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“The Art Of The Guitar – The Photography of Jonathan Singer” opened today at both the SoHo and Bowery locations of the Morrison Hotel Gallery. Last night's preview included a reception and viewing in the Gallery's SoHo loft, as well as a multimedia digital presentation to a packed auditorium in the Apple store across Prince Street.
The exhibit, curated by Bernard “Buzzy” Levine of Lark Street Music, features fine art photographs of guitars by Fender, Gibson and Greth, as well as Singer's favorite guitars – Four Seasons, a “quartet of guitars built over a six year period by the master luthier John Monteleone.”
“By turning the guitar into an art piece, it takes on a whole new meaning,” Singer said. “The style I use either makes the guitars melt into the background or jump off the paper they are printed on. The instrument must have the power to be a celebrity on its own.”
Singer has been shooting guitars for more than 20 years, and is also renowned for his groundbreaking work in botanical photography.
The guitar is the photographer's only musical love – Singer has no interest in other instruments. What he loves most about guitars is that “they're beautiful, just like a woman.” He plays in a blues band, which he says “tolerates” him.
Singer's exhibition also features guitars crafted by Jens Ritter, a n instrument maker from Deidesheim, Germany, who shares the photographer's passion for guitars as art. Ritter described his work as creating “a piece of art you can play music on” and noted that art collectors “buy them for the wall.”
As a complement to the photography, Singer's longtime friend, Annie Haslam is showing her hand-painted guitars at the exhibit. The photographs and the guitars are available for sale at both the SoHo and Bowery galleries.
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