© Steve McCurry

By Steve McCurry

This image is of young monks training in the art of kung fu at the Shaolin Monastery in Hena, Province, China.

The original Shaolin Monastery was founded on Mount Shaoshi in the 5^th Century. Though the practice of martial arts actually originated in China several hundred years before its construction, the temple has a long history associated with kung fu.  

There are many thoughts as to the beginnings of Shaolin kung fu.  The most common begins with a man named Bodhidharma.  According to the Yijin Jing, Bodhidharma stood facing a wall in total silence for nine years.  It is said that his stare created a hole in the wall.  After completing this task, he wished go back west to India.  The only thing he left behind was an iron chest which contained two books: the Marrow Cleansing Classic, which was taken by one of his disciples, and the Muscle Tendon Change Classic, or Yijin Jing. The story goes, that this second book was extremely coveted by all of the monks as well as the obsession for practicing the skills within.  The Shaolin have garnered a wealth of fame through their fighting skill.  If the stories of origin are true, the credit is due to their possession of this manuscript.

In Buddhism, there is a pervasive sense of the impermanence of life.  There is a cycle.  Things are born and they pass away.  Having spent a great deal of time in Buddhist monasteries, I’ve gained a strong appreciation for the unique way the monks look at life.  Rather than fear the certainty of aging and death, they expect and also embrace it.  Wander through the monastery or talk to devotees and you will see that their priorities and the things that they care about seem more sensible and more sane than in other parts of the world.

no strangers: ancient wisdom in a modern world opens at the Annenberg Space for Photography on Saturday, November 17 and runs through February 24, 2013. Learn more about Steve McCurry's work on his official website.

With The Doors song "The End" playing in our heads, we're sad to announce that this coming weekend is your last chance to see Who Shot Rock & Roll as the show will come to a close this Sunday, October 21.

But you're in luck as The Final Countdown begins today! What this means is that we will offer extended evening hours so to accomodate as many of you as we can during the last few days of the shot.

As a reminder, The Final Countdown hours will be:

Thursday, October 18, 10am - 10pm (please note that part of the exhibit will be closed from 5pm-8pm for a lecture)
Friday, October 19, 10am - Midnight
Saturday, October 20, 10am - Midnight
Sunday, October 21, 11am - 6pm

Yes, you saw that right - we're open until midnight on Friday & Saturday!

In conjunction with The Final Countdown, several cafes in Century Park (that's name of the park in Century City in which we're located) will be extending their hours:

Cuvée: Open until 10pm on Thursday & Friday; 11:30am - 7pm on Saturday
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: Open until 8pm on Thursday & Friday

Also, during the extended evening hours on Thursday, Friday & Saturday, enter to win special prize drawings.

Don't wait because come Sunday at 6pm, our doors will close until November 17 so we can prepare for our next exhibit, no strangers.

Olympic Gold medalist Shaun White stopped by the Photography Space today to take in Who Shot Rock & Roll and kindly agreed to pose for a picture. Here he is in front of the wall of album covers by the front entrance. Hope you enjoyed the exhibit, Shaun!

Marianne Faithfull, Salisbury Pub, St. Martin's Lane, London (1964) © Gered Mankowitz

By Gered Mankowitz

This photograph of Marianne Faithfull in the Salisbury Pub in London’s St. Martins Lane, is probably one of the most important photographs I have taken.

I had known Marianne for a few months having met her when she was promoting her first single “As Tears Go By” around June of 1964, and had immediately fallen under her spell. She was gorgeous, bright & funny and I started photographing her the next day! After a few months of taking photographs and hanging out I suggested that we shoot a session in the Salisbury with my eye on producing an image for an album cover. The pub landlord was accommodating and we spent a couple of hours taking various different portraits. This shot was one of my favourites – the composition, those socks – it just looked gorgeous, but Decca Records rejected it on the grounds that the men reflected in the mirror behind Marianne were  distracting and were looking at her in a lecherous manner! They ended up using a far less interesting image from the same session and this shot lounged in my archive, unseen until the 80s.

However, her manager at the time was Andrew Loog Oldham and he loved the session and as a result asked me to shoot with his other band – The Rolling Stones. I shot my first session with the band in early 65 and continued to work with them regularly until 1967. So, because of my shoot with Marianne I came to the attention of one of the most exciting bands of the time and my career as a music photographer was established!

 See Gered Mankowitz's other images in Who Shot Rock & Roll, currently showing at the Annenberg Space for Photography through October 21, 2012. To learn more about the photographer and his work visit his official website.