Michael Smith

[chrisjoseph]

has this been posted yet?

New Orleans Photographer Michael P. Smith Passes
Michael P. Smith was responsible for bringing attention to New Orleans African-American culture, including the Mardi Gras Indians.

Photographer Michael P. Smith passed away
Friday, September 26, 2008 at noon

A memorial celebration of his life an work
is being planned and will be announced when
details are finalized

Michael P. Smith is a New Orleans native and award-winning professional freelance photographer. His special interest for nearly 40 years has been the music, culture and folklife of New Orleans and Louisiana. He is well known for documenting New Orleans social club parades and jazz funerals, neighborhood Mardi Gras traditions, spiritual church ceremonies, and many of the city and state’s renowned jazz, blues rhythm and blues, and gospel musicians. Smith photographed at every New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival since it began in 1970 until his retirement in 2004, when he was honored with a major grandstand exhibition and photo kiosks placed around the fairgrounds.

Smith’s work has been presented at the Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution), the International Center for Photography in New York and the LeRoy Neiman Gallery at Columbia University, as well as numerous other museums, galleries and jazz festivals in America and Europe. A major retrospective of his work was presented in 1999 at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.

Smith’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the Bibliotheque National in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution and, locally, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Louisiana State Museum.

Michael P. Smith photographs grace the covers of many CDs and record albums; illustrate numerous books and magazine articles published in America and Europe; and are in continual demand for documentary films produced at home and abroad. He received two Photographer’s Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts early in his career and his prints have toured worldwide through the United States Information Agency (USIA) and the Louisiana State Museum. Professionally, he was a location assignment photographer for Black Star, the noted New York booking agency, for over 20 years. He has photographed in Cuba on three different occasions, documenting laborers, music in the streets and folk religions rarely captured on film.

Smith’s work is represented through five photography books including Spirit World: Pattern in the Expressive Folk Culture of African American New Orleans; A Joyful Noise: A Celebration of New Orleans Music; New Orleans Jazz Fest: A Pictorial History; Jazz Fest Memories; and Mardi Gras Indians. The latter is a visual and sociological history of the unique masking and musical traditions still alive in New Orleans’ older black neighborhoods.

In the last few years, Mike Smith has been honored with numerous awards. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in 2002 and was named Music Photographer of the Year by Offbeat magazine. In 2004, he received a Mayor’s Arts Award from the Arts Council of New Orleans and a Clarence John Laughlin Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Orleans/Gulf South chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). In 2005, he received the Delgado Society Award (New Orleans Museum of Art), the first photographer to be so honored.

“The camera is an extension of my knowledge of the inner workings of the community that I have come to understand over a twenty-five year period. It’s my art, my subjective view of the world I’m experiencing.” ~ Michael P. Smith, 1993

[Festngator]

http://www.michaelpsmithphotography.com/jazzfest/pages/jazz1.htm

[chrisjoseph]

from the times-picayune:

Photographer, jazz archivist Michael Smith dies at 71

Posted by beggler September 27, 2008 22:31PM

Michael P. Smith, a photographer who spent three decades capturing vivid, vibrant images at jazz funerals, Mardi Gras Indian ceremonies and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, died Friday at his New Orleans home of two diseases that destroyed his nervous system. He was 71.

A man of boundless energy who devoted himself to the culture he chronicled, Mr. Smith seemed to be everywhere at whatever event he was shooting. Fellow photographers joked that every good Jazzfest picture they took included the back of Mr. Smith's head.

Mr. Smith's subjects included Mahalia Jackson, Irma Thomas, James Booker, Harry Connick Jr., Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, as well as anonymous mourners, strutters and Indians whom Mr. Smith always managed to capture caught up in the moment.

"I don't think there's another photographer who has more sensitively documented very significant aspects of the second half of 20th century New Orleans culture," said Steven Maklansky, a former curator of photographs at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Mr. Smith started concentrating on this kind of photography at a 1969 jazz funeral and kept at it, covering every Jazzfest through 2003. Though he showed up at subsequent festivals, silently cradling his camera, the degeneration of his nervous system had put an end to his career.

He built up a trove of more than 500,000 negatives, many of which remain unprocessed because he couldn't afford to have them developed, said Michael Sartisky, president and executive director of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

"He did something that no other photographer had done: He captured the cultural landscape of the streets and did so with a vision of passion and beauty," said Jason Berry, who has written extensively about indigenous music.

