SoHo -became a center of city industry during the late 19th Century. Fifty years later the large commercial spaces were falling into disrepair. During 1960s, 70's and 80's artists took up residence here and they partied, collaborated, performed, played music and turned the art world upside down. SoHo is where the minimalist and American modernist art movement was focused and three small museums in the area provide a glimpse into its vibrancy. Finish at McNally Jackson book store at 52 Prince Street to find the books written by these creators.
Best time to visit: All year at but check websites for opening museum opening hours
SoHo: South of Houston- As you walk north on Broadway onto Mercer and continue to West Broadway. There are 250 cast iron buildings in the city and the majority are in Soho. Fronting buildings with cast iron became popular in the late 19th century. Cast iron was a cheaper and a more lasting method for making decorative facades. Broken pieces could be easily recast and it allowed for quick construction. The strength of the metal allowed for larger windows and higher ceilings.
As textile manufactures left after World War two, the area began to face dereliction and Robert Moses the great New York City planner, was ready to demolish the buildings to make way for a highway. Seeing an opportunity for bargain rents, artists began to move in during the 1950s.
The early 20th Century modernists movement had already started to turn its back on traditional concepts in relation to art. By the 1960's there was a rising rebellious mood seeking a new vision that questioned accepted conservative values. The Vietnam War served as a further catalyst for change.
In the early 1970's the appeal of low rent and giant light filled space that could be used as both for living drew artists to SoHo. Residents simply cleared industrial debris and ignored the lack of kitchen or bathroom. It was possible to purchase a whole building at that time for $80,000. By the 1980s gallery owners moved in and the area became trendy. A whole new minimalist, absurdist, a experimental art movement had been spawned.
American painter and photographer Chuck Close lived in a loft on Green Street between Canal and Grand during this time. He said he "lived with no heat, with plastic on the windows so you couldn't see out." He said it was a time when ... "you wanted a purging of all associations of art historical associations as much as possible and as much as possible separate yourself from what was being made in the loft next door. So this is diversity or pluralism of the time allowed for both minimal painting and pop art in a sense to reign simultaneously, at the same time conceptual works, and earthworks, and various kinds of realism.."
Swedish born pop artist Claes Oldenberg came to New York in 1956 and eventually settled in SoHo. He said it was "like a college campus; you just walk out on the street and you bump into someone" -like Montparnasse in Paris an area of artists cut off from the rest of the city.
George Maciunas and the Fluxus Movement (1939-1978) was labeled "the father of SoHo" by the New York Times and was founder of the Fluxus Movement. His ambitions was to free the world of art and replace it with Fluxus -art that could be created by anyone, anywhere. He was against the concept of museums and saw no value in the idea that education is required to understand art. Maciunas said Fluxus was a fusion of " Vaudeville, Cage and Duchamp" and was a loose collective of artists, musicians and designers. Maciunas did not believe in ownership, never signed any of his work and if pressed to define Fluxus he liked to play recordings of geese honking or dogs barking. He developed the concept of a 3-day Flux-Olympiad, with soccer on stilts, balloon shot-put and slow speed bicycle races. Though Maciunas died of cancer in 1978 and never lived to stage the event, the Tate Gallery in London held an Flux-Olympics in 2008.
Yoko Ono was a member of the movement and her bed-in with John Lennon was a Fluxus influenced performance. Laurie Anderson was also very influenced by Maciunas' ideas. He collaborated with and influenced the work of pop artist Andy Warhol.
