University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

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The Graham Nash Opening 20 photographs taken on light sensitive paper. The photograph seemed so fragile without being matted and behind glass. The photographs were framed and ready to put into sequence, and it was Graham ' s desire to have the photographs placed in a random but aesthetically pleasing order. Lydia came back from her leave of absence at the end of August to begin the preliminary arrangements. Graham came down a few weeks later to play shuffle-the-picture as his wife, Susan, puts it. We called it the final sequencing. It gave us great pride to show Graham how the exhibition had progressed. He shared our enthusiasm, for this was the first time he had seen many of his photographs framed and ready to be displayed. We toured through each gallery mak- ing notes and discussing various aspects of the exhibition. Jackson, Graham ' s son. was always present either in one of his parent ' s arms or crawling on the Gallery floor. Marc tried to amuse Jackson by giving him his watch to play with, but soom regretted his generosity when Jackson decided to break in a new set of teeth on his watchband. At one point Graham was thinking about taking a picture out of the show because he did not think it could be sequenced anywhere. It was Kemmler ' s Photography Enthusiast, the only picture in the show that made a statement about photography itself. I expressed my disappointment and Graham half jokingly remarked, It was taken by an unknown photographer, nobody famous. Why would you want to keep a photo like that? I like it! I replied. Graham took another glance at the picture and said, For you, Virginia, we ' ll keep it! There were other times when Graham would be thoroughly engrossed in his collection. In his enthusiasm, I could catch glimpses of the charisma I knew he had to capture an audience of 60,000 at a rock concert. It was this magnetic creative energy that made Graham the ,artist--as the creator of music or the collector of photographs. Both depended on his aesthetic judgement. In one day my efforts during the summer had been culminated. On October 6, I hosted a press meeting with Graham that included correspondents from radio stations, newspapers, all SCU media, Ccnterstage and Life magazines. The meeting was over at noon, giving the staff the afternoon hours to recover and attend to last minute preparations for the opening. As Director of Publicity, I was given the task of going to a Hallmark card shop to buy 1000 royal blue napkins to match the gallery ' s decor.

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maintain his integrity as a collector. The photographs themselves were at the gallery by mid-July. It was a thrill to see the originals after working with press pictures and catalog cards with postage stamp size reproductions of the photo- graphs. Particularly exciting was being able to handle Sir John Herschel ' s Feathers, circa 1845, one of the first (continued on next page 7 was constantly faced with the problem of promoting Nash as the collector of fine art photography while playing down his public image as rock star ... 19

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As I walked through the gallery glancing at the photographs displayed on the walls, I realized that it would be all over in a few hours. I briefed the security guards about the tickets and waited until the doors were opened. The opening remains a blur of people, noise and cham- pagne. What remains clear to me was my astonishment when Nash walked in the door. The enthusiastic photography collector I knew was a rock star in their eyes. Later that evening I apologized to Graham for the crowding. Hey, this is nothing. I ' m used to having people tear my clothes off. Everyone ' s great here. Graham was right. People approached him, genuinely interested in his photo- graphy collection, to thank him for bringing it to de Saisset. Graham said in his KSCU interview that he was used to being praised for his music, but it was a new experience for him to hear it for his collection. As the gallery was closing one couple was trying to view a photograph in semi-darkness. Graham rushed up and asked them what they were doing. After they told him he exclaimed, This is what it ' s all about; to think you were trying to see the photograph»in the dark! After the gallery closed, I led a small army of staff members in search of champagne glasses that, inevitably, found their way into antique Chinese vases, beneath grinning cupids, and amidst potted ferns. The sticky floor was mopped twice and a final security check was made. The lights went out. The double doors clicked shut. I felt I had left a part of myself there, taking with me the knowledge and strength I acquired through my experi- ences at de Saisset. ' ' This is what it ' s all about. To think that you were trying to see the photograph in the dark! ' ' -Nash 21