The Power of Music August 12, 2011

By the mid-19th century, Americans had a full-blown popular culture. There were American novels, art, theatre - and music. For the first time, it was possible for a song to be a hit in both New York and San Francisco - simultaneously. Coinciding with the rise of America's pop culture was the rise of the magical process of photography. Before 1839, there were no photographs. In that year, a Frenchman named Louis Daguerre invented the Daguerreotype. Other photographic processes quickly followed. The images in this exhibit reflect both the power of photographic portraiture, and the vibrancy of American music of the 19th and early 20th centuries, not to mention the great pride and sense of accomplishment clearly visible on the faces of the musicians. They also document a phenomenal outburst of creativity and experimentation in musical instruments and ensemble playing in the U.S. The original photographs, composed of several formats, were collected over a period of 25 years by Mark L. Gardner as part of his on-going research into American popular music and instruments.