TOO FAST TO LIVE, TOO YOUNG TO DIE at Subliminal Projects

TOO FAST TO LIVE, TOO YOUNG TO DIE
Selections from California Punk
February 25 – March 26, 2011

Opening Reception:
Friday, Feb 25th 2011 / 7 – 11 p.m.
Musical performance by OFF! and the Nichemakers at 9pm
Tickets available for in Gallery Purchase starting Feb 21st /$5 CASH ONLY

FEATURING WORK BY EDWARD COLVER, SHEPARD FAIREY, GLEN E. FRIEDMAN, JENNY LENS, DAVE MARKEY, RAYMOND PETTIBON, JORDAN SCHWARTZ, WINSTON SMITH
Original flyers, posters, set lists and more from Bryan Ray Turcotte (Fucked Up + Photocopied)

More information at SUBLIMINALPROJECTS.com

Curated by Katherine B. Cone and Jon Cournoyer

TOO FAST TO LIVE, TOO YOUNG TO DIE is a selection of photography, art and ephemera from the California Punk & Hardcore scene with an emphasis on the explosive period of the late 70′s and early 80′s. This exhibition features creative pioneers who were present for the detonation of the Southern California scene and whose imagery helped capture and craft it’s angles, attitudes, music, fashion and sub-culture. Additionally, reflections of other punk scenes throughout California and contemporary collaborations will be presented that were inspired by one of the most potent and relevant periods of individual expression in California history.

Edward Colver has been a Los Angeles-based photographer for over thirty years creating some of the most iconic images of the L.A. punk scene early in his career. Self-taught he had his first photograph published after just three months. A fixture of the early SoCal scene, its been said, “If you went to a show and Edward Colver wasn’t there shooting pictures, you were at the wrong show.” The retrospective exhibition and publication, “Blight at the End of the Funnel” was hosted by Cal State Fullerton in 2006 and the documentary “American Hardcore” featured many of his images.

Glen E. Friedman is based in New York City and is one of the most revered photographers of his generation, continually capturing rebellious individuals from the musical and youth sub-cultures. In 1982, he photographed, art directed and published the influential punk zine “My Rules”, one of the first comprehensive documents and commercially successful chronicles of the American hardcore punk scene. Continuing through the 1980s and 90′s, he captured classic punk and hip-hop images of Black Flag, Minor Threat, Public Enemy, Run DMC and more, many of which are considered the subject’s definitive portrait. Since 1997 his exhibition, “Fuck You All” has been consistently traveling both nationally and internationally, highlighting important works that span throughout his prolific career. His photographs are in the collections of institutions such as Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian Institute and the Experience Music Project Museum.

Shepard Fairey is based in Los Angeles and is the founder of the Obey Giant street art campaign. Obey Giant was largely modeled after the D.I.Y., by any means necessary, ethos of punk rock. Fairey heard the Alternative Tentacles comp “Let Them Eat Jellybeans” in 1984 and was energized by the music including California bands like Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, Flipper, and the Circle Jerks.

Jenny Lens, MFA, a native Angeleno, immediately rose to prominence with her first photos of the Ramones first west coast tour, August 1976, ending with the Clash, England, July, 1980. She shot revered and iconic photos of X, Germs, Iggy Pop, Blondie, Patti Smith and many more. Her images are extensively seen in and grace the covers of many major punk books, CDs, DVDs, docs, TV. She is hailed as the most published West Coast photographer documenting the early punk scene of 1976-80. In addition, her popular online postings of historical recollections continue to provide accurate first-hand insights into an often under-documented scene, especially from a West Coast woman’s point of view. Her solo book, “Punk Pioneers, When Punk was Fun,” was published by Rizzoli/Universe.

Dave Markey and Jordan Schwartz are the founders of the zine “We Got Power” which documented the Southern California punk scene in the early 1980′s. The subsequent photographs it produced uniquely captured this important period. Schwartz was also a producer for Lovedoll Films and served as press and booking agent for SST Records during this period. According to the 1985 Rolling Stone article he was one of the last people to sleep on the floor of the now-legendary record company, “If you work for SST Records you have to be prepared to sleep on the floor”. Markey’s work in film/video created some of the most important documents of it’s time and included collaborations with Sonic Youth, Raymond Pettibon, Nirvana, Mudhoney, The Ramones, Black Flag and many more. His films have been in festival screenings both national and internationally, including the United Kingdom screening tour entitled “Desperate Cinema” in 2005. A solo exhibition of his films was hosted by Seventeen Gallery in London in 2009. Most recently a selection were included in the Sonic Youth internationally traveling retrospective “Sensational Fix”.

Raymond Pettibon is based in Venice, California and is a leading figure in the international artworld who sprang from the world of California punk and illustration and whose work is now in the permanent collections of galleries and museums throughout the world. His early artistic roots lie in music, specifically in the Los Angeles punk rock scene designing artwork for SST Records and bands such as Black Flag, The Minutemen, and Sonic Youth. He has had museum exhibitions at MOCA, SFMOMA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Malaga, Spain and many more. He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Bucksbaum Award in relation his installation at the 2004 Whitney Biennial.

Winston Smith is a San Francisco-based artist whose roots lie in punk rock album cover design and collage imagery. His early work involves album art for the Dead Kennedys and has gone on to create over 50 record covers and has had numerous international exhibitions of his artwork over the last thirty years. Last Gasp has published a large selection of his work and he recently had a retrospective exhibition “Deep Dimension” in San Francisco, CA.

Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film. Book signing by the authors Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly

Dee Dee Ramone will forever be an enigmatic punk rock icon. While m ost are familiar with his musical legacy as a founding member and songwriter in the world famous Ramones, many are less aware of his talent for art and painting. Like Dee Dee, the work is rebellious, dynamic, eccentric and comedic. We have assembled an exhibition of over thirty original pieces, -many of which will be displayed for the very first time at this extraordinar y event sanctioned by Dee Dee’s Estate to honor the rock legend.

Rare, vintage images of Dee Dee have been cherry-picked from the critically acclaimed, Jenny Lens Photo Archive and will be available for purchase as oversized, signed, numbered, museum quality prints. Hailed as the most published first-wave west coast punk photographer in the history of the movement, Jenny will share her experie nces with the Ramones at the opening night reception, specifically citing Dee Dee as the reason she picked up a camera initiating her prolific body of work from 1976-1980.

We’re also proud to debut a special Limited Edition commemorative archival lithograph featuring one of Dee Dee’s quintessential self-portraits “Dee Dee Ramone: The Blue Dragon”.

Admission to the exhibition is free and open to the general public. A portion of net proceeds from the sale of lithographs and photo prints will benefit the LA Regional Food bank via donation in Dee Dee’s name.

Barbara Ramone-Zampini; wife of the late seminal punk legend and longtime collaborator in his solo career in both music and art explains: “It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to share these rare works with fans to fully appreciate in person. Dee Dee’s spirit truly lives in these paintings and when you experience them up close, its very o bvious. He always talked about helping children & gave to the homeless all the time. Dee Dee was very generous, more than most will ever know. I think he’d be really proud that he continues to help people today through his art.”

This special birthday memorial will celebrate the many facets of Dee Dee Ramone, and special guests will reflect on the man, his music, and an eclectic life of artistic fulfillment.