Elvis and Wertheimer in Savannah, Georgia and New York City
The Stare © Estate of Alfred Wertheimer
It’s a great time for Alfred Wertheimer’s photographs of Elvis Presley. A major exhibition of Wertheimer’s photographs Elvis at 21 opens this Friday at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, the first exhibition of Wertheimer’s photographs since his passing away. If you happen to be near Savannah guest curator Chris Murray is giving an illustrated talk about Wertheimer and his photographs of Elvis in 1956 at the Telfair Museum on Thursday evening.
In New York City the extraordinary video installation artist David Claerbout is having his first one-person exhibition at the Sean Kelly Gallery. One of Claerbout’s major works in the exhibition is “KING”. That work of Claerbout’s is based on Alfred Wertheimer’s 1956 portrait of Elvis at home on Audubon Drive in Memphis after having a swim in his pool behind the house. I first saw Claerbout’s brilliant video installation “Travel” at the Hirshhorn Museum last year as part of the Days of Endless Time exhibition. That work is also in Claerbout’s exhibition at Sean Kelly Gallery that continues through April 30.
© David Claerbout