Just Kids

I just finished Patti Smith's Just Kids. The story of her friendship with Robert Mapplethorpe is one of the most touching things I've ever read, and her account of his death of AIDS in 1989 is truly heartbreaking. 

The two meet when they are 19 years old. Both already have a strong, yet unfocused sense that they are artists, but neither has found the right medium yet. The book captures the rush of passionate feelings and energies that consume young, bohemian, creative people trying to create their world and themselves anew. While telling the story of their mutual growth as artists, Smith never indulges in the cliches or posturing of genius myth-making. The writing is always personal, heartfelt, and illuminating. I would definitely give this book to a young artist. 

There is a really exciting play-by-play of how Mapplethorpe came to take the photo that became the cover of Smith's first album, Horses. 

There's even a great story about how the plainly-styled Smith was scorned by the glam gods of Max's Kansas City and decides to give herself Keith Richards' haircut. When she comes back to the club, everyone is suddenly really interested in her and warmly welcomes her into the inner circle. (I wish I could find a haircut that could do that!)