This world provided a sharp contrast to the genteel environment in which he had grown up. A child of Metairie who was a star athlete, he was the son of a member of the Rex organization and the Boston Club, and he graduated from Metairie Park Country Day School and Tulane University.

Everything changed, he said in a 1995 interview, when he went to work as Tulane's jazz archive's staff photographer in the 1960s. He heard hours and hours of the music that had been created in New Orleans' bars and brothels, and he was hooked.

"He paid attention when many locals took that culture for granted or ignored it," said Bruce Raeburn, the archive's curator.

Around that time, Mr. Smith met Matthew Herron, a photographer with the Black Star agency living in New Orleans, and became his assistant.

With Paul Barbarin's funeral in 1969, Mr. Smith began his photographic exploration, abandoning the realm of his youth.

"I have friends in that privileged world, but haven't had much interest in the society I grew up in since discovering the folk community of New Orleans, a side of town I had never known that struck me as the real heart of the city," Mr. Smith said in the interview.

He summed up his philosophy in three words: "Follow the music."

He was a founder of Tipitina's, the Uptown music club that has become famous worldwide. Mr. Smith's pictures have been collected in five books, and in magazine articles.

To supplement his income, Mr. Smith regularly took commercial jobs, such as shooting pictures for annual reports.

Mr. Smith's work has been shown in galleries, embassies and museums and at jazz festivals, and it is part of the permanent collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the Louisiana State Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

In March 2007, the Historic New Orleans Collection bought Mr. Smith's archives, which contain more than 2,000 rolls of black-and-white film, tens of thousands of color slides and about 200 audiotapes. Collection spokeswoman Mary Mees declined to disclose the price.

"Michael P. Smith has defined the visual appearance of contemporary homegrown New Orleans music for people around the world," said John Lawrence, the collection's director of museum programs.

Mr. Smith's work is important, Lawrence said, because "it serves to document not just the musicians and their music, but the environment, social structures and neighborhoods that both create and sustain the musical traditions."

Mr. Smith received two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Mayor's Arts Award, the Clarence John Laughlin Lifetime Achievement Award from the local chapter of the American Society of Magazine Photographers and the Artist Recognition Award from the New Orleans Museum of Art's Delgado Society.

Survivors include a companion, Karen Louise Snyder; two daughters, Jan Lamberton Smith of Quail Springs, Calif., and Leslie Blackshear Smith of New Orleans; a brother, Joseph Byrd Hatchitt Smith of Port Angeles, Wash.; and two grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

[Carolina Beadhead]

So sad to hear this. He was an amazing photographer.

[festbabe]

RIP, Michael :(
Amazing photos-

[stynger]

RIP:(

[swag]

Pulling out my copy of his book now, and enjoying his pictures as much as ever.

[VWGal]

Pulling out my copy of his book now, and enjoying his pictures as much as ever.

I think I'll pour another cup of coffee, retire to the couch and do the same. His book is on my coffee table, everyone who visits is mesmerized. A wonderful talent who will be appreciated for years and years to come...

[chrisjoseph]

I hope they give him a huge tribute at the 09 Jazzfest.

[Rossvegas]

I think I've posted this story once before, but I think it deserves retelling here today...

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of sitting with Leslie Smith (Micheal P's daughter and the author of the Jazz & Heritage Festival book), Tom Piazza and another author at the old Tower Records store while they waited to sign autographs. The traffic around the table was pretty slow, so we just talked...and talked.

Lesile was telling us about all of the things that Micheal had lost in the flooding. Although most of his original negs and prints were tucked away, Michael had been suffering from either Alzheimers or Parkinsons, and many precious items were still left on the low-lying parts of his studio. Among the casualties were dozens of original prints and assorted artwork that he had traded with some of his contemporary artist friends - Peter Max, Leroy Nieman, etc.

Leslie described how she dragged all of this art to the curb, propping it up against a pole and tossing it in a pile.

Tom Piazza said something like: "Wow. That's just horrible, Leslie! You should have called (someone) at the archives at Tulane and maybe they could have done something about it. They can restore stuff like that..."

Leslie lifted her head and said: "Tom, I'm sure there are a lot of things I COULD have done, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I had my worldly possessions - whatever I could salvage - in the back of my Civic, and I didn't have a home. I was on autopilot the entire time; just a zombie. It I had been thinking clearer, perhaps I could have done something, but I was homeless, you know?"

I had to look away. Everybody did.

Michael Smith was an amazing photographer, and he captured Jazzfest better than anyone else. If there's a silver lining to all of this, it is that his legacy will live on for generations to follow...

