Steve Birnbaum says that occasionally he will turn to Google Maps and get lost in it, constantly searching until he comes across something familiar.
Birnbaum, a New York-based filmmaker, discusses his passion for meticulously searching for the sites of music photoshoots in order to recreate the same shots himself. He was inspired by a project that combined war photography with present-day locations and began doing the same with family photos in 2010. He then expanded to capturing film and TV locations before focusing on his love for music in 2017.
Photographer Alex Bartsch has previously executed a similar project featuring British reggae album covers, but The Band Was Here has gained a significant following on Instagram with over 250,000 followers. The project captures Birnbaum revisiting specific locations, such as the table in a bar where Woody Guthrie once sat in 1943 or the street in the Bronx where a 14-year-old Tupac was photographed on a moped in 1985. Birnbaum describes the experience of lining up the shot and capturing the exact spot as a thrilling sensation.
He has discovered sites featured on many popular albums. These include the wall (which has since been converted into a garage) where Michael Jackson posed for the cover of Off the Wall, the fire escape behind Prince on the cover of Purple Rain, and the stoop where Bob Dylan sat for Highway 61 Revisited. He also managed to gain access to the apartment where all the photos for Taylor Swift’s 1989 album were taken after receiving a tip and setting up a viewing.
However, it is not only about taking photos of famous images again, it also involves highlighting less recognized shots that include discovering unexpected buildings, parking lots, tattoo shops, or sidewalks. And Birnbaum is unafraid to delve into the technical details. He has managed to pinpoint the exact location of the bathtub in the photograph on the CD cover of Nirvana’s In Utero from 30 years ago. Additionally, he not only located the hotel that overlooks the same view featured on the cover of Radiohead’s OK Computer, but he also gained entry to the room where Thom Yorke stayed to capture the same image.
The task has become quite daunting. He confesses, “I dedicate hours to a single image, but sometimes I just can’t seem to locate anything.” This often leads him to get lost in the pursuit of finding it. He continues to passionately hunt for the sites of album covers by Smashing Pumpkins and Violent Femmes, while eagerly anticipating a reply from the owner of the building where Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was photographed.
He is very thorough in his research, using various sources such as books, magazines, and past interviews with photographers. However, he prefers not to reach out to them for assistance, stating that he enjoys the process of discovery. He also finds valuable information by examining contact sheets from the original photoshoots. According to him, these sheets often contain clues, as they capture photographs taken throughout the day and reveal the route taken by the subjects.
Sometimes, he is able to invest a lot of effort and successfully determine the location he is looking for. However, upon arrival, he discovers that it is a large construction site. He expresses his disappointment at the transformation of New York into a city filled with skyscrapers and modern architecture. The loss of historical landmarks and the people who inhabited them is saddening. Despite this, it has made him more aware and grateful for his surroundings. He realizes that music history is present everywhere, even in the streets he walks by every day.
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It has been confirmed that this project has evoked unexpected emotions. The artist expresses a different sentiment when realizing the absence of the subjects, such as a photo of John Lennon located near the site of his death. Similarly, he experienced distress when capturing the abandoned Hollywood home of Kurt Cobain, where he and his daughter were photographed in 1992. Despite the photos being public, the artist struggled with whether to share them due to their personal nature and respecting the privacy of the subjects as real people, not just celebrities.
Apart from the occasional twinge of emotion when reflecting on the tragic past of his beloved bands, this project has been invigorating and has given physical form to cherished memories. He explains, “As I was growing up, I was surrounded by these images. I would constantly see them in magazines. Music photography was a major source of inspiration for me, and now being able to physically stand in those same locations is just amazing!”
Source: theguardian.com
