Books I Have Enjoyed This Spring-Part 1 (April-May 2017)
Big Shots- Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik -Authors
Guy Webster - Photography
Cover of Big Shots
Many of us who are followers of Rock and Jazz Music have seen names that constantly come up in photo credits with iconic images that stopped, for a brief moment the time continuum, freezing the image of a musician, actor, and place that stirs our imagination, and makes us wish we had been there watching. Guy Webster and the Kuberniks have assembled incredible photos from the mid to late 20th Century that remind us as Boomers we were young then. But, this book is more than just another nostalgic "remember when" type of book. The Boomers grew up in an era that became notorious for creativity. experiments in intimate relationships, self-indulgence, rebellious attitudes, and perhaps the beginning of the large scale experimentation with various drugs. Although some of theme chemicals had been around for years, the sheer volume and the variety of ingestion of chemicals the boomers dwarfed previous generations. The Sixties, in particular were the inventive time of internal search and external expression of the subcultures around North America and Europe. Such activities included use of peyote and LSD for vision searches, the birth of the Rock Festival, the beginning of "hemp farming" on a large scale, pursuit of new social experiments, such as communes, co-ops, open marriages, meditation, and so forth.
To make a potentially long story short, Guy Webster was the perfect person at the perfect place (California), at a time when popular music reach unprecedented popularity. Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Webster is well-known for his ability to capture the right image at the right time without disturbing or offending the celebrities he photographed. In the forward by Brian Wilson, Brian states about Guy "Guy was never a distraction (in the studio). He was able to get great photos of us (The Beach Boys) because he had a lot of experience." If you have music from the Sixties in your music collection, you probably have several Guy Webster photos without realizing it. As a photographer, Mr. Webster was equally capable of shooting black and white or color photographs. In addition, he could shoot in his own studio or outdoors.
If you have any Mamas and Papas, Turtles, Byrds, Rolling Stones, Chicago, Captain Beefheart, Doors, Taj Mahal, or Monkees albums, you probably have a Guy Webster photo without realizing it. As an example The High Tides and Green Grass lp by the Stones has a Webster shot on the front cover. Ditto with The Mamas and Papa's first and second albums, and The Doors first album. The Beach Boys photos Webster shot were in the period when Smile was being recorded. Brian on the motorcycle, The Boys at Arrowhead Lake, Brian wearing his Indigenous Beaded Talisman while sitting at the studio piano teaching vocal parts to The Beach Boys.
The shots taken by Mr. Webster of motion picture actors of the Sixties are also well known. He had sessions with Jack Nicholson, The Star Trek pair of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, James Coburn, Dennis Hopper, and many more. To place things in some perspective, Mr. Webster photographed the talent of the music and film worlds, and artists in both fields asked for him to be the person who they wanted to take the critical shots that traveled in the world media at a time when magazines were places to watch for new talent.
So, The book is coffee table size (11" by 14"). There is a great black and white photograph of Jack Nicholson on the front cover, and a circa 1966 black and white picture of Mick Jagger on the back cover. As books of photography go, the writing by the Kuberniks helps place the various photos in context, and the book is filled with color photos you will likely enjoy. The price of the book is quite reasonable at $15 to $20 through insighteditions.com. Fine art is a joy any person should experience.
Text Copyright 2017 by Peter Reum - All Rights Reserved
Book Front Cover photo courtesy of insighteditions.com
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