My friend Michael Malone and I went to the Artist Reception for the Roberta Bayley curated “Just Chaos: Images Of Early Punk Style” and ran into some old icons and acquaintances, though a couple of Generations too early for Malone who is here to quench his thirst for 1970s and 1980s rock and roll.
Wandering around the reception,which overflowed from Marc Jacobs very lovely Lower West Side Bleeker Street corner Bookmarc onto the cobblestones surrounding it, it was something of a thrill to see so many of the photographers who filled the publications from the Soho News to the East Village Eye to New York Rocker. 11 of the 13 photographers showed, with Bob Gruen making an appearance after we left.
I am not a nostalgist but I was really happy to see that whatever spirit enthused rock in the late 1970s hadn’t much disappeared. Somewhere between a collegiate mutual admiration society and a class reunion, the years have actually worn on these artists pretty damn well.
Roberta Bayley herself looked spectacularly hip, explaining to me how the exhibition was something of a response to the Met’s Chaos To Couture, wanting to show the multi-faceted visions of punk as opposed to the high fashion ripped and torn world of the Met. Malone was at the Met press preview and promises to write it up at some point but the feeling at 400 Bleeker is too much couture and not enough chaos.
Black and white and sepia were the film stock of choice and these pictures are thrilling reminders of an aliveness that seems to have disappeared over the years now that everybody has a camera on their phone and it we are overloaded by images. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but spontaneity takes time and patience, it takes being there and Bruno Mars picking his nose is not being there. But here is Townshend and Weller and along with this feeling of a sound suspended between generations, an admiration is captured perfectly. Weller looks like Jimmy in Quadrophenia but a mutation later. The picture dates from 1980 and is by Janette Beckman.
The Village in the 1970s was not yet gentrified and the rock and roll style of choice was black leather jackets, white tees and leather jeans, ripped to taste, it is still the ultimately fashion statement for rebels young and old and here the pictures Bayley has chosen capture the style as it is modified from zips to clips to cheetah pants and new wave dayglo thin ties and looking sharp.
Deborah Frost was there, always friendly and a pleasure to speak to. I said hello to Richard Grabel, formerly of the NME, now a lawyer and sometime Sleater Kinney attorney, Marcia Reznick who was friends with Richard Fantina and who I visited in her loft once though she, kinda obviously, didn’t remember, Malone high fived Leee Black Childers, the former New York Dolls and 60s and 70s photographer behind the “Drag Queens And Junkies” exhibition. And Juan Xavier promises some live shows this summer and has the album more or less mastered.
I said two other photographers were missing in action. I got this comment from Joe Stevens last night: “Cant make it to Bleeker Street tonight have a movie wrap party to attend in Boston. Didja see Roberta and Legs on that Huffington blog? Racy stuff if you ask me.Seen videos of the pictures in the JUST CHAOS show.Beats by a long shot some of the swanky rubbish traipsing about uptown at The Met. Hope some swanky downtown bugger coughs up shekles for my Katey-Chrissie picture. All the best,Joe Stevens”
The other person missing was Chris Stein. But his wife decided to represent! When I mentioned the gig last year at Highline was excellent, Debbie Harry said “I got ticketed for that”. I am not really certain what that means… Still, it was great to see the pop icon of all time.
Now buy Stevens picture.