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Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop

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Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop
Front cover
AuthorVikki Tobak
LanguageEnglish, Japanese
GenrePhotography
PublishedPenguin Random House / Clarkson Potter
Publication placeUnited States, Japan
Pages288
OCLC0525573887

Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop is a 2018 photography book created and written by Vikki Tobak and ongoing exhibition series.[1][2][3][4] The volume features contact prints from analog photography sessions of hip hop artists during roughly forty-years, from the beginnings of the genre in the late 1970s until the late 2000s.

Beginning first as an Instagram account in 2016 created by Tobak, the then entitled Contact High Project soon appeared as a regular column in Mass Appeal. It was shown in exhibit form for the first time at the 2017 Photoville in Brooklyn before being signed to a book deal in 2018.

Details

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The book has a foreword by Questlove and essays by Bill Adler, Rhea L. Combs, Fab Five Freddy, Michael Gonzales, Young Guru, DJ Premier, and RZA.[5]

The book explores the development of hip hop through the perspective of its photographers.[6] Accompanying the unedited contact sheets in the book are also the personal stories of the sixty featured photographers relating specifically to the musical artists that they worked with on these images. The content of the book is organized chronologically and measures hip hop's rise of influence from old-school to alternative hip hop across the world.[7]

Among the featured photographic subjects in the book are Notorious B.I.G., Tu Pac, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Eminem,[8] Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Salt-N-Pepa, and Kanye West.[9][10] Hip hop figures DJ Kool Herc, Rock Steady Crew and street artists Futura and Keith Haring are also included.

Book reception

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The book was included in Time's "25 Best Photobooks of 2018".[11]

Museum exhibitions

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Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop exhibit at The Annenberg Space For Photography 2019

Los Angeles:

In April 2019, The Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles hosted an exhibit, also called Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, reflecting the entirety of the book's content. It was curated by the author, Vikki Tobak, with creative direction by Fab Five Freddy.[12][13][14][15]

In addition to videos, memorabilia, and music to complement the photographs, the exhibit also included a documentary short film produced by the Annenberg Foundation and RadicalMedia, and produced and directed by Melissa Haizlip, featuring a selection of the Contact High photographers at work and in conversation including; Janette Beckman, Danny Clinch, Eric Coleman, Joe Conzo, Brian B+ Cross, Jack McKain, Estevan Oriol, Jorge Peniche, Ithaka Darin Pappas,[16] Dana Scruggs and Jamel Shabazz.[17]

One of the pieces in the exhibit is an installation surrounding Barron Claiborne’s group of portraits of The Notorious B.I.G wearing a plastic gold crown in front of a bright red backdrop.[18][19] The pictures were made in March 1997, three days before the rapper's untimely death. The most known image from the series entitled "The King of New York," is one photograph from a couple of dozen of the rapper from the photo session.[20] Most of these other photographs had never been seen by the public before inclusion in the book Contact High. In addition to a 100 cm x 150 cm print of the principal image, the museum exhibit installation of "The King Of New York" featured one of Small's music videos playing on a small screen alongside two enlarged contact prints as well as the plastic crown that Claiborne had purchased for the shoot.

New York:

After the exhibit's debut in Los Angeles, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop was scheduled to be exhibited in its entirety for the second time from January 18, 2020 – May 15, 2020 at the International Center of Photography in New York as part of the inauguration of the ICP's new location at 79 Essex Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The exhibit's opening event was attended by Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei, Questlove, ASAP Rocky, Debi Mazar, Jasmine Lobe, Contact High documentary short film producer and director Melissa Haizlip, curator and writer Antwaun Sargent, Contact High curator Vikki Tobak and exhibiting photographers; Janette Beckman, Danny Hastings, Jorge Peniche, Ithaka Darin Pappas, Ricky Powell (now deceased),[21] Lisa Leone, Al Pereira, Barron Clairborne, Dephine Fawandu, Mark Seliger and Joe Conzo Jr. After just four weeks the exhibit was forced to close due to COVID-19 restrictions.[22][23]

Abu Dhabi: After the exhibit closed prematurely at New York's International Center of Photography, it was then scheduled to open in June 2020 in association with Sole DXB at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dabhi (UAE) but was postponed, again due to COVID-19, finally opening on Dec 15, 2020 scheduled to until August 31, 2021. It was the first exhibit of its kind in the Middle East[24][25][26]

Seattle: On October 16, 2021, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop, opened at the Museum of Pop Culture located in Seattle, Washington for a two-year showing. This rendition of the exhibit also contained artifacts including early rap battle fliers, Tupac Shakur manuscripts, Flavor magazines, and costumes from Sha-Rock, The Notorious B.I.G., and MF DOOM.[27][28][29][30]

Rotterdam: On August 11th 2023, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop (running simultaneously with the Contact High exhibit hosted by the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington) opened for the first time in Europe. This three-week incarnation of the show was hosted by Ferro Gashouder in Rotterdam, Netherlands and coincided with the 50th Anniversary of hip hop as a musical genre. Included in its short running were hip hop culture film screenings (presented Black Soil Film Festival) including Wild Style directed by Charlie Ahearn and Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest directed by Michael Rapaport. There were also live performances by; UK-based hip-hop ensemble OMA, Surinam-born rapper Winne and Dutch vocalists Alee Rock, and ADF Samski. [31][32][33]

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[45][46][47][9]

References

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  1. ^ Zaragoza, Alex; Hosking, Taylor (November 30, 2018). "Unearthed Photos of Hip-Hop Royalty from the 80s and 90s". Vice.com.
  2. ^ Shakur, Fayemi (October 5, 2018). "40 Years of Hip-Hop Photos". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Photographers' contact sheets celebrate the visual history of hip hop". Popular Photography. 29 November 2018.
  4. ^ Robin Givhan (2018-11-08). "Nicki Minaj and a stack of pancakes? These rare images capture another side to hip-hop". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  5. ^ "Contact High by Vikki Tobak - PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com.
  6. ^ "Red Bull Music Academy Daily". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com.
  7. ^ "Book Review: "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop"". AllHipHop.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  8. ^ Wang, Oliver (2018-10-12). "The icons of hip-hop and the images that might have been". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  9. ^ a b c d "The stories behind hip-hop's most iconic images". www.cnn.com.
  10. ^ "Hip-hop's iconic images and the stories behind them – in pictures". The Guardian. November 7, 2018 – via www.theguardian.com.
  11. ^ "Time's Best Photobooks of 2018". Time.
  12. ^ "'Contact High' Photography Exhibit in LA to Showcase Intimate Visual History of Hip-Hop". Billboard.
  13. ^ ""Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop" - Annenberg Space for Photography - Art in Los Angeles". Time Out Los Angeles.
  14. ^ EDT, Paula Froelich On 4/4/19 at 4:45 PM (April 4, 2019). "A stark, new exhibit at the Annenberg take us on a visual historical journey of Hip-Hop". Newsweek.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Fab 5 Freddy's 'Grass Is Greener' Cannabis Documentary To Premiere On Netflix". AllHipHop.com.
  16. ^ Miranda, Carolina A. (2019-04-25). "Datebook: Roy Dowell's hypnotic plays on pattern". Los Angeles Times.
  17. ^ "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop". Annenberg Space for Photography.
  18. ^ Alvarez, Lauren. "'Contact High: A Visual History Of Hip-Hop' Is A Pure Documentation Of A Cultural Phenomenon". Forbes.
  19. ^ "How I Took The Last Ever Picture Of Biggie Smalls". Gentlemen's Quarterly.
  20. ^ Simon, Johnny (26 April 2019). "From Biggie to Kendrick Lamar: outtakes from hip-hop's most iconic photos". Quartz (publication).
  21. ^ "Ricky Powell, streetwise photographer who captured NYC hip-hop's golden age, dies at 59". Los Angeles Times. 5 February 2021.
  22. ^ "'Contact High: A Visual History Of Hip-Hop' Is A Pure Documentation Of A Cultural Phenomenon". Vanity Fair. Hip-Hop’s Visual History, on Display.
  23. ^ "Event Recap: Opening Reception for the new ICP and its inaugural exhibitions". YRB Mag. 25 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop | Visit Abu Dhabi". visitabudhabi.ae. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21.
  25. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
  26. ^ "CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop". Sole.digital.
  27. ^ "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop A single image can define a moment, creating an instant icon". MoPOP.
  28. ^ "CONTACT HIGH: A VISUAL HISTORY OF HIP-HOP". Visit Seattle.
  29. ^ "CONTACT HIGH: A VISUAL HISTORY OF HIP-HOP Opening At MoPOP, October 16". Broadway World.
  30. ^ "History of hip-hop at Seattle's MoPOP". King 5. 15 October 2021.
  31. ^ "The Visual History of Hip Hop Comes to Rotterdam". Widewalls. 2 August 2023.
  32. ^ "ART EXHIBITION - CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF HIP-HOP". Ferro Gashouder.nl. 3 August 2023.
  33. ^ ""Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop" – Opening Night". motelmozaique.nl/. 3 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop featuring the story of my shoot with Mary J Blige". Michael Benabib.
  35. ^ "Eric Coleman". Annenberg Space for Photography.
  36. ^ LensCulture, Vikki Tobak. "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop - Photographs courtesy of Contact High Project | Interview with Vikki Tobak by Cat Lachowskyj". LensCulture.
  37. ^ "DELPHINE FAWUNDU ON PHOTOGRAPHING THE "INFAMOUS" MOBB DEEP". DELPHINE FAWUNDU ON PHOTOGRAPHING THE “INFAMOUS” MOBB DEEP.
  38. ^ "Book – Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop | BLACK GROOVES". 3 December 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  39. ^ "Contact High Project". Contact High Project.
  40. ^ Shakur, Fayemi (October 5, 2018). "40 Years of Hip-Hop Photos". The New York Times.
  41. ^ "International Center of Photography Refocuses in a New Home". The New York Times. January 30, 2020.
  42. ^ "On-stage with Ricky Powell". Photoville.la. April 8, 2019.
  43. ^ "Iconic Hip Hop Contact Sheets | PDN Photo of the Day". Potd.pdnonline.com. September 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  44. ^ "Jamel Shabazz". Annenberg Space for Photography.
  45. ^ Tobak, Vikki (November 10, 2018). Contact high: a visual history of hip-hop. Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. ISBN 9780525573883. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  46. ^ "CONTACT HIGH - A Visual Proof Sheet History of Hip-Hop". Idealistpropaganda.blogspot.com. April 25, 2019.
  47. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2019-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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