In this high-energy retrospective of premier French rock photographer Richard Bellia’s twenty-five years of shooting idols from James Brown to Nirvana and beyond, one experiences the (dis)passion of a man who goes for the jugular—the money shot as some say—and captures his subjects in their most exaggerated and iconic moments of their shticks, or enjoying the rewards of rock ’n’ roll fantasy. Only a Frenchman would have dared to snap the shutter behind a groupie in a tight skirt kneeling as she gives a blow job to Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys, who winces with ecstatic pleasure as Joey Ramone stands behind him like a Praetorian guard, with a bottle of beer in his hand rather than a spear. Whether it is Radiohead being hipper than hip or Marilyn Manson mugging as a transgendered ironical monstrosity, Bellia gives us Baudrillard’s hyper-reality on steroids—the simulation is the standard. (Michael Weinstein)
Complicating the Narrative: A Review of Them at Roots & Culture Featuring a cohesive body of works by Flor, Manal Kara and Caleb Yono, the exhibition is a stunning display of the magic that can happen when fixed ideas about artmaking and identity are thrown out the window.
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