Paul Attends Opening Of New Linda McCartney Retrospective

www.paulmccartney.com

JUN062013

Paul Attends Opening Of New Linda McCartney Retrospective

Last night Paul attended the opening of the new Linda McCartney retrospective at the Kunst Haus Wien in Vienna, Austria. The new exhibition is the first comprehensive retrospective of Linda McCartney’s work featuring 190 of her iconic photographs and runs until 6th October.

The retrospective covers the whole of Linda’s career taking in her documenting of the ‘swinging sixties’ musical scenes of New York, California and London where she photographed The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, The Who and Simon & Garfunkel. The exhibition also includes images from the tours of Wings and more intimate moments with her family in Sussex and Scotland.

The exhibition has been produced by Kunst Haus Wien in cooperation with Linda Enterprises Ltd. The curatorial work has been done by members of the McCartney family and Andreas Hirsch, curator of Kunst Haus Wien, in collaboration with Claudia Schmid of Linda Enterprises Ltd.

Paul was joined at the event by wife Nancy and brother Michael. Fans can check out the full details of the exhibition at the museum’s website HERE!

PaulMcCartney.com was also in attendance at Wednesday night’s opening and took the below exclusive photos for the website before the doors opened. Be sure to let us know your favourite photos of Linda’s in the comments below...


(Click for larger image)


(Click for larger image)


(Click for larger image)


(Click for larger image)


(Click for larger image)
 

www.kunsthauswien.com

Linda McCartney

---

6 June to 6 October 2013

KUNST HAUS WIEN is holding a retrospective devoted to the oeuvre of Linda McCartney, one of the most interesting photographers of the 20^th century. The exhibition, which is the first comprehensive retrospective of McCartney’s works worldwide, presents 190 of her iconic photographs of sixties rock and roll, her family life and nature. It has been produced by KUNST HAUS WIEN in cooperation with Linda Enterprises Ltd.

Brian Jones and Mick Jagger, New York © 1966 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Paul and Martha, London © 1968 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Stallion and Standing Stone, Scotland © 1996 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Linda McCartney, who was born Linda Eastman in 1941 in New York, had a passion for photography. Her fascination with music led her to immerse herself in the musical scenes of New York, California and London, documenting the “swinging sixties” with her portraits of stars such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Aretha Franklin and Simon & Garfunkel. The palpable atmosphere of closeness and informality in her fresh, candid photographs makes her approach to portraiture unique.

A chance opportunity to photograph The Rolling Stones at a press conference in June 1966 to promote the album “Aftermath” on a yacht on the Hudson River in New York was a breakthrough for the young photographer. In 1968, when her portrait of Eric Clapton was featured on the cover of “Rolling Stone”, she became the first woman to have this honour.

The Beatles, Abbey Road, London © 1969 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Aretha Franklin, Los Angeles © 1968 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Paul and Mary, Scotland © 1970 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Linda photographed The Beatles at the launch of their album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band“ in 1967. Paul and Linda fell in love, and got married two years later. Linda’s photographic world expanded to encompass her family life raising four children with Paul, as well as the final years of The Beatles, Wings tours, and more peaceful times in the country in Sussex and Scotland. Linda McCartney’s everyday scenes, which reflect the warmth of her devotion to her family, reveal her alertness to the poetry of the moment as well as to humorous or surreal situations, and stand on an equal footing in her oeuvre with her famous portraits. These works, too, demonstrate her distinctive personal style: a casual elegance combined with an instinctive feeling for capturing the subject at just the right instant.

Heather, Stella and Paul, location unknown © 1975 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Frank Zappa, New York © 1968 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

Linda McCartney, London © 1968 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Eric Clapton

In her later life, Linda McCartney returned to the early interests that had influenced her development as a photographer. Her love of the fine arts had been sparked by her encounters with numerous prominent artists and led her to study art history at university. Her particular enthusiasm for the medium of photography, its history and its processes inspired her to experiment with techniques from the early days of photography. A considerable number of portraits date back to this period, for instance of Willem de Kooning, Gilbert and George, Jim Jarmusch and Allen Ginsberg, some of which are included in the exhibition. Photographs of animals, plants, landscapes and still lifes – partly done as platinum prints and sun prints – as well as a documentary section with contact sheets, videos and other materials round off this retrospective of the lifework of a passionate photographer.

 

The exhibition has been produced by KUNST HAUS WIEN in cooperation with Linda Enterprises Ltd. The curatorial work has been done by members of the McCartney family and Andreas Hirsch, curator of KUNST HAUS WIEN, in collaboration with Claudia Schmid of Linda Enterprises Ltd.

Notice for visitors of the exhibition:

Photography and the use of audio or audio-visual recording equipment (including cameras and mobile phones) are prohibited in the exhibition. Thank you for your kind understanding!