verge / march / 13
front porch / jim mcguire
“he’s one hell of a photographer. you can take one look at a photo of his and say, That’s a McGuire.” To peer over a broad shoulder at the road-worn hands of an internationally renowned songwriter, is somewhat intimidating. When the shoulder belongs to Augusta’s own Larry Jon Wilson as he shows me a hand-written letter by his long-time friend and photographer of equal international renown, it is humbling. Larry John rustles the letter, flips out a stack of black and white photographs and muses, “Jim is a genuinely good man. And when I think about it, he may now be the foremost black and white photographer in the world. Yes, he’s a good friend of mind.” Larry Jon is the latest portraiture subject of Jim McGuire, a war veteran, music lover and the only photographer to have had the likes of Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Bèla Fleck and Townes Van Zandt sit in front of his classically hand-painted backdrop of grey dabs and white highlights. This legendary collection has been turned into a traveling exhibition of the history of Nashville. Each photograph in the Nashville Portraits exhibit scribes a song of road travel to dingy nightclubs and arena music halls alike, without amplifiers or entourages. The musician and the music are in black and white, smiling or straight-faced, and only allow interpretation from the other side of the canvas. I’ve heard that Hank Snow’s “Spanish Fireball” was the song that first inspired your love of country music. Is there newer music that inspires you today? VERGE:
I don’t listen to new music at all. I’m one of those guys that is stuck in the past. I listen to a lot of ‘40s and ‘50s jazz, Django Reinhardt, John Jorgenson Quartet and Dixieland music. Modern day country music, I really can’t get into. I’m kind of old school. JIM MCGUIRE:
During your tour in Viet Nam, what stayed with you, considering those were formative photography years? VG:
JM: When I was first over [in Viet Nam], I was a weatherman. They
learned I could work a camera, so they made me a photographer. It was kind of a fluke. I had no skills in development or printing, so they hired a local Vietnamese portrait photographer who set up a dark room in a tent and showed me how to develop film. That whole process very much stayed a part of my photography. When you moved to New York, what made you want to write music reviews for The Village Voice? VG:
I was in love with 50’s country music, especially bluegrass. Unfortunately, there was no place for those bands to play in New York. Then, those bluegrass festivals sort of worked their way north. It was a great time to be in New York. In the beginning of all the country and folk music... Bob Dylan, John Hartford… it was just a really great time to be up there. JM:
Of the members of the “Nashville Portraits” is there a photo shoot that sticks out in your mind? VG:
All of the sessions were so diverse. The one shoot that sticks out in my mind is that of Bill Monroe (the front cover of Nashville Portraits). He had just gotten his mandolin back from Gibson, as it had been smashed to a thousand pieces almost a year before. Gibson took it and pieced it back together for him. There was such a sentimental attachment; he felt the need to hold it like a child.
VG: How did you come to sit for Jim?
VG: What connection do you now feel when hearing the music of
Legends alike and country gentlemen always, Jim McGuire and Larry Jon Wilson stay friends to this day, with many friends and decades between. Meet the men who define the history of music and the history of the small world that is friendship between us all. It’s always more than words.
JM:
your subjects?
People like Sam Bush, John Prine, Emmylou Harris; I’ve got files that go back 25 to 30 years, at the early stages of their careers. It has been so interesting to grow up with them and watch their careers blossom so successfully. The viewer of [this exhibit] only sees the one photo, but I literally have hundreds upon hundreds that show the progression of these musicians as people. JM:
One of Jim’s more recent subjects, Larry Jon Wilson, already had a very personal connection with the photographer, as their friendship spans over thirty years. VG:
How did your relationship with Jim start?
In the early 70’s, Jim and I met during the filming of a documentary Heartworn Highways. This film documented the lives of mutual friends of ours, such as Townes Van Zandt, David Allen Coe, Guy Clark, Steve Young and many more. Jim has photographed all of them at one time or another, and that would have to be the beginning. We’ve kept in touch regularly… must have been 33 years now. My gosh, a long time. LARRY JON WILSON:
I sat for Jim after the book [Nashville Portraits: Legends of Country Music] was published. He shot some photos for my latest album. I don’t reach the fame or notoriety of his other subjects, but he’s always been at the top of his game. I mean, he’s one hell of a photographer. You can take one look at a photo of his and say, “That’s a McGuire.” LJW:
Nashville Portraits opens during the annual The Sixteenth Annual Morris Museum of Art Gala on Friday, March 6, and closes on Friday, April 24, with an intimate evening with Jim McGuire and Larry Jon Wilson. For tickets to either event, contact The Morris at 706.724.7501. The exhibit is open to the pubic during normal museum hours. Nashville Portraits is accompanied by a book entitled Nashville Portraits: Legends of Country Music. Compiled and edited by Morris Museum of Art director Kevin Grogan, the book includes more than sixty of Jim McGuire’s black and white photographs of Nashville’s finest, accompanied by brief biographical sketches of each artist and quotes from their peers. The Morris Museum of Art is located at One Tenth Street. by JACOB LYNDON BELTZ photos JIM MCGUIRE want more? read the uncut interview at vergelive.com