Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film Last Days is an impressionistic, fictionalized account of the end of Kurt Cobain’s life. It’s slow, beautiful, and quiet, the story of a man bewildered by and alienated from the people around him, who revisits nature and reconnects with music before taking leave of the physical world. The movie makes an excellent companion piece to Jesse Frohman’s photos of Cobain, taken near the time of his suicide in 1994 and soon to be displayed at New York’s Morrison Hotel Gallery in commemoration of the 18th anniversary of his passing. The pictures capture the Nirvana frontman swathed in layers of androgynous clothing — a woman’s leopard coat, white cat-eye sunglasses, a hunting cap — his nails flecked with peeling red polish. He looks alternately thoughtful and goofy, but never anguished. Click through for a gallery of Frohman’s images from the show; New Yorkers can see these images and more in person April 6th through 22nd.
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery
© Jesse Frohman. Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery