Description
This fine art print was created from an original, 35mm negative film photograph by Tony Levin. It is of Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp on the Shinkansen (bullet train) in Japan, 1981.
More about this piece from Tony Levin: “Here’s a print of Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp on Shinkansen Japan 1981. The Shinkansen is of course the high speed train, which Japan had then and has now, we were enjoying on our first trip — that new incarnation of King Crimson our first tour of Japan. We’re enjoying a high speed rail trip probably from Tokyo to Osaka. It’s one of my favorite pictures of the guys. I was taking pictures all the time of the band in all kinds of situations. And this one kind of captured something special about being in a foreign country and yet, Robert immersed in English newspaper, and Adrian being Adrian. And it’s a pretty special picture to me.
I like that the there’s a little blur of the landscape outside the Japanese landscape. Would have been great to get the Mount Fuji in the background, but it didn’t capture that. But I love the blur and the stillness of the character of the way we were feeling at that time for King Crimson in 1981, Japan was one of the first places we toured. And we were feeling very good about our new material kind of radical new material. And it was a pleasure to bring it to Japan. Kind of exciting. And you can see from the look of the guys on the train, nice chairs to relax in between gigs on a long track trip and an adventure to a new place. Probably this was going to Osaka. And we enjoyed the tour a lot.
We were really forming the way we were as a band at that time. And, as usual, I was taking pictures of it all trying to capture. Be lucky and capture in one of them a little bit of the nature of the way it is for us on the road. The Tokyo train station is always very crowded, very active. People moving fast. Everybody knows where they’re going except for us. And this was no exception. Huge crowds and crowds that know where, how to line up and how we’re on the platform to wait for the train. It’s really a trip and an adventure for any band and it was for us, for sure back in 1981“. – Tony Levin
Print Details:
Year of Photograph: 1981
Year of this Edition: 2021
Plate size: 17 x 10.75 in. /43 x 27.3 cm
Paper size: 22.25 x 15.5 in. / 56.5 x 39.3 cm
Edition size: 500
Artist proofs: 25
Printer and Trial proofs: 50
Bon à Tirer: 2
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