Legendary Photographers Bob Gruen + Leee Black Childers, by Eddy Atlantis on Jun 29, 2022 12:54:48 GMT 1, Hey All, Currently helping put this next exhibition together. Let me know if you would like to attend or purchase any works:
D’Stassi Art is pleased to present Legendary Moments, an exhibition of work by rock photographers Bob Gruen and Leee Black Childers. The gallery welcomes Stephen Colegrave, author of the definitive text, Punk – A Life Apart (2010), as curator of this historic show. Iconic and never-before-seen images will chronicle the vibrant scene of 1970s punk music and culture from London to downtown New York. From each of their unique perspectives, Gruen and Childers captured the raw intensity and excitement in an era of possibility, where stardom felt within reach of anyone and everyone. In keeping with the continuously evolving spirit of the movement, D’Stassi has invited several contemporary artists to freely reinterpret the featured photographs by Childers, creating fresh dialogues between the original, legendary figures and the newest generation of renegades. Legendary Moments will be on view at D’Stassi Art from July 29 through August 19, 2022. - RSVP - info@dstassiart.com
The exhibition presents photography by Gruen and Childers, whose works collectively represent the best record of the changing music scene of the 1970s, and the underground worlds of Downtown New York and London. Gruen and Childers, themselves deeply embedded within the communities they photographed, documented a pivotal era in music when the industry’s focus shifted from established stars like Elvis Presley and John Lennon, to up-and-coming punk bands like the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols. The intimacy and authenticity of the photographs in Legendary Moments offer a rare glimpse into the real lives of larger-than-life figures, from behind the viewpoints of those who knew them best. Colegrave’s curation celebrates the spectacle of fame while shining light upon the real people beneath its veneer. The independent energy of the time was epitomized by these innovators, creators, and disrupters, who have assumed cult status in the popular mythology of the late 20th century. Legendary Moments is the first major exhibition of Gruen’s work in the UK since 2014, and the release at D’Stassi marks his first ever UK limited edition. In addition to these iconic prints, Gruen has collaborated with the renowned printmaker Gary Lichtenstein on a new series of original screenprints. These works will be printed digitally on canvas for the exhibition, adding new dimension and texture to Gruen’s storied images. Among these photographs are shots of Andy Warhol’s Factory, haunting portraits of Alice Cooper and Salvador Dali, and a selection of snapshots that span the early New York scene with the New York Dolls and the Ramones, and ending with the UK bands The Clash and the Sex Pistols. Gorgeous photos of the 70s icon Debbie Harry are interspersed throughout, along with photos of John Lennon, who was close to Gruen when he lived in New York in 1971. Many of Childers’ photographs will be unveiled for the first time, thanks to the ambitious undertaking of Colegrave and Smutty Smith who searched through thousands of film negatives in the late artist’s Texas home. Together, they scanned and restored the 45-year-old negatives, and selected the best works to debut at D’Stassi; these include rare images of Debbie Harry before she was blondie, a very young Michael Jackson on the drums with the Jackson Five, the only shots in existence of the Sex Pistols on stage in Manchester and Leeds during their notorious “Anarchy” tour, and amazing pictures of Elvis Presley at the International Hilton press conference before his Vegas show in 1972. Legendary Moments will also feature some of Childers’ best-known images of David Bowie and Iggy Pop. D’Stassi Art has partnered with the premier fine art photography printer Bayeux to bring this remarkable collection to life.
 About Bob Gruen Bob Gruen is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in rock and roll. From John Lennon to Johnny Rotten; Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones; Elvis to Madonna; Bob Dylan to Bob Marley; Tina Turner to Debbie Harry, he has captured the music scene for over forty years in photographs that have gained worldwide recognition. Shortly after John Lennon moved to New York in 1971, Bob became John and Yoko’s personal photographer and friend, making photos of their working life as well as private moments. In 1974 he created the iconic images of John Lennon wearing a New York City t-shirt and standing in front of the Statue of Liberty making the peace sign – two of the most popular of Lennon’s images. As chief photographer for Rock Scene Magazine in the ’70s, Bob specialized in candid, behind-the-scenes photo features. He toured extensively with the emerging punk and new wave bands including the New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Clash, Ramones, Patti Smith Group, and Blondie. Bob has also worked with major rock acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Elton John, Aerosmith, Kiss, and Alice Cooper. In 1989, he documented the epic trip to Russia of the “Moscow Music Peace Festival” featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, and Bon Jovi. For many years Bob was the official photographer for the New Music Seminar held in New York City, covering dozens of aspiring new bands in the course of a summer week. This seminal body of work reflects a profound commitment and long-standing personal friendship with the artists. His wealth of personal experiences and uncanny memory provide the most illuminating and comprehensive histories of rock youth culture. “All Dolled Up,” a DVD documentary made by Bob Gruen and Nadya Beck of their early ’70s video footage of the New York Dolls, was released in 2005 with a follow-up DVD, “Lookin’ Fine On Television” released in 2011. In the spring of 2007 FAAP University in Sao Paulo, Brazil presented an exhibition of Bob Gruen’s work. Titled ROCKERS, the exhibition attracted 40,000 visitors. The ROCKERS exhibition was also shown from April to July 2008 at Morrison Hotel Gallery on the Bowery in New York