The Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York City is proud to house a snapshot of the visually and emotionally stirring work of Jonathan Rach from this Friday, February 21 through this Sunday, February 23. It is a must-see artistic excursion for rockers and rollers alike presented by Behind the Gallery. It will also make its way to Los Angeles for another display of legendary underground aesthetics from March 6 to March 9.
Prolific award-winning photographer and documentarian Jonathan Rach has come full circle. Over the years, he has recorded footage and taken photos of David Bowie, Janet Jackson, and Guns N’ Roses, but no artist or band as much as Nine Inch Nails. Jonathan Rach’s collaborations with the beloved industrial act through mesmerizing photography and trend-setting filmmaking put him on the map, but on the map he has stayed. His talents go above and beyond what any visual artist has in mind, and he keeps on pushing for his work to be recognized and globally influential, even through stage design.
The Aquarian’s Robert Frezza spoke with Rach about his upcoming photo exhibition on Nine Inch Nails, his acclaimed documentary about the band, and what it was like to relocate from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles as an artist.
When did you notice you had the knack for photography? While growing up in Pittsburgh?
It’s an interesting situation. I was out on the road with Trent Reznor where I was filming a documentary Closure. Photographer, director, and video director Anton Corbijn (known for his work with U2 and Depeche Mode among others) came out on the road to do a magazine cover. He said to me, “Are you taking photographs, too? Might as well pick up a camera and start shooting.” That was my introduction to photography.
Your first break was with Nine Inch Nails?
I was working for a concert promoter in Pittsburgh, and they trusted me in the dressing room. I was a PA while I was going to college. I worked with Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. I decided to go to Los Angeles to get into computer animation back in 1991. Me and my girlfriend went into a secondhand record store to sell all of our CDs and they ended up hiring me at the record store. I ended up working there for a year’s time. A woman kept on coming in to buy promotional CDs and we started talking; she said she ran the building behind the record store, a rehearsal and recording studio. She was looking for a night manager, but she didn’t tell me who the clients were. Turns out, when I got there, Paul McCartney was recording in one room and Neil Young was in another room recording his album. It was unbelievable. Then Nine Inch Nails came in – me and Trent Reznor hit it off. We were both from small towns in Pennsylvania.
When I was at school in Pittsburgh, I studied a bit on stage design. I wanted to put together a sketch for Trent as I knew they were getting ready for the Self Destruct Tour. He studied it and looked at it. I was so naïve at the time with the materials to use. His management called me and said, “Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails would like to use your stage design.” Trent then invited me to come out on the tour, grab a video camera, and capture what the tour is going to do. He said my life is going to be disrupted. I looked at the itinerary going to Paris, Germany, London, and I immediately said yes.
Photos by Jonathan Rach
Is there any different techniques you picked up along the way with photography and filming the band?
The reason why Trent and I got a long so well is because we had a similar sensibility. I wanted to be the fly on the wall for the documentary. I wanted to be incognito and sacrifice a little bit of quality just to exist so no one knows that I’m there. That played into the NIN camp because Trent always wanted to backpedal from the glossy look. I wasn’t going to have light packages and boom guys at all. As a result, the footage or that aesthetic fell into the NIN look.
Was it more difficult to capture the band on stage versus backstage?
They both felt the same. We were all friends and living with each other for years. They just forgot I had a camera in my hand.
A cool moment was when Lou Reed wanted to come backstage and say hello. He was gushing over Trent’s performance. I literally put my camera away and then got it out again.
What was the editing process like for Closure?
You’re talking about 500 or 600 hours of footage that you have to get down into 90 minutes. I spent months down in New Orleans going through footage. I just remembered the highlights and put those Lou Reed backstage memories – and David Bowie moments when we met him – all in there. I wanted to try to get the footage on an emotional timeline, as well.
The tour was intense from the ferocious energy from clubs to theaters to arenas, and let’s not forget about Woodstock.
NIN was an underground popularity as grunge was popular at the time. It was almost like an alternative or counterculture at the time. It was an impressive tour.
What does Trent Reznor think of the work that you’ve done with him?
We weren’t check and balancing each other. When he saw my first rough edit of Closure, he watched it and said, “I see where you are going,” and truly left it up to me. He was very satisfied with my work.
We recently had a conversation about these photographs getting all this attention. I said to him, “I had a great subject on stage and was lucky.” He replied and said, “You captured that! It was you.”
The NIN Photo Exhibit is getting rave reviews from Australia to the UK to Japan. How did this even come to fruition?
Great question. At the end of that tour, I had all these photographs, so 25 years later during COVID, I was at my mother’s house and found all these photos. I told Trent that I wanted to go to the Morrison Hotel Gallery with them. I put up a couple online and they eventually wanted to do a pop-up gallery. Trent loved the idea that the fans of Nine Inch Nails are gathering in a community space and appreciating the art.
FOR MORE ON THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL PHOTO EXHIBIT BY JONATHAN RACH COMING TO NYC THIS WEEKEND, CLICK HERE!
