At the height of the counterculture revolution of the mid-sixties, San Francisco was the epicenter of music, psychedelic drugs, and free love. Photographer Irving Penn (1917–2009) was interested in documenting this phenomenon and was assigned by Look magazine to photograph two of the leading rock bands of the era—Janis Joplin (far left) with Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Jerry Garcia (top right) with the Grateful Dead. Joplin was described as “the most staggering leading woman in rock,” while Garcia— the lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the Grateful Dead—was best known for his extended guitar improvisations. Joplin died of a drug overdose in 1970, while Garcia and the Grateful Dead conducted an “endless tour” until his death in 1995.
Rock Groups San Francisco, 1967
- Exhibition Label
- At the height of the counterculture revolution of the mid-sixties, San Francisco was the epicenter of music, psychedelic drugs, and free love. Photographer Irving Penn was interested in documenting this phenomenon and was assigned by Look magazine to photograph two of the leading rock bands of the era—Janis Joplin (far left) with Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Jerry Garcia (top right) with the Grateful Dead. Joplin was described as “the most staggering leading woman in rock,” while Garcia— the lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the Grateful Dead—was best known for his extended guitar improvisations. Joplin died of a drug over- dose in 1970, while Garcia and the Grateful Dead conducted an “endless tour” until his death in 1995.
- Irving Penn (1917–2009)
- En el apogeo de la revolución contracultural a mediados de los años sesenta, San Francisco era el epicentro de la música, las drogas psicodélicas y el amor libre. El fotógrafo Irving Penn se interesó en documentar este fenómeno y la revista Look le asignó retratar a dos de las principales bandas de rock de la época: Janis Joplin (extrema izquierda) con Big Brother and the Holding Company y Jerry Garcia (arriba a la derecha) con los Grateful Dead. Joplin había sido descrita como “la más sensacional vocalista femenina del rock”, mientras que Garcia, compositor y guitarrista principal de los Grateful Dead, era famoso por sus largas improvisaciones. Joplin murió de una sobredosis de drogas en 1970; Garcia y los Grateful Dead continuaron una “gira sin fin” hasta su muerte en 1995.
- Data Source
- National Portrait Gallery
- Artist
- Irving Penn, 16 Jun 1917 - 7 Oct 2009
- Sitter
- Janis Joplin, 19 Jan 1943 - 4 Oct 1970
- Samuel Andrew, 18 Dec 1941 - 12 Feb 2015
- David Getz, born 1938
- James Gurley, 22 Dec 1939 - 20 Dec 2009
- Peter Albin, born 1944
- Jerome John Garcia, 1 Aug 1943 - 9 Aug 1995
- Philip Chapman Lesh, born 1940
- Robert Hall Weir, born 1947
- William Kreutzmann, born 1946
- Ronald McKernan, 1945 - 1973
- Date
- 1967 (printed 1974)
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Irving Penn
- Medium
- Platinum-palladium print
- Dimensions
- Image: 47.9 × 49.8 cm (18 7/8 × 19 5/8")
- Sheet: 56 × 63.2 cm (22 1/16 × 24 7/8")
- Mount: 56 × 66 cm (22 1/16 × 26")
- Mat: 66 × 91.4 cm (26 × 36")
- Type
- Photograph
