An opening reception for Licensed to Ill will be held on
Saturday, October 8, 2011; the exhibit itself runs through November 1, 2011 at Hold Up Art: 358 E. 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Hold Up Art presents Boys and Dogs, a collection of works by world renowned photographer Sunny Bak. Her photos of the Beastie Boys and the “Licensed to Ill†tour solidified Sunny’s place as a serious rock and celebrity photographer. Simultaneously, her love of animals, especially dogs, led to the creation of the best selling People Magazine parody, Pupple. These two diverse collections of images represent the work that have defined Sunny’s career.
“It’s been 25 years since I looked at the images I shot of the Beastie Boys in NYC with Garrett Simmons when we were working on a book called Pupple,†says Sunny Bak of this new exhibition. “This show is part retrospective and part looking toward the future as Garrett and I are working on a follow up to the original Pupple. It’s an homage to the beasty in all of us.â€
Photographing celebrities since high school, Sunny has shot celebrities like Madonna, 10,000 Maniacs, Gregory Peck, Keanu Reeves, Seth Green, and Carol Alt. She spent time on the road with the up-and-coming The Beastie Boys on their 1986 “Licensed to Ill†tour. Sunny shot the iconic images that were featured in the multi-platinum album’s artwork.
Sunny’s best-selling book, Pupple, co-created with Garrett Simmons, took a different look at celebrity photography. She photographed dogs, dressed as celebrities in a parody of People Magazine. With new celebrities to feature, Sunny and Garrett are currently working on the follow up to Pupple.
Most recently, Sunny’s work has appeared in Jay-Z’s online promotion with BING for his book, Decoded, and in the Rizolli book, Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label.
For more information about this and other exhibitions: www.holdupart.com.
