JAY MYSELF a film by Stephen Wilkes Before You Can See, You Have to Look
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JAY MYSELF A film by Stephen Wilkes Before you can see, you have to look. WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING, DOC NYC November 11th, 4:30pm Reception at The Bank, 190 Bowery 6:30 - 8:00pm PRESS SCREENING: FRI. NOV. 2, 12:00 PM, IFC Center, 323 6th Ave. at W 3rd St. Producers Contact: Emma Tammi [email protected] 646-209-4951 Bette Wilkes [email protected] 203-984-1572 Sales Contact: Jessica Lacy and Oliver Wheeler, ICM [email protected] 310-550-4316 [email protected] 310-550-4175 Short Synopsis Jay Myself is a documentary feature about renowned photographer and arst, Jay Maisel, who, in February 2015 aer 48 years, begrudgingly sold his home; the 35,000 square‐foot, 100‐year‐old landmark building in Manhaan known simply as “The Bank.” The film documents Jay’s monumental move through the eyes of filmmaker and Jay’s protege, noted arst and photographer Stephen Wilkes. It is through this inmate lens that the viewer is taken on a remarkable journey through Jay’s life as an arst, mentor and man; a man grappling with me, life, change, and the end of an era in New York City. 1 Long Synopsis Jay Myself is a documentary feature about renowned photographer and arst, Jay Maisel, who, in February 2015 aer 48 years, begrudgingly sold his home; the 30,000 square‐foot, 100‐year‐old landmark building in Manhaan known simply as “The Bank.” The film documents Jay’s monumental move through the eyes of filmmaker and Jay’s former associate, arst and photographer, Stephen Wilkes. It is through this inmate lens that the viewer is taken on an exquisite journey through Jay’s life as an arst, mentor and man; a man grappling with me, life, change, and the end of an era in New York City. Jay Maisel purchased the 1898 Germania Bank Building in 1967 for $102,000. For 48 years, he lived in the building with his wife and daughter, using it as not only as his studio and home, but also as his personal museum of extraordinary things. A collector of anything and everything in which he found beauty, each floor of the building represented a cross secon of his mind; for the bank was more than just Jay’s home – it was his muse, and he never, ever dreamed he’d have to leave. Enter photographer Stephen Wilkes, the only filmmaker Jay would allow into his universe for the most significant transion of his life. At 19 years old, Stephen rang the bell at 190 Bowery, and dropped off his porolio. The next day, Jay brought him upstairs, past the studio Roy Lichtenstein was renng, and hired him ‐ becoming Stephen’s lifelong mentor and friend. The year was 1979 – an incredible me in the New York City neighborhood, the Bowery – CBGB’s was thriving, Jean‐Michel Basquiat was wring “Samo” and Keith Haring was drawing “Barking Dog” in chalk on an old dilapidated bank building on Spring St. and the Bowery. “The Bank,” as it would soon come to be called, appeared abandoned for almost 40 years – it’s windows boarded up, its walls covered in graffi. But the rare few, lucky enough to venture inside, discovered a thriving arst paradise, home to the eccentric, barrel‐chested, cigar‐smoking photographer and arst, Jay Maisel. In 2015, due to the high costs of taxes and maintenance, Jay was forced to sell the bank, for a staggering $55 million dollars, making it the single largest real‐estate sale in the history of New York City. Upon learning of the historic sale and Jay’s massive imminent move, Stephen knew he had to document it. And miraculously ‐ Jay let him in with a camera crew. Captured through an inmate lens of deep personal love and respect, Stephen takes viewers on a journey to the Wizard of Oz of the Downtown Art Scene – an up close and personal look at the man behind the curtain and the mysque of “The Bank” he lived in. The film explores the true meaning of wealth in a me of excess, the joys and complexies of a mentor/mentee relaonship, and the journey of a man grappling with the onset of me and change. With unprecedented access to Jay, “The Bank” and everything in between, Jay Myself captures a moment in New York City history that we will never see again. 