costing $10,500 each.

Govinda owner Chris Murray met Aldrin in Houston at a benefit for the planned Challenger education center. “I knew who he was, and asked him to fill me in [on the ‘Moonwalk’ scene],” says Murray. “Well, I was surprised when we said, ‘Well, first of all, that’s me.’
So Murray arranged to get a print for Aldrin. Upon receiving the piece, Aldrin thanked him and said, “I’m sure Andy is looking down on us right now.”

The Govinda Gallery invitation to Andy Warhol’s exhibition The Last Prints: Silkscreens.

Govinda Gallery owner and director Chris Murray presenting Buzz Aldrin with Warhol’s silkscreen print Moonwalk, depicting Aldrin on the moon. Copyright © Chester Simpson. All Rights Reserved.

Invitation for dedication of Buzz Aldrin Elementary School, Reston, Virginia, April 25th, 1995.

Buzz Aldrin’s inscription to Chris on his book Encounter with Tiber, 1996.

Buzz and wife Lois’ card sent to Govinda Gallery owner and director Chris Murray, celebrating the Silver 25th Anniversary of the first lunar landing, 1994.

New Biography of Bob Marley by Soul Rebel contributor Chris Salewicz

Chris Murray — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:30:27 +0000

Bob Marley: The Untold Story by Chris Salewicz has just been published by Faber and Faber, Inc. The New York Times, last Sunday, said of Bob Marley: The Untold Story “Salewicz’s book should be quite welcome; every detail is a treasure-trove.” Salewicz contributed the foreward to David Burnett’s award winning book of photos and stories Soul Rebel, edited by Govinda Gallery’s Chris Murray.

Burnett launched Soul Rebel with an exhibition at Govinda Gallery last year. The first museum exhibition of Burnett’s photos takes place at the Sordoni Art Gallery at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, beginning October 18th and continuing through December 12th 2010.

Our congratulations to Chris Salewicz.

Govinda photographer Claude Gassian is featured at the photo festival in Arles, France.

Chris Murray — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:34:14 +0000

Govinda Gallery is delighted that photographer Claude Gassian is having a one-person exhibition at the renowned Les Rencontres D’Arles Photographie photo festival in Arles, France. Claude’s exhibition begins July 3rd and continues until September 19th, 2010. Rock and Roll is one of the principle themes of this years festival in Arles.

Govinda was the first gallery to exhibit and represent Claude Gassian’s photos in the United States. He was an important part of our exhibition and publication Rolling Stones: 40×20 in the fall of 2002. Jessica Dawson reviewed that exhibition for The Washington Post and wrote about one of Claude’s photos of Mick Jagger… “Gassian shot Jagger stirring a drink on a plush sofa in Paris’ Hotel de Crillon. It was about as far as Mick could get from the days of counting change.” In that comment on Gassian’s photo of Jagger, Dawson was also referring to a very early photograph by Gus Coral in 1963 of the Stones trying to gather enough change on a London sidewalk for their taxi-cab fare. The Washington Post published the photo of Jagger that is mentioned by Dawson and we present it here:

Claude had a brillaint one-person exhibition, entitled Anonymous, at Govinda Galery in the spring of 2002. Reproduced here is the invitation for that exhibition featuring his photo of Tom Waits in Paris in 1992. Claude Gassian is also featured in the exhibition Sound and Vision: Monumental Rock Photography being organized by the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Georgia and Govinda Gallery. That touring exhibition opens in December of 2011. Chris Murray is the curator of that exhibition. Gassian’s photographs are available through Govinda Gallery.

The invitation to Gassian’s Anonymous exhibition at Govinda Gallery, April 13 to May 12, 2007.

Congradulations to Claude Gassian on his one-person show in Les Rencontres D’Arles Photographie photo festival in Arles, France.

Final Highlights from SapphoFest 2010… Dancers, Gypsey Dave, and Donovan’s ‘Master Class’

Chris Murray — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:34:25 +0000

A few final highlights from SapphoFest 2010:
Two original dance/theatrical pieces were created for SapphoFest 2010: the first, Sappho: Fragments, was performed in Athens on the evening of June 1st at the Hellenic American Union Theater. Directed by Kornillia Vasileiadou and Camila Bauer Bronstrup, Sappho: Fragments mesmerized the capacity crowd at the Hellenic American Union. The second performance took place in Nafplio on June 6th and was performed by dance students from the University of the Peloponnese under the direction of Professor Vassiliki Barbousi from the Department of Theater Studies at the University of the Peloponnese and Dance Instructor Anna Daskalou. This performance began inside the Center for Hellenic Studies building in Nafplio, and continued out into the street. Both performances were produced under the auspices of the Center for Hellenic Studies.

