Art and Soul

Press Coverage of Art & Soul Exhibit at Library of Congress

by Brian Smith on May 3, 2010

in Exhibits

My Monday morning in New York started off with the great press clippings we received from our ART & SOUL Exhibit at the Library of Congress last week. Started off with a great interview with Aimee Agresti of  DC Modern Luxury about the Art & Soul project. Thank you Aimee or the kind words and thanks for the Fab red carpet photo of me with Entourage’s ‘Vinnie Chase’ Adrian Grenier.

Nice photo showing off the opulence of the Library of Congress venue in  The Hill

DC Metromix

ABC News.com has a photo of me as Steven Weber and Tim Daly’s new Wings-man

The Epoch Times has a nice shot of new pals Omar Epps and Marlon Wayans

http://dc.guestofaguest.com/events/adrien-grenier-dana-delany-attend-art-soul-premiere/

Politico has another nice shot of me with Adrian Grenier

http://ronmwangaguhunga.blogspot.com/

Tagged as: Adrian Grenier, Art & Soul, Art and Soul, Exhibit, Library of Congress, Marlon Wayans, Omar Epps, Politico, Press, Steven Weber, The Hill, Tim Daly, Wings

{ 0 comments }

ART & SOUL Goes to Congress

by Brian Smith on April 20, 2010

in Exhibits

Mr. and Mrs. Smith Go to Washington

A beautiful day in Washington at the Library of Congress

Anne Hathaway in the Library of Congress 'Art & Soul' Exhibit

The Creative Coalition will host an exclusive one-night-only sneak preview of my portraits of performing artists from the entertainment industry with an exhibit of the ‘Art & Soul’ project in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress on April 29th. ‘Art & Soul’ is the cornerstone of The Creative Coalition’s arts advocacy campaign to focus national attention on the need to secure federal funding and support for the arts.

Entertainment for the evening’s star-studded event will be The Creative Coalition’s one-night show by the same name, ‘Art & Soul’.  The show, written and produced by multiple Emmy Award-winning producer Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide:  Life on Street) starring Co-Presidents of The Creative Coalition, Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives); director Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing); actors Adrian Grenier (Entourage), Omar Epps (House); Marlon Wayans (White Chicks, Scary Movie),  Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm); Steven Weber (Brothers & Sisters); Wendie Malick (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Just Shoot Me);  Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and CCH Pounder (Avatar) among others to be announced.

The portraits of artists including Anne Hathaway, Samuel Jackson, Alyssa Milano, Tony Bennett and Kerry Washington are accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each individual, expressing the positive impact art has had on their lives which will appear in a book to be published by Filipacchi Publishing. The exhibition is sponsored by Sony and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. and it will showcase 20 photographs from the project printed by Duggal Visual Solutions.

“We are proud to enlist the members of The Creative Coalition to bring arts to the top of the American agenda,” said The Creative Coalition Executive Director Robin Bronk. “Art & Soul is The Creative Coalition’s initiative that brings together today’s greatest artistic voices and storytellers to illuminate the importance – to every American — of support for the arts and efficacy of arts in education.”

Tagged as: actors, Adrian Grenier, Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Art & Soul, Art and Soul, CCH Pounder, Cheryl Hines, Congress, Dana Delany, Duggal, Entourage, Harry Belafonte, Kerry Washington, Library of Congress, Marlon Wayans, Omar Epps, Patricia Arquette, Richard Schiff, Samuel Jackson, Sony, Spike Lee, Steven Weber, The Creative Coalition, Tim Daly, Tom Fontana, Tony Bennett, Wendie Malick

{ 11 comments }

ART & SOUL back at the Oscars

by Brian Smith on March 6, 2010

in Art & Soul


Back in LA to shoot ‘Art & Soul’ for The Creative Coalition during Oscar Week. Takes me back to where the project started a year ago. HUGE thanks to Kayla Lindquist, director of Sony’s Artisans of Imagery program, for dropping a little 3-day shoot in my lap and then helping every step along the way as it grew into something much, much bigger. In the last year, we’ve now shot 18,563 images of 153 celebrities and counting…

