Show Archive:
- Caesura
- Georgia to Georgia
- Bloomsday:
A James Joyce Celebration - Beyond Krog Street:
Urban Portraits by Doug Barlow - Velcro Show 2006
- Continuum - New Portraits by Bryan Meltz
- Poets & Writers: An Evening of Poetry
- Home and the War
- Unconquered: Images of Cuba
- Here and Now
- Raging in the Gloom: Jack Kerouac Birthday Tribute
- Pelusa
- The Bridal Show
- Bloomsday: A James Joyce Celebration
- The Velcro Show 2007
- RockShow
- In Our Midst: Photographs of Candler Park
- Voices Carry 4: An Evening of Poetry & Spoken Word
- Strange True Tales: Photographs by Joeff Davis
- Pedestal Magazine Reading Event
- Translations
- ExLucis 2008
- International Women's Day Poetry Reading
- A Thousand Words
- Body/Text Project
- Bloomsday: A James Joyce Celebration
- Sorrowful Tunes from a Sunny Land:
Photographs from the Republic of Georgia - Sorrowful Tunes of Sunny Land
- Velcro Show 2008
- New York, New York: Photographs by Sylvia Plachy
- The American War: Photographs by Al Rockoff
- 3rd Anniversary Rent Party and Inauguration Celebration
- Bloodline, AIDS and Family: Images by Kristen Ashburn
- Durham Stories: Not Hell But You Can See It From Here
- The Dream of Life: Photographs by Dorothy O'Connor and Jenny Williamson
- The Path Worn In The Grass: A Marathon Reading of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself
- Rock Show 2: Rock 'n' Roll Photography
- Eminent Domain: The Piñon Canyon Project
- The Cowboys vs. The Army
- Communion: A Found Photo Show
- Velcro Show 2009
- 4 For Four: 4th Anniversary Show
- Photographs by Dorothy O'Connor
- Talking Back To The Muse
- May Day Art Party for Haiti
The American War: Photographs by Al Rockoff
Legendary photojournalist Al Rockoff has spent the bulk of his working life documenting war and the aftermath of war in Southeast Asia. He spent several years as a combat photographer, covering what he calls “The American War” in Vietnam. Then, from 1973 to 1975, Rockoff worked as a freelance photographer in Cambodia and was one of the few journalists who remained to capture the fall of Phnom Penh and the brutality of the Khmer Rouge.
“I shed blood for my art”, says Rockoff, whose passion for truthful combat photography left him wounded nine times. His stunning photographs have been published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including Newsweek and the New York Times, and he was portrayed, albeit inaccurately, by John Malkovich in the Academy Award winning film The Killing Fields.
Mr. Rockoff continues to return to Cambodia, adding to his inventory of images for an upcoming book. By chronicling the country’s emergence from the war, and its post-Khmer Rouge reconstruction, he hopes to correct the misconceptions that exist regarding its destruction. “The blood debt that America owes Cambodia is a big one” Rockoff says of the American invasion and its aftermath.
Recently, Rockoff has collaborated with renowned illustrator and graphic artist Shepard Fairey to create a series of prints based on several of his photographs. This project has been immediately successful and the first two prints have completely sold out. Shepard feels that these images draw parallels between the complex emotions surrounding the Vietnam War and those felt now about the invasion of Iraq. “Al Rockoff’s photos reveal the brutality, but also the conflicted humanity seen in war. The risks Rockoff took to capture his images were often as great as the risks of the subjects he wished to document. I am honored to be able to work with Al Rockoff”.
Shepard Fairey
Composition Gallery is extremely proud to host this first ever U.S. gallery exhibition of Mr. Rockoff’s incomparable photographs, which serve as timeless reminders of the intended, as well as the unintended consequences of war. I would like to thank Al, along with his friend and collaborator Cory Sontag for their efforts and their generosity in allowing me this opportunity. Ron Hughes/Composition Gallery