Maciunas, who had trained as an architect was also interested in urban planning and came up with the idea of co-op spaces for artists where they would share work and living spaces. This he called the Fluxhouse. With an initial grant of $20,000 form the National Foundation of the Arts and the J.M. Kaplan Fund he set about purchasing buildings. According to the George Maciunas Foundation "By offering shares at about $1 per square foo and charging minimally for renovation, he was able to take in enough deposits to make the $50,000 down payment". In all he created 11 co-operative units involving 17 buildings creating a "Fluxcity" a "collective estate which offers the space for art to flourish"
Jonas Mekas, died in 2019 and is considered a founding father of experimental film. His spirit and energy shaped the SoHo community of the 60's and 70's. Mekas was one of the first artists to purchase space in one of the first Maciunas artist co-op spaces in SoHo at 80 Wooster Street. Maciunas' idea appealed so he fundraised to purchase the space and establish Cinematheque I with the backing of one of his wealthy supporters. Cinematheques as Mekas planned would be " a place where the public will have to take chances with new artists and new works of estblished artists" ... "this will be our workshop our testing ground where anything goes". It became a center for festivals and screening but frequently faced financial difficulties. Mekas eventually established Anthology Film Archives where he showed experimental film and video and staged Fluxus events and concerts by Yoko Ono and John Lennon.
John Cage 1912-1992 once said " I don't like meaningful sound. If sound is meaningless, I'm all for it" . Be believed composers should free themselves from conventional musical language to open the doors of creativity to minimalism, and experimental music and performance art. His work inspired debate and at times incited fury - sometimes audiences walked out. Critics had a hard time accepting the range of instruments he used such as flower pots and cow bells. Cage whose father was an inventor was never deterred and sought out innovation. His musical training was varied until he persuaded Schoenberg. Cage moved to New York City in 1942 and eventually met up and worked with Merce Cunningham who he ended up living with until his death They collaborated and toured on ground breaking new performance pieces.
Pop Art was also underway. Roy Lichtenstein while working as an professor of Art at Rutgers University in 1961 was producing large scale comic strips. Swedish born artist Claes Oldenberg settled in New York City in the 1950s and set about creating art from everyday things..Andy Warhol was to follow and add a social and rock music to his area of interest.
"Jonas Mekas talks about Andy Warhol's 8 hour movie "Empire" Heni Talks
Best time to visit: All year at but check websites for opening museum opening hours
Length of trip: As long you like
Subway Stop: R train to Prince Street and walk south on Broadway to Spring
Taxi: Spring Street and Broadway
Taxi: Spring Street and Broadway
Suitable for: All age groups interested in art
Nearby eating: Balthazar for very good brasserie dining (off Broadway on Spring Street),Alidoro - for old timeItalian sandwiches (105 Sullivan Street).
There are some great burgers to be had in this neighborhood at Balthazar (listed above), Black Tap Craft
Burgers and Beer (529 Broome Street) and Fanellis a New York icon that
has been around for decades (94 Prince Street). Mexican - Cafe Habana (17 Prince Street). Lighter fare
good salads etc- Jack's Wife Freda 224 Lafayette or Cipriani (376 West Broadway)
Advance Planning: Check museum websites for opening hours. Since most are small some
require online booking in advance. To reserve a table for dinner or check the menus Balthazar Restaurant
The Soho Arts Network has created a map of non-profit art galleries to visit in the area click on the following link: New York Art Maps The Whitney Museum, The Guggenheim and MoMa also house and exhibit works from this era.
