NEW YORK, NY (Morrison Hotel Gallery) - The second annual Rock For MS, an extraordinary one-night benefit exhibition and sale of iconic images of rock and music legends taken by an elite group of many of the world's greatest music photographers, takes place October 10 at 7PM at NYC's Stephan Weiss Studio (711 Greenwich Street, NYC, 10014). The event is hosted by the famed Morrison Hotel Gallery (MHG); with locations in NYC's Soho, and La Jolla and Los Angeles in Southern California, MHG is the only gallery worldwide exclusively spotlighting fine art music photography. Presented in association with Donna Karan, Rock For MS is a fundraiser for MSFriends - the first initiative from San Francisco-based non-profit VisionWorks Foundation - whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people with Multiple Sclerosis.
The MSFriends Initiative and VisionWorks Foundation was founded by award-winning photographer and author Amelia Davis and inspired by seminal Northern California-based rock photographer Jim Marshall. Marshall hired Davis as his assistant knowing that she had Multiple Sclerosis, and has since become a passionate advocate for raising public awareness about MS. Among the works to be displayed and for sale at Rock For MS on Oct. 10 are two rare pieces by Marshall: making their limited edition world premieres are a 1971 color image of Mick Jagger and a black & white portrait of Janis Joplin, available as a platinum print.
Marshall will be in attendance on Oct. 10, as will fellow lens legends Timothy White, Danny Cinch and Bob Gruen. Among the many musical subjects portrayed include Ray Charles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Doors, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Chris Martin and Keith Richards, and as of this writing, the stellar complete list of participating artists is: Robert Altman, Peter Amft, Joan Baez, Janette Beckman, Matt Carmichael, Danny Clinch, David Corio, Merri Cyr, Henry Diltz (co-founder of MHG), Lynn Goldsmith, Michael Greco, Herb Greene, Rick Griffin, Bob Gruen, John Hamilton, Stephanie Herzer, Grant Jacobs, Pat Johnson, Alton Kelley, Karl Larsen, Phil Lesh, Jim Marshall, Paul Natkin, Amber Parisa, Neal Preston, Mick Rock, Ethan Russell, Paul Saltzman, Ron Scherl, Rowland Scherman, Mark Seliger, Ken Settle, Herb Snitzer, Stephen Somerstein, Frank Stefanko, Bob Weir, Barrie Wentzell, Timothy White, Baron Wolman and Neil Zlozower.
In the spirit of its great musical subjects, Rock For MS will also feature a performance by blues-rock power trio Steaks & Chops, comprised of ace NYC-based session stars John Conte, Rich Pagano and Jimmy Vivino. Tickets for MS Rocks are $200; to RSVP, call 212-941-8770.
