I went to the First Saturday event at the Brooklyn Museum earlier this month with what felt like at least half the population of Brooklyn. It was insanely packed! With good reason, the Brooklyn Museum always plans a fun-filled night for visitors of all ages every first Saturday of the month free of charge. To properly inaugurate its terrific, new exhibition, Who Shot Rock & Roll, the museum scheduled a handful of local indie bands (including Crystal Stilts) to play, screened the cheese-tastic movie Purple Rain, and planned a dance party (which I believe they have every month).
The exhibit Who Shot Rock & Roll is really great, though unfortunately there were so many people at the museum that night, it was really difficult to get up close to the photographs and read the info cards. I wasn't able to snap pics or even take notes (it was that packed!) so I unfortunately can't provide too much detail here. The show's curator, Gail Buckland, did an impressive job of collecting images of a variety of music stars from various generations and genres. The exhibit is divided into six parts: photos of artists early in their careers; behind-the-scenes images; concert/performance photos; pictures of crowds and fans/ groupies; portraits; and conceptual images/album covers.
A gigantic, color photo of David Lee Roth oddly and unexpectedly greets you to the show. Then, more appropriately, it begins with a series of photos of a young Elvis Presley. Images of other musical pioneers included the infamous pic of Johnny Cash giving the finger; several images of the Rolling Stones; Bob Gruen's famous shot of John Lennon and the New York City skyline as well as stunning portraits of each of the Beatles shot by Richard Avedon; Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix; Jim Morrison; and a hole corner devoted to (I feel unfairly) Bob Dylan. There was one terrific, large-scale collage of Michael Jackson and a couple of great shots of Tina Turner in action, a reminder of how photogenic and charismatic she is.
Some of my favorite pics featured bands I grew up listening to (I know I'm dating myself here) like The Clash, Blondie, B-52s, Queen, Talking Heads, The Police, and Joy Division. There was a print of Pennie Smith's iconic shot of The Clash bassist, Paul Simonon, smashing his guitar as seen on the cover of London Calling, as well as a number of other wonderful shots she took of the band (particularly Joe Strummer). Other bands featured from around this period include, The Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, The Sex Pistols, Bow Wow Wow, The Ramones, and Kiss.The section featuring fan shots included a shot by Ryan McGinley of Morrissey's always reverent audience; an amusing shot of rabid Morrissey fans tearing up one of the performer's shirts; big-haired New Kids on the Block fans waiting anxiously for the band; and an Andreas Gursky shot of a Los Angeles Madonna concert where the singer is dwarfed by her thousands of fans (Madonna is also featured in shots from the 80's taken by Marisol).
One small room is devoted to iconic images of Grace Jones shot by Jean-Paul Goude. Anton Corbin's portrait of U2 for the cover of Joshua Tree is featured and Stephane Sednaoui's lively video for Bjork's Big Time Sensuality is screened on a loop. Surprisingly, there is only one shot of Kurt Cobain, a backstage photo of the singer looking forlorn, and one pic of Courtney Love during her "Kinder Whore" days. There's also a black-and-white shot of Radiohead with the band looking typically somber.
For the youngins, more contemporary artists include a small wall devoted to hip-hop legends including Jaz-Z, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Other shots of more recent performers include Amy Winehouse, MIA, and the White Stripes. Who Shot Rock & Roll is a fun exhibit that shows the pivotal role the photographer plays in creating and selling a musician's "image". Learn more at brooklynmuseum.com. Through January 31, 2010.
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