Museums in the area:
The Drawing Center: hours and address
http://www.drawingcenter.org/en/drawingcenter/1089/about/1090/about/42/mission-history/
Smithsonian Archives of American Art transcript of interview with Walter de Maria
https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-walter-de-maria-12362#transcript
New York Earth Room: hours and address
https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit/walter-de-maria-the-new-york-earth-room-new-york-united-states/
The Broken Kilometer: hours and address - closed for the summer
https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit/walter-de-maria-the-broken-kilometer-new-york-united-states
The Judd Foundation at 101 Spring Street the frozen in time, fully restored loft of the minimalist artist Donald Judd. Tours are led by artists - and visits must be booked online https://juddfoundation.org/visit/new-york/
Art in General at 79 Walker Street http://artingeneral.org/visit
New Museum of Contemporary Art at 235 Bowery https://www.newmuseum.org/visit
Documentaries about the art scene:
"Herb and Dorothy" a documentary directed by Megumi Sasaki
"The Artists Studio: Donald Judd" directed by Michael Blackwood
"The Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art" directed by James Crump
"The Karamazoffs: A walk on the SoHo Years" directed by Juan Gamero and Carmen Rodríguez
Reading:
"I think I'm built for this kind of life" by Christina Patterson, The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/interviews/philip-glass-i-think-im-built-for-this-kind-of-life-i-train-like-an-athlete-1688870.html
"Soho: The Rise and Fall of an Artists' Colony" Richard Kostelanetz
Granary Books Archives: Patty (Olenberg) Mucha Archive: New York City Artworld in the Sixties and Seventies https://granarybooks.com/collections/mucha/index.html
"Illegal Living:80 Wooster Street and the Evolution of SoHo" Roslyn Bernstien and Shael Shapiro
"112 Green Street" Jessamyn Fiore about the building which was established as an experimental art space for any artists interested in collaborating it also housed a pay-as-you-wish restaurant
Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol and many of the artists have written books.
Burgers and Beer (529 Broome Street) and Fanellis a New York icon that
has been around for decades (94 Prince Street). Mexican - Cafe Habana (17 Prince Street). Lighter fare
good salads etc- Jack's Wife Freda 224 Lafayette or Cipriani (376 West Broadway)
Advance Planning: Check museum websites for opening hours. Since most are small some
require online booking in advance. To reserve a table for dinner or check the menus Balthazar Restaurant
The Soho Arts Network has created a map of non-profit art galleries to visit in the area click on the following link: New York Art Maps The Whitney Museum, The Guggenheim and MoMa also house and exhibit works from this era.
Museums in the area:
The Drawing Center: hours and address
http://www.drawingcenter.org/en/drawingcenter/1089/about/1090/about/42/mission-history/
Smithsonian Archives of American Art transcript of interview with Walter de Maria
https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-walter-de-maria-12362#transcript
New York Earth Room: hours and address
https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit/walter-de-maria-the-new-york-earth-room-new-york-united-states/
The Broken Kilometer: hours and address - closed for the summer
https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit/walter-de-maria-the-broken-kilometer-new-york-united-states
The Judd Foundation at 101 Spring Street the frozen in time, fully restored loft of the minimalist artist Donald Judd. Tours are led by artists - and visits must be booked online https://juddfoundation.org/visit/new-york/
Art in General at 79 Walker Street http://artingeneral.org/visit
New Museum of Contemporary Art at 235 Bowery https://www.newmuseum.org/visit
Documentaries about the art scene:
"Herb and Dorothy" a documentary directed by Megumi Sasaki
"The Artists Studio: Donald Judd" directed by Michael Blackwood
"The Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art" directed by James Crump
"The Karamazoffs: A walk on the SoHo Years" directed by Juan Gamero and Carmen Rodríguez
Reading:
"I think I'm built for this kind of life" by Christina Patterson, The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/interviews/philip-glass-i-think-im-built-for-this-kind-of-life-i-train-like-an-athlete-1688870.html
"Soho: The Rise and Fall of an Artists' Colony" Richard Kostelanetz
Granary Books Archives: Patty (Olenberg) Mucha Archive: New York City Artworld in the Sixties and Seventies https://granarybooks.com/collections/mucha/index.html
"Illegal Living:80 Wooster Street and the Evolution of SoHo" Roslyn Bernstien and Shael Shapiro
"112 Green Street" Jessamyn Fiore about the building which was established as an experimental art space for any artists interested in collaborating it also housed a pay-as-you-wish restaurant
Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol and many of the artists have written books.
 |
| Typical cast iron building front Soho |
 |
| Cipriani Soho on West Broadway |
As textile manufactures left after World War two, the area began to face dereliction and Robert Moses the great New York City planner, was ready to demolish the buildings to make way for a highway. Seeing an opportunity for bargain rents, artists began to move in during the 1950s.
