Metallica guitarist to be featured in Columbia show ... an art show
A guitarist from Metallica will be featured in a show in Columbia — an art show.
The exhibit at the Columbia Museum of Art won’t have any of the heavy metal songs that put Kirk Hammett and his band mates into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Instead it will be pieces of Hammett’s personal art collection that will be on display three months next year.
On Halloween, the museum tweeted it will host “It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection.
The show will run from Feb. 15-May 17, according to the museum.
“I have a real passion for the horror genre,” Hammett said in a video promoting the upcoming exhibition.
That is evident in the show that features more than 100 pieces. That includes posters, toys, guitars, masks, and sculptures, “many hailing back to the days of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi,” according to the museum.
Hammett has one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of horror and sci-fi art, the museum said.
“When I put that first movie poster up, it spoke to me every time I saw it,” Hammett said in the video. “They’re designed with a lot of movement, a lot of flow, and a lot of energy.”
Hammett collaborated on “It’s Alive!” with Will South, the chief curator at the Columbia Museum of Art, the video shows.
There is no word if Hammett will appear in Columbia while his art is on display. But he’s thrilled it will be shared at the museum.
“For the museum to see it as a whole and go ‘This actually has merit, this actually has integrity,’ ” Hammett said in the video. “This is a different kind of art that is huge to me because I’ve always fought for it to be acknowledged as an art form.”
The exhibit might also be a way for Hammett to keep from being considered a hoarder.
“I have a pretty creepy house (with no) wall space. All the rooms are filled, except a couple bedrooms and the kitchen,” Hammett said in a 2013 interview with the Charlotte Observer.
Prior to this exhibit, Hammett has chronicled his collection in a 2012 coffee-table book, “Too Much Horror Business.”
He explained why he wanted to make his collection public with the book, which might also be an inspiration for the museum show.
“I came to the conclusion that I should share this with all the other collectors who love this stuff,” Hammett told the Charlotte Observer. “It was my gift to the horror nerds and geeks.”
Hammett’s work as a rock star has been inspired by his art collection, according to the museum.
That’s saying a lot since Hammett — and fellow Metallica members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo — have won nine Grammy Awards, sold more than 125 million albums, and their live performances are among the top-grossing tours.
Tickets for “It’s Alive!” are available online, and cost $10 or less, and are free for museum members.
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