Rock Hall of Fame rolls out history of 'Women Who Rock'
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A poster for a concert by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. -
Some of what you'll see: One of the bullet-bra bustiers worn by Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour
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CLEVELAND -- Women Who Rock, the new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum here, begins and ends with impressive feats of taxidermy.
To start, there's the fox fur stole worn long ago by jazz singer Billie Holiday. And the exhibit's grand finale is the dress made of meat that Lady Gaga wore to last year's MTV Video Music Awards, meticulously preserved and sealed in an airtight case.
It's an animal product kooky enough to make the exhibit's other sartorial contents -- Madonna's gold bustier, Cher's feathered headdress, the towering wig worn by the B-52's Kate Pierson, tons of fringed leather and masses of sequins -- seem almost tame.
Almost.
But in assembling the exhibit on women in rock 'n' roll, curator Jim Henke was careful to make it more than "a fashion show," he said. Alongside the outfits hang records, handwritten lyrics and instruments -- mostly guitars and bass guitars, except for Patti Smith's clarinet and the candy-striped bass drum played by Meg White of The White Stripes.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, about a 21/2-hour drive from Pittsburgh.
Before visitors reach the entrance to the new exhibit, "Women Who Rock" -- marked by the piano Lady Gaga used as a child -- they can explore the rest of the museum's collection and tour the Hall of Fame on the second floor.
Tickets are $22 for adults, $13 for children 9-12; children under 8 get in free. You can buy online at http://rockhall.rtrk.com/.
"People tend to think of women as lead singers. So I like the fact that we've got all these guitars and other instruments," Mr. Henke said.
The exhibit, which will run through Feb. 26, 2012, is the first to showcase the place of women in rock. The museum's regular collection pays dutiful homage to Madonna, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, and other female legends -- but its largest spaces are devoted to men like Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
First Published June 26, 2011 12:00 am
