Melissa Auf der Maur: My ’90s Rock Photographs – Book Launch and Talk
A photographic love letter by the bassist of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins
As the bassist for Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur toured the world throughout the 1990s. Her 35mm camera was always by her side, capturing life on and off stage and on the road. What began as a personal daily practice grew into an archive of more than 10,000 photographs, offering intimate insights into the people, places, and moments of the alternative rock scene of that era.
This evening, Melissa Auf der Maur presents her book My ’90s Rock Photographs during a talk. It features a curated selection of these images and serves as a photographic love letter to the last analog decade.
Her photographs capture encounters with bands and artists including Pavement, Sonic Youth and Beck, as well as moments from Lollapalooza 1995, the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1996 and the making of Hole’s Celebrity Skin music video. Alongside these glimpses into the music scene, she repeatedly turned the camera on herself, creating a deeply personal record of her experience.
Gritty, playful and intimate, the photographs capture the independent spirit of the 1990s and a world before smartphones and digital recording transformed how music and everyday life were documented. More than 200 photographs in the book form both a self-portrait of a young artist and a visual time capsule of the decade’s alternative music scene.
Afterwards, you can purchase the book and have it signed by Melissa Auf der Maur.
Please note the talk is held in English.
About the Author
Melissa Auf der Maur is a musician, photographer, and artist. She played with Hole on the Live Through This Tour and on the Grammy-nominated album Celebrity Skin, before joining Smashing Pumpkins for their farewell tour in 1999–2000. She later released several solo albums and cofounded the multidisciplinary arts centre Basilica Hudson in Hudson, New York.
Event Photography & Recording
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