Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll



Exhibition Dates: April 8–October 1, 2019

Exhibition Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, Floor 1, Gallery 199

The first major loan exhibition in an art museum dedicated entirely to the iconic instruments of rock and roll will go on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning April 8, 2019. Through more than 130 instruments that were used by such artists as Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Page, Steve Miller, St. Vincent, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, and many others, Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll will explore one of the most influential artistic movements of the 20th century and the objects that made the music possible. Drawn from 70 private and public collections in the United States and the United Kingdom, most of the objects in the exhibition have never been shown outside of their performance contexts. Organized thematically, Play It Loud will include many of rock’s most celebrated instruments, including such guitars as Eric Clapton’s “Blackie,” Eddie Van Halen’s “Frankenstein,” and Jerry Garcia’s “Wolf,” as well as Keith Emerson’s Moog synthesizer and Hammond organ, and drums from Keith Moon’s “Pictures of Lily” drum set, to name a few. By displaying several rigs used in live performances and sound recordings, the exhibition will also demonstrate how artists created their own individual sounds. The instruments will be complemented by some 40 vintage posters, striking stage costumes, and epoch-making videos.

The exhibition is made possible by the John Pritzker Family Fund, the Estate of Ralph L. Riehle, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Diane Carol Brandt, the Paul L. Wattis Foundation, Kenneth and Anna Zankel, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

It is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

With objects dating from 1939 to 2017, the exhibition, together with its catalogue, will examine many ways in which rock and roll musicians used their instruments. The exhibition will highlight themes such as emerging technologies and how they were embraced by musicians, the phenomenon of the “Guitar Gods,” crafting a visual identity through the use of instruments, and even the destruction of instruments in some live performances.

Highlights of the exhibition will include: Chuck Berry’s electric guitar ES-350T (1957), which was his primary guitar from 1957 until about 1963 and was used to record “Johnny B. Goode”; Jimi Hendrix’s electric guitar “Love Drops,” originally decorated by him; James Jamerson’s upright bass, which he likely used on many early Motown hits; Keith Emerson’s keyboard rig, consisting of the customized Moog Modular Synthesizer, electric tone-wheel organ, and rotary speakers; a reconstructed performance rig from Eddie Van Halen as it appeared onstage in 1978; Steve Miller’s electric guitar that was painted with psychedelic designs by artist Bob Cantrell by 1973; Jack Bruce’s electric bass, which was painted for him by the artist collective known as “The Fool” in 1967 while he was with Cream; St. Vincent’s electric guitar, which Annie “St. Vincent” Clark designed in collaboration with Music Man in 2015; and Jimmy Page’s dragon-embroidered costume (Los Angeles, 1975)—the elaborately hand-embroidered suit took over a year to complete and Page wore it during Led Zeppelin’s live performances from 1975 to 1977.

The exhibition will also include a sculpture made from what was left of one of Pete Townshend’s electric guitars after he smashed the instrument during a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz, that was published in Rolling Stone as “How to Launch Your Guitar in 17 Steps.”

Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.

The catalogue is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Met’s Friends of Musical Instruments: The Amati, Nion McEvoy, and Joseph O. Tobin II..

The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where it will travel to in November 2019. This is the second collaboration between the two after Rock Style, which was presented at The Met in 1999.

Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll is co-organized by Jayson Kerr Dobney, Frederick P. Rose Curator in Charge of the Department of Musical Instruments at The Met, and Craig J. Inciardi, Curator and Director of Acquisitions of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

[www.metmuseum.org]

From Mojo magazine (April 2019):



"Watching the #Grammys tonight? Three-time Grammy winner Keith Richards’ guitar, which he painted and played during The Rolling Stones’ Beggar’s Banquet sessions in 1968, will be presented in “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll” at The Met! Mark your calendar—the exhibition opens April 8, 2019."



"Gibson Guitar Corp. (Kalamazoo, MI); painted by Keith Richards. Les Paul Custom electric guitar (serial no. 7 7277), 1957; painted 1968. Carved mahogany body and neck, ebony fingerboard, 24 3/4 in. scale; black finish with hand-painted design; three patent-applied-for (PAF) humbucking pickups, three-way selector switch, two volume and two tone controls; Bigsby B7 vibrato. Collection of Keith Richards"

[www.instagram.com]

This looks spectacular and just last night I was thinking of museums

Quote
Cristiano Radtke



"Gibson Guitar Corp. (Kalamazoo, MI); painted by Keith Richards. Les Paul Custom electric guitar (serial no. 7 7277), 1957; painted 1968. Carved mahogany body and neck, ebony fingerboard, 24 3/4 in. scale; black finish with hand-painted design; three patent-applied-for (PAF) humbucking pickups, three-way selector switch, two volume and two tone controls; Bigsby B7 vibrato. Collection of Keith Richards"

[www.instagram.com]

Wonderful spectacular picture of a wonderful guitar. But where is the Bigsby ?

resotele

It's never had a bigsby on it.

This explains why it was not at more recent Exhibitionisms.

I know that it never had a Bigsby, but the MET describes it as being equipped with a Bigsby B7 vibrato.

I think it's a shame that they are not able to give correct information ...

resotele



edited for typo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-04-06 17:33 by resotele.

Quote
resotele
I know that it never had a Bibsby, but the MET describes it as being equipped with a Bibsby B7 vibrato.

I think it's a shame that they are not able to give correct information ...

resotele

Ah, duh me, it pays to read.

A silly mistake there.

Rolling Stone Magazine February, 2019

So..where is the document featuring Keef. He was filmed for this event.
Jeroen

"'Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll' exhibit set to launch at New York's 'Met' Museum"

[mobile.reuters.com]

[www.youtube.com]


They're some of the most iconic instruments from the rock 'n' roll era, played by some of the most artful and timeless musicians, and now they're being given a stage all their own. Opening this week at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is a new exhibition, "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll," featuring such rock relics as the guitars of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen; Jerry Lee Lewis' baby grand piano; and drum sets for The Beatles and The Who. Anthony Mason walks us through a treasure trove of musical history, and talks with musicians Steve Miller and Don Felder of The Eagles about what these instruments mean.

The exhibition opens on April 8th and runs through October 1. Among the iconic instruments are Keith Richards' black 1958 Gibson Les Paul painted by him while on acid.


[www.metmuseum.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-04-01 20:44 by TornAndFried.

The first instrument is my fathers Gibson ES-350T. We nearly started crying when we saw it yesterday.

"A small clip from Play it Out Loud guitar exhibition at the Metropolitan museum in NY!"

[www.instagram.com]

My sister, her husband a close family friend of my dad and I went to the opening on April 11st. Its an excellent exhibit.

CBII

Quote
CBII
The first instrument is my fathers Gibson ES-350T. We nearly started crying when we saw it yesterday.

A friend of mine was there this evening and she sent me some pics, including one of your father's guitar which gave me goosebumps.

There is an exhibit at the Met called Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll.
They have some very interesting guitars. Including 2 of Keith Richards guitars.

[iorr.org]