Brad Elterman's Debut Photography Exhibition, 'Like It Was Yesterday,' Extended to January 29, 2005 at the Don O'Melveny Gallery in West Hollywood, Calif.

Brad Elterman's Debut Photography Exhibition, 'Like It Was Yesterday,' Extended to January 29, 2005 at the Don O'Melveny Gallery in West Hollywood, Calif.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Sherman Oaks, California-born Brad Elterman's first photography exhibition, "Like It Was Yesterday," commenced with a star-studded opening night party on Wednesday, January 19th, 2005, at the Don O'Melveny Gallery, 9009 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, California, telephone (310) 273-7868. The exhibition will now remain on display, by popular demand, during normal gallery hours through Saturday, January 29th. The gallery's web address is www.omelvenygallery.com, and Elterman's site is at www.bradelterman.com.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050125/LATU099)

Attending the opening night reception was Leif Garrett, Kenny G and wife Lydnie, Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, Michael Des Barres, Cherie Curie of The Runaways and The Mayor Of The Sunset Strip, Rodney Bingheimer. Former Teen Idol, Leif Garrett was the first boyfriend of Nicolette Sheridan of the hit TV show, Desperate Housewives. "I was the first one to take her photo," says Elterman. The photo is an iconic image with Sheridan in a string bikini at the age of 17.

The Elterman images present a regionally-focused collection of twenty-two photos (twenty black-and-white photographs and two in color), culled from his archives of the 1974 to 1984 era. Artist and director Hermann Lederle co-curated the exhibit with Elterman. "Brad's photography is a time capsule of 'like it was yesterday,'" Lederle explains. "The process of his picture-taking has obvious voyeuristic joys! During his years of magazine assignments he elevated the work of paparazzi to a new form of art."

"This grouping really documents the Los Angeles environment," says Elterman. The gallery exhibition's subjects include Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Muhammad Ali, Mayor Tom Bradley, Dr. Jerry Buss, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Hugh M. Hefner, Phil Spector, Joey Ramone, The Ramones, Joan Jett in her Runaways band at the legendary Tropicana Motel on Santa Monica Boulevard, and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, who told Elterman, "It's the best photo taken of me, mate -- I look like a young 'Italian Stallion.'"

"The editing process took a year and a half," explains Elterman. "I wanted photos that told a story, pictures that could be considered fine art. More than just a pop star with a guitar, which I had plenty of. I wanted to preserve a magical period -- from 1974 to 1984.

"The show really underscores the access I had to stars, musicians and actors. I have a photo of Michael Jackson after a party at Chasen's. He was out there with a few photographers, and he only had one guy with him. He collaborated with us. Nowadays he would have sixty people around him, and you wouldn't get the photo!

"In addition," Elterman continues, "in the last ten or twenty years, entertainment industry publicists have limited or prohibited access to their clients, and very generic poses and 'photo ops' are the result. The PR people have taken the fun out of the scene and hampered the art. The photos I took in the '70s and '80s could never happen today."

"I covered the Oscars for fifteen years," Elterman confides, "but you won't see any Oscar shots in the exhibition -- too boring and too publicist-driven." However, it was during preparations for the 1992 Oscar show that Elterman realized the growing need for worldwide electronic delivery of time-sensitive photos, in order to maximize their impact and value. So that year, he co-founded Online USA, Inc., one of the first digital photo agencies, employing some of the finest American and British photo-journalists, and once again specializing in photos of celebrities. Online USA was subsequently purchased by Getty Images in 2000, in a deal that CBS "MarketWatch" called "the deal of the day." Brad remained with Getty Images as a consultant for a year following the sale.

"I'm also doing this gallery show to re-connect with friends, and the industry, and to help promote other photographers' works from this era. I have a sense of something big happening in the fine art photography market. The iconic photos of the '70s are going to be worth a lot of money. There's a market for these images now, but I intend to develop a bigger market.

"Ultimately, the exhibition reflects some of the photographers who influenced my own work and style: Terry O'Neil, Bob Gruen, Diane Arbus, Ken Regan, and Richard Creamer, a close friend and mentor. Also Helen Levitt. She had this quality to capture the spark, the moment in people."

For further help, sample photos, or to coordinate an interview, you may also contact The KubRo Group.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050125/LATU099
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Brad Elterman

CONTACT: David Carr of The KubRo Group, +1-818-343-1510, or fax,
+1-818-848-1571, kenilworth@hotmail.com, for Brad Elterman

Web site: http://www.omelvenygallery.com/

Web site: http://www.bradelterman.com/


-------
Profile: intent