Melissa auf der Maur, bassist for Hole, has selected a photograph of Courtney Love applying makeup during the 1995 Lollapalooza tour as her best image for a new rock photography book.
The shot captures Love in the aftermath of Kurt Cobain's death, according to auf der Maur. She describes the photo as part of a larger documentary project tracking her generation during a pivotal cultural moment. "I was documenting my generation being hijacked by corporate greed and destroyed following the sacrificial death of Kurt Cobain," auf der Maur states in the Guardian Culture piece accompanying her selection.
Auf der Maur traces her relationship with photography back to age 13, when she took a self-portrait at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris in front of Jim Morrison's grave. She describes that first image as an attempt to take control of her circumstances. "Photography was the absolute first thing that gave me a feeling of having my own say," she says.
After joining Hole, her photographic work shifted to documenting the band and the alternative music scene from the inside. She travelled with the group, capturing backstage moments and on-stage performances with what she calls "luminary, wild people." The Lollapalooza '95 tour marked a turning point she identifies as the moment "wild alternative freaks crossed into the mainstream."
Auf der Maur frames the Love photograph within this broader context. The 1995 tour, she argues, became a generational moment worth preserving. Her camera work during this period, she explains, was driven by a sense that documentation mattered for future understanding of the era.
The photograph appears in auf der Maur's rock photo book, which prompted her to revisit the archives and reflect on the significance of images captured during her years with Hole and the wider alternative music movement.