Our June selection is Just Kids by Patti Smith.

Just Kids is a memoir of the relationship between Smith, a punk rock icon, and the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.  This book was chosen in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History, 1955-Present.

From Publisher's Weekly:
"This beautifully crafted love letter to her friend (who died in 1989) functions as a memento mori of a relationship fueled by a passion for art and writing. Smith transports readers to what seemed like halcyon days for art and artists in New York as she shares tales of the denizens of Max's Kansas City, the Hotel Chelsea, Scribner's, Brentano's, and Strand bookstores. In the lobby of the Chelsea, where she and Mapplethorpe lived for many years, she got to know William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Johnny Winter. Most affecting in this tender and tough memoir, however, is her deep love for Mapplethorpe and her abiding belief in his genius. Smith's elegant eulogy helps to explain the chaos and the creativity so embedded in that earlier time and in Mapplethorpe's life and work."

To purchase Just Kids from the Museum Store, please click here. Store proceeds support the ongoing operations of the Museum.

To hear an NPR interview where Smith discusses the book and her development as an artist, please click here.