A wonderful component of the SapphoFest exhibition in Athens was the extraordinary sculpture Lover’s Leap by Donovan’s friend Gypsy Dave Mills. Originally commissioned by Donovan, this beautiful bronze sculpture is Gyp Mills’ depiction of Sappho’s harp. Gyp Mills was so moved by the SapphoFest activities and programs, that he gave Lover’s Leap to the Center for Hellenic Studies in Nafplio as a gift in honor of the first SapphoFest. Lover’s Leap was presented by curator Christopher Murray on behalf on Gyp Mills, with Donovan in attendance.

My final highlight was the unscheduled presentation made by Donovan to the interns at the Center for Hellenic Studies on ‘how to conjure songs.’ As a result of the exciting chemistry from the scholar’s presentations and all of the SapphoFest activities, Donovan was inspired to lead this wonderful class. Though aimed at the CHS interns, the program was open to the public, and it was an amazing class to witness. Starting with a few lines from a poem by Harvard’s Preceptor in Modern Greek, Vassiliki Rapti, Donovan added lyrics of his own, along with a melody, and in front of everyone created a new song. He stressed to the students the “ten-thousand hours” that they should put into their endeavors. His program received a standing ovation and was an amazing and spontaneous addition to SapphoFest 2010. Nafplio resident and art jeweler George Agathos filmed Donovan’s ‘master class.’ Our thanks to the delightful George Agathos and his lovely wife Sigi. When in Nafplio visit their workshop and store Camara. Here is the footage from Donovan’s class:

Donovan’s ‘Master Class’ SapphoFest 2010 from Chris Murray on Vimeo.

SapphoFest 2010 Moves to Nafplio with Donovan & Scholars

Chris Murray — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:51:50 +0000

The launch of Donovan’s Sapphographs in Athens was remarkable. Along with Donovan’s opening reception, memories danced in my mind of the beautiful ‘poet’s lunch’ hosted by Gregory Nagy at Ouzadiko, the extraordinary Greek restaurant in Kolonaki. Another evening we went to an elegant and lively dinner at the magnificent Athens mansion of Chrysanthi and Dino Routzouni and their sons. Donovan charmed the guests with his songs after dinner. Sitting at my table was the delightful Athens art dealer Liana Scourles and the gracious olive oil tycoon Marina Ofloudi-Giavroglou. Another remarkable highlight was a visit to the new Acropolis Museum, an experience not to be forgotten.

The Acropolis Museum.

A few days earlier I had been to Nafplio just for the day with the dynamic duo of Zoie Lafis and Robin Olson from the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, to install the Sapphographs. Now we all boarded a private bus for the two-hour drive from Athens to Nafplio. Half way to Nafplio we crossed over the incredible Corinthian Canal. As the bus drove down the country roads, Donovan and Gypsy Dave were singing songs while the scholars were pointing out important ancient sites along the way. It was a rollicking good time.

The Corinthian Canal.

As we arrived in Nafplio , we were enlivened by the blue sea, the fresh air, and the beautiful mountains. We were to open the second exhibition of Donovan’s Sapphographs on June 4th at Harvard’ Center for Hellenic Studies in Nafplio , as well as attend a series of lectures by Gregory Nagy and the scholars from SapphoFest 2010. Donovan and I were eagerly anticipating the scholars presentations as we were unable to attend them in Athens as Donovan’s press schedule took up his entire day there. The lectures in Nafplio were extraordinary and left everyone inspired. Here is a list of those lectures:

• Gregory Nagy, Professor at Harvard University and Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies in
Washington, DC. Opening lecture; “Sappho the Musical Diva.”
• Timothy Powers, Professor at Rutgers University. Lecture; “Sappho and the Citharodes.”
• Olga Broumas, Professor at Brandeis University. Lecture and poetry reading; “What One Loves.”
• John Franklin, Professor at Vermont University, and Stylianos Psaroudakis, Professor at the University
of Athens. Lecture and performance; “Ancient Music.”
• Leonard Muellner. Professor Brandeis University. Lecture; “Love, Even Not Willing.”

Here are a few photos from Nafplio:
Harvard’s Center For Hellenic Studies In Nafplio.

Sapphograph exhibtion opening in Nafplio.

Poet Olga Broumas with Revolver’s Braxton Carter.

Installation of the Young Maiden Sapphograph series.

Donovan and his wife Linda crossing the plaza as seen from the Center for Hellenic Studies.

Sculptor Gyp Mills and curator Chris Murray confering on a beautiful day in Nafplio.

John Franklin presenting his lecture on Ancient Music.

Lunch in Nafplio with Doug, Lenny, Mimi, Greg and Robin.

There were also dance performances especially created for SapphoFest… but more about that later.

