School Days:
The Nearly Lost Photos of
Teenage Photographer Barry Kleven 76-78
Friday, April 22nd, 2016
Lethal Amounts Gallery
1226 West 7th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
www.LethalAmounts.com
School Days is an exhibit honoring the hidden talents of a young man named Barry Kleven who passed away leaving behind a time capsule of the 1970’s LA club scene. During the difficult times of his death, the Kleven family discovered a box of old photos and negatives that at first glance, seemed somewhat meaningless. Not much more thought was given to the box of old photos, until Barry’s nephew Chris asked for them. To Chris’ astonishment, he had to rescue them from the trash, in the process discovering photographs his uncle had captured during his high school years including images of the original The Runaways, The Ramones first tours, Blondie’s first LA appearances, Cheap Trick performing to a handful of people, and many other recognizable bands performing small club shows.
Much like the romantic story of amateur social documentary photographer Vivian Maier, whose powerful work was discovered only after her death, the photos could have been completely lost. These are images of now Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductees captured through the eyes of an enthusiastic teenager discovering first hand the new wave of music that was taking shape.
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- Barry Kleven: The Damned’s Dave Vanian
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- Barry Kleven – Slade
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- Barry Kleven The Runaways
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- Barry Kleven – Rodney Bingenheimer
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- Barry Kleven The Ramones
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- Barry Kleven – Joey and Dee Dee Ramone
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- Barry Kleven Dick Manitoba – Dictators
About the photographer
Barry Kleven picked up photography his Junior year of Catholic high school. He discovered that he had an eye for photography, and began to borrow cameras from school for the weekend without permission. Having an interest in reading magazines like Creem and Rock Scene, he began attending local gigs of bands he’d been reading about. His camera earned privileges at the shows, such as making his way to the front of the line, and even getting backstage access. Barry kept these images to himself as a personal scrapbook and as a reminder of his youth.
LETHAL AMOUNTS gallery focuses on subversive and counter culture themes throughout history, addressing the social and artistic value of underground movements while highlighting taboo topics. We take an interest in showcasing the extremes of Rock ‘n Roll of the past that has crossed over into pop culture fanaticism, street culture influences and cult hero worship.
