Exhibition Statement

 Masure Gallery is thrilled to present the VIP preview of the photobook Songs Without Words by film photographer & classical guitarist Jacob Johnson. Songs Without Words is a body of work featuring musical images and seemingly non-musical photos which capture some element of music. Select darkroom prints will be exhibited at the release curated by Simone Fischer. 

Harmony and proportion are common to compositions in both music and photography, and a photo may have a sense of rhythm, lyricism, and perhaps even timbre. Songs Without Words is best understood as the first movement of a visual symphony, as the sequencing and layout of the book are rooted in Sonata-Allegro form. The formal analysis of the Songs Without Words visual sonata is as follows: Double Exposition, Development, Recapitulation, and finally a Coda. The Coda section is called 'For Absent Friends'-- a collection of photos of empty and silent performance spaces which is dedicated to our teachers, mentors, and colleagues who have passed. 

The musical element of the project will be a new EP of solo classical guitar music roughly 20 minutes in duration, including selections from the second of J.S. Bach's Suites for Unaccompanied 'Cello (BWV 1008), among other works performed on a guitar built in Vienna circa 1830 by an unknown luthier.  

The Book and EP for Songs Without Words are limited to 100 signed copies, and will be released on 6-21-26, and all book orders will include a download code for the EP. Preorders before 6-1-26 are $35, and supporters before 5-1-26 will be included in the acknowledgments section of the book.