LOU REED is an American Master, a playwright, a poet, and a photographer whose photos have been exhibited worldwide. His third photography book, Romanticism, will be released in 2009. He is the recipient of the Chevalier Commander of Arts and Letters from the French government and numerous other awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a founding member of the legendary Velvet Underground.

In December of 2006 Lou Reed premiered the live staging of his masterwork Berlin at St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York. The performance was filmed by Academy Award nominated director and artist Julian Schnabel.

Reed released his first suite of electronic mediation music, Hudson River Wind Meditations, on the Sounds True label in 2007. In late 2008 Reed released a new album of live electronic music called Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio: The Creation of The Universe, which inspired two extremely well received performances by the MM3 Trio in New York in April of 2009. The CD is available for sale at www.loureed.com/metalmachinetrio.

Currently Reed is working several projects including a collaboration with artist Lorenzo Mattioti, who created a graphic novel based on Lou’s album, The Raven. He is also completing a book of essays on Chen Tai Chi called The Art Of The Straight Line, which is slated for release in 2009. Lou Reed also co-hosts a weekly radio show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio with friend and distinguished producer Hal Willner called “The New York Shuffle”.

Reed has acted in and composed music for films and currently lives in the city of his heart, New York.

RALPH GIBSON studied photography while in the US Navy and then at the San Francisco Art Institute. He began his professional career as an assistant to Dorothea Lange and went on to work with Robert Frank on two films. Gibson has maintained a lifelong fascination with books and book-making. Since the appearance in 1970 of The Somnambulist his work has been steadily impelled towards the printed page.

To date Ralph has produced over 40 monographs, his most recent being State of the Axe, Yale University Press. His photographs are included in over one hundred and fifty museum collections around the world, and have appeared in hundreds of exhibitions. Gibson's awards include fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Leica Medal of Excellence and the Silver Plumb Award from the Landmarks Preservation Committee. He is a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Maryland and Ohio Wesleyan University. In 2007 he received The Lucie Award for Fine Art Photography. He has worked exclusively with the Leica for almost 50 years.

RED SHIRLEY

On the eve of her 100th birthday, Rock musician Lou Reed sat down with his cousin Shirley for a tête-à-tête.

Listen to Lou Reed and Ralph Gibson discuss 'Red Shirley'