RIP, Michael.

[mightyradgumbo]

Definitely a big loss for the city and the world. RIP Mr Smith :(

[Blitzzzzz]

I think I've posted this story once before, but I think it deserves retelling here today...

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of sitting with Leslie Smith (Micheal P's daughter and the author of the Jazz & Heritage Festival book), Tom Piazza and another author at the old Tower Records store while they waited to sign autographs. The traffic around the table was pretty slow, so we just talked...and talked.

Lesile was telling us about all of the things that Micheal had lost in the flooding. Although most of his original negs and prints were tucked away, Michael had been suffering from either Alzheimers or Parkinsons, and many precious items were still left on the low-lying parts of his studio. Among the casualties were dozens of original prints and assorted artwork that he had traded with some of his contemporary artist friends - Peter Max, Leroy Nieman, etc.

Leslie described how she dragged all of this art to the curb, propping it up against a pole and tossing it in a pile.

Tom Piazza said something like: "Wow. That's just horrible, Leslie! You should have called (someone) at the archives at Tulane and maybe they could have done something about it. They can restore stuff like that..."

Leslie lifted her head and said: "Tom, I'm sure there are a lot of things I COULD have done, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I had my worldly possessions - whatever I could salvage - in the back of my Civic, and I didn't have a home. I was on autopilot the entire time; just a zombie. It I had been thinking clearer, perhaps I could have done something, but I was homeless, you know?"

I had to look away. Everybody did.

Michael Smith was an amazing photographer, and he captured Jazzfest better than anyone else. If there's a silver lining to all of this, it is that his legacy will live on for generations to follow...

RIP, Michael.

Ross,
Thanks for posting this again. Tore at my heart the last time, and only a little less this time around. Micheal was definitely suffering as his body failed him. His last visits to the Fest were hard to see.
RIP Michael Smith!:cool:

[ibjamn]

I think I'll pour another cup of coffee, retire to the couch and do the same. His book is on my coffee table, everyone who visits is mesmerized. A wonderful talent who will be appreciated for years and years to come...

.....and I will do the same. I have an autographed copy of his Jazz Fest pictorial. He was an amazing talent. RIP.

[Lit]

Huge talent. Huge loss. We have a couple of signed originals from him, one dating back to 1969, and they weren't cheap. When we brought one to be framed up here, the framer had no idea who Smith was, but he immediately marveled at the quality of the photo and pointed out things that made it such high quality. Always thought that was amazing, considering that it was taken so long ago. Smith had an amazing eye for capturing a moment. I don't know of anyone who has ever done it better.

[Chicago Fest Fan]

Great story Ross, Just another sad example of the loss that was the result of the thing. I'm sure many people were in the same state of mind as Leslie.

RIP Mr Smith

[Crazy Alice]

is there a book that includes his musician and jazzfest photos? a couple people mentioned a book in this thread, but i'm having difficulty finding something online. thanks, as always.

[swag]

is there a book that includes his musician and jazzfest photos? a couple people mentioned a book in this thread, but i'm having difficulty finding something online. thanks, as always.

New Orleans Jazz Fest : A Pictorial History (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0882898108/shatteredcrystal), by Michael Peter Smith & Ben Sandmel.

More Jazzfest books:
http://jazzfest.swagland.com/bibliography.html

[Moon]

One year our Krewe wore buttons I designed from Michael's photo of Mardi Gras Chief Percy Lewis. When I walked up to their booth to look at photos, Leslie told me how much she loved what I had done with her father's photograph and offered to buy it or trade it for a picture. Out of respect for her father's work, I gave her mine for free. We've been JF buds ever since.

My favorite book of his is Spirit World. It's a fascinating insight into a culture that rarely gets any exposure.

[mamaroux]

RIP Michael... I've always enjoyed your work.

[Fred (Texas JF Fanatic)]

Sad news............ I've miss seeing him up front the last few years!

[sharon_loves_fats]

His wonderful photos always stir up great memories. RIP Michael :(

[Frosty]

Speaking of jazz photographers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/arts/design/14claxton.html?8br

[Blitzzzzz]

Speaking of jazz photographers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/arts/design/14claxton.html?8br

Another great one passes. Check out "Jazz Life," wonderful images. In 1959 and 1960, photographer William Claxton and noted German musicologist Joachim Berendt traveled the United States hot on the trail of jazz music. The result of their collaboration was "Jazz Life." :cool: