Art that Rocks

July 6, 2005

This summer Steve Loveless is throwing a little “rock” into tradition as he “rolls” out a unique collection of photographs and memorabilia from the world of popular music at his State of the Art Framing and Gallery in Traverse City.
It’s a departure for Loveless at the gallery he opened 20 years ago because for the past several summers he has had an exhibition of new works from nationally-acclaimed artist Charles Murphy.
“It’s not like we kicked Charles Murphy out -- his work is very popular and sells well. But Charles had some other projects for this summer so the door opened for this to happen,” said Loveless. “A few years ago the John Lennon art exhibition was well attended during the Cherry Festival and there was a lot of enthusiasm for the Tom Wright exhibition at the college, so that was my motivation for this.”
Several of Wright’s photographs will be part of the exhibit including some never-before-seen pieces. Wright, a close friend of Pete Townshend, was tour manager for The Who and traveled with the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and numerous other bands, amassing one of the greatest collections of rock photographs of all time.
“I am pleased that Tom has reached into his archives for this show,” said Loveless. “His work is amazing and there is so much to it. It seems to never end.”

THE FRAME-UP
Loveless should know. When Wright debuted his collection to the public in November of 2003 at the Dennos Museum, he called on Loveless to frame several hundred pieces in a two-week period.
Loveless’s fascination with rock photos, art and memorabilia started long before he met Wright. As with any kid who grew up in the 1960’s, it began with the Beatles. Loveless was 10 when the boys from Liverpool hit it big and he was instantly hooked.
“I really became hooked when ‘Yellow Submarine’ came out,” he said. “I have a lunch box and several other promotional items from that film.”
A few years back Loveless entered a Beatles shadowbox contest and designed a “Yellow Submarine” themed box winning top honors. The piece will be part of the exhibition.
In all, Loveless has over 200 pieces in his personal collection and will exhibit 20 of them. While he is attached to all of them every piece is for sale. Well, almost.
“I guess my most prized piece is my set of Beatles autographs from a show at the Cavern Club,” said Loveless. “If that sells there will be a lot of money being shelled out. But I want to include it because it is pretty cool.”

ON TOUR
Loveless has been traveling to Beatles collector exhibitions for years and regularly attends the BeatleFest in Liverpool. He is confident of the authenticity of the items he owns, but notes that even experts can be fooled.
“Hendrix was left-handed and this expert told someone I knew that the item was not authentic because it was signed by someone using their right-hand,” said Loveless. “Yet a year later I was watching some film clips of Hendrix signing things with his right hand. It certainly is a buyer-beware market out there. You have to know who you are buying from.”
Another unique collection that won’t be on exhibit or for sale is his compilation of bootleg records, tapes and CDs. He has literally thousands of hours of bootlegs from concerts and other unreleased recordings of several artists. He has even been a major contributor to books that have detailed bootlegs.
Loveless feels that the art of bootlegging has changed but in its day was fascinating.
“I think just about every concert was recorded. In the ‘60s and ‘70s guys would fake being handicapped and go to shows in wheelchairs. They would get upfront seating,” said Loveless. “Then underneath the wheelchair was a reel-to-reel recorder, so there are some amazing live recordings out there.”

INTERNET INTRUSION
Eventually the industry learned the value of bootlegs and began releasing them itself. Loveless said that the Internet has made virtually every bootleg available and so his collection is not as valuable as it once was. But he still prizes it.
“I love a lot of The Who material I have. Actually I am bored with my Beatles bootlegs because every show was the same. Another prized bootleg is the only one I recorded myself and that was the John Entwistle show at the casino a few years ago.”
So, there must be a bootleg or two that you don’t have and want?
“Yeah there is one and I probably will never get it. I have heard some of it. It is the Tommy recording that Tom Wright made in 1969 at The Grande Ballroom in Detroit,” said Loveless. “It was the first time The Who performed it in the U.S. and Tom’s loyalties will always be with the Who, so I don’t see myself getting a copy of it.”
As for the rest of the exhibition, Loveless is pleased with the pieces coming in. In the collection will be original art from Ron Campbell, one of the artists from the “Yellow Submarine” animation by the Beatles.
“Ron is sending me at least two originals,” said Loveless. “They will be available for purchase as well. In fact every item on display will be for sale.”

40 MILLION IMAGES
That includes several pieces from the Hulton/Archive Collection. The collection is owned by Getty Images and is a combination of two collections. The Hulton Deutsch from London and Archive Photos from New York. The Hulton/Archive is one of the largest collections of photography and illustrative material in the world containing over 40 million images ranging from prints, engravings, cartoons, illustrations, maps and periodicals.
Pieces from The Hulton/Archive collection will include limited edition fine art giclee prints from a digital file of the original negative. (A giclee is an individually produced, high-resolution, high-fidelity print.) Early photos of Elvis, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, Eric Clapton and Jim Hendrix will be included.
The exhibition and sale will also include pieces from the famed London Daily Mirror archive. It will run through the month of July at the State of the Art Framing and Gallery on West 14th Street (at the Veterans Drive intersection). Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 to 6 pm and on Saturday’s from 9 to 4:30.
After 20 years of building a reputation for quality framing and customer service Loveless has opened a second location in Beulah. For details, 0 call Loveless at (231) 947-5456; or better yet just stop by with your checkbook as there are only 175 more shopping days until Christmas and it is a guarantee that Loveless has something for that person you know that has everything.