2015: Public Collectors: Hardcore Architecture @ The Franklin

Above: Public Collectors' Marc Fischer candid at the opening reception for "Hardcore Architecture" at The Franklin, 3522 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL, on August 8, 2015.

Public Collectors: Hardcore Architecture
Marc Fischer
August 8 - 29, 2015
The Franklin
3522 W. Franklin Blvd.
Chicago IL 60624

http://hardcorearchitecture.tumblr.com/

http://www.publiccollectors.org/

"'Hardcore Architecture' explores the relationship between the architecture of living spaces and the history of underground American hardcore bands in the 1980s. Band addresses are discovered using contact listings found in demo tape and record reviews published from 1982-89 in the fanzine MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL. Google Street View is used to capture photos of the homes. Street names and numbers are removed to respect the privacy of people currently living at these addresses.

'Hardcore Architecture' is a project of Marc Fischer and Public Collectors. This first exhibition of 'Hardcore Architecture,' which until now has existed solely as a blog, will present some of the project’s findings from its first year, as well as several new publications including interview booklets devoted to Les Evans of the band Cryptic Slaughter, and the photographer and filmmaker Bill Daniel who photographed many hardcore bands in Texas in the early 1980s. A booklet featuring color photos of many of the band homes that Fischer has located, will also be included.

Established in 2007 by Marc Fischer, Public Collectors encourages collectors of material culture--the kind that most museums won’t exhibit--to 'open' their collections to the public. Fischer will read from and discuss the book Public Collectors, published by Inventory Press, which presents a wide array of collections--some featured on the website, most newly assembled for publication--interspersed with commentary and essays exploring the problems and politics of collecting materials that may lack conventional monetary or cultural value. In 2014, Public Collectors presented a project on the life and work of the late documentarian and activist Malachi Ritscher for the Whitney Biennial.

Marc Fischer is a Chicago-based artist and a member of Temporary Services, a group that has produced over 110 publications and organized and participated in dozens of exhibitions, projects, and events. Fischer and Brett Bloom of Temporary Services also run the publishing imprint Half Letter Press."

Quotation above from: http://thefranklinoutdoor.tumblr.com/

Above: Dead Kennedys' 1985 "Frankenchrist" album, on cassette tape, as issued by Alternative Tentacles Records, here presented by Fischer in a vitrine at the opening reception for "Hardcore Architecture" at The Franklin, 3522 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL, on August 8, 2015.

Above: Fischer's vitrine containing 80s hardcore (MDC, Dead Kennedys, 7 Seconds, et al) t-shirts and cassette tapes as presented at the opening reception for "Hardcore Architecture" at The Franklin, 3522 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL, on August 8, 2015.

Above: Fischer's vitrine containing 80s hardcore t-shirts and cassette tapes foreground, and Public Collectors' still images featuring The Offenders, Butthole Surfers, Black Flag, et al, background, as presented at the opening reception for "Hardcore Architecture" at The Franklin, 3522 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL, on August 8, 2015.

Above: Fischer's circa 1988 correspondence with Rob Nicholson (a member of Cryptic Slaughter in 1984) at left; and, circa 1974 images of the childhood home of Les Evans (a founding member of Cryptic Slaughter in 1984) at right.

Above: An exterior view of The Franklin outdoor gallery at 3522 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL, on the night of August 8, 2015, with Public Collectors' "Hardcore Architecture" show installed.

Above: Google Street View photo prints of the homes in which hardcore band (Blasphemous, Didjits, Infection, No More Wars, shown here) members lived in the 80s, as presented by Fischer at the opening reception for "Hardcore Architecture" at The Franklin, 3522 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL, on August 8, 2015.

Above:
Images (1-7) August 8, 2015;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos