If you are a Devo fan and were lucky enough to get an invite, you were probably at the Ki Smith Gallery on May 5 for the VIP preview of an exhibition featuring vintage images of the band from long ago.
But if you weren’t there, don’t worry; the one-night-only event has been extended and expanded, with an official opening set for this weekend.
Unfortunately, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh won’t be part of the exhibit’s relaunch this Saturday. The pair were seen at the preview, chatting with everyone, signing prints and occasionally some memorabilia, such as the first single the combo released, on their own label in 1977.
“We had 1,000 copies made and we assembled all the covers ourselves,” said Mark Mothersbaugh. “We could hold it up and say, ‘Yes! We are a real band!’”
The exhibit consisted of prints from Allan Tannenbaum, Ebet Roberts, Neil Preston, Richard Alden Peterson and Chris Stein. Devo has been doing pop-up gallery shows in various cities just before their gigs with the first four photographers, but Stein was a NYC addition. The extended run also features a Bobby Grossman image.
“I was working on a project with John Holmstrom (of Punk magazine fame) and I asked him, ‘Who did the pic of Debbie Harry with the band?'” Ki Smith tells us. “So I reached out to the Blondie camp and got Chris to contribute. It was a perfect add-on for the show.”
In a flash of inspiration, Smith came up with the idea of enshrining the prints in red frames that echoed the band’s iconic “energy dome” hats.
“I wanted to find a way to elevate the works and make it feel like Devo,” Smith explains. “They tied the show together in a way that told a story.”
Equally impressive is the fact that Smith made the frames himself. And, if you’re wondering, the Mothersbaugh brothers loved them.
Two of the contributors, Tannenbaum and Roberts, were in attendance. Tannenbaum admitted that he couldn’t possibly pick a favorite out of his images. Roberts related the story of her pic, which showed the band posing in front of a street busker wearing a sign that says, “I earn my living with my music.”
“It was the very beginning of their career,” Roberts recalled. “When I saw them play at Max’s, there were maybe 20 people there. We spent an afternoon wandering down 5th Avenue and stopping to take pictures in various spots. They changed their outfits constantly. As we were walking, I saw that guy and I said to the band, ‘Stop, turn around and look at me!’ I only took that one frame! They were so much fun to work with; we had a great time.”
Johnray Fuller, who went home with Roberts’ image, has been a fan since the age of 10, when he made Devo the second addition to his record collection. The first was the Kiss LP “Love Gun.”
Paul Besignano, owner of War Cannon Spirits, not only donated his signature whiskey to the party but also snapped up a Chris Stein print. That night, the Mothersbaugh brothers signed the print, and later, Gerald Casale, who missed the event due to a cancelled plane, came by a couple of days later to add his ink.
Ki Smith ended the evening feeling very satisfied by how it all went down.
“I’m younger, but I grew up listening to Devo,” he remarked. “They were one of the first art rock bands and I always thought that they were fun and playful and very cool”
The gallery recommends RSVPing for the opening this Saturday, May 31, from 6 to 9 p.m., online at https://www.kismithgallery.