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3: Took our usual 8:35am flight to LAX. Love flyin’ Business class in the Triple Seven. Yeah! Just traded seats so I could sit with my wife. The guy I swapped with didn’t mind. He got to sit next to Anna Kournikova. Though my wife is is probably the only woman on the plane who is  hotter. Fired out a few more invites for our shoot. Terrill Owens is sitting a few rows behind us.. Oscar-bound T.O.? Mimosas before takeoff…Decide to watch The Blind Side first to get in a Oscar mood followed by Couples Retreat and The Invention of Lying...flight smooth…landing on time. Picked-up our car, circled back for Kayla Linquist landing from JFK. The we all head to the Andaz Hotel on Sunset to check-in and set-up our shoot. Then just enough time for dinner at El Cholo before Wednesday night’s event at our hotel was a party for The Cove so I got to see my college buddy director Louie Psihoyos making his third stop of a busy pre-Oscar evening. Very proud of you, Louie! Then we caught up with The Cove co-director Fisher Stevens and celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch from last year’s Art & Soul shoot. Between drinks, Robin Bronk corralled Evan Handler (Californication) and Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire) and dragged them down the the studio.

DAY 2 – THURSDAY, MARCH 4:

Our day started off with Joel Warren and Edward Tricomi of Warren-Tricomi Salons who have provided our 20 hair & make-up artists through out this shoot. Brian White, James Kyson Lee of Heros, Adrianna Costa Hollywood 411, Summer Altice, Bitchslap’s Erin Cummings,  Grey’s Anatomy McHeartthrob Jesse Williams, Gilles Marini, Melissa Manchester, Aaron Staton of Mad Men, an incredible shoot with the irrepressible Alan Cumming, followed by Iceland Actress Anita Briem.

Grabbed a quick bite at the Hotel the set up again to get ready to catch stars from that night’s party for “Precious” which thanks to great celebrity wrangling by Georgi Page and Dennis St. Rose brought us comedian Eddie Griffin, Jr., Oscar-nominated Costume Designer Sharen Davis, Obama-classmate Hill Harper (a former Iowan…who knew?),”Precious” director Lee Daniels, Elise Neal, 24‘s Best President Dennis Haysbert, we talked about my favorite photographer Irving Penn with J. “Miss J” Alexander sporting rings by Penn’s daughter, Oscar-winning songwriter Siedah Garrett, The Blind Side‘s larger than life Qunitin Aaron looking very dapper and Geoffrey Fletcher, Oscar winner for Best Screenplay for “Precious”

DAY 3 – FRIDAY, MARCH 5:

Feeling drained from the night before when we started the day with Jason “Wee-Man” Acuna of Jackass fame, Desperate Housewives’ Kathy Joosten, 90210‘s Greg Vaughn, Scott Krinsky Chuck, TCC founder Stephen Collins, then just enough time to sit on the couch for an interview with premiere.com‘s Red Carpet Roxi Manning, back to it with CCH Pounder, Charlayne Woodward, Portia Doubleday lovely in Youth in Revolt, then we staged a Wings‘ reunion of Steven Weber and Tim Daly, Nia Verdalos and Ian Gomez My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Camryn Manheim, Richard Kind of A Serious Man, Chazz Palminteri, Dash Mihok, dragged Dana Delany and Rachael Leigh Cook from previous shoots back in for more shots simply because they both looked sooo good, then on to Masi Oka of Heros, Bond villain extraordinaire Rick Yune, Kathy Najimy, Ty Burrell, Richard Schiff, Mekhi Phifer and Aaron Paul

CREDITS:
My Biggest thanks as always goes to my lovely wife, stylist Fazia Ali who makes sure everyone always looks great! Thanks once again to Sony Artisans of Imagery director Kayla Lindquist for finding and supporting this wonderful project and Sony’s Linda Barger and Paine PR’s Krys Grondorf for getting the word out and lining up so many interviews to talk up the project, The Creative Coalition executive director Robin Bronk along with TCC’s Barbara Horvath, Briana Mulherin and Dennis St. Rose, Al Silvestri and Georgi Page of Hachette Filipacchi Media and to David Manning and Gia of A-List Communications once again put together a great lounge.

