‘The Art of Rock ‘n Roll’

The Petaluma Arts Center celebrates the opening of its new exhibit “The Art of Rock ‘n Roll” with a reception from 6 to 11 p.m.|

The Petaluma Arts Center celebrates the opening of its new exhibit “The Art of Rock ‘n Roll” with a reception from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 18.

The reception will feature a performance by surf rock band The Deadlies from 8 to 11 p.m.

Curated by Joseph McDonald, iconic photos from the early days of rock music, as well as concert posters will be on display in “The Art of Rock ‘n Roll.” The show coincides with IceHouse Gallery’s “The Beatles” art exhibit, which features photographs by Curt Gunther, who accompanied the Beatles on their first North American tour in 1964.

“We know this will be a crowd-pleasing exhibition and look forward to presenting a variety of iconic images along with some that have rarely been seen,” said Val Richman, executive director of the Petaluma Arts Center. “The collaboration with IceHouse Gallery and their exhibition ‘The Beatles’ creates the fun of an art walk, since IceHouse is located across the street in the historic Burdell Building.”

The exhibition includes photographs by Baron Wolman, Ed Perlstein, Jim Marshall and Curt Gunther, along with rock posters by Alton Kelley, Pat Ryan and Stanley Mouse.

In April 1967, Baron Wolman had been photographing rock bands, and an acquaintance, Jann Wenner, had plans to form a new kind of music magazine. Wolman agreed to join the new periodical, “Rolling Stone,” and work for free, insisting on ownership of all the photos he took, giving the magazine unlimited use of the pictures. Because of Wolman’s unlimited access to his subjects, his photographs of Janis Joplin, the Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Iggy Pop, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Phil Spector, Jim Morrison, Ike & Tina Turner and other musicians were the graphic centerpieces of Rolling Stone’s layout.

Perlstein has a portfolio featuring some of the biggest names in rock: Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, B.B King, Queen, to name just a few.

Marshall, a Bay Area photographer, took the famous photograph of Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Gunther met The Beatles in Europe and was invited to accompany them on their 1964 tour of the U.S. and Canada. He photographed their first concert at Candlestick Park.

Kelley is credited with creating the wings and beetles on all Journey album covers, as well as the skull and roses image for the Grateful Dead.

Ryan was one of the original Artista Gang in Marin County and has created more than 100 posters for music venues and festivals.

Along with Kelley, Stanley Mouse was part of The Family Dog, producing concerts and posters with Chet Helms. Later the pair produced posters for promoter Bill Graham and for other events in the psychedelic community.

In addition to the art and photography, the exhibit features a “groove room” with surround sound, and listening stations at selected photographs.

A number of events are also planned as part of “The Art of Rock ‘n Roll.”

On Sunday April 19, there will be a docent talk and tour with photographers Baron Wolman and Ed Perlstein from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the center. Admission is free.

On April 30, John Bertucci will present his Art of Cinema in Chapters Series, “Rock Night - A Scintillation Survey of Movies that Rock.”

For rock movie series dates, times and tickets visit the events page at petalumaartscenter.org or call Petaluma Community Access at 773-3190.

Invasion will perform tunes from “British Invasion” bands from 8 to 10:30 p.m. May 2. Tickets are $15 general, $12 PAC members.

An Aqus Crawl is planned for May 8, with dancing from 10 p.m. to midnight at the center. Admission is $5. More information on the crawl will be announced before the event.

Petaluma band Dylan Chambers & The Midnight Transit perform from 8 to 11 p.m. May 16 at the PAC. Tickets are $10 general, $8 PAC members.

A Beatles sing-along with Kurt Huget and Craig Bartok will be held from 8 to 10:30 p.m. May 31. Admission is $8 general, $5 PAC members.

For more information on the show and related events, visit petalumaartscenter.org.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.