Jello Biafra (nee Eric Boucher) head of _Dead Kennedys_ rock band, visiting New York after obscenity trial (won by hung jury) over art illustrations to his "Frankenchrist" album. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off," "Too Drunk to Fuck," and "White Punks on Dope" were early underground hits late 1970's. He was on tour, lecturing on Reagan-era censorship moves, here "rebounding from the want-ads, surprised scrutinized by Candid surveillance camera," his briefcase open in small bedroom, pens clipped to strap, old backstage tour passes posted inside. Recovering from flu, late night tea, October 6, 1987.
1987
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 18.9 × 28.7 cm (7 7/16 × 11 5/16 in.) sheet: 27.8 × 35.3 cm (10 15/16 × 13 7/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Gary Davis
Accession Number
2013.145.30
About the Artist
Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), born in Newark, New Jersey, emerged as a multifaceted figure in American culture, best known as a Beat Generation poet but also a prolific visual artist whose photographs, drawings, and prints captured the raw energy of his era. His early life offers little documentation on artistic training, though he attended Columbia University in the 1940s, where he formed connectio...