Shot in the early 1960s when fine art photographer William John Kennedy forged a friendship with both Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol, these images capture the two artists and their soon-to-be iconic works at the seminal point of their careers and the birth of the Pop Art Movement.

After almost half a century in storage, a selection of the nearly forgotten images is now published for the first time as a collection. The exhibition documents a 1960s zeitgeist, with Kennedy’s deft vision narrating a new chapter in the history of Pop Art. Depicting the young artists as both playful and serious—and even prescient of their own future fame—the viewer glimpses a rare moment in time where works such as Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe and Indiana’s LOVE seem like props in a child’s make-believe theatrical production. As history has revealed, Kennedy’s extraordinary ability to foresee the significance that Warhol and Indiana would have on the art world is what makes this collection most compelling.

More profound than just a snapshot of a time in which our cultural and political history was forever altered, Kennedy captured rare moments through his lens which would later become some of the most recognized images across the globe, as exemplified by the photographs of Warhol looking through his Marilyn Monroe acetate and Indiana holding his LOVE painting. In the setting of 1960s America, the exhibition presents a distinct reference point for many emerging and contemporary artists working today.

In conjunction with the exhibition, a short documentary film, Full Circle: Before They Were Famous, will screen at O Cinema (www.o-cinema.org). The 40 minute film, starring William John Kennedy, Robert Indiana, Ultra Violet, Taylor Mead and others, chronicles the journey of Kennedy’s images as they were brought to public view.

Full Circle: Before They Were Famous | O Cinema, 90 NW 29 St., Wynwood Arts District | Thursday | December 1 | 8pm.