If you party all night and sleep all day, when do you have time to make art? If you’re like photographer Nancy Sarrouf, you simply take your camera with you to the party. In the current exhibition Rock This, Sarrouf spends her nights (and early mornings) hanging out with the Strokes, the Libertines, Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Warlocks, Mooney Suzuki, Adam Green, A.R.E. Weapons, Beachwood Sparks, the Witnesses, and Moving Units. In the spirit of Astrid Kirchherr‘s early photos of the Beatles and Baron Wolman‘s work for Rolling Stones magazine, the sometimes fashion photographer for *Surface and V magazines is presently hell-bent on recording the new generation of scruffy fashionable artists while raising the discussion on fame and the music/fashion link. Choosing subjects like Mooney Suzuki is about shifting the dialogue beyond the superstars who reap the benefits of their celebrity and clutter the market with dodgy products or even the musicians who produce respectable designs. Sarrouf gets to the meat of the matter and explores the personal image of who we are versus who we desire to be and the politics of celebrity overshadowing the beauty of style. Incidentally her casually posed images are not lacking in style appeal. Outlet 7 (17 E 7th btwn. Ave. A and 1st) also offers production samples for women at wholesale prices from brands like Imitation of Christ, Beverly & Monica, Christian Blanken, Erickson Beamon, Jiwon Park, Julia, Ozero, Petro Zillia, Roxanne Heptner, Trosman, and Whistles.

- Michael Cohen
Photo: The Strokes by Nancy Sarrouf