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 Cameras
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8 Zoom
Sony Zeiss 85/1.4
Sony 100/2.8 Macro
Sony Zeiss 135/1.8
Profoto Pro 7 – 2400 Packs
Profoto Pro Heads

Tagged as: Aaron Paul, Aaron Staton, Alan Cumming, Anita Briem, Art & Soul, Art and Soul, Artisans of Imagery, Brian White, Camryn Manheim, CCH Pounder, Charlayne Woodward, Chazz Palminteri, Dana Delany, Dash Mihok, Dennis Haysbert, director, Domenick Lombardozzi, Eddie Griffin Jr, Edward Tricomi. Warren-Tricomi, Elise Neal, Erin Cummings, Evan Handler, Gilles Marini, Greg Vaughn, Hill Harper, Ian Gomez, J. Alexander, James Kyson Lee, Jason Acuna, Jesse Williams, Joel Warren, Kathy Joosten, Kathy Najimy, Kayla Lindquist, Lee Daniels, Mad Men, Masi Oka, Mekhi Phifer, Melissa Manchester, Miss J, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Oscar Week, Oscars, Phillip Bloch, Portia Doubleday, Precious, Qunitin Aaron, Rachael Leigh Cook, reunion, Richard Kind, Richard Schiff, Rick Yune, Roxi Manning, Scott Krinsky, Siedah Garrett, Sony, Stephen Collins, Steven Weber, The Blind Side, The Creative Coalition, Tim Daly, Ty Burrell, Wee-Man, Wings

{ 0 comments }

ART & SOUL Spotlighted on Production Paradise

by Brian Smith on February 16, 2010

in Art & Soul

Thanks to Production Paradise for Spotlighting the Art & Soul Project. It’s been a great project to be able to work with The Creative Coalition and all the artists to show support for funding the arts and arts education. Thanks of all to all the celebrities including Samuel Jackson, Anne Hathaway, Adrian Grenier, Taraji P. Henson, Dule Hill, Tichina Arnold, Tony Bennett, Alyssa Milano, David Hyde Pierce, Tim Daly, Lynn Whitfield, Harry Belafonte, Richard Belzer, Robert Davi and Tamala Jones….for lending their voices to this great cause and their wonderful faces to my camera!

If you have checked out Production Paradise, take a look…they’re the directory and showcase for the visual media industry.

Tagged as: Adrian Grenier, Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Art & Soul, Art and Soul, Celebrity Portrait Photography, David Hyde Pierce, Dule Hill, Harry Belafonte, Lynn Whitfield, Richard Belzer, Robert Davi, Sam Jackson, Tamala Jones, Taraji P. Henson, The Creative Coalition, Tichina Arnold, Tim Daly, Tony Bennett

{ 0 comments }

ART & SOUL Sundance Diary

by Brian Smith on January 26, 2010

in Art & Soul

Heading back from Park City, Utah where we took The Creative Coalition’s ‘Art & Soul’ project to the Sundance Film Festival shooting more celebrity portraits for the arts advocacy project which is the cornerstone of a grassroots campaign to focus national attention on the need to ensure that arts in America thrive and flourish. ‘Art & Soul’ has been used to successfully lobby Congress and the White House for increased funding for the arts and arts education. Thanks to the participation of over 40 celebrities at Sundance we have now photographed 160 celebrities to date as part of one of the greatest projects that I’ve ever been involved with. It’s a great thing for those of us lucky enough to make a living from the arts to have an opportunity to show our support and give back. Here is our story…

DAY 1 – January 22:
We started off our Sundance shoots with Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Thomas Ian Nicholas from Please Give. Wonderful air guitar rifts from Thomas who brought his vintage Gibson Sunburst guitar to Sundance. Next the lovely Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza stopped in followed by director Kevin Asch of Holy Rollers, Ryan O’Nan The Dry Land, Jon Prescott from Howl and John Ortiz of Jack Goes Boating, spoke of Al Pacino’s generosity to him as a first film Carlito’s Way.

