I was lucky enough to meet Metallica backstage just before the show in New Orleans this Sunday. We talked about the tour, the band and collecting.
Lars Ulrich is a well-known art collector but also Kirk Hammett enjoys some good paintings. He told me that Edvard Munch was his favourite painter and that he had two of his works at home.
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker, and an important forerunner of expressionistic art. His best-known composition is The Scream.
"The two lithography's I have are 'Madonna' and 'The Kiss', both some of his most important work. There are 4 different versions of 'Madonna' and I have a lithography of the one with the seeds on the sides. My litho has a yellow rusty colour. Pretty nice"
These are the pictures Kirk own, but the colours might different
"Edvard Much is a proof that you have to be really crazy to be a good painter. Guess the same goes for musicians too."
Next up was Lars who is a walking full time collector. Not only does he try to collect every version of every Metallica album and single from every country, but he is also into art and furniture. "Yes I try to get my hands on every Metallica item out there, but believe me, it is not easy" he says in Danish. I am Norwegian so speaking to Mr. Ulrich in his own language is not a problem. As you probably know, he just sold one of his paintings for $13.5 million dollars, so of course I asked him why he did sell. "Well, it was about time that someone else could enjoy it as well. I buy and sell art all the time as I enjoy new paintings and other people should have the chance to see them too. It is not just the art I collect I am hooked on many things".
What else do you collect Lars? "Furniture! old Danish furniture. Arne Jacobsen made some really good stuff in the 50s and 60s".
Arne Jacobsen was a Danish architect and designer. In addition to his architectural work he created a number of highly original chairs and other furniture. Many of Jacobsen's furniture designs have become classic, including the Ant chair from 1952 and the Swan and the Egg which were both designed for the Radisson SAS Hotel, the same hotel as Metallica lived in when they recorded Master of puppets in Denmark.
Next up was Lars who is a walking full time collector. Not only does he try to collect every version of every Metallica album and single from every country, but he is also into art and furniture. "Yes I try to get my hands on every Metallica item out there, but believe me, it is not easy" he says in Danish. I am Norwegian so speaking to Mr. Ulrich in his own language is not a problem. As you probably know, he just sold one of his paintings for $13.5 million dollars, so of course I asked him why he did sell. "Well, it was about time that someone else could enjoy it as well. I buy and sell art all the time as I enjoy new paintings and other people should have the chance to see them too. It is not just the art I collect I am hooked on many things".
