| | | |  | | | | Hayley Williams, Paramore, bei Rock im Park, Nürnberg 2013 © Felix und Günter Pfannmüller | | | ROCK.FUNK.PUNK. | | | | | | | 10 June – 27 August, 2017 | | | | Opening reception: Friday, 9 June, 7pm | | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | Susan Barnett
Pink David Bowie, 2015
from the series "Not in your Face"
© Susan Barnett | | | | | | More than 150 works from ten international photographers make the era of Rock, Funk, and Punk come alive in the Fotografie Forum Frankfurt. The exhibition also features record covers, photographs documenting fashion statements and publications of the time.
Emotions, escapades, excesses: More than 150 photographs, record covers, and fanzines give witness to the attitude surrounding the historic impact of three musical genres reflected in the exhibition’s title ROCK.FUNK.PUNK. at the Fotografie Forum Frankfurt. Featured are works of ten different internationally renowned photographers that have been created since the 1960s until today. The photographs show famous clubs and stages, from the alternative Punk club scene in San Francisco of the 1970s to “Rock am Ring”, the annual open air festival at the Nürburgring. And the images show the protagonists: Visitors can encounter over 100 icons of music history, including Iggy Pop, Janis Joplin, David Bowie, Dead Kennedys, The Rolling Stones, Motörhead, Coldplay, Beth Ditto, Jay Z, Deichkind, Udo Lindenberg, and the Toten Hosen.
The bands and musicians are seen on stage, sometimes in world famous poses, but also backstage, both intimate and immediate. The images show colourful smoke, cheering masses, the glamour and ecstasy of the stars: "These photographs convey the intensity of the music scene", says Celina Lunsford, Artistic Director of the FFF and curator of this show. "And they convey the experience that these musicians offer us: passion and the freedom to live it."
The images of ROCK.FUNK.PUNK. go into your ear and under your skin: The works leave a lasting impression through their extreme emotion and dense atmosphere. The ecstasy of the stage, the screaming groupies, the passion of the fans as well as the vulnerability and fragility behind the glamourous façade become tangible. The raw, intuitive imperfection of Punk is illustrated by fanzine publications. Part of the photographs are printed on billboard paper and plastered directly on to the wall in homage to the self-made Punk posters found on fences and house walls. Additionally, the exhibition offers a selection of record covers from private collections. And of course, music. | | | | | |  | | | Stanley Greene
Freddy Fox lead singer of The Mutants at the Deaf Club on Valencia Street in 1979
from the series "The Western Front"
© Stanley Greene / NOOR | | | | | | The ten photographers of the exhibition ROCK.FUNK.PUNK. vary in style, and aesthetics. At the same time, the images allow the visitor to recognise who the photographers were, what they were interested in and what they wanted to capture in their images.
Stanley Greene who recently passed away on 19 May 2017 at the age of 68 ventured to the San Francisco Art Institute after his photography studies in New York, right into the heart of the just emerging Punk scene. Greene, who showed political engagement at an early age, was fascinated by the novelty of this protest movement. "This white noise, it just grabbed me and wouldn’t let me loose", said the founder of the photo agency NOOR in his book "The Western Front" (2013). His images presented in ROCK.FUNK.PUNK. reveal the conglomeration of art, music and performance that characterised Punk and its provocative nature. "It was most of all Stanley Greene’s work that inspired me to put together this exhibition", says Celina Lunsford.
With a feeling for the moment the German photographer Barbara Klemm captured the "most crazy concert" of her life as a young photographer working for the German national newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), when Janis Joplin practically gave two concerts on stage in one night – out of love for her fans and her tequila. Klemm photographed a great number of world famous rock stars during concerts in Frankfurt in the 1970s and 80s, including Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, and Joe Cocker. She also documented the nightlife of the legendary Frankfurt clubs "Dorian Gray" and "Omen".
The vintage photographs of the Dutch photographer Gijsbert Hanekroot were created before the commercialisation of the music industry without barriers and bodyguards or stage fencing. Hanekroot’s studio shots, concert images, and black-and-white portraits of Frank Zappa, David Bowie or Neil Young fascinate the public through their directness and great close-ups of the stars. | | | | | |  | | | Derek Ridgers
Shelley, Chelsea, 1982
© Derek Ridgers | | | | | | Additionally, ROCK.FUNK.PUNK. presents two very different long term band series. The Spanish photographer Pep Bonet, member of the photography agency NOOR (Amsterdam), was commissioned to accompany a band of his choice with his camera – this gave him the opportunity to travel with his long-time favourite band Motörhead on the road with their world tours. The Frankfurt photographers Günter & Felix Pfannmüller were commissioned by the concert agency Lieberberg to continually document the German festival "Rock am Ring", which they organise. Since 2009, the father and son Pfannmüller have captured hundreds of bands, ten thousands of fans, and the day-to-day life behind the scenes of the world famous spectacle in photos and the book "25 Jahre Rock am Ring" (2011). Their works convey the enthusiasm of the musicians, the audience – and no less, that of the two photographers.
How much Rock, Funk, and Punk have also influenced clothing styles and identity of fans is exemplified by the works of the US-American photographer Susan Barnett. Her photos show fashion statements of music fans: textile affirmations to their idols and the world of the stage worn on the backs of their T-shirts. Photographer Michael L. Abramson spent his nights in Chicago’s Blues, R&B and Funk clubs and documented the scene of Chicago’s South Side with images of dancers, singers, and their fashion. With his book "London Youth 1978–87" the British photographer Derek Ridgers is considered as the most significant chronicler of Punk and its stylistic impact on the youth of Great Britain. His own successful fashion photography is deeply influenced by the Punk era.
Two luminous figures of Rock complete the FFF exhibition: John Lennon, portrayed by his friend Bob Gruen, and Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, immortalised by the photographic all-rounder Anton Corbijn. | | | | | |  | | | Barbara Klemm
Tina Turner, Frankfurt, 1971
© Barbara Klemm | | | | | | CURATOR’S TOUR with Celina Lunsford, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt [in German]: Jul 23, Aug 06 and 20, each sunday, 3 pm
SPECIAL EVENTS:
June 10, 3 pm: GALLERY TALK
Celina Lunsford walks through the exhibition with artists of ROCK.FUNK.PUNK., FFF [in Englisch]
June 30, 6 pm TALK »MOVING STILLS«
with NOOR photographer Pep Bonet, FFF [in English]
July 01/02, 10 am–6 pm: WORKSHOP »MIXED MEDIAS AND LONG TERM DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS« with NOOR photographer Pep Bonet, FFF [in English] | | | | | | unsubscribe here
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