DAY 2 – January 23:
An amazing start with the lovely Vicky Cristina Barcelona herself Rebecca Hall in town to promote Please Give, Happythankyoumoreplease‘s Kate Mara, Tony Hale and Pablo Schreiber, Noureen DeWulf and Jon Prescott from Howl. The day’s highlight was a very pleasant surprise drop-in by Oscar-winner Adrian Brody – thanks to a big assist from John Ortiz who had such a good time with us the day before he sent his friend our way. I’ve always wanted to meet Adrian – not only because I’m a big fan of his work – but because very early in my career I took a workshop with his mother, renowned photographer Sylvia Plachy.

DAY 3 – January 24
Started with Michael Shannon of The Runaways then a a visit from our sponsor Silvercup Studios head Stuart Match Suna, followed by Emma Bell of Frozen, Justin Bartha of Holy Rollers, Ellen Hollman Skateland, Bellamy Young, model Emme, Nathaniel Parker A Perfect Host, 3 Backyards’ Danai Gurira and Kathryn Erbe – one of my favorite actresses for her work in Oz and Law & Order: Criminal Intent and finally High SchooI‘s Adhir Kalyan who was marvelous in Youth in Revolt and Nip/Tuck.

DAY 4 – January 25:
Our day began rapid fire with Sam Jackson, Jimmy Smits and Josh Radnor and ended with ended with Adrian Grenier. Along the way we ran into lovely Kerry Washington who lobbied Capitol Hill for increased funding for the Arts with me last May. Next was Rikki Lake, High School Musical’s KayCee Stroh, Haley Ramm, of Skateland. After that, we entertained director Joel Schumacher with stories about burlesque legends Tempest Storm and Satan’s Angel. Still laughing from a wonderful laugh-filled shoot of Laura Silverman. High School‘s Nadine Crocker showed up leather-clad and looking like the perfect addition to the cast of Sons of Anarchy. Chris Ashworth of The Wire who showed up with Russian bombshell Natalie Gal, Frozen director Adam Green and Drones Amber Benson, Adam Busch, Samm Levine and Tangi Miller. Before dinner at the The Creative Coalition’s Spotlight Initiative Awards we added Melissa Leo of Welcome to the Rileys, Treat Williams of Howl, Malin Akerman of Happythankyoumoreplease, snapped ‘Art & Soul’ participant Jason Ritter again, Christopher McDonald and Entourage’s own ‘Vinne Chase’ Adrian Grenier picking up his award for Teenage Paparazzo. Then chatted up Creative Coalition President and friend Tim Daly and had dinner with Twitter co-creator Dom Sagolla showing off the next BIG thing, the Square, and yes..I tweeted about it…

CREDITS:
As always, my BIGGEST THANKS goes to my lovely wife Fazia who makes sure everyone always looks great! Returning the thanks to The Creative Coalition executive director Robin Bronk for the kind words at The Creative Coalition’s Spotlight Initiative Awards and to Barbara Horvath, Briana Mulherin, Liviya Kraemer, Dennis St. Rose and Gabrielle Young of TCC and assistance from BYU student Bethany Davis. David Manning of A-List Communications and his staff for put together a great lounge at Sky Lodge. Special thanks to Stuart Match Suna, head of Silvercup Studios for their sponsorship of our shoot and to  Sony Artisans of Imagery director Kayla Lindquist for dropping this wonderful project on me and for finding a way to get me to Utah.

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 Cameras
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8 Zoom
Sony Zeiss 85/1.4
Sony 100/2.8 Macro
Sony Zeiss 135/1.8
Profoto Acute 2 – 2400 Packs
Profoto Acute 2 Heads

Generous support provided by:

Tagged as: 3 Backyards, A Perfect Host, Adam Busch, Adam Green, Adhir Kalyan, Adrian Brody, Adrian Grenier, Amanda Peet, Amber Benson, Art & Soul, Art and Soul, Barbara Horvath, Bellamy Young, Brian Smith, Briana Mulherin, briansmith.com, Celebrity Photographer, Celebrity Portrait Photography, Christopher McDonald, Danai Gurira, David Manning, Dayana Mendoza, director, Dom Sagolla, Drones, Ellen Hollman, Emma Bell, Emme, Entourage, Haley Ramm, Happythankyoumoreplease, High School, High School Musical, Holy Rollers, Howl, Jack Goes Boating, Jason Ritter, Jimmy Smits, Joel Schumacher, John Ortiz, Jon Prescott, Josh Radnor, Justin Bartha, Kate Mara, Kathryn Erbe, KayCee Stro, Kayla Lindquist, Kerry Washington, Laura Silverman, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Malin Akerman, Melissa Leo, Michael Shannon, Miss Universe, model, Nadine Crocker, Nathaniel Parker, Noureen DeWulf, Oliver Platt, Oscar-winner, Oz, Pablo Schreiber, Photographer Brian Smith, Please Give, Rebecca Hall, Rikki Lake, Robin Bronk, Ryan O’Nan, Sam Jackson, Samm Levine, Silvercup Studios, Skateland, Sony Artisans of Imagery, Spotlight Initiative Awards, Stuart Match Suna, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, Tangi Miller, Teenage Paparazzo, The Creative Coalition, The Dry Land, The Runaways, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tim Daly, Tony Hale, Treat Williams, Twitter, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Welcome to the Rileys, Youth in Revolt

{ 1 comment }

So…Did You Meet the President?

by Brian Smith on May 20, 2009

in People Photography

After mentioning that I went to Washington. D.C. with the Creative Coalition to take my book ‘Art & Soul’ to Capitol Hill to lobby for support of the arts, everyone asks the same question, “So…did you meet the President?”

Unfortunately the answer to that is no.

Though it’s true that President Barak Obama received copy number 1 of 1,000 of the book hand-delivered by White House Arts Liaison, Kareem Dale. But for now, that meeting was closest I came to the President himself. So I’ll just have to settle for the bling version:

God and Country“God and Country”

I shot this at the 15th anniversary party for Slip-n-Slide Records. I’d photographed celebrity portraits of Slip-n-Slide CEO Ted Lucas and their recording artists a few years earlier for The Source magazine. So when their big rolled around, they invited me to party with them at the Victor Hotel. I decided to just roll up light with a Sony a900 camera, 24-70/2.8 and HVL-F58AM Flash and as soon as I spotted this Rhinestone Obama on a T-shirt of one of the other guests, I was sure glad I did.

That’s why it’s always good to have a camera with you. Good things happen when you have a camera…

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 camera
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8
Sony HVL-F58AM Flash

Tagged as: Art & Soul, Art and Soul, arts, Barak, Bling, Celebrity portraits, Obama, President, Records, Rhinestone Obama, Slip-n-Slide, Sony a900, Ted Lucas, White House

{ 0 comments }

Is it Time for another WPA?

by Brian Smith on May 18, 2009

in Art & Soul

Maybe it’s time for a new WPA…

The last time America was mired in an economic crisis like the one we face today, the Works Progress Administration was created to put America back to work. The Works Progress Administration brought us The Federal Arts Project (FAP) maintained more than 100 community art centers which produced 2,566 murals, 17,744 sculptures, 108,099 paintings and 240,000 prints from 1936 to 1943 creating a new awareness of and appreciation for American art.

Not only did the WPA put artists and Artisans back to work, it left lasting symbols of civic pride.

During The Creative Coalition’s May 2009 visit to Capitol Hill, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) mentioned the Timberline Lodge was built as part of the WPA and is an enduring source of pride in the community. A WPA mural by Grant Wood graced the wall of the college library of the small town where I grew up.

The Works Progress Administration was also responsible of the Farm Service Administration which resulted in some of the best photographs of the 20th century from the FSA photographers Dorthea Lange, Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, Arthur Rothstein, Marion Post Wolcott, Carl Mydans and Gordon Parks.

migrant-mother

"Migrant Mother" by Dorthea Lange/FSA - Nipomo, California 1936

American Gothic 2008: Foreclosure of America

“Foreclosure of the American Dream” Merced, California 2008

The Creative Coalition Executive Director Robin Bronk writes in the foreword of Art & Soul:

“When faced with a collapsing economy, President Franklin Roosevelt tried to put Americans in all lines of work back on the job. Instead of singling out artists as somehow frivolous and unimportant to our nation’s economy, he instituted a host of programs designed to put federal funds into the arts, employing America’s creative talent and leaving a cultural legacy that endures still today.

