Annenberg Space for Photography Goes a Little Bit Country

The Annenberg Space for Photography's next exhibition will shine a spotlight on the pioneers, poets and icons of country music.

"Country: Portraits of an American Sound" will use historical and contemporary photographs to explore how images shape the public identity of country music performers and of the genre itself.

Performers such as Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban and Hank Williams, along with deejays, fans, executives and musicians, will be seen in the works of photographers who documented multiple generations of country music.

Guest curators for the exhibit, which runs May 31 through Sept. 28, are Shannon Perich of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and Tim Davis and Michael McCall of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The more than 110 prints include images from veteran Grand Ole Opry staff photographer Les Leverett; the late Los Angeles-based photographer Leigh Wiener; Boston-based documentary photographer Henry Horenstein; iconic entertainment photographers Henry Diltz, Raeanne Rubenstein and Ethan Russell; and contemporary photographers David McClister and Michael Wilson.

The exhibit will also feature an original half-hour documentary commissioned by the Annenberg Space for Photography. The film explores the image of country music and its evolution over 80 years, highlighting photography's role in documenting the history and capturing the culture of this uniquely American sound.

Photographers including Diltz, Horenstein, Leverett, McClister, Rubenstein and Wilson appear in the film, along with more than a dozen country music artists, including Roy Clark, Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, LeAnn Rimes, Marty Stuart and Lee Ann Womack.

Also on display will be country albums and film posters, a slide show of digital images, archival artifacts including musical instruments and stage costumes from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum collection, and a jukebox containing rare, archival audio files.

Speakers from the world of country music photography will be featured at the museum's Iris Nights lecture series. The lecturer schedule will be announced at a later date.

Admission to the Annenberg Space for Photography at 2000 Avenue of the Stars in Century City is free.

--City News Service