About the artist:
Springsteen—Troubadour of the Highway

The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum presents Springsteen—Troubadour of the Highway, the first major exhibition devoted to rock’n’roll legend Bruce Springsteen.

One of the most beloved and respected artists in American popular music, Springsteen has created many of his most vivid and powerful songs about characters on the move—and often on the run. This multimedia exhibition explores Springsteen’s use of cars and highways as motifs in his music and in related visual imagery. The exhibition opens on Sunday, September 22 and runs until January 19, 2003.

Over 70 photographs by artists Annie Leibovitz, Pamela Springsteen, David Gahr, Joel Bernstein, David Michael Kennedy, Lynn Goldsmith, Edie Baskin, David Rose, and Frank Stefanko will be on display. Their images, most of them taken for Springsteen’s presentation and promotion of his work, act as artistic parallels of the singer’s musical imagery, though not as illustrations of it. In addition, this is the first major museum showing of Pamela Springsteen’s work. The exhibition will feature 41 of her photographs from The Ghost of Tom Joad series.

Known for his intense concern for all aspects of his work, from his songwriting to his recordings to his concert performances, Springsteen also brought the same attention to the visual presentations of himself and his music. This also holds true for the John Sayles and Arnold Levine videos included in this exhibition.

Springsteen fans will recognize some familiar images from records and CDs, but the exhibition also includes photographs that have never been seen before. "What I’ve tried to do in the exhibition is to deal with Springsteen as an artist," Sheehy comments, " I explore one aspect of his imagery—both in music and in visual forms—just as we might look at how a painter uses certain motifs like nature or the city. Springsteen has used cars and the road to comment on American culture, and, importantly, his messages have connected with millions of people." Springsteen records and other memorabilia are also included in this exhibition.

From his songs "Thunder Road" to "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and at every point along the way, Bruce Springsteen has employed images of cars and the highway as central features of his music. While these images are conventions in rock’n’roll, Springsteen mines them more consistently and with more depth and complexity than any other rock artist. His restless characters are on the move, sometimes on the hustle, and often on the run. Speeding off the edge of town, down the New Jersey Turnpike, or across the desert, their physical movement matches their psychic and spiritual searches. His images work as metaphors for Springsteen’s meditations on both the promise and disappointments of America.

Springsteen—Troubadour of the Highway, is curated by Colleen Sheehy, Weisman director of education and adjunct faculty in American studies at the University of Minnesota. Sheehy’s work has focused on the intersections between American art, popular culture, and folk cultures.

In organizing this exhibition, Sheehy worked closely with Sandy Choron, longtime art director for Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen himself gave permission for the Weisman to use his music, lyrics, photography, and videos in the exhibition.

A gallery guide featuring essays by Sheehy; Robert Santelli, Director of the Experience Music Project in Seattle; and Karal Ann Marling, a national commentator on American popular culture will also be available.

Springsteen—Troubadour of the Highway will travel to Cranbrook Art Museum in Detroit in Summer 2003, Experience Music Project in Seattle in Spring 2004, The Newark Museum in New Jersey in the Summer of 2004, and other possible venues.

Opening Celebration:
Saturday, September 21, 2002
7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Exhibition preview, food, entertainment by Curtiss A., and a display of vintage American cars.
Tickets: $10/$5 for WAM members, students, and seniors.
For reservations, please call the Weisman events line at (612) 626-4747.
Address: Weisman Art Museum, 333 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455