Elvis at 21, Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer made its debut in Washington, DC, on Saturday.
Fans were enthusiastic. In fact, I met more than a few lifelong Elvis followers who made the pilgrimmage to the National Portrait Gallery, well, because they had to. Call it a new right of passage for any Elvis fan, to see these larger-than-life images of the King of Rock 'n' Roll printed from the original 1956 negatives. Sara Higgins of Virginia is one such fan. We asked her to do a review of the exhibition and riff a little on her fascination with Elvis:
"I have admired Alfred Wertheimer’s collection since my childhood, when I taped copies of the photos to my bedroom walls. Today as an adult, the images hang in my cubicle, and okay, still in my bedroom. The best way to describe the photographs is that Mr. Wertheimer has captured forever an Elvis that radiated raw self-confidence and utter sexuality--in a time before he personified those very characteristics to millions of fans worldwide. Needless to say, I have been anticipating the Elvis at 21 exhibit for quite some time and was left almost speechless by the prints. (Amazing, really. Anyone who knows me will say that I always have something to say when it comes to Elvis.)
In this beautifully constructed exhibit, you can’t help but feel the excitement and the passion and that electricity which only Elvis Presley can generate. Wonderful details make themselves known: the argyle socks that Elvis is wearing when reading fan mail seem to be worn inside-out when riding the train back home to Memphis; the baggy pants emphasizing those famous hips as he walks down a hallway; his perfectly displaced and not-yet-imitated hair when performing. And then that look that Elvis occasionally gives directly to Alfred’s camera will stop you in your tracks."
--Sara Higgins, exhibition visitor
We'll be posting more personal perspectives throughout the exhibition tour. Thanks to Sara for taking the time to be this month's guest blogger!
Want more? Find Elvis at 21 on Facebook!
Why are Al Wertheimer's Images of Elvis Still So Good?
"I have asked for a time machine, and no one has invented one
yet . . . in fact, the need to travel time came up in another FB [Facebook] group discussion today, and that conversation was also in connection to loved ones who are not here any longer . . . bizarre, it's one of those days. Point is, to me these photos are time travel. Travel to 1956, a point in time where Elvis was crossing an invisible line, a line once crossed, he could never go back over. You can see it and sense this shift in the photos, an unseen force, like changes in the atmosphere, a hurricane was developing. [In] the photo . . . posted yesterday, look how short the line is to meet Elvis, but there is a line and the ladies are sure as heck not there waiting for a train:).The 'atmosphere' changed forever and everywhere, and in 1956, it was captured by Mr. [Wertheimer], thank you.
All the people around E. [Elvis] were clueless at the time as to [his] long-term magnitude. And even though E. had himself said he knew 'something' was going to happen to him, I think E. is most clueless of all at this point in time, also captured. What if E. had never crossed the line, unimaginable . . . but if not, then I would be posting elsewhere . . . and listening to Jim Morrison right now, in a 1970 live performance, singing Mystery Train. This is as close as we come to time travel, for now, and if or when that happens, which people would you bring back with you?"
--Rita Stokes, Elvis at 21 Facebook fan
THANKS, Rita! Keep those great comments coming! For more great responses to this question, visit our Facebook page, and follow Elvis on Twitter too! Elvis at 21, Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer was developed collaboratively by the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and Govinda Gallery, and is sponsored by HISTORY™.
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