Collaborative Video and Filmmaking in the Lower East Side and the South Bronx from 1977-1984
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-20-2012 12:00 AM New York Beat: Collaborative Video and Filmmaking in The Lower East Side and the South Bronx from 1977-1984 Andrew G. Hicks The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Janelle Blankenship The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Film Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Andrew G. Hicks 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Hicks, Andrew G., "New York Beat: Collaborative Video and Filmmaking in The Lower East Side and the South Bronx from 1977-1984" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 718. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/718 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NEW YORK BEAT: COLLABORATIVE VIDEO AND FILMMAKING IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE AND THE SOUTH BRONX FROM 1977-1984 Spine Title: New York Beat: Collaborative Video and Filmmaking Monograph by Andrew Gavin Hicks Graduate Program in Film Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Master of Film Studies The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Andrew Gavin Hicks 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examining Board _____________________________ ____________________________ Janelle Blankenship Chris Gittings ____________________________ Supervisory Committee Tobias Nagl _____________________________ ____________________________ Mary Fogarty The thesis by Andrew Gavin Hicks entitled: NEW YORK BEAT: COLABORATIVE VIDEO AND FILMAMKING IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE AND THE SOUTH BRONX FROM 1977-1984 is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Film Studies Date _________________________ _____________________________ Janina Falkowska Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract This thesis examines the media, artists and creative practices that emerged in the New York City downtown art scene in the Lower East Side and the uptown hip-hop scene in the South Bronx during the late 1970‘s and early 1980‘s. I focus on independent public access television, video and under-researched ‗No Wave‘ filmmakers Charlie Ahearn, Glenn O‘Brien, Edo Bertoglio and others. I discuss how these disenfranchised, low-budget artists sought not to collapse their differences, but to explore the points of connection that engendered a form of artistic hybridity that negated both homogeneity and order. I argue that the narratives, aesthetics and techniques of this group of artists represent a unique cultural milestone in the history of radical American art, music and film. Keywords: No Wave Cinema; Lower East Side; South Bronx; Public Access Television; Hip Hop; Graffiti Writing; Charlie Ahearn; Amos Poe; Glenn O‘Brien; Jean-Michel Basquiat; Wild Style; Downtown 81; TV Party; Co-Lab iii Table of Contents Certificate of Examination………………………………………………………………...ii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………...iv List of Figures…..………………………………………………………………………..v Introduction………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter One: Placing ‗No Wave‘ Cinema: A Social History of the Lower East Side and South Bronx from the 1960‘s to the Early 1980‘s…………………………….....10 Chapter Two: Public Access Television: Strategies of ― Emancipatory Communication‖ in AllColorNews, Potato Wolf, and Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party……………………23 Chapter Three: The Lower East Side as a Dystopian and Utopian Space in Edo Bertoglio‘s Downtown 81 ……………………………………………...………..54 Chapter Four: A Mobile Canvas: Moving between Art and Commerce, Hip Hop and Graffiti in Charlie Ahearn‘s Wild Style………………………………………………..75 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...110 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………117 Filmography…………………………………………………………………………….131 Vita……………………………………………………………………………………...133 iv List of Figures Colab Moore College of Art catalogue, 1983…………………………………………………24 Figure 2. You’re tuned to Manhattan Cable Television ……………………………………..33 Figure 3. Opening title for AllColorNews (1978)………………………………………..35 Figure 4. AllColorNews (John Ahearn and Tom Ottreness, 1978)……………………....37 Figure 5. AllColorNews (Beth and Scott B. 1978)…………………………………..…...38 Figure 6. X Motion Picture Magazine, Vol. 2, Issues 2 & 3, February 1978…………....39 Figure 7. X Magazine, Vol. 2, Issues 4,5,6, May 1978……………………………………….39 Figure 8. Anya Phillips and Diego Cortez, 'OFFICIAL' / 'SUICIDE' / 'TERRORIST' / 'PROTEST' (a discussion about Anya's courtroom drawing done during the testimony of Irmgard Moller in Stammheim, Germany), X Magazine, Vol. 2, Issues 4,5,6, May 1978 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………39 Figure 9. AllColorNews (Virge Piersol and Allan Moore, 1978)……………..………....40 Figure 10. Potato Wolf (Ulli Rimkus, 1980)……………………………………………..44 Figure 11. Potato Wolf (Bobby G, 1980)……………………………..………………….44 Figure 12. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: Premier Episode (Amos Poe, 1978)…………....46 Figure 13. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: Premier Episode (Amos Poe, 1978)…………….46 Figure 14. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: Premier Episode (Amos Poe, 1978)…..………...46 Figure 15. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: Premier Episode (Amos Poe, 1978)…………….46 Figure 16. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: The Documentary (Danny Vinik, 2006)………...47 Figure 17. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: The Documentary (Danny Vinik, 2006)………...49 Figure 18. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: The Documentary (Danny Vinik, 2006)………...49 Figure 19. AllColorNews (1978)………………………………….……………………...52 Figure 20. Glenn O'Brien's TV Party: The Documentary (Danny Vinik, 2006) ………..52 Figure 21. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981) …………………………………….......59 v Figure 22. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981) ………………………………………...60 Figure 23. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………………………60 Figure 24. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981) ………………………………….…......63 Figure 25. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………………………63 Figure 26. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………………………64 Figure 27. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………………………68 Figure 28. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………………………69 Figure 29. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………….…………...70 Figure 30. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………………….…...71 Figure 31. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………………………………………72 Figure 32. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)…………................................................75 Figure 33. Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981)……………...........................................75 Figure 34. Views of the Time Square Show (Colab), 1980. Photo collage, Terise Slotkin………………………………………………………………………………………………77 Figure 35. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………………………………80 Figure 36. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)………………………………………........82 Figure 37. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)………….……………………………...…82 Figure 38. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…..............……………………………......82 Figure 38. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…........................................………………82 Figure 40. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…………………………………………....82 Figure 41. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)………………………….………………...82 Figure 42. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…………………….…………..………….87 Figure 43. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………………………………87 Figure 44. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)………………………………...………….87 vi Figure 45. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)………………………………….….…......87 Figure 46. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982) …………………………………….…......87 Figure 47. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………………………...…….87 Figure 48. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…………………………………………....88 Figure 49. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…………………………………..………..93 Figure 50. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………………………………93 Figure 51. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………………………………95 Figure 52. Exterior of Fashion/Moda with mural by Crash, 1982. Photo, Lisa Kahane 95 Figure 53. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………………………………96 Figure 54. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn,1982)………………………………..…………..96 Figure 55. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982) ………………………………………….101 Figure 56. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…………………………………………..101 Figure 57. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……..........................................................101 Figure 58. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………...…………………...101 Figure 59. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)………………………..…………………103 Figure 60. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)…………………………………………..106 Figure 61. Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)……………………………………..........107 vii Introduction New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s was in the midst of a period of tremendous cultural, political, and social change where artists from the downtown art scene and the uptown hip-hop scene working across a variety of media collided and cross-fertilized. Styles that were previously thought of as separate now merged in the form of hybrid works of art that conveyed a new sense of collectivism. From New York‘s Lower East Side (LES) and the South Bronx came a significant series of videos and films that demonstrated a successful harmony of performance and music as well as an aesthetic treatment of