BY DENNIS LYNCH | The roving Rolling Stones multimedia exhibit “Exhibitionism” has landed at Industria on Washington St. in the West Village. The two-story exhibit is interactive, features 500 of the band’s instruments, and a treasure trove of rare memorabilia from the last 50 years of the Stones’ incredible history.
The exhibit is somewhat chronological. You start with a walk through a replica of the band’s first beat-up apartment in 1962, complete with cigarette butts and blues vinyl records hanging around, and end by viewing a 3D performance of their 50th anniversary concert in 2013.
But the majority of the exhibit is broken into themed rooms, so you can hang out and soak in all of whatever interests you most about Mick, Keith and Co. For example, there’s a room dedicated to their recording process, another to rare posters and album art, and another highlighting the band’s journey through fashion.
Charlie Watts’s 1965 blue pearl Ludwig drum set sits in the middle of the studio room, while gear and 2-inch studio tapes line the outside of the room behind glass. The folks behind the exhibit set up a remarkably accurate “studio,” with a mixing board and a soundproof room containing all the gear the Stones would use in a typical session. You can grab a set of headphones and watch short clips of producers and band members talking about the studio process.
Beyond that is a room with more than a dozen guitars and basses the English rockers used over the years. In the center of the room you can “mix” popular Stones tracks on touch screens, so you can isolate just the vocals and piano in “Sympathy for the Devil,” for example. It’s a great look into how the band and producers constructed their tracks.
Upstairs you learn the story behind the Stones’s “tongue and lip” logo and get a look at proofs, drafts and photo shoots for the band’s album covers, along with the story of what inspired each cover. Attached is a room dedicated to all of the massive tour stages they used over the years, complete with models of some of their most impressive setups from the last three decades, when they were went above and beyond to wow crowds in stadiums and arenas.
Next is a small theater showing a short conversation with Martin Scorsese about each of the movies about the band, including the 1970 documentary “Gimme Shelter” — the story of their 1969 tour that ended with the disastrous free show at the Altamont Speedway outside San Francisco.
There are also some portraits of band members by artists, including Andy Warhol. Finally, before the “backstage” area leading to the 3D film is a walk down a corridor lined with the outfits and clothes the band wore over the years, featuring their first dapper tailored suits as up-and-comers in swinging London and some of the more outlandish duds they donned during their stadium tours.
You can spend about an hour and a half at “Exhibitionism” if you take your time.
“Exhibitionism,” at Industria, 775 Washington St. between Jane and W. 12th Sts., runs from Nov. 12 to March 12, Mon. to Wed., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thurs. to Sun., 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with some exceptions. Tickets are $37. For more information, call 212-366–1114 or visit www.industrianyc.com .
