~’KEITH HARING – FDR 1984′ / CHINATOWN TAKE-OVER
the 3 Rs: ROUGH, RAW & RELEVANT
‘KEITH HARING – FDR 1984’
OPENED WED APRIL 11, 2018
ON VIEW / THRU . . MON APRIL 30, 2018
99 CENTS FINE ART, 167 CANAL ST., CHINATOWN NYC 10013
HRS: SAT & SUN / 12-6 PM or by appointment
note: the original FDR MURAL / section is VISIBLE 24/7 . . via the storefront & a long, side street window / on ELIZABETH St.
PIX FROM THE OPENING / WED APRIL 11, 2018
CHINATOWN TAKE-OVER / rough & raw & reverent / totally in the street art spirit of the 80s.
an old gritty storefront . . works its magic.
NYC street art art history pop-up / at its best.
though a ‘digital’ screen looping in the window . . was a great touch / running through great archival images,
that helped bring the history alive / and nail all the right – references.
the 3 Rs: ROUGH, RAW & RELEVANT
inside, the rawness of the venue – added to the impact of the historic work.
there’s nothing that beats seeing the original, even if just a section.
2 original panels, (from a heavy metal fence – that ran around the FDR Drive).
KEITH HARING, ‘Untitled (FDR NY) #3 & #4’, spray enamel paint on metal, 48 x 204 x 3-1/4 in.
can’t help but also note: how those ‘KEITH HARING-FDR 1984’ colors / are so in fashion. right now.
red, black. white.
this was the 80s. there was no social media. there were no cellphones.
this was how you communicated, if you really felt compelled to say . . something.
though you might call Keith Haring the godfather of . . the modern emoji.
his images were bold, simple. animated even though standing still / graphic.
but they touched a common nerve.
they really set the city . . on fire.
seeing the rawness of the big steel fence that ran along the FDR, was stunning.
stunning, like a bee sting.
the images just rolled off his tongue onto the gritty belly of the inner city. via spray paint.
it also made you think about the concrete ‘bruteness’ of communication, & the collective / ‘illegal’ street art scene back then, as opposed to the clean-cut / non-stop millennial digital stream that flows incessantly online.
now.
the pop-up exhibit: it def, stopped people in their tracks, for whatever reason.
meaning: for many reasons.
it was an experience / not just a ‘4 white walls’ viewing.
it was immediate.
just around the corner, where the side wall meets the end of the room, was a small array of never-before-seen archival photos by ERIC KROLL.
rare black & white photos of HARING & ‘FDR – 1984’ . . .
bringing spiritual depth to the pop-up exhibit, in the best of ways.
then down the other side was a counter with books, that you could flip through / the neon nightlights & bustle of Chinatown, coming through.
in the early 80s, we used to go knife off these chalk pieces and sell them to collectors, who showed up at the openings. we got pretty good money, too.
you could almost pay a whole year’s rent, with one.
the way the Lower East Side was back then, before the real estate got crazy.
though things started getting dicey, too.
but that’s how it was.
one of his most iconic images. A true grand-pappy of the emoji.
at his later openings, he had stickers of this image, about 3 x 4 ins. / printed on huge rolls, and he used to hand them out.
someone else – can write the paper on what the seemingly simple image – means.
I just want to say: SWIZZ BEATZ too bad, you missed out, on some real juice.
no words.
you can see the mural through the side window on Elizabeth / 24/7.
pretty much just how you walked or drove by the work, integrated into the city, back in the day – when it was done.
EBONY HAYES, the Martos Gallery director, at center.
JOSE MARTOS, his wife, artist SERVANE MARY, and filmmaker/writer VERONICA GONZALEZ PENIA.
Martos was the guy with the vision, who put up this pop-up / with all 3 Rs intact. ROUGH, RAW, REVERENT.
to which you can add an A+ . . for archival, informative, and moving.
his main gallery is just around the corner on Elizabeth.
it’s also a beautiful space, with another profound / historic show up now, too.
the also dead & departed, but still haunting, still powerful: DAN ASHER. don’t miss it.
thru April 22.
but the art lives on.
DANNY CASTENDA, who runs workshops for ‘kids of color’, through an artist collective called, MINORITY REPORT, located at the Canal St. Market, just down the street.
with him, with actress ALINA CARSON.
see: https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/qvw7qm/the-nyc-collective-providing-free-art-workshops-to-kids-of-colorMINORITY REPORT NYC
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH