Cleveland Rocks : Photographs of George Shuba
March 15 – May 4, 2007
"The photographs, each 16" by 20" silver gelatin prints, are brilliant artistic interpretations of the zeitgeist of this unique era in a city that is central to this country." - John Jicha
John Jicha, professor in Western's department of art, will collaborate
with the art galleries and museum to organize the 2007
premier and national tour of Cleveland Rocks: Photographs
of George Shuba.
This project is an important connection to
the history and legacy of a prolific but under-appreciated photographer
from Cleveland, George Shuba. With over 6,500 catalogued negatives, Mr.
Shuba has chronicled the essence of the Cleveland 'rock' scene. When Rock
and Roll was in its infancy, Cleveland was one of those fertile cities, showcasing
the greatest musicians of the times.
The city, with its blue collar commitment to diversity, was the first or second stop for Rock legends including the Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Neil Diamond, and many, many more. In 1964, George Shuba, a relatively unknown photographer, accepted an assignment as a studio photographer for the UPBEAT show. Thus began Shuba's forty-year passion for photographing the Cleveland scene of Rock and Roll. His photographs remind us of the central role Cleveland played in the emergence of this new music culture beginning in the early '60s. Within all the drama, George Shuba provides the viewer with a keen sense of intrinsic optimistic energy and abstract formal language.
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