2 Director’s Statement My life’s passion for photography was discovered at a young age. During my last year of high school I came across the iconic Time/Life books on photography, and it was through a volume entled “Color” that I first saw the work of Jay Maisel. I remember flipping through the pages and every me I stopped on an image that struck me, the photographer’s credit remained the same, “Photograph by Jay Maisel.” Jay’s pictures spoke to me. I knew that I wanted to be this master photographer’s apprence. In my junior year of college I mustered up the courage to call Mr. Maisel’s studio to ask if he would look at my work. Jay answered the phone (a rare occurrence), and he agreed to look at my porolio. He asked me to leave a piece of paper in the porolio so he could give me his comments. I went to his studio the next day, 190 Bowery, the old Bank of Germain building. The paper in my porolio read, “TERRIFIC!, very wide range, I almost stole a few and there are some I don’t even understand yet. Please keep working and leave me your phone number.... Jay.” I interned for him that summer, spending every day in “The Bank,” as it came to be known. So began a mentorship that became a 38‐year friendship. The building was Jay’s muse. Every floor represented a cross secon of his mind. There were 6 floors, 5000 sq. each of space for Jay to create in. It had a room just for his cardboard collecon. It housed thousands of dye transfer prints, every issue of Fortune magazine ever printed, and a room filled with a collecon of porcelain hands from a rubber glove factory. For a me, Roy Lichtenstein rented a floor. Every major NY graffi arst in the history of the medium tagged that building – including Basquiat and Keith Haring. Jay has lived without bounds in the busiest city in the world, ensconced in 30,000 square feet of creavity. As years passed, and our friendship deepened, I told him that if he ever moved, I would have to document it. I never thought that day would happen. In 2014 due to severe financial pressures, Jay reluctantly decided to sell the building. He did so without a broker, and at the me it was the single largest private real estate sale in NYC history. Jay had purchased the bank for $102,000 in 1967 and sold it for 55 million dollars. I began shoong prior to the move with unfeered access, capturing the magic of the building as it was, as well as the remarkable, oen sad and poignant emptying of this legendary space. This film is about Jay the arst, Jay the man, Jay the mentor, and Jay the unwing real estate mogul. It’s also about the building and what it represents to him, to me, and to New York City. The loss of the Bank mirrors the loss of creavity and diversity in NY, and beyond to all of America’s major cies – the unrelenng voracity of gentrificaon. Jay’s life as an arst, his unique way of seeing the world, his fascinaon with beauty, his childlike enthusiasm permeated the Bank – as it permeates this film. It is this quality that has inspired me throughout my career, and inspired the decision to make this documentary. We see his struggle with me and the loss of his home, which almost leads to a loss of his identy, but just when we begin to feel he has lost hope, he instead reinvents himself – finding new purpose at the age of 84. ‐ Stephen Wilkes, director 3 About Stephen Wilkes Since opening his studio in New York City in 1983, photographer Stephen Wilkes has built an unprecedented body of work and a reputaon as one of America’s most iconic photographers, widely recognized for his fine art, editorial and commercial work. His photographs are included in the collecons of the George Eastman Museum, James A. Michener Art Museum, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Dow Jones Collecon, Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundaon, Jewish Museum of NY, Library of Congress, Snite Museum of Art, The Historic New Orleans Collecon, Museum of the City of New York, 9/11 Memorial Museum and numerous private collecons. His editorial work has appeared in, and on the covers of, leading publicaons such as the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Time, Fortune, Naonal Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and many others. In 1998, a one‐day assignment to the south side of Ellis Island led to a 5‐year photographic study of the island’s long abandoned medical wards where immigrants were detained before they could enter America. Through his photographs and video, Wilkes helped secure $6 million toward the restoraon of the south side of the island. A monograph based on the work, Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom, was published in 2006 and was named one of TIME magazine’s 5 Best Photography Books of the Year. The work was also featured on NPR and CBS Sunday Morning. Day to Night, Wilkes’ most defining project, began in 2009.