The early 20th Century modernists movement had already started to turn its back on traditional concepts in relation to art. By the 1960's there was a rising rebellious mood seeking a new vision that questioned accepted conservative values. The Vietnam War served as a further catalyst for change.
In the early 1970's the appeal of low rent and giant light filled space that could be used as both for living drew artists to SoHo. Residents simply cleared industrial debris and ignored the lack of kitchen or bathroom. It was possible to purchase a whole building at that time for $80,000. By the 1980s gallery owners moved in and the area became trendy. A whole new minimalist, absurdist, a experimental art movement had been spawned.
American painter and photographer Chuck Close lived in a loft on Green Street between Canal and Grand during this time. He said he "lived with no heat, with plastic on the windows so you couldn't see out." He said it was a time when ... "you wanted a purging of all associations of art historical associations as much as possible and as much as possible separate yourself from what was being made in the loft next door. So this is diversity or pluralism of the time allowed for both minimal painting and pop art in a sense to reign simultaneously, at the same time conceptual works, and earthworks, and various kinds of realism.."
Swedish born pop artist Claes Oldenberg came to New York in 1956 and eventually settled in SoHo. He said it was "like a college campus; you just walk out on the street and you bump into someone" -like Montparnasse in Paris an area of artists cut off from the rest of the city.
Jonas Mekas talking about the role of George Maciunas in developing SoHo
Yoko Ono was a member of the movement and her bed-in with John Lennon was a Fluxus influenced performance. Laurie Anderson was also very influenced by Maciunas' ideas. He collaborated with and influenced the work of pop artist Andy Warhol.
credit: The Tate Maciunus' fluxus olympiad
John Cage 1912-1992 once said " I don't like meaningful sound. If sound is meaningless, I'm all for it" . Be believed composers should free themselves from conventional musical language to open the doors of creativity to minimalism, and experimental music and performance art. His work inspired debate and at times incited fury - sometimes audiences walked out. Critics had a hard time accepting the range of instruments he used such as flower pots and cow bells. Cage whose father was an inventor was never deterred and sought out innovation. His musical training was varied until he persuaded Schoenberg. Cage moved to New York City in 1942 and eventually met up and worked with Merce Cunningham who he ended up living with until his death They collaborated and toured on ground breaking new performance pieces.
John Cage performing "Water Walks"
Beach Birds - choreography Merce Cunningham, music John Cage
Merce Cunningham established the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953 and revolutionized the approach to dance. With John Cage ee collaborated with a number of artists including Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol.Pop Art was also underway. Roy Lichtenstein while working as an professor of Art at Rutgers University in 1961 was producing large scale comic strips. Swedish born artist Claes Oldenberg settled in New York City in the 1950s and set about creating art from everyday things..Andy Warhol was to follow and add a social and rock music to his area of interest.
Claes Oldenberg talking about his work
Whitney Museum short set of interviews about Andy Warhol
Warhol's interest extended to music and he took on the management of the Velvet Underground. Jean Michel Basquiat, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Twyla Tharp and David Bowie mixed and collaborated through the 70s and 80s.
John Cale interviewing himself about the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol's screen test of Lou Reed
A glimpse of Basquiat
Walter de Maria a sculptor influenced by the San Fransisco jazz scene of the 1950s moved to New York City in 1960. He is known for his minimalist and conceptual art and environmental installations (for more information on the movement watch the documentary "The troublemakers: The Story of Land Art"). He also had a sideline interest in music. Having learned how to play the drums as a kid Walter became the drummer for a band called the Primitives in 1964. The other musicians were Lou Reed and John Cale. Not long after he left the group, it was taken up by Andy Warhol and renamed The Velvet Undergound. The band was too serious for his liking and he was quick to move on.
