You Should Have Heard Just What I Seen reveals some of the most extraordinary works by NYC photographer James Hamilton, edited by Thurston Moore. Through his work as staff photographer for the influential music magazine Crawdaddy! in the 1960s, and later Harper’s Bazaar, Village Voice and The New York Observer, Hamilton documented the New York music scene, to which this monograph pays tribute. Recording the vibrant rock, punk, disco and hip-hop eras as they flourished in Manhattan, Hamilton captured numerous emerging artists that included Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, the Beastie Boys, Run D.M.C and Sonic Youth – providing a rare and intimate insight into some of the most influential performers of all time.
The book features numerous unpublished images which, as they were shot before the rise of the internet and the subsequent media oversaturation that appeared in its wake, have until now only existed in print archives. Betraying Hamilton’s acuteness as a photographer and sensitivity to his subjects, these 300 beguiling images embrace the true personalities of stars he shot: Madonna mid-performance; James Brown posing in thick shades; Dusty Springfield sitting angelically in her dressing room. Fresh snapshots that shed light on these most heralded of stars.
Text by Lucia Davies
You Should Have Heard What I Just Seen, the book is published by Ecstatic Peace Library and out now.
You Should Have Heard What I Just Seen, the exhibition runs until 23 December at KS Art, 73 Leonard Street, New York.
