New on 98 Bowery: Basquiat, Haring and ART/new york

[Photo via 98 Bowery]

Marc H. Miller has told me about another major addition to the 98Bowery site.

ART/new york; A Video Magazine on Art
(1981 - 1985)

Between 1981 and 1985, Miller and Paul Tschinkel collaborated on 17 ART/new york programs containing interviews with more then 50 artists. Miller wrote the narration and conducted the interviews. Tschinkel produced the series and worked the camera. The tapes were co-directed. (Tschinkel continues producing ART/new york programs.)

This is the story of the early years of a pioneering effort to provide video coverage of the New York art world. 98Bowery now includes segments from historic video programs with artist interviews and rare footage of exhibitions. Among the footage that you'll find:

-- Richard Serra & the Tilted Arc Controversy (1982-83)
-- John Ahearn, "We Are Family", Public Sculpture Dedication, South Bronx (1982-83)
-- Graffiti/ Post Graffiti – Opening at the Sidney Janis Gallery; Collaborative -- Painting Demonstration at the New York Society for Ethical Culture (1985)
-- Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Fun Gallery (1983)

There are also audio excerpts from interviews with Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Brice Marden, Nam June Paik and Cindy Sherman.


[Photo of Haring via 98Bowery]

As you can imagine, there are stories behind every video here... I asked Miller to share an anecdote about one of the interviews...

"The posting of the Jean-Michel Basquiat tape is in part an attempt to reclaim my credibility. It is the original program that Paul Tschinkel and I made in 1982 and it captures a 21-year-old Basquiat just as he was coming into his own. It includes footage from his phenomenal Fun Gallery exhibition and about four minutes from a 40- minute interview. This may have been the happiest and most upbeat moment of his life.

"Unfortunately, after Basquiat died in 1988, my interview with him was released in its entirety without any editing. In retrospect, this was an incredibly naive and foolish thing to do. Buried within the interview were a few clumsy moments and exchanges in which I played the devil's advocate to elicit lively responses. Over the years, these are the moments that have received the most attention. It's something I've had to live with. I'm just happy after 20 years that I can get the original tape back out there."

Here's an excerpt of ART/new york program no. 30A: JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT: An Interview, uploaded to YouTube by Tschinkel.



By the way, the new Basquiat documentary by Tamra Davis, "The Radiant Child," opens tomorrow at the Film Forum.



For further reading on EV Grieve:
Life at 98 Bowery: 1969-1989

Revisiting Punk Art

Q-and-A with Curt Hoppe: Living on the Bowery, finding inspiration and shooting Mr. Softee

Voices from 98 Bowery's past