New York City exhibit celebrates the courage of Les Petites Bon Bons

Les Petites Bon-Bons, our hometown heroes of the glitter rock gay liberation era, will be honored with a special exhibit curated by Boo-Hooray.  Robert Lambert (aka founding member "Boby Bon Bon") and the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project will be hosting live discussions on Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14.

Boo-Hooray presents an archival exhibition of ephemera from Les Petites Bon Bons—a group of artists whose collective artistic practice marked an important era in queer identity, activism, outrageousness, and artistic pyrotechnics! Originating in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1970s, Les Petites Bon Bons made glitter mail art, situationist pranks, performances, and much more, with contributions from a range of stars of the era like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Buckminster Fuller, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Led Zeppelin, Pet Shop Boys, among others.

Boo-Hooray will be selling a Special Edition of the complete run of founding Bon-Bons member Robert Lambert's legendary queer art publication, Egozine. Launched by Lambert in 1975, the three issues of this zine are an extension of the collective's work, following and intermingling the gay-glam situationist antics of the Bon-Bons with the underground art and proto-punk scenes they met along the way. 

The zine, primarily dedicated to the West Coast gay art world, features the likes of Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanny Tutti, avant-garde Chicano conceptual art group Asco, Cavellini, John J. Baylin, Bon-Bon founder Jerry Dreva, among others, with numerous links to international mail art, the New York Correspondence School, and the early architects of American punk. 

This Special Edition is limited to only 16 box sets and contains original artwork by Robert Lambert. 

A complete standard run of Egozine magazine will also be available for purchase.

Boo-Hooray is dedicated to the organization, stabilization, & preservation of archives that are representative of 20th & 21st century cultural movements.  We thank Johan Kugelberg for elevating Bon Bons history to new heights!

Initiated in 2006, Printed Matter’s NY Art Book Fair (NYABF) is one of the leading international gatherings for the distribution of artists’ books, celebrating the full breadth of the art publishing community. A signature program of Printed Matter, this weekend-long event furthers the organization’s mission of supporting the distribution, understanding, and appreciation of artists’ books by offering an opportunity for global artist-publishers to find new audiences for their work and engage in a dialogue with the public, as well as to build relationships and share resources with their peers.

The Fair hosts nearly 300 exhibitors from around the world, including a broad range of artists and collectives, small presses, institutions, galleries, antiquarian booksellers, and distributors. NYABF draws tens of thousands of visitors each year, including artists’ book professionals, high school and college students, and audiences from every corner of the cultural sector.

The event takes place at MoMA PS1 22-25 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 11101.

Learn more at the Printed Matter Art Book Fair website.

Questions? Contact us.