Billy Adams Among Emmy Winners

"Mural" by Jackson Pollock

 San Fransisco photographer, Billy Adams, son of Bill and Marsha Adams of Sioux City, Ia., celebrated the receipt of an Emmy Award as a member of the production staff of the Iowa Public Broadcasting special "Mural: The Story of a Modern Masterpiece."

The award was for best cultural documentary and was presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Chapter.

Billy Adams

The 58-minute production tells of the creation and exhibition of the late Jackson Pollock's $150 million painting, commissioned by the late arts patron Peggy Guggenheim in 1947.  The television special follows the painting's trans-Atlantic crossing from Venice, Italy, its presentation at the University of Iowa and its ongoing world tour, which included a showing in Sioux City.  The work of art will return to the new University of Iowa's new art museum in 2018.

Billy played a key role on a team of eight photographers in documenting the shipping and mounting process of the artwork, which has been praised as one of the most important artistic accomplishments of the 20th Century.

The show features commentary by art critics and connoisseurs, among them the actor and comedian Steve Martin, and Billy's parents appear briefly among the extras in the Sioux City footage of the video. 

A highly accomplished photographer, Billy is a graduate of the University of Iowa at Iowa City, where he formerly served on the photographic staff.  His work can be viewed at his website, www.billadamsphoto.com.