and

The Joe Alper

Photo Collection LLC
Present
Caf Lena c. 1960
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Concept 3-4
Traveling Exhibition 5
Length of Exhibition 5
Corollary Programming 6
Catalogue 6
Contents 7-8
Previous Exhibition History 9
Organizational Body 9
Curators 10-11
Selected Images 12-20
Jocelyn Arem
Caf Lena History Project Director
[email protected]
Edward Elbers
ManagerJoe Alper Photo Collection LLC
[email protected]
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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CONCEPT
Few performance venues in the history of American music have
inuenced the artistic careers of our musical legends more than
Caf Lena. Located in Saratoga Springs, New York, the iconic
80-seat space served as a training ground for Bob Dylan, Arlo
Guthrie, Don McLean, Ani DiFranco, and Emmylou Harris well
before they became household names. The New York Times has
called Caf Lena a time capsuleand a natural documentary
subject. Caf Lena nurtured and shaped the 1960s folk revival.
Outlasting every other cofeehouse of its era, it continues to serve
the music community as a nonprot arts center today in 2013. The
Cafs pioneering founding gure, Lena Spencer (1923-1989), was
the most important female cofeehouse owner of her time. The
daughter of Italian immigrants, Lena broke traditional
barriers, nurtured our best-loved musicians, touched thousands of
lives and earned praise from PBS, BBC, the Library of Congress,
and the Kennedy Center. A fearless and innovative artist who lived
and died for her cofeehouse, Lenas triumphant story is a missing
and necessary chapter in music history.
From the Cafs opening night, to Bob Dylans rst concerts, to
Pete Seegers surprise guest appearance, one photographer
documented key moments in the clubs history at the height of the
folk revival, amassing an extraordinarily rare visual archive of
American music culture. Joe Alper (1925-1968) is one of the
great-unsung giants of twentieth-century folk and jazz
photography. Incredibly prolic during his short career, his
portfolio (80,000 negatives) spans 1958 1968, before his
untimely death at the age of 43, just after establishing the
photography department at SUNY Albany. Of those negatives,
Alper made a striking 6,000 images at Caf Lena.
Alpers immersion into the Civil Rights movement as one of few
photographers privledged to travel with the SNCC Freedom
Singers was central to his photography. Through the camera lens,
he captured the energy and insight of that groundbreaking time
and produced some of its most recognizable images. His innova-
tive portraiture and documentary photographs have graced the
book and lm versions of Eyes on the Prize, and were featured
in Martin Scorseses documentary lm on Bob Dylan No Direction
Home. His images of jazz legends Miles Davis and John Coltrane
appear on important records of the era. No other photographer
depicted so many illustrious musicians of his time, nor covered so
deftly its innovators. Alpers Caf Lena images represent a deeply
personal part of his collection intrinsic to his illustrious career, as
he also hosted performers like Dylan in his home.
Joe Alper photo by Jackie Gibson Alper c.1961
Caf Lena: Inside Americas Legendary Folk Music Cofeehouse
brings together Joe Alpers rare Caf Lena images in the rst ret-
rospective exhibition to explore the artists work, as he intersected
with luminaries of the folk, blues, jazz, and theater worlds at Caf
Lena. It includes rare audio, video, and text drawn from interviews
with 100 artists featured in Alpers photographs. The material
documents underground cofeehouse counterculture, and the Civil
Rights and Feminist movements.
David Amram says, In todays world, where YouTube and the
Internet and do it yourself tools of technology make it possible for
everyone to rejoice in the philosphy that teaches us that small is
beautiful, the story of Lena and her struggles and the history of the
Caf are all more meaningful than ever. This exhibition will be of
interest to the nostalgic baby boom generation as well as the
current DIY Indie generation, especially those who are curious
about the freewheeling underground arts scene of New York of
that time. It will be the rst exhibition to reveal the untold stories
of Americas greatest 1960s folk music heroes with never-before-
seen pictures and rsthand interview material. Its highly diverse
contents will make it a highly interactive, educational and
entertaining experiece for all viewers, and relevant to such diverse
academic disciplines as visual anthropology, American studies,
musicology, sociology, urban studies, womens studies, and of
course contemporary photography and visual culture.
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Pete Seeger at Caf Lena c.1962
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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TRAVELING EXHIBITION
After opening shows at the Tang Museum in Saratoga Springs
NY and Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn the exhibition will be
available in North America beginning in December of 2013.
LENGTH OF EXHIBITION
Approximately eight to twelve weeks, depending upon scheduling
requirements of participating museums and the overall tour.
Freedom Singers at Caf Lena c.1963
COROLLARY PROGRAMMING
The curators, lm director, and select artists featured in the project
are available to travel to host venues to give lectures, contribute to
panel discussions, visit with classes, and otherwise participate in
ways that enrich the exhibitions impact on its audiences.
