Photographer Bobby Grossman has been wanting to make it happen for 50 years, and gallery owner Ki Smith helped make it a reality.
We are talking about Grossman’s latest show, “Corn Flakes and More,” which includes a group of nine over-sized Corn Flakes boxes sporting black-and-white images taken half a century ago of people like Andy Warhol and David Byrne holding a bowl of the classic breakfast cereal. The boxes were produced in an edition of ten each and are now on display at the Ki Smith Gallery on the Lower East Side.
Each box explains the series’ origin on the side and includes a helpful graphic on the back, created by PUNK magazine co-founder John Holmstrom, explaining “How To Eat Corn Flakes.” Inside, in the grand tradition of cereal box prizes, are limited edition prints, postcards, and a zine.
“It’s amazing!” proclaims Grossman. “I never thought that I’d execute it.”
Back in the day, Grossman made a series of 18 portraits of various celebs — some of whom were in the “baby steps” stage of their renown — holding a bowl of Corn Flakes. According to Grossman, Debbie Harry was the first, David Johansen was the most fun, and Joan Jett was, well, the least cooperative.
“I asked her to do it and she looked at me and just said no,” recalls the photographer.
Stiv Bators was the last of the series and is represented by an image that hasn’t been seen before. “I loved Stiv,” Grossman says. “A sweet guy, a great guy.”
Bators was a fave of more than one attendee at the opening, including Camilla Saly. “My favorite is Stiv,” she offered. “I love the incongruity. The whole thing is charming and delightful.”
The circumstances of the Talking Heads shots include an abortive first try that ended with David Byrne making good use of the props.
“I brought the cereal and milk and bananas to the studio where they were recording ’77,'”Grossman recalls. “But I realized that there was too much going on, so I didn’t even ask them to pose. David saw everything sitting there and sat down and had breakfast!” Their pics were done later in their space in Long Island City.
While images exist of Jerry Harrison and Chris Frantz, as well as those of Byrne and Tina Weymouth that ended up on the boxes, Grossman and Smith decided that two “Heads” would be enough for now.
Grossman has shown his archival images before, but this one includes pictures that haven’t been displayed previously—such as Bators with a cherry in his mouth and Klaus Nomi. Ninety percent of the photos are excellent silver gelatin prints produced by the team of Cathy Vanaria, Mark Savoia, and Lys Guillorn of Still River Editions, who have been his printers for 30 years.
The well-thought-out arrangement of images includes Jean-Michel Basquiat, Johnny Rotten, David Bowie, Robert Fripp, Richard Hell, William S. Burroughs, Lou Reed, and more.
Immediately upon entering the gallery, one encounters the artworks that Shepard Fairey created from Grossman’s images, then the boxes, and later finds the historical images in the basement to “provide context for the show of the boxes,” according to Smith. “The ‘Pop Art’ upstairs and the photography downstairs tells the story in a way that makes sense to me.”
The renowned photographer Dustin Pittman made a point of telling Smith what he thought of the exhibit. “I’ve been to every one of Bobby’s shows, and this is the best one yet – it’s the most interesting,” he said.
“I think it’s surprised a lot of folks,” adds Smith. “You’re seeing things you haven’t seen before.”
Artist Nick Savides was one of those folks. “The boxes are a great concept,” he said. “They literally add another dimension to the photographs.”
And if you’re wondering what Kellogg’s has to say about the project, well, we’ll just have to wait to find out. Hopefully, they will appreciate it in the spirit of Warhol’s Brillo boxes and Campbell’s Soup cans, which were inspirations.
“Bob Gruen paid me the nicest compliment recently,” Grossman mentions. “He said the vibe of my photos is unlike many others. Everyone seems to be having fun with me and enjoying the shoot, and it shows. With other photographers, it’s more like a f**k you pretense. A punk pose — totally opposite from me.”
We can’t argue with that. If Grossman has any attitude, it doesn’t show. He has a simple, sensible way of looking at things. Of the new project, he notes, “You end up where you start!”
Show info at kismithgallery.com. Follow Bobby Grossman on Instagram at @bobby_grossman.
