Patti Smith 1969-1976 - Hardcover

Linn, Judy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810998327 ISBN 13: 9780810998322

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2011

Synopsis

"I was eager to be Judy's model and to have the opportunity to work with a true artist. I felt protected in the atmosphere we created together. We had an inner narrative, producing our own unspoken film, with or without a camera." 
-Patti Smith, from her afterword 

Like a scene in Godard's Vivre sa vie or Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, Patti Smith posed for the lens of a young photographer, Judy Linn. 

It was 1969, some years before Patti Smith entered the arena of rock and roll. Smith was a struggling poet, harboring a romantic ideal of the collaborative possibilities between an artist and model- a dream happily fulfilled within this intimate and high-spirited body of work. 

Linn's images of Smith range from the vulnerable to the iconic. Focusing on shifting influences and spotlighting her profound relationships with artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Sam Shepard, Linn has captured Smith like no one else, in the grainy atmosphere of a bygone New York. 

Judy Linn's photographs document the blooming of an enduring friendship and the evolution of two unique artists: gritty and visionary, fragile and tough.

Praise for Patti Smith 1969-1976:

"a striking new book, Patti Smith: 1969-1976 (out March 1) . . . collects photographs of the coolly photogenic star taken by her talented friend Judy Linn during the same time Kids describes. They're wonderfully composed shots of Smith looking like the star of a Godard film of her own making. The pictures show her fully ready for a closeup that would cement her boho image just a few years later, on the iconic cover of her first album, Horses, shot, of course, by Mapplethorpe himself."
 -New York Daily News 

"Here is Smith's acclaimed 2010 memoir, Just Kids, come to life-the shrines to Bob Dylan, the dress up-and the photos strike the same wistful note; as Smith writes in her afterword: 'once upon a time, we were young and beautiful and anyone we imagined we could be.'" 
-Publishers Weekly

"Anticipating a new generation's excitement for Smith and Mapplethorpe, their friend Judy Linn has published a new book of her photographs, Patti Smith 1969-1976, that centers on the era covered in Just Kids, the time before Patti and Robert were famous. The book's a nice visual testament to their friendship, but it's also a bible of good clothing, an early record of one of the most stylish couples of all time." 
-The Fader.com

"Linn's collection of photographs is the perfect complement to Smith's National Book Award-winning memoir, Just Kids . . . like Smith's memoir, the photos-uninterrupted by titles, captions, or any other text-serve two purposes: they tell the story of young artists finding their voice and style and serve as a love letter to '70s New York, four decades later." 
-Flavorwire.com

About this title

About the Author:

Judy Linn is a photographer who is represented by Feature Inc., New York. Her work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Detroit Art Institute, and the Dallas Museum of Art. She teaches photography at Vassar College and lives in New York City.

From Publishers Weekly:

Before Patti Smith became a rock star, she loved to pose as one for her friend, the photographer Judy Linn. These 100 grainy, gritty, black and white photographs—of Smith working, playing, primping in the clutter of her apartment; surrounded by erstwhile lovers, the artist Robert Mapplethorpe and playwright Sam Shepard—brim with bright light and the obvious affection between photographer and subject. Linn, a photography professor at Vassar College whose work is now collected in the Whitney Museum and elsewhere, recalls a summer spent poring over Alfred Stieglitz's work, including the portraits of his wife Georgia O'Keefe ("I thought I could memorize it and crack its grammar"). She describes learning from the "visual logic" and "illogical brilliance" of her own photos—and it's easy to see why. The photographs vary in quality, but at their best—take the nudes of Smith where a dark necktie and belt bisect and play against her long, pale body—capture Mapplethorpe and Smith's youth and earnestness, their wildness and vulnerability. Here is Smith's acclaimed 2010 memoir, Just Kids, come to life—the shrines to Bob Dylan, the dressup—and the photos strike the same wistful note; as Smith writes in her afterword: "once upon a time, we were young and beautiful and anyone we imagined we could be." (Mar.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0810998327
• ISBN 13: 9780810998322
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144