GHOST NOTES

BRIAN “B+” CROSS PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT AND BOOK LAUNCH
AT EASTERN PROJECTS IN CHINATOWN
NOVEMBER 4TH Ghostnotes: Music of the Unplayed is an extended photo essay with more than two hundred images that represent a mid-career retrospective of B+’s photography of hip-hop music and its influences. It is being published by University of Texas Press and will be available on December 5th. Taking its name from the unplayed sounds that exist between beats in a rhythm, the book creates a visual music, putting photos next to each other to evoke unseen images and create new histories. Like a DJ seamlessly overlapping and entangling disparate musics, Cross brings together L.A. Black Arts poetry and Jamaican dub, Brazilian samba and Ethiopian jazz, Cuban timba and Colombian cumbia. He links vendors of rare vinyl with iconic studio wizards ranging from J Dilla and Brian Wilson to Leon Ware and George Clinton, from David Axelrod to Shuggie Otis, Bill Withers to Ras Kass, Biggie Smalls to Timmy Thomas, DJ Shadow to Eugene McDaniels, Dj Quik to Madlib. In this unique photographic mix tape, an extraordinary web of associations becomes apparent, revealing connections between people, cultures, and their creations.
In the beautiful new space Eastern Projects in downtown Los Angeles Cross will mount an exhibit to launch the book opening November 4th. The show will feature many images from the book as well as several that didn’t make the final cut. It will be a celebration of Cross’ twenty five years as a leading photographer and cultural voice in the city. BRIAN “B+” CROSS is one of the most prominent music photographers working today. He has photographed many album covers for artists such as Damian Marley, DJ Shadow, Flying Lotus, Eazy-E, Jurassic 5, Rza, Company Flow, Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, Thundercat and Q-Tip. Cross was the director of photography for the Academy Award–nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, and he has made several feature-length music films (Keepintime, Brasilintime and Timeless) and many music videos.
B+ is co-founder of the renowned production house Mochilla with Eric Coleman. Cross was the photo editor of the music magazine Wax Poetics from 2004 to 2010, and Rappages from 1993 to 1998. Cross’s 1993 book It’s Not About a Salary: Rap Race and Resistance, was one of the first books to document the burgeoning West Coast hiphop scene.
Cross is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego, lives in Los Angeles. November 4th – December 16th
Opening Reception and Book Signing November 4th 5pm -10pm
with special musical guests.
Eastern Projects
900 N Broadway Suite 1090,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://www.easternprojectsgallery.com/ FOR PRESS: JON KIM jkim645@gmail.com