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Patti Smith: American Artist
“Frank always shot your internal life. He let your external imperfections show. His photos had a purity and poetry; there was some humor…” - Bruce Springsteen
Patti Smith was a favorite photographic subject for Frank Stefanko during his college years. “Patti had jet-black hair and pale blue eyes that could see right through you. When I visited New York, I started photographing Patti, I was captivated by her look…tall, thin, with porcelain skin, sharp features, and those piercing eyes. With me, in terms of portraits, it’s always the eyes first, then the rest of the face comes into view.”
Patti Smith came to prominence during the punk rock movement in the 1970s, with her highly regarded 1975 debut album, Horses. She has been called "punk rock's poet laureate" because of her feminist sensibilities and intellectual approach to her music. As a result, she is one of rock and roll's most influential female musicians, and according to Rolling Stone , one of ”The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” Among some of Patti Smith’s early influences were Robert Mapplethorpe, Jim Carroll and Tom Verlaine. She spent the early 1970s painting, writing, and performing spoken-word poetry- frequently at the St. Marks Poetry Project. By 1974, she was performing as a musician, initially with guitarist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye. The Patti Smith Group produced four albums in the 1970s, reaching #13 on Billboard’ s Top 100 in 1978 with the single “Because The Night,” co-written with her friend Bruce Springsteen.
Patti Smith was a favorite photographic subject for Frank Stefanko during his college years. “Patti had jet-black hair and pale blue eyes that could see right through you. When I visited New York, I started photographing Patti, I was captivated by her look…tall, thin, with porcelain skin, sharp features, and those piercing eyes. With me, in terms of portraits, it’s always the eyes first, then the rest of the face comes into view.”
Patti Smith came to prominence during the punk rock movement in the 1970s, with her highly regarded 1975 debut album, Horses. She has been called "punk rock's poet laureate" because of her feminist sensibilities and intellectual approach to her music. As a result, she is one of rock and roll's most influential female musicians, and according to Rolling Stone , one of ”The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” Among some of Patti Smith’s early influences were Robert Mapplethorpe, Jim Carroll and Tom Verlaine. She spent the early 1970s painting, writing, and performing spoken-word poetry- frequently at the St. Marks Poetry Project. By 1974, she was performing as a musician, initially with guitarist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye. The Patti Smith Group produced four albums in the 1970s, reaching #13 on Billboard’ s Top 100 in 1978 with the single “Because The Night,” co-written with her friend Bruce Springsteen.
164 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 29, 2021
Absolutely stunning! An over-sized collection of mostly (B&W) photography of Mz Patti in her early days of being the rock diva that she is. Candid & posed shots, at home and on the road. A prized possession, for sure!
Reread October’21
A photographic decade-long biography of the incredible Patti, starting from the early 70’s. Presented in “high-quality quadratone” in posed and un portraits, this quintessential Goddess of punk is hailed.
Early reminiscing of first meeting in college and the years spent in awe of Patti’s cornucopia of talents begin after a forward from Patti and into from Lenny Kaye.
Chaptered by sessions, we get backstory of often humorous doings and always admirable recollections. It’s obvious there has been a strong, lasting friendship of trust between these two.
A lustrous addition to any Patti collection. Lord, but she is beautiful!
Reread October’21
A photographic decade-long biography of the incredible Patti, starting from the early 70’s. Presented in “high-quality quadratone” in posed and un portraits, this quintessential Goddess of punk is hailed.
Early reminiscing of first meeting in college and the years spent in awe of Patti’s cornucopia of talents begin after a forward from Patti and into from Lenny Kaye.
Chaptered by sessions, we get backstory of often humorous doings and always admirable recollections. It’s obvious there has been a strong, lasting friendship of trust between these two.
A lustrous addition to any Patti collection. Lord, but she is beautiful!
July 26, 2010
The more time I spend with Patti Smith, the more awesome she becomes. Stefanko's photographs and brief comments on Patti and their time back in the 70s are really wonderful at capturing both the artist and the things she's interested in. This book sheds further light on the subjects of Patti Smith's own art. I think this comes from Stefanko and Smith's friendship, which is as long as their careers as artists. These pictures show them interact with each other and their environment in a way that just feels good and important. These photo shoots feel like they really matter, which is how Patti Smith's stuff always feels to me. These moments meant something. I really like that.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews