Fashioning the Body: Versions of the Citizen, the Self, and the Subject

At the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City, there hangs behind a sheet of glass a black leather jacket autographed by The Ramones.  I recall the jacket being draped over the frame of an anonymous, headless mannequin in a display case that serves as an open casket for this dead object.  This jacket very well might have once appeared on album covers, club stages, in promotional photographs.  In its rather fleeting lifetime, it may have traveled the world, been engulfed in clouds of cigarette smoke, and witnessed screaming Ramones fans.  Now it hangs lifelessly in this tomb of musical artifacts, among Beatles suits and Bo Diddley's guitar.  

When The Ramones dissolved and lost their original, legendary line-up, the leather jacket was donated to the Hard Rock Cafe.  As it was set up inside its glass box, the life and luster drained out of its thick black material and zippers.  It was a slow and seemingly painful death, but the jacket showed no signs of struggle or protest.  Although the jacket hangs to be seen by all, it no longer sweeps across stages on the shoulders of an influential musician or slips into the shadowy back room of Max's Kansas City.  Out of the people that once saw this jacket on a regular basis - the other Ramones - the founding members are all deceased.  Even the places this jacket once frequented are no longer in their place of origin.  Max's Kansas City closed its doors decades ago and CBGB was gutted, its contents intended to be transplanted to Las Vegas. 

The jacket will remain in the New York City Hard Rock Cafe indefinitely.  Donations can be made out to the Hard Rock Cafe.  To leave flowers or messages for the jacket, please consult the Hard Rock Cafe staff before doing so.