CATALOGUE AND
COMPANION BOX CD
A catalogue of approximately 294 pages is being produced by
Powerhouse Books to accompany the exhibition. It will include an
introduction by Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins and texts by
Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Ani DiFranco. In addition,
Tompkins Square Record label will release a companion box
CD set for sale with the book featuring newly discovered live re-
cordings made at the venue by Joe Alpers photographic
subjects (47 songs, all unreleased). The box set is being produced
by the GRAMMY winning Magic Shop Recording Studio (O Brother
Where Art Thou, Norah Jones).
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal | Cofeehouse: Caf Lena
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Jackie Washington Guitar c.1960
CONTENTS
The show can be curated to
any size venue space, with
the potential to expand as
needed depending on the show
requirements. In addition to 6,000
already digitized and available
images, we have over 25 master
prints available and up to 500
artifacts (in both original and digital
form for easy reproduction) drawn
from and providing unique access
to the Caf Lena collection at
the Library of Congress. Artifacts
include rare concert posters and
handbills, typed and handwritten
lyrics, signed albums, as well as
unique memorabilia from Pete
Seeger, David Amram, Carolyn
Hester, and Dave Van Ronk.
Caf Lena begins in the
post-war industrial town of
Milford, Massachussets, where Lena Spencer grew up as a
restauranteurs daughter. Her Italian-American upbringing and
restaurant experience featured prominently in shaping her sense
of hospitality at the Caf. The exhibition follows Lena through her
arrival in New York where she intersected with Joe Alper, whose
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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wife Jackie Gibson Alper (former member of the Weavers and
friend of Woody Guthrie) served as Alan Lomaxs assistant at the
Library of Congress. The exhibition unfolds onto a brief
exploration of the Greenwich Village folk scene, one of popular
musics most fascinating intersections of art and politics and from
where Lena and Joe Alper both drew inspiration. It continues on
Lena Spencer c.1960
to the Cafs birth and evolution in the unlikely town of Saratoga
Springs through four thematic sections: emerging artists,
luminaries, theater, and community. Each section will detail the
untold stories of our most beloved artists early careers, including
the making of two American classics, Don McLeans American Pie
and Arlo Guthries Alices Restaurant. The accompanying wall texts
chronicle the Cafs development from countercultural
outpost to the venue recognized by the Library of Congress as a
national treasure.
The exhibit can be set up to include a number of multi-media
components as well as the photographic exhibit. The exhibition
can include two documentary lms (Caf Lena 1989 PBS,
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Caf Lena Today 2013 Lost
Footage Films) exploring diferent eras
and facets of Caf Lenas history, with
rare perfomance footage and interviews
with such artists as Kate McGarrigle,
Rufus Wainwright, G.Love, Utah Phillips,
and Arlo Guthrie. In addition to the lms,
three viewing stations can allow visitors
to watch behind the scenes excerpts
from interviews with the artists,
including a special Caf Lena PSA
video created by the GRAMMY
Foundation. An original Caf Lena table
and chairs, and a replica of Joe Alpers
original Minolta camera are available to
display.
Throughout the exhibition space seven
listening stations can be used to enable
visitors to hear Caf Lenas musical evolution and innovations
during its 53-year period. Each station woud include tracks from
the 700-hour recently discovered Caf Lena audio archive, plus
outtakes, cover versions, and other songs created a Caf Lena
that inuenced a generation of artists and music appreciators.
An hour-long audio tour can be created to feature Bob Dylan and
other artists and individuals, such as GRAMMY Award-winning
musician Joan Osborne, GRAMMY Foundation Vice President
Scott Goldman, Pulitzer prize Award-winning author William
Kennedy, and MacArthur Genius Award-winning playwright Liz
LeCompte, each sharing their stories and insights about Caf
Lena, music, and the turbulent sixties.
Lena, Bob Dylan, Suze Rotolo c.1962
PREVIOUS EXHIBITION
HISTORY
While Joe Alpers images have been featured in various exhibitions,
publications and album covers for over 50 years, never before has
his work been treated so extensively. Building upon the recent
international exhibtion of Alpers images of Bob Dylan at the May
2013 Milan Image Arts fair in Milan Italy, curated by Wall of Sound
Gallery, this exhibition covers and provides groundbreaking
connections between ve decades of documentary work. In
addition, this will be the rst major exhibition highlighting never-
before-seen archival material in the Caf Lena Collection at the
Library of Congress.
ORGANIZATIONAL BODY
This exhibition is curated and produced by the Caf Lena History
Project in association with the Joe Alper Photo Collection LLC, the
Saratoga Springs History Museum and the Library of Congress.
Woman at Caf c.1962
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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CORE CURATORS
Jocelyn Arem is a curator, folklife consultant and cultural historian.
The publishing of this remarkable collection will be the
culmination of her decade-long work as Director of the Caf Lena
History Project in association with the Library of Congress, for
which she has drawn on her academic training as a folklorist and
ethnomusicologist, and her experience as a folk musician. She has
published extensively on the 1960s folk music scene in the
American Folklife Center News, The Association for Recorded
Sound Collections Journal, and Boston Beats Magazine, and
received numerous grants for her research including a recent
grant from the GRAMMY Foundation. Her research has appeared
on Fox News, NBC, NPR, CBS, ABC, and in American Airlines
Magazine. She has appeared in a TV special tie-in to Martin
Scorseses Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home, and on
WXPN and WAMC public radio.
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Edward Elbers is Manager and Creative Director of the Joe Alper
Photo Collection LLC. He received his BA from Harvard in Biology
and Computer Science, and has since worked extensively in
technical marketing and digital photo restoration. Beginning in
collaboration with his late wife Jaye Alper, he has spent the last
decade organizing, digitally archiving and restoring the
80,000-image Joe Alper Photo collection, working closely with
the GRAMMY Foundation, the Caf Lena History Project and the
Library of Congress to develop Joe Alpers folk, blues and jazz
photography material. A member of NAPP (National Association
of Photoshop Professionals) his digital restoration work has been
featured at the International Folk Alliance Conference in Toronto,
Canada and during GRAMMY Week in Los Angeles, California.
Bernice Johnson Reagon, Cordell Reagon, Lena c.1964
Beers Family Childrens Show c.1966
Pasha the cat c.1963
Lena at Cappuccino machine c.1960
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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AVAILABLE CURATORS
Ian Berry is Associate Director for Curatorial Afairs and Curator at
The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College. He
received his B.A. in Art History from the University at Albany and his
M.A. from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. Before
coming to Skidmore Ian served as Assistant Curator at the Williams
College Museum of Art. A specialist in contemporary art, he has
organized several exhibitions for the Tang Museum including projects
that combine antique maps, scientic equipment, Rube Goldberg
cartoons, and Shaker furniture with new works of international
contemporary art. His recent solo artist projects at the Tang have
featured artists such as Paul Henry Ramirez, Nayland Blake, Jim
Hodges, and Alyson Shotz. Among his many publications, Ian is
co-editor of the recent catalogue, Kara Walker: Narratives of a
Negress, co-published by MIT Press. As Lecturer in Art History, Ian
teaches the seminar course, Inside the Museum, which serves as an
introduction to the history, theory, and practice of the modern
museum.
Nancy Groce is a curator and folklife specialist at the Library of
Congresss American Folklife Center. Prior to her work at the
Library, she served as a curator at the Smithsonian Center for
Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where she was in charge of major
Smithsonian Folklife Festival programs. Her previous positions
include as senior program ofcer for the New York Council for the
Humanities, borough folklorist for Brooklyn, New York, and
fellowships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. She received
a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan and
holds an M.M. in Ethnomusicology/ American Music and an M.A. in
American Culture. Author of numerous books and articles, she has
been involved with a wide variety of scholarly projects, exhibitions,
concerts, symposia, conferences, lecture series, media projects,
and public presentations.
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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SELECTED IMAGES
Big Joe Williams guitar c.1964
Caf Lena Opening Night c.1960
Reverend Gary Davis
at Caf Lena c.1962
John Hammond
c.1963
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Bob Dylan at Caf Lena c.1962 Dave Van Ronk at Caf Lena c.1961
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Pete Seeger and Family c.1962
Letter from Pete and Toshi Seeger c.1985
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Big Joe Williams and Short Stuf
Macon rehearse c.1964
Big Joe Williams and Short Stuf Macon TV lming c.1964
Noel Paul Stookey c.1964
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Spalding Gray and Lena Spencer c.1965 Spalding Gray Theater Poster c.1965
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Tom Paxton Lyrics c.1964
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Gil Robbins at Caf Lena 1964 Ramblin Jack Elliott at Caf Lena c.1961
Caf Lena Menu c.1960
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Variety Letter to Lena c.1976
Jackie Washington Opening Night at Caf Lena c.1960
Lena Spencer c.1965
Caf Lena History Project
Exhibition Proposal Caf Lena
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Arlo Guthrie Poster c.1970s Tom Paxton/Nanci Grifth Poster c.1980
Jocelyn Arem
Caf Lena History Project Director
[email protected]
Edward Elbers
ManagerJoe Alper Photo Collection LLC
[email protected]