Artist Shepard Fairey and photographer Dennis Morris are putting on an exhibit/event called “SID: Superman Is Dead” that seems to be celebrating Sid Vicious.

They’ll have posters, paintings, prints and paintings of Sid for sale. And there will be performances of “1977 Era Classics by former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, Billy Idol, Blondie drummer Clem Burke & Bow Wow Wow guitarist Leigh Gorman. The exhibit is being held at Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles. The opening night reception is on Friday December 13, 2013.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

Sid has been immortalized in countless posthumous recordings, films, T-shirts, action figures etc. SID: Superman Is Dead is possibly the ultimate of these tributes, its centerpiece being a recreation of a hotel room trashed by Sid in a fit of intoxication, rage and depression during the infamous S.P.O.T.S. (Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly) tour of 1977, during which the Pistols were forced to play every date under pseudonyms to avoid cancellation.

I was around during the life and and death of the Sex Pistols. I saw the group at Winterland when they played their final show before breaking up. I don’t understand why Fairey and Morris are doing this show.

Sid Vicious was a no talent. He was an addict and a creep.

There were amazing talents during the punk years: Patti Smith, Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, David Byrne, John Lydon, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Poly Styrene and many more.

But Sid Vicious. Give me a fucking break.

Here’s what Shepard Fairey says about Sid Vicious:

The Sex Pistols changed my life when I discovered them as a teenager. Their music alone made my arm hairs stand up, but their image and attitude were just as important and powerful. The member of the Sex Pistols who I was drawn to and most epitomized the punk image for me was Sid Vicious, with his spiked hair, leather jacket, lock necklace, and reckless behavior. At 14 I was mesmerized by Sid and I made my first home-made tee shirt of him snarling his lip defiantly. As I was rebelling, looking for any way to irritate my parents, and before I knew better, Sid was my Superman. Sid self-destructed young, and with punk’s slogans like “No Future” and “live fast, die young” , Sid was everything the Superman, anti-hero, or cliche, of a nihilistic movement called for. Sid didn’t really do much to shape punk music… he only actually played on two songs on Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols. However, Sid’s surly vocals kick ass on C’mon Everybody, Somethin’ Else, and My Way. Sid remains one of punk’s most enduring icons even if he is a classic example of style over substance. I was a sucker for Sid’s image as a teenager, and I still am, even though I see him as less “cool” and more tragic and cautionary these days. I have made many images of Sid over the years, and I thought I had retired him as a subject, until Dennis Morris, the photographer of the most intimate and iconic shots of Sid approached me about a collaboration. Dennis’s archive provided an amazing treasure trove of Sid images to work from in creating the paintings and prints in the “Superman Is Dead” show. I’m so glad I got to do Dennis’s Sid images “My Way”! I can now retire Sid as a subject. I’ve worked with the best, I can skip the rest.

— A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post —