The Brooklyn Museum, noted for the breadth of its collection and its cosmopolitan appeal, opened a dazzling new exhibit on October 29 called "Who Shot Rock and Roll?" Curated by eminent photography scholar and former Olympus Visiting Professor of the History of Photography at Cooper Union Gail Buckland, the exhibit features still photography, video, album covers, slides and even a Grace Jones 'shrine' that celebrate the changing faces and many facets of popular music. In remarks to press on the morning of the 29th, Buckland commented that, during her career, she could recall when fashion and its photography were not considered art. She is thrilled to bring this genre to life, and this exhibit ranges from the 1950s through today, showcasing past, present, and future icons in the craft. It is the culmination of nearly five solid years of work.

This is the first exhibit mounted by a major museum that provides recognition of the contribution photographers have made to the history of rock and roll from its earliest days. You will find something for every musical taste, so plan to spend plenty of time in the gallery. Exhibit designer and Chief Designer for the Brooklyn Museum, Matthew Yokobosky has chosen a platinum pallet-as in when you sell enough music, you get a platinum record-that sparkles subtly throughout. The gallery spaces have occasional splashes of color that set off the images well. Most of the images are black and white, and many are filled with irony. His remarks about bringing silver to the surface of paper in photographs reminds one of how these images surface effervescently long after the initial viewing.

Many of the photographers whose contributions are featured were on hand for the press yesterday, including Marcia Resnick, Elaine Mayes, Henry Diltz and many more. Diltz, whose photograph of the legendary Tina Turner is featured on the cover of the companion book and the museum brochure, was among those circulating through the galleries, and discussing the craft with a master is always a luxurious experience. Working for record companies, photographers mostly took publicity photos as in "here's THIS record company executive with THIS rock star backstage." When done, the photographers were free to photograph as they chose. The Turner picture, a moment of utter joy in the life of a hardworking musician, captures her heart and her spirit, and Diltz' work is full of that rapture of moment.

Eminem is one of the most outwardly expressed homophobes in rap, yet David LaChapelle's "About to Blow: Eminem," where he is nude and holding a provocatively placed lit stick of dynamite, is supremely homoerotic in tone. There are pictures that glorify the glamor and those that deconstruct the star. Particularly moving for me is Linda Eastman's "My Love, London" photo of Paul McCartney-yes, her husband-where we see only a small, recognizable part of his face in the rear view mirror in warm tones, while the rest of the photo has us peering out of the windscreen of a car in the 1970s. I couldn't tell you why it was moving, but I found it to be very intimate.

There are interesting juxtapositions, like the Ray Avery's Ronettes photos in one frame, where the top one has Phil Spector and the bottom has a very young Sonny Bono. Adding dimension to this is the immediately adjacent iconic Max Vadukul photo of Amy Winehouse on her wedding day-her hairstyle hearkens back to the Ronettes, and her music is as groundbreaking in its own right. Brava!

Another area of the gallery features Charles Peterson's large format photo "Mosh Pit at Endfest, Kitsap, WA" that looks a bit like a painting from the Middle Ages reminding sinners that demons await. Yet adjacent to that, Andreas Gursky's larger format photo, "Madonna I," from a concert, where the point of view is in the rafters, with a wide-wide-wide angle lens shooting vertically, and Madonna semi-centered left and the lights and the crowds are all oddly reminiscent of Bosch's triptych "Garden of Earthly Delights," mostly the third panel. This entire exhibit is a worthy earth-y delight and a must-see for everyone, as the catalog ranges from Elvis through Tina Turner through Eminem, David Lee Roth, Madonna and more.

"Who Shot Rock and Roll?" runs through January 31, 2010 in Brooklyn and will tour thereafter to Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Tennessee, Akron Art Museum, Ohio, and finish, for now, at Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina. Admission to this groundbreaker is only $10 and when you're done, the splendid galleries of the entire museum, at 200 Eastern Parkway, are at your disposal. For more information, check the website at www.brooklynmuseum.org.