San Francisco, CA, September 28, 2017: San Francisco Art Exchange (SFAE) announces PEACE: Photographs by Jim Marshall, an exhibit featuring a selection of legendary photographer Jim Marshall’s unseen peace photographs. The exhibit opens October 20 at SF Art Exchange (458 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102) with a welcome reception from 6:30PM-8:00PM and is open to the public. Please call (415) 441-8840 to RSVP.
Marshall, one of the most celebrated photographers of the twentieth century, has taken some of the most recognized photographs in the history of music. Jim loved street photography, and in between official assignments in the 1960s, he documented the CND peace symbol and peace rallies as a personal project. Jim tabled these images on an index card in his archives scrawled with a peace symbol, where they had remained unseen and unpublished until now.
The exhibit at SFAE, in celebration of the release of Marshall’s critically acclaimed new book Peace (Reel Art Press), is comprised of Marshall’s peace symbol photographs and iconic photographs of the 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco.
SFAE co-founder Theron Kabrich says, “The volume and variety of Jim’s photographs of peace signs nestled among photos of Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis and so many others, makes it clear Jim was on a mission to ‘collect’ as many examples of peace signs as he came across.”
Joan Baez, who provides the book’s afterword, said, “Whatever was behind his urge to photograph peace symbols does not really matter. The images as seen in this book are as artful and powerful as his acclaimed photos of stars, musicians, and festivals for which he is known.”
Amelia Davis, an award-winning photographer, curator, and owner of the Jim Marshall Estate says, “Jim had a curious eye and was always looking at and documenting what he observed was an important piece of history. The peace symbol was just that. A symbol that started out meaning Nuclear Disarmament but then took on a life of its own during the 1960s and turned into much more than Nuclear Disarmament. It became a universal symbol for free speech, anti-war, women’s rights, and acceptance.”
Renowned street artist and graphic designer Shepard Fairey, who contributed the book’s foreword said, “What I find most exciting and unusual about these peace photographs is that symbols and slogans of peace dominated by the peace sign are the subjects of these portraits. They showcase an idea rather than pictures of famous musicians, scenesters, or politicians, and the artful nature of the images indicate that Marshall saw the role of the peace signs as a crucial character or protagonist within the culture.”
Now, decades later, the evergreen symbol of peace is being hailed and praised in this unique book and exhibition like any other star Jim Marshall photographed during his illustrious career. Peace is always in season and Jim’s photos are timeless.
