On Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at 11.30 a.m. Joseph Gallivan interviews Julia Dolan about Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm. Dolan is the Senior Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum and she talks about some of the one thousand photos the Beatles bassist took as the band was breaking in the UK, France, and the US, Paul’s approach to composition and lighting, his use of Kodachrome film in Miami, and his unique position as being the spectacle who was capturing what was going on around him during Beatlemania.
This edition of Art Focus was recorded on Zoom video conferencing software on Oct. 18, and edited by Joseph Gallivan.
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From the press release:
https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/paul-mccartney-photographs/
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm is an unprecedented exhibition, revealing extraordinary photographs taken by the beloved musical icon. Organized by the National Portrait Gallery in London, the exhibition will open at the Portland Art Museum on September 14, 2024, and run through January 19, 2025.
Comprising recently rediscovered photographs from Paul McCartney’s personal archive, more than 250 pictures invite visitors to intimately experience The Beatles’ meteoric rise from British sensation to international stardom. At a time when so many camera lenses were turned toward them, McCartney’s perspective from the inside out brings fresh insight into the band, their experiences, the fans, and the Beatlemania phenomenon. Through these photographs, along with video clips and archival material, visitors can witness the dawn of the “British Invasion” that fundamentally transformed rock and roll music and global culture.
Captured by McCartney during a pivotal three-month period for The Beatles in late 1963 and early 1964, the photographs evoke an affectionate family album, picturing his fellow band members, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, at a time when their lives were changing irrevocably. The exhibition gives visitors a highly personal glimpse into an extraordinary time with one of music’s enduring legends.
The exhibition also captures McCartney’s interest in the visual arts, with his photos reflecting the aesthetics and popular culture of the period. The range of work, from portraiture and landscape photos to documentary images, reveals McCartney’s familiarity with the formal styles of early 1960s photography. References to New Wave, documentary filmmaking, and photojournalism can be found across the exhibition.
“Looking at these photos now, decades after they were taken, I find there’s a sort of innocence about them,” said Paul McCartney. “Everything was new to us at this point. But I like to think I wouldn’t take them any differently today. They now bring back so many stories, a flood of special memories, which is one of the many reasons I love them all, and know that they will always fire my imagination.”
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm is curated by Paul McCartney with Sarah Brown on behalf of MPL Communications Limited and Rosie Broadley for the National Portrait Gallery, London, and organized for the Portland Art Museum by Julia Dolan, Ph.D., the Minor White Senior Curator of Photography.
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Joseph Gallivan has been a reporter since 1990. He has covered music for the London Independent, Technology for the New York Post, and arts and culture for the Portland Tribune and for Axios Portland. He is the author of two novels, "Oi, Ref!" and "England All Over" which are available on Amazon.com