MODEM MEN Spring Summer 2014

“CARTE BLANCHE”... IS DAVID BOWIE “ As was the case with Miles Davis in jazz, Bowie has come not just to represent his innovations but to symbolize modern rock as an idiom in which literacy, art, fashion, style, sexual exploration and social commentary can be rolled into one ” - Rolling Stone” magazine . Bowie is the man who elevated his music to what can only be described as an art form. David Robert Jones was born in Brixton on January 8, 1947. Driven by an entirely deeper dynamic than most pop artists, David Bowie inhabits a very special world of extraordinary sounds and endless vision. Unwilling to stay on the treadmill of rock legend and avoiding the descent into ever demeaning and decreasing circles of cliché, Bowie writes and performs what he wants, when he wants. The V&A has been given unprecedented access to the David Bowie Archive to curate the first international retrospective of the extraordinary career of David Bowie: “David Bowie is” . This exhibition is exploring the creative processes of Bowie as a musical innovator and cultural icon, tracing his shifting style and sustained reinvention across five decades. The V&A’ s Theatre and Performance curators, Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh have selected more than 300 objects that will be brought together for the very first time. They include handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs, Bowie’s own instruments and album artwork. The retrospective brings to the fore the broad range of Bowie’s collaborations with artists and designers in the fields of fashion, sound, graphics, theatre, art and film. “David Bowie is” Until 11 August 2013 Victoria and Albert Museum Cromwell Road SW7 2RL London http://www.vam.ac.uk/ Ezio Barbaro & Modem team thank their partners and wish a great season...