Rock photog enlists Rush, Dion

[by-tor]

<a href="http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/03/10/1481818-cp.html" target="_new">http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/03/10/1481818-cp.html</a>

Rock photog enlists Rush, Dion
By ANGELA PACIENZA

TORONTO (CP) - Enlisting the A-list help of Rush, Avril Lavigne and Celine Dion, celebrity photographer Andrew MacNaughtan has set out to continue the goodwill of last year's Live 8 concerts.

The Toronto photographer and art director - who's created album photography for more than 100 projects - has selected more than 60 photos to auction off. The effort is called Art Gives Hope: A Decade of Music Portraits.

"I just loved the whole message of the Make Poverty History campaign and what that represented," he said at the Thursday night launch party at the Monte Clark Gallery, where some of the photos were on display.

Celebs like Dion and Lavigne quickly agreed to allow their photos to be used.

Money raised from the images, which also include shots of Nickelback, Sum 41, Sam Roberts, Billy Talent and the Barenaked Ladies, will go to families living with HIV/AIDS in Africa via World Vision Canada.

Barenaked Ladies's Steven Page applauded MacNaughtan's efforts to rekindle the spirit of Live 8.

"I'm excited to see someone like Andrew still carrying the torch for it and making it something we can keep working with," said Page, whose band autographed a portrait for the event.

That photo, shot at the 2004 Junos in Alanis Morissette's hotel room, features the group in the buff, using only their hands to cover up.

"Those of us that have the opportunity to have a mouth piece, then let's keep talking about it," said Page. "Right now if you look in the newspaper there's a lot of meaningless stuff. A lot of stuff about the inner workings of Parliament and nothing about what we can do to make the world a better place."

Artists will have another chance to continue the message of Live 8 when Toronto hosts the International AIDS Conference next summer.

"Some of us are working away on that to see if we can't get an event linked to (the conference)," said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada.

"A concert of some kind to do something to highlight the artists who are in support of the work with HIV/AIDS. There's an awful lot of momentum still."

The auction closes on March 17. MacNaughtan hopes his photos will raise at least $100,000.

On the Net: <a href="http://artgiveshope.ca" target="_new">artgiveshope.ca</a>