Glenn Ross is a Denver music photographer whose work has appeared in the Denver Post, New York Times and Chicago Tribune.
His new exhibit collects his photos of 22 notable Colorado musicians both in the comfort of their homes and performing on stage. “At Home/On Stage,” now open at Denver's Leon Gallery, runs until Feb. 15.
The exhibit features images of Nathaniel Rateliff, Esme Patterson and Gregory Alan Isakov. At home, the artists tend to appear calm and contemplative, but in performance they look exuberant.
"Initially the whole idea came from my own experience in writing songs and performing," Ross says. "To highlight the journey of taking a song from an idea to an audience -- that's the story that we don't really get a chance to see.
Ross spoke with us about the origins of "At Home/On Stage," capturing the musicians in moments of artistic struggle and the images that best define the theme of the exhibit.
Listen to the full interview above and check out selections from "At Home/On Stage" via the slideshow above.
Interview highlights:
On the contrast between "at home" and "on stage" images:
"Throughout this project I saw this contrast of self between who the artists are at home and who they are on stage. ...
"One example is Aaron Collins [of A. Tom Collins]. At home he's a reserved, quiet character, and on stage he doesn't hold back at all.
"Another highlight that has been the talk of the exhibit are the images of Maria Kohler. Her home photograph is striking, and shows that quiet, centered side of her, while the live image so well captures her as Kitty Crimes - crowdsurfing, outspoken and direct."
On the artists' similarities:
"They generally don't surround themselves with a lot [except] music instruments. A lot of these musicians were living up in attics or couch-surfing, and what they have that's most important to them was their guitar or piano. I found across the board that their devotion to music is pretty strong."
On the "push and pull" of life as a musician:
"In talking to these musicians I found out about their own challenges: specifically life at home and on stage and how they find a balance between those two. It's something I call the 'push and pull' of music life. In other words, when they're at home they want to be on the road, and when they're on the road they want to be home. "
