The famed photographer Charles Peterson will unveil a collection of his iconic images taken during the famed Seattle music scene of the late 80's into the 90's. Eric J. Keller, the director of Soulcatcher Studio wrote a beautiful intro to this amazing exhibit which i invite you all to read below. Another reason to visit Seattle, as if you didn't have a list already.
"Soulcatcher Studio is very pleased to welcome guest artist Charles Peterson (born 1964) to our gallery for this exclusive exhibition, featuring a selection of previously unpublished images from his vast archive. Below you will find a retrospective exhibition of his documentation of the Seattle music scene in the late 1980s and 1990s, along with current pricing and print information. Peterson's photographs have appeared in publications and galleries throughout the world, most notably a one-man exhibition at The Chrysler Museum (curated by Brooks Johnson) February~May 2005. Please inquire if you have other favorite images by this artist that do not appear in this exhibition. We can offer his entire portfolio of work for sale.
I moved to Seattle in 1986 to attend college, having grown up in a town of 700 people in Central Washington State. For me it was life in the big city, and the city was about to experience one of the greatest explosions of popular culture witnessed in the last thirty years. I fondly remember the days when you could see bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Mudhoney in a bar or small club. This was well before Vogue magazine came to town in 1992 and turned flannel in to high fashion.
Bands like Nirvana changed the face of popular music as we know it today. On January 25, 1992 they dethroned King of Pop Michael Jackson and the seemingly unending variety of 80s glam and "hair" bands that had dominated the charts in previous years, hitting number one on the Billboard charts with their breakthrough album, Nevermind. As rock critic Michael Azzerad noted in Rolling Stone, "In the past six years, Seattle has gone from a small but vibrant music scene to a rock mecca recently profiled by Time, Entertainment Weekly, and USA Today". Suddenly "grunge" was in, and everyone wanted a piece of it. Ironically, as grunge music moved from subculture to popular culture, it lost the anti-establishment energy that contributed to its authenticity.
Having come of age in the Seattle music scene I have a particular fondness for these photographs, and the memories they evoke. I recall seeing Charles at shows, darting in and out of the action, both on stage and in the audience. His photographs perfectly capture the birth of this musical movement; the raw energy, emotion and authenticity of, as he put it, "...a supercharged lifestyle of expression, a familial community made up of "stray dogs from every village" who all had the same aching need for something to do, preferably loud and diverting."
Many people will tell you that the Seattle music scene died on April 8, 1994; the day that the lifeless body of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain was discovered. I like to think otherwise. In many ways it continues to live and thrive today, including through these wonderful photographs. Thank you Charles Peterson; for documenting this memorable and influential period of my life."
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