He was gyrating his hips long before Joni Mabe transformed black and white portraits of him into colorful, glittery
pop art masterpieces.

Alfred Wertheimer was photographing him one of the first times anyone heard him sing
“Houndog.” While he might be dead, Elvis lives on through art at The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art.

The museum will be celebrating its 6th birthday by taking a look back at the 50s with the focus mainly on Elvis on
Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 and throughout the next month. The “Elvis at 21, New York to Memphis”, exhibition will begin
on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009.

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The exhibition will feature over 40 original photographs of Elvis’s rise to fame at 21 taken by Wertheimer, an
American photographer who became famous from these pieces.

“Wertheimer did not know who Elvis was at this time, nor did anyone else when he started photographing him and was overwhelmed by his grace.” said Dennis Harper, whom is the JCSM’s curator of collections and exhibitions.

“The exhibition gives insight into what the culture was like in the 50s. Elvis was seen without any press or
bodyguards around him,” Harper said.

“Chris Murray, who is one of my good friends, wrote the preface for the book and gave it to my husband and I from
Christmas in 2006. From there, we decided to turn it into an exhibit here at the museum,” said Marilyn Laufer, whom
is the director of the museum.

“The other exhibition will be in the adjacent gallery and will feature work by Joni Mabe. Mabe uses glitter and
sequins with a dash of Andy Warhol influence and graphic design to portray her obsession with American, mainstream pop culture,” Laufer said.

Mabe, the creator of The Panoramic Encyclopedia of Everything Elvis, is an artist who resides Cornelia, Ga., who is
known not only for her iconic artworks of Elvis and Friends but for her collection of over 30,000 Elvis pieces.

Mabe has appeared on MTV and Jay Leno, and while she had done portraits of Hank Williams Jr. and Loretta Lynn, hermain focus is on her obsession with “The King.” Mabe will be discussing her obsession and her artwork on Tuesday, Oct. 13 and Thursday, Oct. 15.

“Not only will the museum have these exhibitions, we will also have Alice Jardine, a professor from Harvard, on
October 27th talking about women’s issues in 1956. We will also have guest speakers talk about American culture,
politics and design in ’56,” Laufer said.

“The Smithsonian will have a traveling exhibition using digital media of these images in January of next year, but
if people want to see the original photos they will be here,” Harper said.

While the celebration of “King size” proportions has already begun with lectures of Elvis’s influences and the
culture of 1956, the birthday party will begin this Sunday, October 11 at 1 p.m. and will last until 4 p.m.

Anyone is the community is invited to partake in this event open for families. There will be refreshments, Elvis
related arts and crafts for the children and a hip shaking contest. Free admission is made possible by the JCSM
business partners, who are businesses in Auburn.

“Everyone is welcomed to come because “The King” will be in the building,” Laufer said.