This 17" W x 22" H (overall - image size is 13.5" W x 16.75" H) color litho print is from an edition of 500, printed on heavy paper stock, and plate-signed by photographer James Fortune as well as hand-signed and numbered by the illustrator, Ulysses. Unmatted/unframed ( Click here for framing options and costs) This photo was originally titled "Life, Death, Love and Hate” and was used (in a colorized version) for the cover of Iggy & The Stooges “California Bleeding”, a 1973-74 live concert CD released in 1997 on Bomp Records. The image available here was the original photograph, and it is a perfect portrait of Iggy Pop at his outrageous best. It was taken in 1973 at a club show in Los Angeles and shows Iggy clutching a mic in one hand, a knife in the other with blood is running down his chest from several self-inflicted cuts.
The border design for this print was done by Ulysses, an artist who's intricate style was well-suited to this design. In designing the border, Ulysses reflected upon the character of Gollum from "Lord Of The Rings". Many fans of LOTR know that the movie version of Gollum was partially based on the body style of Iggy Pop. Ulysses called upon some of the imagry of Gollum in his border as well as some elements of fantasy art for which he is best known.
About James Fortune - There's a very good chance you've seen the photography of James Fortune before. Like many of the 70s most famous rock photographers, James Fortunes images have been seen by millions in books, magazines and album covers. One of his pictures was recently used for the cover of Led Zeppelin's 2003 release titled "How The West Was Won".
Beginning in his college days in the late '60s, Fortune spent more than a decade photographing rock music icons like The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, and countless others. His catalog of over 15,000 images from the tumultuous '60s and '70s contains shots of everything from hippie riots in Hollywood to Gene Simmons and Cher sharing an eclair. He ran with the high-and-mighty and photographed them all - Jimmy Carter and the Bee Gees, Iggy Pop, Eric Clapton and Ronald Reagan. His photographs capture moments in rock history. Back in the 1970's, in the aftermath of a world-wide political, civil, and sexual revolutions, Fortune plied his trade in the backstage areas and VIP sections of some of the nation's biggest musical events. His work even spanned the Pacific to Vietnam, where the intrepid photographer served active duty from 1968 to 1970 with the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Combat Camera Group.
The bedroom walls of Americas youth in the 70's and early 80's were plastered with his rock star posters. Now, for the first time, his limited-edition signed prints, adapted from his original negatives, are available to collectors in these truly affordable editions. |
