Rockers: Sao Paulo

If you love music magazines as much as I do, you already know how to appreciate a good rock photographer: it’s the one who can get into places other than the back stage or trailer to show the adoring public how their idols really are when they’re not performing and in their natural (or not-so-natural) habitats. Legendary New York music photographer Bob Gruen has been one of the most important photographers in pop culture to date, and Rockers is a 40-year retrospective of his work, beginning today at Sao Paulo’s FAAP University Museum. Gruen is best known for his documentation of the ’70s punk era, and while his photo of Sid Vicious snarling with a piece of a hot dog in his mouth may be the crowning image of the show, he doesn’t leave an inch of iconography uncovered; images of Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, the Clash, John Lennon, Devo, the New York Dolls and the Rolling Stones are all on display. The exhibit which runs till July 1 is massive, with 270 photos displayed in nine separate areas that run the gamut from a “boulevard” of photos, a mock teenage bedroom with posters and magazine covers displaying Gruen’s work to a video gallery. Personally, I’m still drooling over the 16-foot-tall photos of Iggy Pop clutching Debbie Harry. It’s not to be missed, for both photography aficionados and audiophiles alike.