Cooley Law School hides major collection of rock, blues art

Over the years, I’ve come across some major collectors of rock ‘n’ roll posters and art. Most of them store their collections without frames in large, flat drawers or just rolled up and piled under a bed.

Not so with local collector Joe Kimble, a professor emeritus at Cooley Law School.

Sunday afternoon, Kimble will lead curated tours of the more than 250 posters and art pieces he owns that hang on the 10th floor of Cooley. Attendees must send an email to kimblej@cooley.edu to register.

Kimble has been an inveterate collector of rock and blues posters since he first attended the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969. He’s still amazed by the stars who performed at the three-day event at a neighborhood park, including Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Clifton Chenier. From then on, he was hooked and continued to attend premier blues events while enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that he began to collect other music-related art.

Unlike some collectors, Kimble said, “I’m not a completist. I collect what I like and what is unusual.” So, in the Cooley exhibit, attendees will see a newer piece depicting Detroit rapper Eminem, cut from Michigan license plates, on display near a poster for a 1965 Supremes concert at Lincoln Center by the eminent fashion illustrator Joe Eula.

One of Kimble’s favorite things to collect is work by Michigan artists showcasing local performers. One wall of the Cooley display features a complete run of Michigan BluesFest posters and the art they were based on, created by Dennis Preston, Bruce Thayer, Barbara Hranilovich and Brian Whitfield. Kimble has also hung quite a collection of posters from shows at the legendary East Lansing venue The Stables, which operated from 1971 to 1975.

Kimble grew up in Linden, a far cry from the hotbeds of rock across the country — but not so far from Flint, where he attended his first rock extravaganza at the Industrial Mutual Association Auditorium, featuring legends like Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. According to Kimble, the legendary voodoo blues musician Screamin’ Jay Hawkins showcased his theater skills by sitting up in a coffin.

Numerous posters, photographs and works of art in Kimble’s collection have scribbles, which you might call signatures, from rockers, blues musicians and the artists behind the pieces.

Kimble prefers neat handwriting, but when you’re asking for autographs, you can’t be picky. One of his holy grails is a poster for a documentary on Motown’s Funk Brothers, signed by five members of the group. Kimble said he stood in line for hours to get three of the autographs, only to be turned down by a manager. He used his experience as a lawyer to talk the manager into it.

One of his prized possessions is a jacket from The Band’s self-titled album, signed by each of the original members, who are now all deceased.

Of course, The Beatles take up major wall space, with Andy Warhol’s psychedelic prints taking center stage.

While on a private tour, Kimble talks affectionately about many of the works, like New Orleans artist Tami Curtis Ellis’ window-screen art pieces. Let’s just say they’re unique.

Part of what makes the exhibit delightful is the breadth of styles used by the artists, as well as Kimble’s stories of how he acquired the works.

Most of the works are displayed outside the offices of administrators and professors, and they have a way of adding life to the often-quotidian law school experience, especially for the students.

One of the things I enjoyed about my tour was that Kimble is open to learning everything he can about the creators and subjects of the pieces in his collection. I was pleased to show him the tiny mouse on a Fillmore poster signed by artist Stanley Mouse.

Kimble said he hasn’t stopped collecting — in fact, he has several pieces that are being framed. Most of the work is acquired from other collectors, auctions and art festivals.

So, why are the posters and artworks displayed in the halls of Cooley? The answer is quite simple: “I ran out of wall space at home,” Kimble said.