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Allan Tannenbaum’s iconic photography from the 1970s was recently showcased at an exhibition sponsored by Art in Tune in Los Angeles, kicking off the second edition of his book, New York in the 70s. The exhibition featured a total of 57 prints, ranging from 11 in. x 14 in. to 44 in. x 66 in. Tannenbaum printed all of the images in-house on his Canon iPF6100 and iPF8100 printers on LexJet’s Sunset Photo eSatin Paper.
Canon iPF8100 and iPF6100 printers on LexJet Sunset Photo eSatin Paper for a recent exhibition of his work from the 1970s. The exhibition, sponsored by Art in Tune, played to a packed house in West Hollywood, Calif. Photo by Ziv Koren.
The photography spans his work in New York City for the SoHo Weekly News as a photojournalist covering the music scene, show business, lifestyles, the art world, nightlife, and local politics throughout the 1970s. His photography at the SoHo Weekly News was the basis for New York in the 70s, which was originally published in 2003 by a now defunct German publishing company.
That first edition of the book documenting those years quickly sold out, and based partly on its success, Tannenbaum followed up with John & Yoko, a New York Love Story in 2007, which includes a collection of images from a photo session Tannenbaum did with John and Yoko ten days before John Lennon’s death. Tannenbaum’s work with John and Yoko rank among the most famous images taken of Lennon, in many respects encapsulating in photography the memories many have of the era, its music, and its personalities.
What both books document is a lifetime of outstanding photojournalism in the microcosm. Tannenbaum has photographed almost every conceivable human condition, capturing the breadth of the world’s citizenry, from the humblest to the most famous and infamous.
But the photos of New York in the 1970s from Tannenbaum’s early career established him as one of America’s premier photojournalists, so it’s only natural that the roots of his photography would be celebrated in a series of gallery showings that began with the exhibition in Los Angeles on April 3.
Deborah and Allan Tannenbaum at the opening of Allan's exhibition in West Hollywood in front of one of his famous photos of John Lennon. Photo by John Heller.
The exhibition coincided with the release of the second edition of New York in the 70s, which includes a personal note from Yoko Ono and a forward by P.J. O’Rourke.
Tannenbaum worked with a German lawyer to retain the rights to the book originally published in 2003, and was finally able to do so, releasing the latest edition with Overlook Press.
“My real break in photography was with the SoHo Weekly News, and during that time I was able to amass a unique collection of photos,” says Tannenbaum. “Then, coinciding with the second publishing of New York in the 70s, I heard from Rosalind Read in Los Angeles who used to work with the Morrison Hotel Gallery and was starting her own gallery called Art in Tune. Rather than open a permanent gallery, Rosalind and her associate, Karla Braun, used a temporary one in West Hollywood on Beverly Boulevard for this exhibit. The opening was really quite something; there was a great turnout and we’ve sold a lot of books and prints.”
Art in Tune featured Tannenbaum’s exhibition through April 14, with a portion of the proceeds going to Inner-City Arts, a charitable organization that provides art programs to inner-city kids.
Art in Tune will run a series of what it calls “pop-up exhibitions” throughout Los Angeles, focusing on a different artist and benefitting a different charity each time.
Tannenbaum plans an East Coast opening for New York in the 70s at the Not Fade Away Gallery on Broadway in New York City beginning May 26. Click on the links below for more information about Art in Tune, Inner-City Arts, and the work of Allan Tannenbaum at SoHo Blues:
SoHo Blues
Art in Tune
Inner-City Arts
Not Fade Away Gallery
New York in the 70s at Overlook Press