Baron Wolman, one of the most iconic Rock and Roll photographer and the first chief photographer of the magazine Rolling Stone died peacefully on November 2 at the age of 83 after a battle with ALS, the nervous-system disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
A while back we published this feature on Wolman.
Baron Wolman immortalized the faces of the most iconic celebrities of our times, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis in Monterey in 1969, BB King. The exhibition presents multiple covers that Baron Wolman created for Rolling Stone between 1967 and 1970, with Janis Joplin, Mick Jagger, Ike & Tina Turner, Sun Ra and Eric Clapton.
Other images less known reveal the vision of the photographer, like this portrait of Duke Ellington backstage in Los Angeles. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful representations that remains of the jazz man. There is also Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Sly Stone elastic and covered in sweat or Iggy Pop in an acrobatic pose.
The most impressive in this exhibition is Baron Wolman’s intimite side, in which we see unknown bluesmen such as Nathan Beauregard, a blind guitarist of 106 years, seated alone on a rusty chair, gripping the neck of an old guitar.
All of these photographs are engraved in the memory of the people who lived through these times or grew up with this music several decades later. It’s not the case of the Moscovites, who were completely cut from this culture until the early 90s. The Moscovite public will discover the work of Baron Wolman with a fresh eye. In contrast to westerners, to whom these images will awaken emotions sometimes 40 years old, the Moscovites can appreciate the talent simply for what it is.
Baron Wolman was the director of photography for Rolling Stone magazine from 1967 to 1970, the first golden age of the magazine.
Emmanuel Grynszpan
Baron Wolman, The Rolling Stone Years
Through June 22
Pobeda Gallery
Moscow, Bolotnaya emb. 3 b. 4
