Saturday, October 1, 2022

A photo exhibition of hardcore, punk and metal at C-Squat

You can check out the photography of the Worldwide Hardcore Firing Squad at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space/C-Squat on Avenue  C this weekend.

The exhibit features the work of Tim Daley, Rich Zoeller and Steven Messina. Per the invite: "These three photographers (collectively known as the Worldwide Hardcore Firing Squad) have been standing side by side in various photo pits and mosh pits for many years." 

The space is open from 2-5 p.m. this weekend. You can access the free show via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

Meanwhile, here's a look at the photos and space via EVG contributor Stacie Joy ...

7 comments:

Jacob Ford said...

I saw a WWFS business sticker last year on the urinal at Lucky 13 and have been trying to figure out who/where/why they are! On my way now to find out, thanks dearly.

John Penley said...

Here is today's housing headline ....Largest price hike in nearly a decade for leases on NYC's rent-stabilized apartments now in effect
So MORUS is having a punk rock photo show ....what a scam by MORUS. MORUS should change their name because nothing they do has anything to do with re-claiming Urban Space !!! Meanwhile hundreds of refugees will be living in City of New York tents and evictions are going full speed ahead. DISGUSTING !! Personally I have no problem with a photo show at C Squat but take MORUS name OFF OF IT.This is a scam by former squatters to get money from dumb politicians and it makes me sick.

Jacob Ford said...

Have you been there recently, John? The artifacts and exhibition in the windows are very relevant to what you and I both care about here, and they are visible 24/7.

Also I wouldn’t presume punk and hard rock are disconnected from housing needs & activism! Not my genre either, but the people are kind & real.

John Penley said...

To give some squat history connected to the hardcore music scene. One of the worst tragedies in squatter NYC history was connected to a squat known as the Hardcore Skinhead building and involved a fire that burned the building down killing a young African American woman who was living or visiting there. This had a very negative impact on the whole movement and did not help with the public perception of squatters. Not saying that this MORUS show features anyone from that squat just some sad and real history of the movement.

Anonymous said...

Hey John Penley. Bill Cashman here. I have organized most of the art shows in our basement this year that you are always complaining about. I don't make money off shows, I put in money to them each time. Aka lose money each time. I work at a senior citizen advocacy center, im currently going to school to be a social worker hoping to focus on housing advocacy. I still am engaged in going to protests, ive been working on raising money for charities, i volunteer at various places, I help manage and maintain my building and I still help find assistance for people there that need it. I feel like i give back to communities I'm involved in and if I want to try to use our building's own community space in ways that further building community and providing space / getting artists, musicians, and activists together in my own house, I feel pretty justified to do that. As many times as id like actually. Respectfully, you don't know the process on how we have to do events now and trust me it's complicated. It's difficult and the only one I ever see online that's shitting on the efforts that I have been spearheading is you. I only do shows in our back basement and I don't put Morus's name on flyers for street cred or to make a buck. Would do just fine as C Squat, if that's what we could still do. I don't work for Morus and I am not involved in the programming in their space. As C Squat, we have provided a free space for people to gather and show their art for no charge. We volunteer our time trying to provide a free space where at other galleries people would have to pay. People can't live in the basement now. It cant happen. Would you rather the room just be empty? Space is a valuable resource in the city and it's an exhausting and thankless job trying to maintain spaces like this but still we try. We are trying to make due with the situation we have right now and I'm proud of the work we have done this year. I'm not disputing your critiques on Morus, thats not my thing, I'm not going to stick up or defend them, but you are actually attacking my events so I'll stick up for just that and say you really are out of line with some of the whack stuff you are coming up with here. Sure, you can say Morus does not do enough as an organization but I put a hell of a lot of work into the community outside of our house and I can do what I want in our community space in our basement. I don't need to justify being able to do any kind of event at my house by showing a "what have you done lately" resume to any one. Speaking for myself, not Morus. And to anyone else reading this : the photographers for this current show are great people, their work is great and everythint has been really positive. I have been enjoying working with different groups who have never been to C before. That right there is community building and it's happening in an old reclaimed urban space. I don't know what the fucking issue is or what is so off base. Go attack someone else or former squatters airbning or charging extra for their apartments. I'm glad that doesn't happen at C. One of the only former squats left that actually are trying to use their community space to organize events is getting publically shat on by you, someone who I have always offered to put up in my house when you've come through town to do a protest. Jeez. No good deed goes unpunished on the internet.

Anonymous said...

Also, I'm going to point out something that may not be shocking to most people. MORUS is not a housing advocacy group or a refugee housing program or a homeless shelter placement institution or even a direct action collective of street fighters. It never has advertised itself as any of that. It's a tiny museum focused on archiving and promoting radical actions done in the past to try to keep those stories alive and to hopefully inspire action in other new movements. I have my own gripes and criticisms of their function as a museum or an entity but at least my criticisms want to realistically hold them accountable to what they want to be, a historical museum or archiving institution. I'm not trying to shame them publically into changing their original and current mission statement or talk shit on them for not being something that they are not or not doing the work that you think should be done. It's a funky little weird space and they have been great neighbors. Alot of their work happens in local community gardens. Maybe some of the original crew were an organized bunch of direct action activists but that was never what Morus was going to be. What they can do is promote and advertise other aligned campaigns that other people create and ask for collaboration on. Among other groups? C Squat tried to put in a drop in shelter and tried offering its space to Picture the Homeless before Morus even existed but our space was too fucked up and too much of a risky investment. Morus came along and so here we are. I understand the hypocrisy you are trying to point out in your criticisms but i think your anger about them is a bit misplaced because you expect them to do work that is not even in their mission statement. I've just spent alot of time sticking up for them here when it's not even my organization. Who i feel even more inclined to stick up for here are the photographers in our current show because this comment section has been hijacked and ive taken the bait to respond to and clarify/debate things about Morus that don't even have to do with them. I wish all the comments in this thread could be about the photographers, them and their dedication, love, and contributions to their community via their artistic medium. I'm reclaiming this blog postings space and trying to direct it away from the negatives here and focus on the positive, which is that C Squat is happy to work with the photographers in this show and have loved hosting all the people from the community who have stopped by to check it out. Much respect to them and every one else that has curated shows here this year with us, thank you for helping keep a DIY space alive and active. And thanks to EV Grieve for always supporting us when we randomly pop up and do events. With all this said, I hope you are doing well, John. I left messages when I was in Vegas last year.

John Penley said...

Dear Bill Cashmen , MORUS stands for Museum of Urban Reclaimed Space and their name is on your events. It is a Museum that accepts Corporate and NYC politician money and I assume PAYS RENT to C Squat and the museum occupys space that should have been housing. This museum is about squatting housing but the museum is silent on the housing issue and new squatting efforts and by the way opiate fentanyl overdose deaths and suicide and internal violence in the squatter movement. If the only reason it exists is to put on art shows and Anarchist book fairs then homeless people should go there and squat it. By the way ABC NO RIO and the Museum directors live in a former squat thet rents its storefront as well instead of turning the space into housing. Does either director gets a salary for whatever they do ?