Donovan’s Sapphographs Cause a Sensation at SapphoFest 2010 in Greece

Chris Murray — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:09:40 +0000

The first day of summer and I have just returned from a truly extraordinary series of events in Greece with poet, musician, and artist, Donovan and his wife and muse Linda. Donovan’s Sapphographs opened on June 1st, at the Hellenic American Union in the very stylish Kolonaki neighborhood of Athens where the exhibition created a sensation. Donovan’s Sapphographs were the centerpiece of the first SapphoFest organized by Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies, in association with Govinda Gallery. Donovan’s Sapphographs were installed in the Hellenic American Union’s John F. Kennedy Gallery and the monumental scale of these remarkable works on paper energized the massive crowd of people attending the opening night reception. Special thanks to the Center for Hellenic Studies for their extraordinary support of this exhibition and to Ira Papadopoulou, Director of Cultural Affairs, at the Hellenic American Union.

Athens was abuzz with Donovans Sapphographs and over a dozen feature stories were published in magazines, newspapers, and on television and radio. Also featured in the exhibition, curated by Govinda Gallery’s Chris Murray, was a multimedia interactive installation titled The Tenth Muse by the California based art team; Revolver. Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies, Gregory Nagy, was heard saying of The Tenth Muse, “It just grabs you!” Another very special part of the exhibition was artist Gyp Mill’s cast bronze sculpture of Sappho’s harp, titled, Lover’s Leap. Gyp, Donovan’s longtime friend who is featured in a number of Donovan’s songs, spent over twenty-five years in his studio on the island of Paros, in Greece, working as a sculptor.

SapphoFest 2010 travled to the Center for Hellenic Studies beautiful building in the gorgeous town of Nafplio where on June 4th there was a second exhibition of Donovan’s Sapphographs and a series of dynamic and engaging lectures on ancient Greece from a renowned group of scholars.

There are so many wonderful stories and images from all of these events and we will feature them in a series of posts. For now, here are some pictures from the opening night in Athens and some of the cast of characters.

Installation image from Hellenic American Union of Donovan’s Sapphographs.

Installation image of Delta and Sappho’s Song.

Donovan singing his song Be Mine, composed from Sappho’s fragments.

Ritual dancer preforming at the opening reception.

Donovan signing autographs.

Donovan, Linda Lawrence, installation team Braxton Carter and Christann Moore and curator Chris Murray interacting with The Tenth Muse.

The Tenth Muse installation at the HAU Ghikas Gallery.

Center for Hellenic Studies Director Greg Nagy with Chris Murray, CHS’ Douglas Frame and Revolver team.

Donovan and Gyp Mills with Gyp’s bronze sculpture Lover’s Leap.

HAU board member Dr. Cissie Kozoni, Donovan, and Ira Papadopoulou.

The view of the Acropolis from the roof restaurant of the Hellenic American Union at a magical dinner in Donovan’s honor after the opening reception.

Bob Marley Soul Rebel Opening in Richmond

Chris Murray — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:53:10 +0000

David Burnett’s exhibition Soul Rebel just opened at Metro Sound in Richmond, Virginia. Check out this amazing time-lapse video of the opening night crowd. The exhibition was organized in conjunction with Govinda Gallery.

Donovan

Cary Scott — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:49:29 +0000

View the Donovan: Sapphographs Catalogue

The Hellenic American Union is delighted to announce the exhibition, Donovan: Sapphographs which opened on June 1st, 2010 at the Hellenic American Union galleries, in Athens Greece. This exhibition is organized in collaboration with Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies and Govinda Gallery in Washington D.C., curated by Govinda’s Christopher Murray. An online catalogue has been published for this Donovan’s first exhibition in Greece. Adamson Atelier, master printers, have produced the large format works on paper.

The exhibition features twelve monumental works on paper from the Sapphographs series. Inspired by the lyric poetry of Sappho (7th century B.C.), Donovan captures in visual form the mythic beauty of an ancient artistic tradition. Donovan recently said that he ″wishes to encourage the youth of the world to compose poetry again.″ He wants to ″stand with the young Greek poets and be part of returning poetry to the popular culture where it belongs.″

Exhibition curator Christopher Murray writes: “Donovan: Sapphographs evoke the aesthetic sensuality of nature and the power of its rituals to inspire artistic creation. Sappho has been represented and reinterpreted through many artistic mediums since her own time, over 2,500 years ago, up to today. Depicted by some of the greatest painters in museums through the world, in illuminated manuscripts, by playwrights, in novels, in fashion, in ballet, and in popular music, Sappho has been updated in different times in different ways.”

In conjunction with the exhibition, the California based art team Revolver is presenting a multimedia installation as a tribute to Donovan: Sapphographs. This installation will allow spectators to experience the Sapphographs in three dimensions.

A compelling series of poetry readings, music and dance performances, and symposiums entitled SapphoFest has been organized around Donovan’s exhibition.

Donovan has also composed the melody Be Mine for some of Sappho’s fragments which is available on Amazon as a download and a cd and will perform the song at the opening of the exhibition.

Press & Media »

Espresso (Greece) – June 10th, 2010