BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
The Rolling Stones by Sebastian Kruger In 1967, good friends Janis Joplin and Grace Slick were riding high in the music world, as was Jimi Hendrix and his amazing electric guitar sounds.
The year defines the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll in radical America, and the Monterey Pop Festival was a pivotal event for one of the most important cultural moments in the country’s history. It was at Monterey Pop that Hendrix etched his place, along with Janis Joplin, as a music icon.
By 1970, Hendrix and Joplin were dead and Slick was 18 years away from retiring early from music to become a visual artist.
The Two River Theater Company is about to host “The Art of 1967,” featuring the artwork of the three music icons as well as those of the Rolling Stone’s Ronnie Wood and the creative genius of caricaturist Sebastian Kruger, whose work ranges from pencil drawings to near-abstract paintings and photo realism.
Calling it a Visual Concert Tour, the three-day traveling exhibit conceived by The Limelight Agency and GS Rock & Roll Road Show includes paintings, sketches and limited edition prints, as well as handwritten song lyrics by the song writers in the group. Everything will be available for purchase.
“Scout” by Grace Slick Before joining her first band in San Francisco, Grace Slick studied art at the University of Miami. After a short time with The Great Society, she and a couple of her bandmates formed the legendary group Jefferson Airplane and went on to record some of music history’s most notable classic songs, including “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.”
For 20 years, she continued to be an icon of popular culture while her band took several forms, including Jefferson Starship.
In 1989 she put down the microphone and without missing a beat, she picked up her brush. She began sharing her works with the world in art exhibitions in 2000.
Although the lives of Hendrix and Joplin were cut short, they created some interesting artwork during their eventful and creative lives.
Mick Jaeger by Sebastian Kruger Most of Joplin’s visual works were created between the ages of 10 and 20. Through extensive research and archiving, there is now a visual diary of her work.
Hendrix’s body of work contains pictures and portraits of events and activities that he attended as a young man. He was fascinated with the port of Seattle and created several images containing pictures of the Seattle waterfront and skyline in the late 1950s. His watercolor portraits of buildings explode with color and geometric shapes. He also created abstract art.
Included in the show is the work of Sebastian Kruger, caricaturist, illustrator and painter, who often depicted pop icons like Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones.
The Two River Theater, 21 Bridge Ave. in Red Bank, is hosting the Visual Concert Tour as a fundraiser to support its creative arts and educational programs. There is a suggested donation of $2.
Self-portrait by Jimi Hendrix The show will run the weekend of Friday, June 29, 5-9 p.m., Saturday, June 30, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, July 1, from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.art1967.com.