“The highpoint of this commitment was the Works Progress Administration’s Federal One program, which put thousands of Americans to work in the arts. The government program was a lifeline for Jackson Pollock, Burt Lancaster, Sidney Lumet, Ralph Ellison, Studs Terkel, John Cheever, Saul Bellow, and thousands of other artists across the country.

“These programs created much-needed jobs in the immediate term, but they did much more. They fostered great talents that otherwise may have been lost. The work of the many great artists supported by the government in the 1930s still benefits us today. Their contributions to our culture endure, and their successful careers resulted in employment for many others in the years that followed.

“We cannot forget this lesson of our not-so-distant history. Faced with an economic downturn of staggering proportions, some attack any help for the arts as waste, ignoring the millions of Americans who earn their livings and support their families through their artistic endeavors and arts-related enterprises.”

Tagged as: Art, Art & Soul, Art and Soul, Arthur Rothstein, Artisans, artists, Berenice Abbott, Carl Mydans, Dorthea Lange, Gordon Parks, Jeff Merkley, Marion Post Wolcott, Oregon, Photographers, Photography, Senator, The Creative Coalition, Walker Evans, Works Progess Administration, WPA

{ 13 comments }

Mr Smith Goes to Washington

by Brian Smith on May 7, 2009

in Brian Smith

I’m in Washington, D.C. today with The Creative Coalition joining a delegation of artists from The Creative Coalition headed Creative Coalition president – actor Tim Daly along with Dana Delany, Alfre Woodard, Matthew Modine, Kerry Washington and Rachael Leigh Cook presenting my book “Art & Soul” to The White House and Congress to support public funding for arts and arts education.

"ART & SOUL" photographed by Brian Smith for The Creative Coalit
Actors Tim Daly, Kerry Washington, Alfre Woodard and Dana Delany
The Creative Coalition in Washington, D.C.

The book features my portraits of celebrities including Tim Daly, Alfre Woodard, Kerry Washington, Dana Delany, Tony Bennett, Anne Hathaway, Zooey Deschanel, Alyssa Milano, Ellen Burstyn and David Hyde Pierce accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each artist which express their support for the importance of the arts in our lives.

The project was made possible through generous sponsorship from Hachette Filipacchi Media, American PHOTO and Sony. My thanks to Kayla Lindquist, of Sony Artisan’s of Imagery program, Robin Bronk, Barbara Horvath and Briana Mulherin of The Creative Coalition, Jeffrey Roberts, Al Silvestri, Alissa Reynolds, Anna Martin, Athos Kyriakides, David Schonauer and Russell Hart of American PHOTO and Hachette Filipacchi Media, Eileen Gittins and Robin Goldberg of Blurb, Arri Weeks and Matthew Schulert, our fabulous digital tech from Splashlight, Joel Warren and Eddie Tricomi and over a dozen hair and make-up artists from Warren-Tricomi and Ted Okada, Steve Sommers, Phil Lubell, Kristen Elder and Mark Weir of Sony. But my biggest and deepest thanks goes to my lovely wife Fazia who always makes sure everyone always look great on our shoots – thanks for believing in me all of these years…

Friday night we’ll all be with director Barry Levinson for the Washington, D.C. premiere of his documentary film PoliWood, which examines the intersection of celebrity and politics. The film debuted last Friday to a sold-out theater at the Tribeca Film Festival. Catch it if you can! Things wrap up Saturday with the White House Correspondents’ Brunch and Dinner

Tagged as: Alfre Woodard, Art & Soul, Art and Soul, Barry Levinson, Brian Smith, Congress, Dana Deleany, Kerry Washington, make-up artists, Matthew Modine, PoliWood, Sony a900, Ted Okada, The Arts, The Creative Coalition, Tim Daly, Warren-Tricomi, Washington DC

{ 29 comments }

UA-16616053-1