"...And it was very tiring to bring all the drums around, you know, and then after playing all night, you couldn't do anything during the day and this was a period of months. I thought, are you going to play or are you going to do the sculpture? You know, are you going to be an artist or a musician?
(transcript of the interview with him done by the Smithsonian Archives of American Art - a really interesting read where he talks about his life and his influences:
https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-walter-de-maria-12362#transcript
He continued to play drums for a less ambitious and maybe more offbeat band - The Druds. Friends (also artists) LaMonte Young, played saxophone, Larry Poons was on guitar, Patty Mucha (married to Claes Oldenburg) was lead singer and Jasper Johns wrote lyrics. Andy Warhol periodically sang back up.
Later in life he maintained a lower profile and described the art scene in New York as "a hundred people pillow fighting each other blindfold and swinging knives instead of pillows". De Maria died of a heart attack in 2013 and left behind an expansive collection of work - there are two installations in this neighborhood. The New York Earth Room was created in 1977 is at 141 Wooster Street and The Broken Kilometer - created 1979- closed for the summer) is at 393 West Broadway, Check the links above for hours.
Gordon Matta-Clarke lived in SoHo and set up the restaurant Food. In this Whitney Museum short film, Jane Crawford, Matta-Clarke's wife talks about his work and early death at the age of 35.
George Condo working in his Soho loft. Condo was part of the 1980s Soho artist scene
The short film below shows the seemingly arbitrary path many artists followed. "Dickie" Landry has had exhibitions and performed at major museums and venues. He has performed with Philip Glass, Paul Simon, Talking Heads, Bob Dylan and the Band and Robert Plant.
Donald Judd -Visit his studio and home at the The Judd Foundation at 101 Spring Street can be visited by booking an appointment online. See link above. Judd is considered to be one of the most important artists of post war America and has been described as a minimalist, however, he did not agree with the classification and preferred to refer to himself as a minimalist. MoMa will be holding a retrospective of Judd's life work in 2020 and describes his artwork as "untethered from the traditional frameworks of painting and sculpture, focusing instead on an investigation of "real space" or three dimensions, using commercial materials and an emphasis on whole unified shapes..."
Judd purchased 101 Spring Street as his home and studio in 1968 for under $70,000. His daughter Ranier Judd runs the foundation and was interviewed by W Magazine about her father, his work and the building she grew up in.
https://www.wmagazine.com/story/rainer-judd-donald-judd-101-spring-st
Judd died in 1994 and left directions for his art and the art of his friends such as Claes Oldenburg, John Chamberlain and Dan Flavin to remain where he had hung them. In 2010, $23 million was raised from the sale of more than 30 Judd sculptures to fund the full renovation of the outside and inside of the building as well as the installation of humidity controls. It's worth listening to the foundations "Oral History Project" on their website https://juddfoundation.org/research/oral-history-project
The Drawing Center has been around since 1977, is at 35 Wooster Street. As its name suggests is a museum that focuses on historical and contemporary drawings.
 |
| An installation at the Drawing Center |
Fran Lebowitz the social commentator, writer and occasional actor talks with Marc Balet about his loft apartment which when he purchased it 30 years ago was used as a dance studio. This New Yorker video gives a glimpse of how a typical loft space used to look. Marc Balet was Art Director of Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine He has since created Plunge a wedding resource for men and runs an online business agency.
Click on this link the foundations of a museum to commemorate the SoHo art movement: A interesting collection of memories relating to SoHo in the 1970s
There are now few of the original artists who maintain their studios in the area. Most buildings have been transformed by developers into luxury residential and retail space.
Apart from the classic cast iron fronts of the buildings here keep an eye out for giant hand painted ads by the Colossal Media company which is bringing back the art hand painted ads. The Gucci art wall is at 91 Crosby Street.
Jonas Mekas film - Andy Warhol and Maciunas
Mekas' advice to young people
Laurie Anderson's advice to young people
-->
No comments:
Post a Comment