"ICON: Music Through The Lens" is a new six-part series that exposes the eye-opening, thrilling world of live music photography. It follows the fascinating lives and often wild experiences of the artists who documented popular music in images, from the earliest darkrooms to the fast-evolving digital landscapes of the present day.
Featuring interviews with some of the most famous music photographers, musicians, gallerists, music journalists and social commentators, "ICON: Music Through The Lens" is an eye-opening thrill ride that captures what it was like on both sides of the camera when the most recognizable images in history were taken. Via studio portraits, record sleeves, coffee table books, along with magazine photo shoots, fine art, and images taken at live shows and exhibitions, viewers will learn about the origins of these enduring, iconic images and the future of music photography.
“ICON is a dream come true for me,” said Gered Mankowitz, executive producer and renowned music photographer. “For over 10 years, director Dick Carruthers, fellow executive producer Andy Saunders and I have been trying to get this series made, and now to have it aired on PBS in the USA is the icing on the cake. I have been committed to music photography since 1963 and have been fighting to get the genre taken seriously as an art form in its own right for most of that time. ICON does the job, and I hope you will enjoy watching it as much as we loved making it.”
- Episode One – “On Camera” explores how photographic images of Snoop Dogg, Bob Dylan and Madonna influence perceptions and how they communicate, through themes of interaction, technical skill, occasional luck and cultural impact.
- Episode Two – “On the Road” features touring stories from early trailblazers who went on the road with artists such as Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and The Who, mixed with tales from the punk era of CGBGs, the Clash and the Sex Pistols.
- Episode Three – “On the Record” covers the themes of nostalgia, resonance and association that run through the superb stories of classic album covers by the Jam, Lou Reed, Thin Lizzy, Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, Joy Division and Crosby Stills and Nash.
- Episode Four – “On the Cover” explores the legacy of the early covers of Rolling Stone, Creem, NME, Mojo and Q. Journalists, musicians and publicists discuss the enduring appeal and importance of the printed page, with music photographers who shot many of the most iconic front covers telling some touching, scandalous and never-heard-before stories about these images.
- Episode Five – “On the Wall” traces the journey from the early days of low-paid assignments to the first gallery exhibitions of music photography and expensive coffee table books, ultimately arriving at individual prints now selling for six and even seven figure sums. This episode offers insight to this relatively new industry, exploring the relationship between art and commerce.
- Episode Six – “On the Net” ends the series in seeking to determine, through the next generation of music photographers, whether music photography still has a role to play. Does it still carry the same importance, and who are the new standard bearers of the profession?
“ICON: Music Through the Lens” was produced and directed by Dick Carruthers, whose celebrated career includes award-winning work with many of the artists featured in the series such as Oasis, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, along with Gered Mankowitz and Andy Saunders serving as executive producers. The series premieres Friday, July 16 at 8 p.m. on Panhandle PBS.
