Photographer offers 1978 Jackson photos

On a private lake in Westlake Village, Michael Jackson, not yet 19, was relaxed, smiling and polite as he and his brothers chatted on the dock and tooled around on an electric boat during a daylong photo shoot.
Having just left Motown and begun a new relationship with Epic Records, the Jackson 5 music group was preparing for the release of its first album on Epic, titled “Destiny.”
“They were very excited about a new level of their career, new opportunities,” photographer Gregg Cobarr recalls of the Jackson brothers — and little sister Janet, making her public debut at the shoot —

on that warm summer day in 1978.
Hired by Epic for the promotional shoot, Cobarr had done countless others like it for music industry clients including Columbia, Epic and Capitol Records, RCA, Curb and Warner Bros. — yet, 31 years later, Cobarr still can recall details about the day, and about the very special young man he encountered in Michael Jackson.
“He had such a kind, sensitive, fun and charismatic nature,” Cobarr said. “It made a lasting impression.”
A few of the photos from that day were used in promotional materials, but the vast majority never saw the light of day — until now.
Teaming with Camarillo-based Fine Art Management Corp., Cobarr, who now lives near San Luis Obispo, has chosen to make a number of rare photos from that shoot available for online viewing and purchase.
In addition, Cobarr has an exhibit of the photos up at the David W. Streets Beverly Hills gallery. Up since July 8, the solo exhibit will remain open through mid-August in the Contem-porary Art & Photography wing of the gallery at 9411 S. Santa Monica Blvd.
Online, prints start at $25; limited-edition exhibit posters signed by the photographer also are available through Fine Art Management.
The photos “pretty much have not been released for the public to see,” Cobarr said in an interview Wednesday. “They’ve certainly never been available for people to buy.”
To those who question his motives, Cobarr responds: “I think people would think, ‘Oh look, they’re opportunists,’ but it’s not that at all. I want people to see the real Michael. They don’t know this Michael existed. They only relate to contemporary images.
“The way the media got hold of him and twisted so many things about him ” Cobarr said, “I wanted to let people see what I saw just this nice, gentle soul.”
To see the photos online, visit http://www.fineartmanagementnews.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at 10:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.