From pictures of the infamous Jimi Hendrix and Tupac to the recently deceased Amy Winehouse, hard core music fans can bask in the celebrity portraits and confront the true personalities of rock and roll’s most memorable characters.

The new Tucson Museum of Art exhibit, “Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present,” focuses on how photographers have communicated the cultural allure and social eroticism that have made rock popular since the 1950s.
Photography of this music genre is easily recognized by every generation and “Who Shot Rock and Roll” acknowledges the efforts of those foremost photographers.

Throughout the six sections of the exhibit, visitors are introduced to the once unknown and naive beginnings of a musician and grow with them through the rare, unseen portraits that hold raw emotion and sexuality. In other sections, visitors can feel the applause explode from photos of the crowd and of live performances where emotions ripple across the musicians’ faces.

The fame of this golden age of rock and roll is mirrored in the photos and the exhibit itself. Due to an already overwhelmingly positive audience reaction, the Tucson Museum of Art has extended its gallery hours to allow more attendees entrance.

“This is something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time; the rock and roll exhibit just made the move all the more timely and critical,” said Robert Knight, Tucson Museum of Art CEO. “We’re doing everything we can to make the museum as accessible as possible, and extending our operating hours at this time will hopefully help in that effort.”

The museum will also incorporate special Thursday night performances from musicians and performance artists, and will host films, lectures and wine tastings centered around rock and roll and the photographers who made their mark in the music revolution.