INSTRUMENTHEAD
The Instrumenthead project is a surrealist look into the soul of a musician, not through their eyes as with traditional portraiture, but through their instrument. It began in April 2000, through a candid moment in a photoshoot with the Derek Trucks Band, which sparked an unprecedented art project, bringing together more than 500 musicians from across the globe over the course of nearly two decades.
I was thrilled to be a retoucher on Michael Weintrob’s surrealist photography project, Instrumenthead. This project entailed editing and retouching over hundreds of large-format images for the Instrumenthead Exhibitions over a nine year period (2011-2020), The musicians who are photographed are not all mainstream nor do they play the same instrument, but the central point is that music is their focus and occupation. By being ‘faceless’ and only viewed as their instrument, the viewer can see the blurred line between the music personality and their tool. The diversity of musicians and music portrayed in the photos opens up a dialogue and space for both introducing and celebrating music and culture of many peoples and walks of lives. It is a microcosm of the diversity of the United States. Weintrob’s work has been featured in Rolling Stone, SPIN, Jazz Times and Newsweek.
Weintrob’s ties to New Orleans’ music scene began decades ago, documenting performances and taking portraits, and this gradually evolved into his distinctive series of location and studio pictures of
legendary musicians with their instruments held in front of their faces. In my principal role as retoucher and photo editor we began by choosing some 370 images of different individual artists from thousands in Wientrob’s archives, which were first shown as a traveling exhibition.
The exhibitions and shows generated from this project over time has contributed to many charities, schools, artists, cultural causes and communities including the New Orleans Musicians’ Assistance Foundation, the Tipitina’s Foundation, the Music Maker Foundation and the Newport Festivals Foundations.
Notable exhibitions include Barcelona Jazz Festival (October 2011), sponsored by the U.S. Consulate, EASD Valencia Escola d’Art (February 2014), sponsored by the U.S. State Department, Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans (May 2016), Spoleto Art Festival in Charleston (June 2014) and the Newport Jazz Festival (August 2014).
The spaces utilized for these shows have also been transformed, for example, from an empty warehouse to a pop-up night market for the occasion. At many of the exhibitions, musicians are invited to perform, which adds a layer of creative involvement and life to the project, blending the arts with music and bringing communities together.
EXHIBITION
EXHIBITS
EXHIBITION DATES
2019
The Instrumenthead Experience Pop-Up Exhibit | Atlanta, CA
May 1 – 5
2018
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Pop-Up Exhibit | Atlanta, CA
April 27
2017
Sweetwater 420 Fest | Atlanta, CA
April 21 – 23
Big Ears Festival | Knoxville, TN
March 23 - 26
2016
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival | Manchester, TN
June 9 -12
Instrumenthead Pop Up Show
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Jacques Imo’s | New Orleans, LA
April 29 - May 1st
Pilgrimage Festival | Tennessee
October 11
Michael Weintrob Studio | Nashville, Tennessee
To Benefit Tunes For Tots
December 28 - 31
2015
Country Music Hall of Fame | Nashville, Tennessee
Sponsored by The Arts Company
April 3 - June 28
Secret Stages Music Discovery Festival | Birmingham, USA
July 31
North Sea Jazz Festival | San Lorenzo, Spain
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
July 10 - 23
Fiya Fest, Mardi Gras World | New Orleans, LA
May 1
El Escorial Dorado | San Lorenzo, Spain
Sponsored by the US State Department
January - February
The Arts Company | Nashville, TN
January 3 -24
Gallery West | Macon, GA
October 2 - 24
Three Taverns Brewery | Decatur, Georgia, U.S.
December 2 - 6
2014
Cypress Moon Studios | Sheffield, AL
Benefitting the Muscle Shoals Music Association
December 16
OZ Arts
Sponsored By Griffin Technology | Nashville, TN
October 16 - 18
Lockn’ Festival | Arrington, VA
September 4 - 7
Newport Jazz Festival | Newport, RI
Benefitting the Newport Festivals Foundation
August 1 - 3
King Dusko Gallery, Piccolo Spoleto Art Festival | Charleston, SC
Benefitting the Music Maker Foundation
May 30 - June 8
Congo Square Stage | New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
May 30 - June 8
EASD Valencia Escola d’Art | Valencia, Spain
Sponsored by the US State Department
February
2013
Frenchman Street Art Market | New Orleans, LA
Sponsored by Jakprints
April 25 - May 5
2011
Barcelona Jazz Festival | Barcelona, Spain
Sponsored by US Consulate and Voll Damm
October 16
Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival | Bridgeport, CT
August 2010 - 2011
BOOK
Winner of the 2017, most outstanding design, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY). InstrumentHead is the end all be all photography book for the true music lover. The INSTRUMENTHEAD collection is a surrealist look into the soul of a musician, not through their eyes as with traditional portraits, but through his or her instrument. Using their mediums instead of their image, Weintrob encapsulates their voice and imprint on the world, allowing artistic expression to arise and corse from the musician and into the audience. This book a most have for any true music fan.