One of the greatest visionary figures of 1970s rock and roll, Patti Smith will perform alone on acoustic guitar and with members of her band. Three chord rock merged with the power of the word is how Patti Smith described her music on the 1975 release of Horses, her celebrated debut album.

She also will read poetry. Some of that text and more can be seen in the drawings on view at ICA (September 4—December 7, 2003) in “Strange Messenger: The Work of Patti Smith.”

For Patti Smith: Words and Music, ICA gratefully acknowledges support from the following colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania: the Office of the Provost; Dean's Initiative Fund; Kelly Writer’s House & the Center for Contemporary Writing; and from the School of Arts & Sciences: Penn Humanities Forum, Department of the History of Art, Department of English, Department of Music, The Women's Studies Program, and the Department of Religious Studies. This event is co-presented by ICA & Penn Presents with media sponsorship by the Philadelphia City Paper.