Bowie show augmented for last stop: New York

NEW YORK — David Bowie loved Little Richard.

Many artists of his era did, of course, but Bowie was so enamored of him, the legend goes, that he brought a photograph of the flamboyant rock 'n' roll pioneer into the studio whenever he was recording.

In 1982, when he made "Let’s Dance," his biggestselling album, Bowie and collaborator Nile Rodgers first spent a week going on ‘‘an artistic quest’’ to museums and record archives, Rodgers said, in search of inspiration. Then, one day, Bowie produced an image of Little Richard in a red suit getting into a red convertible.

‘‘Nile, darling, this is what I want my record to sound like,’’ he said.

‘‘I stared at it for just a split second,’’ Rodgers, the Chic guitarist and producer, recalled during a phone interview. ‘‘And then he followed it with, ‘Nile, now that’s rock 'n' roll.’ And that was it.’’

Transmuting visual cool into magnetic listening pleasure: That was Bowie’s hallmark for the length of his protean, nearly 55-year career. And it’s on electrifying display at the Brooklyn Museum in ‘‘David Bowie Is,’’ a far-reaching survey of his artistry, which includes music, costumes, sketches, stage props and videos. The museum, where the exhibit opened Friday and continues through July 15, marks the 11th and final stop for the display.

Included are 100 or so