Thursday, September 18, 2014

A Show of Stevie Nicks Portraits by Stevie Nicks Opens in NYC - October


By ALLAN KOZINN 
New York Times

The Morrison Hotel Gallery, which specializes in music photography – not only photographs of musicians, but also photography by musicians – will present a show of self-portraits by Stevie Nicks from between 1975 and 1987. The pictures for the show were selected by Dave Stewart, the Eurythmics guitarist, who co-produced her “In Your Dreams” album.

The show, called “24 K Gold” – also the name of Ms. Nicks’s new album (a version of which will come with a book of Ms. Nicks’s photographs) – is devoted entirely to selfies taken in the wee hours of the night, both at home and on tour, using Polaroid cameras.

Why self-portraits?

“I wanted to learn how to become a photographer,” Ms. Nicks said in comments forwarded by her spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg. “And I don’t sleep at night, so I thought, who am I going to ask to stay up all night, and then do a show tomorrow? So I’m not going to get Christine,” she said, referring to Christine McVie, her colleague in Fleetwood Mac. “She’s going to say, ‘Are you crazy? I’m going to the bar. Bye.’”

In search of variety, Ms. Nicks used props and costumes, often tinkering with lighting and placement through the night. “I did everything,” she said. “I was the stylist, the makeup artist, the furniture mover, the lighting director — it was my joy. I was the model.”

She continued taking self-portraits for more than a decade, until, as she put it, “the Polaroids were just almost impossible to use, because there was just no more film and they all broke down.”

The pictures have not been exhibited before. Mostly, Ms. Nicks said, they were stored in shoe boxes, where she filed them soon after taking them.

The exhibition will be at 201 Mulberry Street on Oct. 10 and 11, and will move to the Morrison Hotel Gallery at 116 Prince Street on Oct. 13, where it will run for the rest of October.

The exhibit will also be displayed in Los Angeles from October 10th through 21st at the Morrison Hotel Gallery @ Sunset Marquis Hotel

NYC Exhibition 
October 10th & 11th, 2014
Morrison Hotel Gallery @ 201 Mulberry Street
11am - 7 pm

October 12th - 31st, 2014
Morrison Hotel Gallery SoHo, NYC @ 116 Prince Street, Second Floor
M-Sat: 11-7pm
Sunday: 12-6pm

LA Exhibition
October 10-21, 2014
Morrison Hotel Gallery @ Sunset Marquis Hotel
1200 Alta Loma Road
West Hollywood, CA 90069

M-Wed: 11am - 8pm
Thu-Sat: 10am - 11pm

Sun: 11am - 7pm

PURCHASE ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINTS HAND SIGNED/NUMBERED BY STEVIE
Beginning in the mid-seventies, Stevie Nicks took a series of Polaroid self-portraits in her home as well as hotel rooms around the world while on tour. Earlier this year, during the recording of her new solo album 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault, she decided to share these never-before-seen self portraits. Each one of these archival pigment prints is hand-signed and numbered by Stevie Nicks.

"Some people don't sleep at night - I am one of those people. These pictures were taken long after everyone had gone to bed - I would begin after midnight and go until 4 or 5 in the morning. I stopped at sunrise - like a vampire... I never really thought anyone would ever see these pictures, they went into shoeboxes, where they remained. I did everything - I was the stylist, the makeup artist, the furniture mover, the lighting director. It was my joy - I was the model..."


- Stevie Nicks

Morrison Hotel Galler










STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Screw 24Karat! This is absolutely fantastic! Stevie has surprised me and excited me. These are amazing photos, warts-and-all narcissism be damned! The last photo shows you what Stevie saw before rehab - a woman near death. I love this! It's gutsy and brave and original - Stevie at her best!!!

Anonymous said...

If you go on the hotel's website, you can see all of the portraits. This is really a great thing that Stevie is doing. If it weren't for Dave Steward's encouragement and most importantly, his belief in Stevie, none of this would be happening. There is more to Stevie than Fleetwood Mac. I sincerely hope that this CD goes to number 1 on the charts.

Kym Condon said...

Wow, I am heading to New York just to see the concert, unfortunately I fly out before this exhibit starts. I would give anything to see it and meet her.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry but for the most part, these pictures are absolutely horrific. They show Stevie at her absolute worst and, quite frankly, I'm surprised she ever let most of them see the light of day. I guess her own hatred of her past seems to be softening some. The bottom photo on the right is simply troubling to look at. I am yet to see a decent photo come out related to 24 Karat Gold. None of them show the truly beautiful side of Stevie they just show the drugged out and barely there Stevie. I don't see this as being gutsy, brave or original. I'm sure there were better choices in all the pictures she has taken of herself and that have been taken of her throughout the years this record spans. Her poor choices on this project just keep coming.

John Seger said...

Horrific? The only photo that is horrific is the last one, which shows her obviously strung-out. The others are beautiful. Seriously beautiful. I think she released the one bad one to show how close to death she was

ScottD said...

Even the so-called "bad one" could simply be a matter of the lighting and her eye makeup! I love the photos and certainly don't consider this another "poor choice on this project."

Anonymous said...

I think it was absolutely intentional on Stevie's part to release Polaroid photos of herself that may "look" less-than-flattering, and certainly not Herbert Worthington worthy. But as she did in the Enchanted boxed set, she released some different Polaroids that show her not at her best. But she wanted us to see them. As for the last photo.....I think the eye makeup does a lot of enhance that "not-well" look for her. Remember, at one time she was getting thinner and thinner "And your face becomes thin....and so the woman disappears...". But as she says on "Nightbird"...'same circles around my eyes....."

LilKittie said...

I've stayed at the Morisson hotel, but I somehow missed the gallery. I believe it isn't listed on their website at all. Anyways, I hope that I'll be able to get a deal for my stay there again and I'll make sure to take a good look. Thanks for the great advice!

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