Arts & Entertainment

Smith adds music to art exhibit

By Jason Gagnon
The Daily Cougar

Tonight at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, legendary poet and musician Patti Smith will perform selected poems and songs with members of her band. The concert event is to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Museum commemorating Smithis artistic works from the last several decades. 

Tickets are $25 dollars, and the event is open to the public. The exhibit has been a long time coming, given Smithis contributions to the world of art. "We are excited to offer our visitors the first museum exhibition to survey Patti Smithis works," Associate Curator Paola Morsiani said.

Smith began her career as a poet in the 1970s in the same underground New York scene that brought the world such artists as Jim Carroll, Robert Mapplethorpe and the Velvet Underground. But she had also taken up performance art and acting by that point. 

When guitarist Lenny Kaye played with her at a reading at the legendary event held at St. Markis Church, it was the first step on Smithis path to changing the face of rock n roll. 

The band released its debut album, Horses, in 1975 and brought even more attention to the fledgling rock and art scene taking place at CBGBis. Smith has described that first release as "Three chord rock merged with the power of word." 

She wasnit lying. Aside from covers infused with new energy ("Gloria"), Smith displays stream-of-conscious poetry on the record and even on its back sleeve.

The exhibit, titled Strange Messenger: The Work of Patti Smith boasts almost 85 of the artistis works, with some pieces focusing on the 9/11 attacks. In addition the visual art, original manuscripts for Smithis work will be on display. 

Morsiani added that the work "sheds new light on this influential, poet, artist and musician."

The exhibit will run through June 15, but donit miss out on the rare chance to see Smith read and perform tonight at 8 p.m.

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