PHOTOSMITH'S QUINTET

GROUP SHOW 04.12.12-06.30.12

Bob Compton arrived in New Orleans at the age of 42 in late 1995.  For reasons still unknown to him, a longhaired middle aged guy with a pronounced Arkansas twang was, over the years, literally woven into the fabric of New Orleans Music and Culture.  With "an itchy curiosity and a passionate eye," he spent every waking hour exploring New Orleans' every nook and cranny. 

"All I can tell you is that it has been the greatest blessing in my life," Compton says whenver asked.  "I just fell middle age crazy in love with New Orleans, and she loved me back. The more I got to know her, the more fascinating she became.  And to have the trust and friendships of so many icons of New Orleans music and culture is my greatest treasure; my gratitude is profound."

Compton developed friendships with giants of music and culture photography including Herman Leonard, Baron Wolman, and Michael P. Smith, all of who provided degrees of influence and mentorship.  His work has been shown in galleries in New Orleans, Santa Fe, and New York, where he had a solo show at Ivy Brown Gallery in February 2008. He is a regular contributor to the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, and proud to be a Founding Member of ART DOCS.

Christopher Felver is a photographer and filmmaker. His work has been exhibited internationally—with solo photographic exhibitions—at the Arco d’ Alibert, Rome (1987); the Art Institute for the Permian Basin, Odessa, Texas (1987); Torino Fotografia Biennale Internazionale, Italy (1989); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1994);  Roosevelt Study Center, Middelburg, Netherlands (1998); Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles (2002); the Maine Photographic Workshop (2002); Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles (2007); and other galleries and museums. His works have also appeared in major group exibitions, including The Beats: Legacy & Celebration, New York University (1994) and Beatific Soul: Jack Kerouac On The Road, The New York Public Library (2007).

He participated in the 53rd Venice International Film Festival, and screened films in festivals and museums around the globe, including presentations at the San Francisco Film Festival (2009) Library of Congress (2006), the Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles (2006), Lincoln Center, New York (2005), the Mill Valley Film Festival (1996, 2002), Santa Fe Film Festival (2001, 2005), Northwest West Film Festival, Portland Art Museum (2001), Walker Museum of Art, Minneapolis (2000), Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C. (2000), KQED San Francisco (1984, 1999), and WGBH Boston (1984,) The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., New York Public Library, and the Museum of Fine Art in Boston have presented retrospectives of his films: Cecil Taylor: All the Notes (2005), Donald Judd’s Marfa Texas (1998), The Coney Island of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1996), Tony Cragg: In Celebration of Sculpture (1993), John Cage Talks About Cows (1991), Taken by the Romans (1990), West Coast: “Beat & Beyond” (1984), and California Clay in the Rockies (1983.)

Christopher Felver’s books are Beat (Last Gasp, 2007) an intimate memoir of image, text, and reminiscence; The Late Great Allen Ginsberg (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2002); The Importance of Being (Arena Editions, 2001), 400 portraits of eminent figures in American arts, letters, music, and politics; Ferlinghetti Portrait (Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1998); Angels, Anarchists & Gods (Louisiana State University Press, 1996), featuring the American avant-garde; The Poet Exposed (Alfred Van der Marck Editions, 1986), a monograph of contemporary American poets; and Seven Days in Nicaragua Libre (City Lights Books, 1984), co-authored with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, based on a week together in Nicaragua with Minister of Culture Ernesto Cardenal.

His work is collected by numerous libraries and museums, including Stanford University Special Collections; Bancroft Library at University of California, Berkeley; The New York Public Library; Donnell Media Center; San Francisco Public Library; University of California Santa Cruz, Special Collections; University of Buffalo, Poetry/Rare Books Collection; University of North Carolina Special Collections; San Diego State University; University of Delaware Special Collections; UCLA Special Collections; and University of New Mexico Special Collections, among others.

Christopher Felver appears as a guest lecturer at universities and art centers. His photographs are represented and distributed worldwide by Corbis. In 1997, he received the Best Art Documentary Awards at the Cinema Arts Centre International Independent Film Festival, Huntington, New York. From 1987 to 1989, Mr. Felver was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome.

Greg Miles is an award-winning photographer who launched his career in New York City. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Fine Arts Program, Greg was sought for both editorial and commercial work. He gravitated toward fashion throughout the 90’s where there were numerous fashion shoots with top models such as Helena Christensen and Amber Valetta.

Greg’s editorial work can be found in such national and international publications as: Allure, Interview, XXL, German Marie Claire, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Interview and Black Book. His corporate and commercial clients include: Proctor & Gamble, Gibson Guitars, Island Def Jam Records, NPR, Neiman Marcus, W Hotels, Verve Records, Harrah’s Casino, Sonesta Hotels, The Marriott and Centurytel among others.

In 2002 Greg relocated his career base to New Orleans. Much of his work focuses on the city’s cultural epicenter, most notably its renowned music scene. Since moving to New Orleans he has become a regular contributor to New Orleans Magazine, Offbeat, Gambit Weekly, Avenue Magazine & New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles.
At present Greg has photographed well over 100 New Orleans musicians and has had several one-man shows in New York and New Orleans. Greg currently spits his time between the two cities.

Zack Smith is a fine art and commercial photographer that has been documenting the social landscapes that surround him for the past 15 years, and since 2000, has focused his energies on New Orleans and Southwestern Louisiana, the place of his birth. Smith specializes in environmental portraiture, performance, and street documentary photography.

Smith is currently a photography instructor at The New Orleans Academy of Fine Art and an active member in the New Orleans Photo Alliance. Smith is also staff photographer for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, French Quarter Festival, and the Tulane University Marching Band For three years, Smith was shooting assistant for world-renowned photographer Herman Leonard.

From 2008-2011 Smith was exhibition curator at The CANARY Gallery in the New Orleans Arts District. Smith maintains a large client base in New Orleans and the U.S., and is featured in numerous publications, books, and has shown in galleries across the South. Smith was also awarded Best Music Photographer by Offbeat Magazine in 2009, and was awarded “40 under 40” by Gambit Weekly for his work in the local photographic community.

Smith is also an active member of the New Orleans music community, as drummer for local band Rotary Downs, projection artist, music promoter, and long time photographer to many local musicians on a variety of projects.