Gallery 169 is honored to welcome Graham Nash, featuring recent, never before shown assembled photographs. The exhibit opening reception is September 1st, from 5-8 pm and will run through October 13th.
Graham Nash
has helped shape the world around him through ideas, innovations, and
influential works of art for more than four decades. One of music’s most
legendary singer-songwriters and vocal harmonists, Nash has been
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice—with
The Hollies
and Crosby, Stills & Nash—and is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He
is also an internationally renowned photographer and digital imaging
pioneer. In 1990, his passion for photography led him to establish Nash
Editions, recognized by the Smithsonian for its role in the invention of
digital fine art printing
Born in the seacoast town of Blackpool,
England, and raised near Manchester, Nash was appointed OBE (Order of
the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth in 2010. That same year, the
group with which he first rose to fame, British Invasion icons The
Hollies (named for Buddy Holly), were inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame. Their mid-to-late 1960s chart success rivaled that of the
Beatles and the Stones with hits including “On A Carousel,” “Bus Stop,”
“Carrie Anne”, “King Midas In Reverse,” and “Pay You Back With
Interest.” 2011 marks the DVD release of the documentary The Hollies:
Look Through Any Window 1963-1975; featuring live performances, vintage
television appearances, and new interviews, the film was produced in
cooperation
with Nash and other Hollies members.
With his
photography, Nash has drawn honors including the New York Institute of
Technology’s Arts & Technology Medal and Honorary Doctorate of
Humane Letters and the Hollywood Film Festival’s inaugural Hollywood
Visionary Cyber Award. His work is collected in the book Eye to Eye:
Photographs by Graham Nash; he curated others’ work in the volume Taking
Aim: Unforgettable Rock ‘n’ Roll Photographs Selected by Graham Nash
(2009). In 1990, his passion for photography led him to establish Nash
Editions, which evolved out of experimentation in the late ’80s scanning
and manipulating Nash’s photographs on a computer. Now one of the
world’s top fine art photographic printmaking houses, Nash Editions is
recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for its role in the invention
of digital fine art printing. Since 2005, its first IRIS 3047 printer
and one of its first published works—Nash’s 1969 portrait of David
Crosby—have been in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of American History.
As ever, Nash’s passionate
voice continues to be heard in support of peace, and social and
environmental justice. The No Nukes/Musicians United for Safe Energy
(MUSE) concerts he organized with Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and John
Hall in 1979 remain seminal benefit
events. In 2011, Nash was
instrumental in bringing MUSE back to the forefront with a concert to
benefit Japan disaster relief and groups promoting non-nuclear energy
worldwide. In addition to CSN, the event at Shoreline Amphitheatre in
Northern California featured Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Jason Mraz,
Tom Morello, the Doobie Brothers, Kitaro, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and
Jonathan Wilson. Also in 2011, Nash was part of the line-up for an
all-star concert benefiting the Fund for Civility, Respect, and
Understanding in Tucson, Arizona.
Nash became politically
active after moving to California to join with David Crosby and Stephen
Stills, as reflected in Nash's songs "Military Madness" and "Chicago (We
Can Change the World)." His song
"Immigration Man", Crosby and
Nash's biggest hit as a duo arose from a tiff he had with a US Customs
official while trying to enter the country. Nash became an American
citizen on August 14, 1978.
In a recent interview Graham said the following:
"I
became a citizen of the United States of America decades ago mainly
because I did not want to be hypocritical, criticizing this country,
throwing caustic comments from the sidelines, usually in song, yet not
being a true part of this wonderful social network. I also wanted to be
able to vote and I wanted to be able to praise the obvious beauty of
this country and it's people and the things they stand for, having
been
brilliantly set out in our Constitution. Being a citizen means the
world to me, and it also means that I can raise my voice and my opinion.
Obviously no one has to agree with anything I'm saying but I know that
our constitution guarantees me the right to speak my mind. I see many
things wrong with this country right now: the ever widening divide
between the rich and the poor, the taking over of our government by the
corporate/financial elite, the 'buying' of our very democracy by the 1%,
the decimation of our environment by the oil, coal, gas, chemical and
nuclear industries and the ever increasing erosion of our civil rights
to name but a few of our many problems."
With the body of work shown at gallery 169 Nash wanted to create a 'minimalist' yet involving statement creating a contemplative space to make us pause and reflect on where we stand.