City. Bob’s “Sid Vicious with Hot Dog” photo was acquired by The National Portrait Gallery, London, in 1999 for their permanent collection. The Experience Music Project, Seattle, acquired his “Clash Live in Boston”, “Tina Turner Multiple Image”, and “Bloody Sid Vicious” photos for their permanent collection in March 2012. In 2011 award-winning director Don Letts made a feature-length film titled ‘Rock & Roll Exposed – the Photography of Bob Gruen’ including interviews with Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Alice Cooper, Yoko Ono, Billie Joe Armstrong, and many more. Bob was presented in June 2004 with MOJO Magazine’s prestigious Honours List Award for Classic Image in London and in November 2010 he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. For his many charitable contributions, Bob received the first ever John Lennon Real Love Award in December 2014 at the 32nd Annual John Lennon Tribute Concert. More recently he has also photographed Green Day’s tour of Europe, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Jesse Malin, Ryan Adams, Courtney Love, The Strypes, and other new popular acts. About Leee Black Childers Native Kentuckian Leee Black Childers was stage manager and official photographer for “Pork,” and an essential character of New York’s underground of the late-1960s and ’70s. He stage-managed Jackie Curtis’s play “Femme Fatale” at La MaMa ETC in 1970, “World Birth of a Nation” by Wayne County, and “Pork” at both La MaMa in New York and the Roundhouse in London, all directed by Anthony Ingrassia. Leee became David Bowie’s official tour photographer for “Ziggy Stardust,” and spent a season in the Hollywood Hills house-sitting Iggy Pop and the Stooges. In addition to the Factory and Max’s, Leee was a regular at CBGB. He managed punks Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers and rockabilly revivalists Levi and the Rockats. Leee’s documentary photos of “Pork” were shown at the Warhol Museum in the exhibition “Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Warhol’s Work” in 2009. His photographs of the punk scene have been shown worldwide. A book on his work, “Drag Queens, Rent Boys, Pick Pockets, Junkies, Rockstars & Punks,” was published in 2012.
Should be a really good one! More images, interviews, videos to follow. Guest list for the launch party is now open!
Best,
E
Hey All, Currently helping put this next exhibition together. Let me know if you would like to attend or purchase any works:
D’Stassi Art is pleased to present Legendary Moments, an exhibition of work by rock photographers Bob Gruen and Leee Black Childers. The gallery welcomes Stephen Colegrave, author of the definitive text, Punk – A Life Apart (2010), as curator of this historic show. Iconic and never-before-seen images will chronicle the vibrant scene of 1970s punk music and culture from London to downtown New York. From each of their unique perspectives, Gruen and Childers captured the raw intensity and excitement in an era of possibility, where stardom felt within reach of anyone and everyone. In keeping with the continuously evolving spirit of the movement, D’Stassi has invited several contemporary artists to freely reinterpret the featured photographs by Childers, creating fresh dialogues between the original, legendary figures and the newest generation of renegades. Legendary Moments will be on view at D’Stassi Art from July 29 through August 19, 2022. - RSVP - info@dstassiart.com
The exhibition presents photography by Gruen and Childers, whose works collectively represent the best record of the changing music scene of the 1970s, and the underground worlds of Downtown New York and London. Gruen and Childers, themselves deeply embedded within the communities they photographed, documented a pivotal era in music when the industry’s focus shifted from established stars like Elvis Presley and John Lennon, to up-and-coming punk bands like the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols. The intimacy and authenticity of the photographs in Legendary Moments offer a rare glimpse into the real lives of larger-than-life figures, from behind the viewpoints of those who knew them best. Colegrave’s curation celebrates the spectacle of fame while shining light upon the real people beneath its veneer. The independent energy of the time was epitomized by these innovators, creators, and disrupters, who have assumed cult status in the popular mythology of the late 20th century. Legendary Moments is the first major exhibition of Gruen’s work in the UK since 2014, and the release at D’Stassi marks his first ever UK limited edition. In addition to these iconic prints, Gruen has collaborated with the renowned printmaker Gary Lichtenstein on a new series of original screenprints. These works will be printed digitally on canvas for the exhibition, adding new dimension and texture to Gruen’s storied images. Among these photographs are shots of Andy Warhol’s Factory, haunting portraits of Alice Cooper and Salvador Dali, and a selection of snapshots that span the early New York scene with the New York Dolls and the Ramones, and ending with the UK bands The Clash and the Sex Pistols. Gorgeous photos of the 70s icon Debbie Harry are interspersed throughout, along with photos of John Lennon, who was close to Gruen when he lived in New York in 1971. Many of Childers’ photographs will be unveiled for the first time, thanks to the ambitious undertaking of Colegrave and Smutty Smith who searched through thousands of film negatives in the late artist’s Texas home. Together, they scanned and restored the 45-year-old negatives, and selected the best works to debut at D’Stassi; these include rare images of Debbie Harry before she was blondie, a very young Michael Jackson on the drums with the Jackson Five, the only shots in existence of the Sex Pistols on stage in Manchester and Leeds during their notorious “Anarchy” tour, and amazing pictures of Elvis Presley at the International Hilton press conference before his Vegas show in 1972. Legendary Moments will also feature some of Childers’ best-known images of David Bowie and Iggy Pop. D’Stassi Art has partnered with the premier fine art photography printer Bayeux to bring this remarkable collection to life.
