The Bowery Artist Tribute was initiated by the New Museum in 2007, in conjunction with the Museum’s new building at 235 Bowery. The foundation of the project was a series of interviews: 74 artists, curators, and assistants were spoke in depth about their relationship to the Bowery. These interviews were shared in part through public programs, a series of publications, and an exhibition. I managed this project from 2007 to 2014.
“Come Closer” was a 2012 exhibition at the New Museum which took the Bowery as subject, site, and center for creative ingenuity in the 1970s and 1980s. Drawing upon the Bowery Artist Tribute archive, the exhibition featured original artwork, ephemera, and performance documentation artists who lived and worked on or near the Bowery. Curated by former Education Associate Ethan Swan, the exhibition included works by artists Barbara Ess, Coleen Fitzgibbon, Keith Haring, John Holmstrom, Curt Hoppe, Colette Lumiere, Marc H. Miller, Adrian Piper, Adam Purple, Dee Dee Ramone, Joey Ramone, Marcia Resnick, Bettie Ringma, Christy Rupp, Arleen Schloss, Charles Simonds, Eve Sonneman, Billy Sullivan, Paul Tschinkel, Anton van Dalen, Arturo Vega, Robin Winters, and Martin Wong.
More information HERE
‘Art on the Bowery’ was a public program series at the New Museum I organized in conjunction with the Bowery Artist Tribute. Some highlights include a 2015 panel discussion with David Diao, Mary Heilmann, and Billy Sullivan [LINK]; Graffiti/Post-Graffiti with Patti Astor, Fab Five Freddy, Lady Pink, and Lee Quiñones [LINK]; Parallel Lines: Visual Art, CBGB, and Downtown Nightlife with John Holmstrom, Pat Place, Marcia Resnick, and Arturo Vega [LINK]; and Alternatives in Retrospect: Artist-run spaces in the 1970s and 80s with Stefan Eins, Coleen Fitzgibbon, Becky Howland, and Joe Lewis [LINK].
Bowery Artist Tribute Vol. 1 included interviews with Vito Acconci, Lynda Benglis, Tom Doyle, Inka Essenhigh, Scott Ewalt, Alicia Loving-Cortes, and Amos Poe, along with a tribute to Sol LeWitt by Adrian Piper. Edited by Ethan Swan, issued in 2008 in an edition of 10,000.
PDF available HERE
Bowery Artist Tribute Vol. 2 included interviews with Roddy Bogawa, John Giorno, Mary Heilmann, Kellie Jones, Adam Purple, Arleen Schloss, and Billy Sullivan, along with a tribute to Dash Snow by Ethan Swan. Edited by Ethan Swan, issued in 2010 in an edition of 5000. I think this is the best of all of them, the back cover still makes me cry.
PDF available HERE
Bowery Artist Tribute Vol. 3 included interviews with Coleen Fitzgibbon, Curt Hoppe, Joe Lewis, Marc H. Miller, Marcia Resnick, Charles Simonds, Eve Sonneman, and Arturo Vega. It was a kind of ad hoc catalogue for the exhibition ‘Come Closer’ and was edited by Ethan Swan and issued in 2012 in an edition of 5000.
PDF available HERE
Bowery Artist Tribute Vol. 4 included interviews with Martha Diamond, David Diao, Sara Driver, Alex Katz, Robert Mangold, Alan W. Moore, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, and Dave Sander. Edited by Ethan Swan and issued in 2014 in an edition of 15,000.
PDF available HERE