Following the untimely death of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, many retrospectives and tributes on MCA and the Beastie Boys have popped up. But one such exhibit can lay claim to truly eerie timing, as the show Solid Gold Hits opened one day before MCA passed away.
Now at the Ivy Brown gallery, Hits is a collaboration between photographer Sunny Bak and artist Cey Adams of the Beastie Boys' younger days. Bak was a photographer in downtown New York in the 1980's, and honed her crafts by aiming her lens at the fledgling Beastie Boys -- images that were later used in their debut License To Ill. Bak's studio at the time was also the set for the "Fight For Your Right" video. "It was low budget so all our friends were in it," she told Gothamist. "I didn't want a pie in my face so I wasn't in it. I had whipped cream in my bathroom carpet forever though."
Adams, Def Jams' founding Creative Director, is a graphic artist whose work has graced the album covers of Run DMC, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and more. Cey was also in New York in the early 80's tagging trains, so has been in hip hop scene from its inception (see more in this MoMA video about Adams).
Solid Gold Hits will be on display until June 3rd at the Ivy Brown Gallery,located at 675 Hudson Street, 4th Floor
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