In the 60s, the Beatles became a phenomenon that broke boundaries by making their music sound almost in unison throughout the world and Paul MCCARTNEY He captured with his 35 mm Pentax camera how the band lived that moment, everyday images that are now part of the exhibition eyes of the storm from the Brooklyn Museum.
Between 1963 and 1964, when the band made its first tour to the United States, McCartney took more than 250 photosof which many were images from the backstage of musicians tuning their instruments, of his bandmates waiting before a show or of the landscapes he saw from the plane or train window.
Also immortalized how the band lived through ‘Beatlemania’ when photographing the crowds of fans who welcomed them everywhere and the groups of paparazzi who were hot on their heels.
The first photograph of this exhibition is a out-of-focus self-portrait that McCartney took in the reflection of a mirror in London in 1963.
“We chose this self-portrait in the mirror because the main theme of the show is photography and the photographer who sees himself reflected. Normally, you think of Paul McCartney as a musician, and here we are positioning him as a visual artist“he explained to EFE this Wednesday Catherine Futter, director of curatorial affairs and senior curator of decorative arts at the museum.
In front of the self-portrait there is a huge photo of the band singing on stage, an image that logically McCartney could not take, but which was taken by someone on his team with his camera taken from the backstage.
Futter explains that it was decided to include some snapshots of McCartney in the exhibition at the request of McCartney fans.
In addition to the photos, fans can find many objects related to the bandsuch as the Beatles wigs that were sold at the time, magazines, personal diaries or even board games inspired by the musicians.
McCartney recounts his photographic memories
Below many of the snapshots can be read – and even listened to through a free application – quotes in which McCartney reflects on those moments.
“One of the things that kept us sane was doing stupid things. There were a couple of hats lying around at the Christmas Show and George thought it would be fun to wear two. And he was right, because it turned out to be a great photo,” McCartney reflected on a funny photograph of George Harrison.
Regarding a black and white photo of John Lennon wearing sunglasses in Paris, McCartney notes: “This is how we worked and this is how I met him. Looking back, (these images) are very special to me because they are like family snapshots.”
Other photos make the visitor is transported directly into the eyes of a young Englishman traveling to the United States for the first time, as is the image of a gun belonging to a Miami police officer in charge of the gang’s security.
“I was in the car taking pictures of palm trees and the glamor Miami general, when one of our police officers (a motorcycle officer) stopped right next to the car, and was right where my camera lens was. “It was a bit of a shock for us to see a gun in real life, as we didn’t have armed police in England,” McCartney noted.
The hundreds of photographers who chased them everywhere too They were his source of inspiration and they were many of his “models” during this period, as well as his teachers, since, according to Futter McCartney, I asked them for advice on how to improve its focus or exposure.
All these recommendations helped him improve at high speedsomething that can be seen in the last part of the exhibition, dedicated to the band’s trip to Miami in 1964, photos that were also taken in color, unlike the rest of the exhibition.
The 81-year-old artist will not go to the opening of the exhibitionbut he visited the exhibition on a private tour on Tuesday and said he was very satisfied with the result.
