LA Fridays with Bob and Tom: Annenberg Space for Photography
LA Fridays with Bob and Tom
Week 23. Annenberg Space for Photography
This week we return to Annenberg Space for Photography
to view their latest exhibition, CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip Hop
(Rap). As usual it’s an excellent
exhibit. The exhibit is curated by music
journalist Vikki Tobak, based on her 2018 best-selling book of the same name
and displays more than 120 prints and unedited contact sheets from 60 plus
photographers who have shaped hip-hop’s visual history. The exhibition is an inside look through the
eyes of the photographers as told through their intimate diaries: their
unedited contact sheets.
The exhibit includes an exclusive new documentary short film featuring a
selection of Contact High’s photographers at work and in conversation. Rare videos, memorabilia, and music are
included to complement the photographs, demonstrating how the documentation of
a cultural phenomenon impacts politics, culture, and social movements around
the world.
And in a first for the Photo Space, visitors can enjoy Contact High Records, a
pop-up record shop featuring rare vinyl spanning the history of hip hop.
Note: Hip Hop/Rap is the biggest music genre in the U.S. since 2017. In 1970 Bob predicted it would never make it. He sure got that wrong.
The Annenberg has validated parking and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 am-6:00p. Admission is free.
ROBERT BLAUNSTEIN, PhD BIO
Robert (Bob) is a PhD physicist whose career has spanned academia, government and private industry. As a faculty member of the Department of Physics at the University of Tennessee, a Branch Chief at the United States Department of Energy and Vice President of an American International Group Company, his scientific endeavors include radiation physics, environmental research, environmental insurance and nanotechnology.
Originally from the East Coast, Bob was seduced by his sons and their families (and the California weather) to leave Washington, DC after retiring in 2010. While recovering from culture shock, Bob found many outlets to reconcile his eclectic interests. As a member of Senior Scholars for over six years he continues to take courses in a myriad of subjects ranging from film to art history to brain science and finds great intellectual and social rewards in Senior Scholars and the Plato Society.
As a latent artist, he sketches scenes about town once a week with an artist friend from his college days and is attempting to learn to play the electric guitar.
On moving to Los Angeles, he found Tom Jacobson, another recent transplant. They became great friends and decided to explore their new town together leading to over 113 sites in our city. Dubbed “LA Fridays with Bob and Tom” they are happy to share their experiences with others.
Bob lives in Brentwood with Phyllis, his wife of 56 years, an education policy executive. They have two sons and four grandchildren, one of whom plays a guitar a lot better than Bob.
THOMAS JACOBSON BIO
Thomas (Tom) is an attorney who practiced trial and constitutional law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born in 1938 in Bamberg Germany, he was one of the youngest passengers on the ill-fated voyage of the Damned, the SS St. Louis, turned away from Cuba in 1939.
Tom represented local civil rights activists and Dick Gregory and twice argued cases successfully in the United States Supreme Court. In 1970 he was the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General.
Retiring in 2008, he and wife, Peggy, moved to California to join their two sons and four grandchildren, and enjoy the warm weather.
Tom has kept busy as a member of Senior Scholars and Plato for the last six years keeping his brain stimulated and active. Yoga and swimming have kept his body in shape.
