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Alice Cooper — The Snake Archer
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit — October 31, 1987
Captured by John Rowlands during Alice Cooper's Halloween performance at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, this photograph freezes a moment of controlled spectacle and real danger. Cooper stands in full stage makeup, a live boa constrictor coiled around his body, his stance deliberate and defiant. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited edition.
The Full Story
The Moment
Cooper stands in full stage makeup, a live boa constrictor coiled around his body, his stance deliberate and defiant. The pose—arched, grounded, and theatrical—echoes the iconic "Archer" silhouette popularized by David Bowie a decade earlier, reinterpreted here through Cooper's shock-rock mythology. Dramatic stage lighting sharpens the contrast between flesh, costume, and living animal, while the presence of the snake introduces an element of genuine unpredictability within an otherwise meticulously choreographed performance.
The Heritage
By 1987, Alice Cooper was in the midst of a powerful artistic resurgence, fusing the provocation of his early 1970s shock-rock innovations with a newly refined theatrical control. The use of live snakes—always real, never symbolic—had long been central to Cooper's visual language, embodying the tension between performance and reality. This Halloween concert, part of the Constrictor tour, was widely regarded as a return to form, with critics and fans alike noting the balance between musical precision and theatrical excess. Rowlands' photograph is made possible by a relationship of deep trust developed over decades, granting him rare proximity during Cooper's most dangerous and intimate stage moments. The image stands as a document of survival and reinvention: a veteran artist reclaiming his mythology, channeling rock theatre history, and asserting his place alongside figures like Bowie who transformed performance into enduring visual archetype.
Editions & Dimensions
SMALL — Edition 150
Paper Size: 22.26" × 16.4"
Image Area: 19.6" × 13.07"
MEDIUM — Edition 100
Paper Size: 33.39" × 24.6"
Image Area: 29.39" × 19.6"
LARGE — Edition 50
Paper Size: 45.87" × 33.79"
Image Area: 40.37" × 26.91"
Provenance & Release
Previously unpublished from the John Rowlands archive. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited and hand-numbered. Museum-grade scanning and archival pigment printing on heavyweight, acid-free fine art paper.
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit — October 31, 1987
Captured by John Rowlands during Alice Cooper's Halloween performance at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, this photograph freezes a moment of controlled spectacle and real danger. Cooper stands in full stage makeup, a live boa constrictor coiled around his body, his stance deliberate and defiant. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited edition.
The Full Story
The Moment
Cooper stands in full stage makeup, a live boa constrictor coiled around his body, his stance deliberate and defiant. The pose—arched, grounded, and theatrical—echoes the iconic "Archer" silhouette popularized by David Bowie a decade earlier, reinterpreted here through Cooper's shock-rock mythology. Dramatic stage lighting sharpens the contrast between flesh, costume, and living animal, while the presence of the snake introduces an element of genuine unpredictability within an otherwise meticulously choreographed performance.
The Heritage
By 1987, Alice Cooper was in the midst of a powerful artistic resurgence, fusing the provocation of his early 1970s shock-rock innovations with a newly refined theatrical control. The use of live snakes—always real, never symbolic—had long been central to Cooper's visual language, embodying the tension between performance and reality. This Halloween concert, part of the Constrictor tour, was widely regarded as a return to form, with critics and fans alike noting the balance between musical precision and theatrical excess. Rowlands' photograph is made possible by a relationship of deep trust developed over decades, granting him rare proximity during Cooper's most dangerous and intimate stage moments. The image stands as a document of survival and reinvention: a veteran artist reclaiming his mythology, channeling rock theatre history, and asserting his place alongside figures like Bowie who transformed performance into enduring visual archetype.
Editions & Dimensions
SMALL — Edition 150
Paper Size: 22.26" × 16.4"
Image Area: 19.6" × 13.07"
MEDIUM — Edition 100
Paper Size: 33.39" × 24.6"
Image Area: 29.39" × 19.6"
LARGE — Edition 50
Paper Size: 45.87" × 33.79"
Image Area: 40.37" × 26.91"
Provenance & Release
Previously unpublished from the John Rowlands archive. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited and hand-numbered. Museum-grade scanning and archival pigment printing on heavyweight, acid-free fine art paper.