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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; When Jann Wenner was starting Rolling Stone magazine in 1967, his friend, Baron Wolman, was living in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco, his neighbors the likes of Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. Wolman was a 30-year-old freelance photographer who signed on to shoot for the rock and roll publication for free. Nearly 50 years later, Wolman&#8217;s photographs are thought to have both captured and influenced a revolutionary cultural movement in America and some of the art is making its way to the city.</p><p>Wolman&#8217;s exhibit, &#8220;Backstage Pass: Baron Wolman and the Early Years of Rolling Stone&#8221; will show from Jan. 28 to March 16 at Wilkes University&#8217;s Sordoni Art Gallery. The display is intended to give viewers insight into the creation of the &#8220;rock star&#8221; persona, with early photographs of music icons such as Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Garcia as well as shots of outdoor gatherings such as Woodstock and Day on the Green.</p><p>Stanley Grand was the director of the Sordoni Gallery through most of the &#8217;90s, and has returned to his position in an interim capacity. Grand said Wolman&#8217;s exhibit of photojournalism is as culturally significant as it is fun.</p><p>&#8220;Baron Wolman was the first staff photographer for Rolling Stone, and these photos were taken between 1967 and 1970,&#8221; Grand said. &#8220;That period was just a crucial time of transition in the United States.&#8221;</p><p>That period of transition came when youth and musical movements were in sync with social and political change, Grand said.</p><p>&#8220;The whole &#8230; counterculture of the late &#8217;60s had many components, and they were all interrelated,&#8221; Grand said. &#8220;That would include the political aspects, the anti-Vietnam protests, the Civil Rights movement, the beginning of feminism and the beginning of the Back-to-the-Land ecological movement. It was also the start of the transition from Haight-Ashbury counterculture for some of these stars, like Jerry Garcia or Frank Zappa, to becoming national icons. It was all interrelated. It wasn&#8217;t as if the music was disengaged from what was happening in the entire youth or counter culture.&#8221;</p><p>Beyond capturing some of the greats of rock and roll, the photographs possess a candid quality that is rare if alive at all today, Grand said.</p><p>&#8220;There was this great intimacy that photographers could have with the bands,&#8221; Grand said. &#8220;As the bands became more and more famous and more and more rich, there started to be more distance too, and the photographers didn&#8217;t have that access.&#8221;</p><p>Wolman captured intimate images through access and a work ethic fueled by appreciation for his subjects.</p><p>&#8220;I really love music, and I can&#8217;t play music, and I feel great affection for the people who can and make me happy,&#8221; Wolman said. &#8220;Therefore, I tried in my photography to give them a level of excellence that matched the level of excellence of the music they were giving me.&#8221;</p><p>The great social transition of the time was highlighted by some turbulent events, which bread awareness, Grand said.</p><p>&#8220;It really captures a moment when there was a lot of change,&#8221; Grand said. &#8220;This was a couple of years prior to the Kent State shootings, and that was a great shock to white, middle-class, university-privileged individuals, for such a thing to happen to them. Obviously it had been happening to African Americans for a very long time.&#8221;</p><p>Photographs from the time period show rocks stars, now well seasoned, as fresh-faced, former versions of themselves, Grand said.</p><p>&#8220;That also underscores that it&#8217;s a youth culture, and it was a rebellious culture, and it was, on so many different levels, artistically, musically, politically, sexually,&#8221; Grand said. &#8220;These are key years, and Rolling Stone became one of the voices for this generation. It wasn&#8217;t the only one, but it was a major one. So I think it really is a great context.&#8221;</p><p>Woman said he hopes people come away from the exhibit with a little understanding of what it was like to be alive in the &#8217;60s.</p><p>&#8220;I always think that my pictures are a window into a very significant time in our society,&#8221; Wolman said. &#8220;There were changes going on, very dramatic changes, and I think the music certainly played a role in those changes. This gives them an opportunity, just a brief opportunity, to experience visually what I experienced.&#8221;</p><p>The Backstage Pass exhibit is free and open to the public. The Sordoni Art Gallery is located at 150 South River St., Wilkes-Barre, and gallery hours are noon to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Jagger.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mick Jagger in 1969 as photographed by Baron Wolman. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Jagger.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mick Jagger in 1969 as photographed by Baron Wolman. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo. </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Garcia.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wolman&#8217;s candid shots of Jerry Garcia from 1969. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Garcia.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wolman&#8217;s candid shots of Jerry Garcia from 1969. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo. </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Chief photographer during birth of Rolling Stone captured cultural transition</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>IF YOU GO</p><p>What: Backstage Pass: Baron Wolman and the Early Years of Rolling Stone</p><p>Where: The Sordoni Art Gallery is located at 150 South River St., Wilkes-Barre</p><p>When: noon to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays</p><p>Opening night is Thursday, Jan. 28</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or <a href="mailto:Twitter@TLArts">Twitter@TLArts</a>.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Chief photographer of Rolling Stone from 1967-70 to show work at Sordoni Gallery in Wilkes-Barre