Courtney Love at Lyman Allyn Museum
Rock Songer as Artist with David LaChapelle
By: Lyman Allyn - Apr 04, 2013
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut announces the exhibition, Mentoring Courtney Love: David LaChapelle and Courtney Love,on view Saturday, April 13 - August 10, 2013. There will an opening reception on April 12, 6-8 pm. This is Courtney Love’s first museum exhibition.
The concept of mentoring is one not often associated with the contemporary art world. Yet artist Courtney Love, best known as a musician, credits artist and photographer David LaChapelle with mentoring her as a visual artist. Love's work, featured in this exhibition, are all works on paper. They are executed in a combination of pastel, watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, charcoal, acrylic, and marker. The works on view are all portraits, including some self-portraits, and this is where we see the relationship between her work and that of her mentor David LaChapelle. While LaChapelle's photographic portraits are slick and hyper-real, Love's portraits are sketch-like and spontaneous. Her images are raw and full of emotion, and they bear a resemblance to her music. There is a consistency in vision between her music and her visual art that suggests an authenticity of expression.
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum, located adjacent to three schools: Connecticut College, a four year private college; the United States Coast Guard Academy; and the Williams School, a private secondary school, is perfectly situated to contemplate the idea of mentoring.
A virtual version of the exhibition, powered by Dot Dash 3 technology, will be available on the Lyman Allyn website – www.lymanallyn.org
About Courtney Love
Courtney Love (b. 1964) is a singer-songwriter who gained notoriety in the Los Angeles indie rock scene as vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Hole which she formed in 1989. Rolling Stonemagazine once calling her "the most controversial woman in the history of rock." Love was married to Kurt Cobain of the band Nirvana,with whom she has a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. Love debuted as a visual artist in 2012 with the exhibition And She's Not Even Pretty at Fred Torres Collaborations in Chelsea.
About David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle (b.1963) is an artist and photographer known for combining a hyper-realistic aesthetic with social messages. Pop artist Andy Warhol gave him his first job as a photographer at Interview magazine and since that time LaChapelle's photographs of celebrities have been featured on the covers of Vogue, Vanity Fair,GQ and Rolling Stone
His work also includes music videos and documentary films. In 2006, LaChapelle began to focus once again on fine art photography. His work has been featured in exhibitions in galleries and museums including the Barbican Museum, London (2002), Palazzo Reale
, Milan (2007), Musée de La Monnaie, Paris (2009), the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei, Taiwan, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel. LaChapelle photographed Courtney Love in 2007 for his work Pieta.
Exhibition Event:
Opening Reception: Friday, April 12, 2013, 6-8pm. The artist will be present at the opening. Members free; Non-members $10. Reservations 860.443.2545 x129 to purchase a ticket or become a member.
Tours of the exhibition will be available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education Mollie Clarke at 860-443-2545, x 110 or e-mail at clarke@lymanallyn.org.
Exhibitions and programs are funded in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee; People’s United Bank for sponsoring the Free First Saturdays.
About the Lyman Allyn Museum
Lyman Allyn Art Museum is a community-based museum located in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1932 by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her father, Lyman Allyn, the museum serves the people of Southeastern Connecticut and is free to New London families. The museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a non-profit organization with 501(c) 3 status. Housed in a handsome Neo-Classical building designed by Charles A. Platt, the permanent collection includes over 10,000 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, furniture and decorative arts, with an emphasis on American and European art from the 17th through 20th centuries.
The museum is located at 625 Williams Street, New London, Connecticut, exit 83 off I-95. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm and Sunday 1:00 – 5:00 pm, closed Mondays and major holidays. For more information call 860.443.2545, ext. 129.