Tupac Unseen

By Joel D. Levinson

Tupac Unseen - Original Artworks and Photographs by Joel D. Levinson

Tupac Unseen, is comprised of thirty-six portraits photographs Levinson made in 1993 and thirty-six original Artworks (one of each portrait, completed in 2014) each one an individual homage to Tupac, for a total of seventy-two original works, less than a half dozen of which received any type of publication. It is a remarkable collection of work and quite simply the collection of Tupac photographs that illuminates his serious, meditative and friendly personality, with depth.

In Levinson’s own words: I met Tupac in the summer of 1993. Upon introduction, Tupac greeted me with unguarded enthusiasm and a megawatt smile, that welcomed me to create photographs. To say, he lit up the room is both a cliché and a understatement. Tupac was an active collaborator, all Tupac needed was a phrase, an idea, he would open up, I felt that if you gained his trust, there was nothing he was afraid to show. Every request made was met with his full presence and a natural quality, encompassing both exuberance and introspection, that I‘ve found exceedingly rare, even among the most celebrated artists and celebrities at any age.

In the years since, Levinson’s appreciation and comprehension of Tupac and his work have grew to the point where he spent eighteen months researching his poetry, lyrics, books, every published and syndicated photograph and a great deal of what has been written about him.

I found my interest in Tupacs work develop deeper and deeper with each month of research, and greater familiarity with his music and developed an affinity for this man and his work. What began as a six month, purely photographic project to publish portraits (the vast majority previously unseen and unpublished) to illuminate sides of this man I had not seen offered in any other photographs or images, initially developed into something that encompassed much more. Eventually, it extended into an eighteen month project, which further extended to four years and finally after seven years, it is being released first in an eBook.

Joel D. Levinson is an Art Photographer who has had thirteen One Man Museum exhibitions of his work, is represented in forty-two Museum Collections in North America and Europe and in the past five years there has been over three hundred of his photographs placed in twelve Museum Collections. As a photographer/designer Levinson worked for many major Hollywood Movie Studios, independent film labels as well as major and independent Record Companies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A Picture Book, LLC
• Release date: Jan 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9780578151090

Joel D. Levinson

Joel D. Levinson was born in Bridgeport, CT and graduated from Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield, CT. He went on to receive a BA in Communications and a Masters in Visual Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was awarded with the Eisner Prize from the university for "Outstanding Achievement in Photography". Levinson is an Art Photographer who has had thirteen One Man Museum exhibitions of his work and is represented in forty-two Museum Collections in North America and Europe. In the past five years there has been over three hundred of his photographs added to twelve Museum Collections.There have been more than fifty magazine and international print articles featuring Levinsons' work, including Art, Artforum, Artfactum, Arts, Artweek, High Performance, Horizon, Interview, New Art International, People, Picture and Zoom.Levinson published books to date, include Fleamarkets, Braus Editions (English, German and French Editions) and Joel D. Levinson, Photographs, PM Publications. A third book, TUPAC Unseen (2014) has been released first as an eBook (available exclusively through Amazon until Jan. 1, 2015). Besides the print editions of TUPAC Unseen there are three other book projects of Levinson's work scheduled for release including LEVINSON 100 a mid-career retrospective.Levinson is also listed in Witkin and London's The Photograph Collector, the Macmillan Biographical Encyclopedia of Photographic Artists & Innovators; and Of People and Places: The Floyd and Josephine Segel Collection of Photography, Aperture. and the Auer & Auer and the George Eastman House databases of photographers. He has been included in every edition of Who's Who in American Art since 1984.Levinson's One-Man Exhibitions include: O.K. Harris - NYC, Carlo Lamagna Gallery - NYC, Marsha Mateyka Gallery - D.C., A Gallery for Fine Photography - New Orleans, America Haus - Berlin, Art Museum of South Texas - Corpus Christe, Center for Creative Photography - Tucson, Crocker Art Museum - Sacramento, Davison Art Center -Wesleyan University - CT, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art - University of Oklahoma, Hunter Museum of American Art - TN, J.B. Speed Art Museum - Louisville, Light Factory - N.C., Midwest Museum of American Art - IN, Milwaukee Art Museum, Musee Nicephore Niepce - France, Sprengel Art Museum - Germany, Wilhelm Hack Art Museum - Germany.Museum and Institutions that have Levinson's work represented in their Collections (not including the above Museums): Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Baltimore Art Museum, Bibliotheque National, Paris, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, California Historical Soceity, S.F., Chapman University, Denver Art Museum, Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Huntington Library, Art Collections, Library of Congress, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Musee Nicephore Niepce, France, Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Germany, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, New Orleans Museum of Art , New York Public Library, Oakland Museum, CA, Norton Museum of Art, FL, Palm Springs Art Museum, CA, Portland Art Museum, OR, Richmond Art Center, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Smart Art Museum, University of Chicago, University Art Museum, CA, University of California, Bancroft Collection, Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada, Yale University Art Gallery.As a photographer/designer Levinson worked for many major Hollywood Movie Studios, independent film labels as well as major and independent Record Companies including: Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers Pictures, Warner Brothers Records, Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, Disney Studios, Miramax Films, UGC, Capital Records, and EMI Music.

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