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The Who. They were great, I loved these guys. For me they were like cute little ruffians. They made me think of Dickens, of Oliver Twist, Fagins gang. - Art Kane Knowing that John Entwistle and Pete Townshend wore jackets made from flags, Kane decided to wrap them in a Union Jack: actually two, sewn together for the session. Initially they worked in his Carnegie Hall studio shooting on a seamless white background. Subsequently Kane took the group to Morningside Park, near to NYC's Columbia University. Here he had them pose sleeping, against the base of the Karl Schurz monument. He wanted to show them as both irreverent and lovable in a devilish kind of way. The photograph was a homage to a Cartier-Bresson photograph of a vagrant asleep in Trafalgar Square. An underexposure in overcast conditions produced deeply saturated colours, causing the flag to jump out from the dark background.
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The most famous Jazz photograph ever? This was Art Kane's first assignment as a professional photographer. The signature photograph from the golden age of Jazz - not a bad place to kick off. How could he have gathered 57 of the world's greatest jazz musicians at 10.00am on 126th Street in Harlem one August morning - a time when they would usually all be fast asleep? It was very nearly 58 musicians, but pianist Willie Smith had wandered out of frame by the time the shot was taken. Kane controlled them (as best he could) by shouting directions through a rolled-up New York Times. They are all in there: Monk, Mulligan, Basie, Gillespie, Mingus and more. It was a momentous day for Art Kane, who would later look back: I came up with this really outrageous idea, and watching it unfold the way I'd thought of it; seeing all those musicians moving up there onto those steps on 126th St. was magnificent. I knew from that moment on that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a photographer. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Art Kane has been extensively and sincerely flattered: this photograph has been re-created in tribute at least a dozen times by hip hop artists, younger jazz musicians, classical players & doo wop artists, and entire music communities. It was the subject of an Academy Award nominated documentary, 'A Great Day in Harlem' by Jean Bach, which is well worth seeking out. No other picture has become so deeply embedded in the hearts and minds of music lovers worldwide.
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This is a very special large format piece, and comes in a choice of two very large sizes — to better appreciate the individual frames. The image chosen for the front cover of the "Heroes" album is top right, and the contact sheet shows the build-up to that key photograph.
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"A few days before the show at Radio City Music Hall, Bowie did a photo session, a rehearsal and an interview at RCA Studio. He went on to do another rehearsal at Radio City Music Hall. Yacco-San was working as the stylist, running here and there with costumes by Kansai Yamamoto that shed brought over from Japan. They looked marvellous." Masayoshi Sukita
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"A few days before the show at Radio City Music Hall, Bowie did a photo session, a rehearsal and an interview at RCA Studio. He went on to do another rehearsal at Radio City Music Hall. Yacco-San was working as the stylist, running here and there with costumes by Kansai Yamamoto that she'd brought over from Japan. They looked marvellous" Masayoshi Sukita.
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Archivally processed Lambda photograph on 16 x 20 inch paper, a limited edition of 30, signed and numbered by Masayoshi Sukita. Unframed price excluding VAT. "A few days before the show at Radio City Music Hall, David Bowie did a photo session, a rehearsal and an interview at RCA Studio. He went on to do another rehearsal at Radio City Music Hall. Yacco-San was working as the stylist, running here and there with costumes by Kansai Yamamoto that shed brought over from Japan. They looked marvellous. " Masayoshi Sukita
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This photograph was taken by Jean-Marie Perier in London in early 1967. The location was Abbey Road studios, where the fabs were recording Sgt Pepper.