Kurt Cobain’s Personal Archive: See Intimate Photos From New Exhibit
In Cobain Unseen, Kurt Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross journeyed deep into the personal archive of the late Nirvana leader. Along with old photos of a young Cobain as well as his journal entries and scribbles, the book featured new photos of Cobain's personal belongings. For one day, photographer Geoff Moore entered the vault and took photos of the items for Cobain Unseen. Now, the 2007 images will be featured in an exhibit called Endorsement that will open at Los Angeles' KM Fine Arts Gallery on February 11th. Take a look at a few of the images to be displayed at the show.
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Hi-Flier
As a young guitarist learning the instrument, Cobain used to play a right-hand model of the Univox Hi-Flier that he reversed for left-handed playing. It was the model of guitar he used most regularly before Nirvana's 1991 breakthrough with Nevermind. (via Guitar World)
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Nixon Now
Cobain purchased his Epiphone Texan not too long after he became famous. After applying the "Nixon Now" sticker, he began sporting the guitar during Nirvana's 1993 In Utero tour.
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Smashed
The songwriter penned lyrics on anything he could, including this smashed guitar that bears lines from "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" from In Utero.
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“Friends … in My Head #1”
Throughout his life, Cobain was obsessed with the human anatomy, deformities and scientific renderings of both. Because of this infatuation, he often made many creepy dolls on his own.
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Madonna Box
In a suitcase, Cobain arranged pieces of a broken statue of the Madonna with birth-announcement babies. Cobain was also interested in the anatomy of a woman during pregnancy, as seen on the In Utero cover.
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The Journals
Many of Cobain's journals and scribblings were organized into a book, Journals, which was released in 1993.
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The Promise
Cobain's household contained a framed photo of him wearing an ornate ring on his ring finger while playing the guitar.
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The Tapes
Cobain was an avid music collector and also enjoyed making experimental mixes, like Montage of Heck, which inspired the title of Brett Morgen's 2015 Cobain documentary.
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Endorsement: Cobain’s Converse
Cobain penned "Endorsement" across a pair of Converse sneakers. The shoe company released a controversial line of Cobain-inspired sneakers in 2008 which featured his lyrics and handwriting on a similar style of shoes.
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Kick Drum
A kick drum is one of many instruments that Cobain owned and played that are contained in a storage locker with the rest of his valued belongings.
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Freddy
Many years after Cobain had hung a Freddy Krueger doll on a noose, the director of Nirvana's breakthrough clip for "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Samuel Bayer, made his feature-film directorial debut with a reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
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Kurt’s Monkey #3
Kurt Cobain was as obsessive over monkeys as he was anatomical models.
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Kurt’s Monkey #1
Cobain's monkey obsession led to a fairly large collection of monkey dolls, especially monkeys holding cymbals.
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Heart-Shaped Box
Cobain and wife Courtney Love collected heart-shaped boxes in their home. They had dozens of them and kept hair, notes and other small items in each box.