About Bob Gruen Bob Gruen is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in rock and roll. From John Lennon to Johnny Rotten; Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones; Elvis to Madonna; Bob Dylan to Bob Marley; Tina Turner to Debbie Harry, he has captured the music scene for over forty years in photographs that have gained worldwide recognition. Shortly after John Lennon moved to New York in 1971, Bob became John and Yoko’s personal photographer and friend, making photos of their working life as well as private moments. In 1974 he created the iconic images of John Lennon wearing a New York City t-shirt and standing in front of the Statue of Liberty making the peace sign – two of the most popular of Lennon’s images. As chief photographer for Rock Scene Magazine in the ’70s, Bob specialized in candid, behind-the-scenes photo features. He toured extensively with the emerging punk and new wave bands including the New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Clash, Ramones, Patti Smith Group, and Blondie. Bob has also worked with major rock acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Elton John, Aerosmith, Kiss, and Alice Cooper. In 1989, he documented the epic trip to Russia of the “Moscow Music Peace Festival” featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, and Bon Jovi. For many years Bob was the official photographer for the New Music Seminar held in New York City, covering dozens of aspiring new bands in the course of a summer week. This seminal body of work reflects a profound commitment and long-standing personal friendship with the artists. His wealth of personal experiences and uncanny memory provide the most illuminating and comprehensive histories of rock youth culture. “All Dolled Up,” a DVD documentary made by Bob Gruen and Nadya Beck of their early ’70s video footage of the New York Dolls, was released in 2005 with a follow-up DVD, “Lookin’ Fine On Television” released in 2011. In the spring of 2007 FAAP University in Sao Paulo, Brazil presented an exhibition of Bob Gruen’s work. Titled ROCKERS, the exhibition attracted 40,000 visitors. The ROCKERS exhibition was also shown from April to July 2008 at Morrison Hotel Gallery on the Bowery in New York City. Bob’s “Sid Vicious with Hot Dog” photo was acquired by The National Portrait Gallery, London, in 1999 for their permanent collection. The Experience Music Project, Seattle, acquired his “Clash Live in Boston”, “Tina Turner Multiple Image”, and “Bloody Sid Vicious” photos for their permanent collection in March 2012. In 2011 award-winning director Don Letts made a feature-length film titled ‘Rock & Roll Exposed – the Photography of Bob Gruen’ including interviews with Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Alice Cooper, Yoko Ono, Billie Joe Armstrong, and many more. Bob was presented in June 2004 with MOJO Magazine’s prestigious Honours List Award for Classic Image in London and in November 2010 he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. For his many charitable contributions, Bob received the first ever John Lennon Real Love Award in December 2014 at the 32nd Annual John Lennon Tribute Concert. More recently he has also photographed Green Day’s tour of Europe, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Jesse Malin, Ryan Adams, Courtney Love, The Strypes, and other new popular acts. About Leee Black Childers Native Kentuckian Leee Black Childers was stage manager and official photographer for “Pork,” and an essential character of New York’s underground of the late-1960s and ’70s. He stage-managed Jackie Curtis’s play “Femme Fatale” at La MaMa ETC in 1970, “World Birth of a Nation” by Wayne County, and “Pork” at both La MaMa in New York and the Roundhouse in London, all directed by Anthony Ingrassia. Leee became David Bowie’s official tour photographer for “Ziggy Stardust,” and spent a season in the Hollywood Hills house-sitting Iggy Pop and the Stooges. In addition to the Factory and Max’s, Leee was a regular at CBGB. He managed punks Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers and rockabilly revivalists Levi and the Rockats. Leee’s documentary photos of “Pork” were shown at the Warhol Museum in the exhibition “Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Warhol’s Work” in 2009. His photographs of the punk scene have been shown worldwide. A book on his work, “Drag Queens, Rent Boys, Pick Pockets, Junkies, Rockstars & Punks,” was published in 2012.
Should be a really good one! More images, interviews, videos to follow. Guest list for the launch party is now open!
Best,
E |
