Odd Lots Revisiting Gordon Matta-Clark’S Fake Estates

Edited by Jeffrey Kastner, Sina Najafi, and Frances Richard Essays by Jeffrey A. Kroessler and Frances Richard Odd Lots Revisiting Gordon Matta-Clark’s Fake Estates Cabinet Books / New York In conjunction with the Queens Museum of Art and White Columns Schematic drawings of lots acquired by Matta-Clark at auctions in 1973. Contents 4 The Origins of “Odd Lots” Jeffrey Kastner, Sina Najafi, Frances Richard 6 Gordon Matta-Clark’s Fake Estates 4 The Lots Today 6 Three Lots Tal Schori 30 Gordon Matta-Clark’s Moment Jeffrey A. Kroessler 38 Spaces Between Places: The Evolution of Fake Estates, Part I Interviews by Jeffrey Kastner, Sina Najafi, and Frances Richard Text by Frances Richard 51 Mythology: The Evolution of Fake Estates, Part II Interviews by Jeffrey Kastner, Sina Najafi, and Frances Richard Text by Frances Richard 6 Remove Your House: Gordon Matta-Clark’s Physical Poetics Frances Richard 7 Artists’ Projects Commissioned for Cabinet No. 10, Spring 003 Jimbo Blachly, Matthew Northridge, Clara Williams 76 “Odd Lots”: Artists’ Proposals Francis Alÿs, Isidro Blasco, Mark Dion, Maximilian Goldfarb, Valerie Hegarty, Julia Mandle, Helen Mirra, Dennis Oppenheim, Sarah Oppenheimer, Dan Price, Lisa Sigal, Katrin Sigurdardottir, Jane South, Jude Tallichet, Mierle Laderman Ukeles 9 Biographies 94 Acknowledgments 95 Image Credits Interviews by Jeffrey Kastner, Sina Najafi, and Frances Richard Text by Frances Richard Mythology: The Evolution of Fake Estates, Part II In these conversations, Jane Crawford and others involved in shap- dream! This was a myth that he could really get behind: America had ing the posthumous career of Fake Estates recount the story—from so much land that there was enough for everyone. This was the kind Crawford’s receipt, in approximately 1980, of the cardboard box of myth he liked to play with. Gordon strongly believed that we— containing photographs, maps, deeds, and related documents, particularly artists—needed to develop a new mythology. Of course, through the assembly of these materials into exhibitable form the reality was, and still is, that property is very expensive, and if in 199. Here again, the difficulty of producing a seamless nar- you’re a poor artist, you could never hope to become “landed gen- rative from the messy texture of past events is evident, and it has try” by buying an estate. One of the most pervasive themes in his not been possible to speak to all participants. Contradictions also work is driven by that need for a cheap place to live. His last project, emerge among the recollections gathered here, one example being which was uncompleted, revolved around this idea; he decided to the fact that when the following interview was conducted, nei- leave the ground and go into the air with his work The Balloon ther we nor Crawford knew that Jaime Davidovich had taken his Housing Projects, in which he was searching for places to anchor own photograph of the missing fifteenth site—or, indeed, that the whatever these sorts of inhabitable platforms would be. 1975 video documenting one of Matta-Clark’s visits to Queens still existed in Davidovich’s archive. The small properties that he bought in Queens were often inacces- sible or an impracticable size, for instance, two feet square and — completely landlocked. One of the most interesting was a ten-inch [sic] strip that extended along one side of an entire length of an alley, Jeffrey Kastner: Tell us about the evolution of Fake Estates, as far so that people living on that half of the block had to trespass on as you’ve reconstructed the story. How many original sites were Gordon’s property in order to park their cars in their own garages there? [Block 3398, Lot 116]. Jane Crawford: There were fifteen. One was in Staten Island, and JK: Did he ever consider enforcing his property rights? fourteen were in Queens, but documentation exists for only thirteen of the Queens plots. The fifteenth is missing its detail photographs No, but he did consider asking Charles Simonds to put up a few and its deed, I suppose because Gordon was not able to get access. condos [laughter]. Gordon went to two auctions of these properties. I can tell you where it is, but they won’t let you go see it. It’s between At one, he didn’t have enough money, so he asked his friend Man- three buildings, so the only way to see it would be from the roof, or a fred Hecht to pay for the properties. Manfred then signed the deeds helicopter. over to Gordon. Gordon went out several times to photograph the sites. The photographs are site-specific; he photographed the actual I didn’t know much about the project while Gordon was alive, but dirt or concrete. The photographs and documents—the deeds and when I was asked to organize and assemble the work in a form maps—were put loose into a big cardboard box, which were, ac- that could be presented in the retrospective of 1992, I checked with cording to Alanna, brought out and shown to people at a couple of Gordon’s friends from that period, asking them about their his loft parties. recollections of the piece. As a property owner, Gordon was now required to pay the property In the early 1970s, Alanna Heiss was very interested in real estate taxes annually, money he didn’t have. Today it may seem ridiculous and trying to find alternative spaces to develop for art situations— not to have $25 to pay your property taxes, but in those days $25 this was before she was running the Clocktower Gallery or the was a lot of money. So he presented all the material to a very close Institute for Art and Urban Resources, now known as P.S.1. She friend, Norman Fisher, who agreed to pay the taxes for him. came across the sale of properties in Queens by the City of New York, remnants of land left over from rezoning. When she told him, The story was that Gordon gave Norman the box and told him that he Gordon was delighted by the idea of such a sale. The idea of buy- could assemble the pieces any way he wanted. They didn’t have to ing property in New York City for $25 to $75 was the American be done sequentially or even kept separated by property. They could 51 Previous and opposite Recto and verso of draft letter by Matta-Clark to establish legal transfer of ownership from Manfred Hecht to himself, no date. be assembled in a crazy shape, or left loose in a pile. Norman ob- SN: It was a gift, but it wasn’t an artwork? viously had better things to do, and left them in the box. Dear, sweet Norman Fisher died in late 1977. One of his last requests was that the It was an artwork, but one that may have been recognized as such by box be returned to Gordon. Then Gordon died the following August, only a handful of people. Therefore, it was of questionable value. You in 1978. The box was finally returned to me in about 1979 or ’80. I must understand that, at that time, most people didn’t know what to received the box via our good friend, Tina Girouard, who told me it make of Gordon’s art. Even his friends often weren’t sure if Gordon contained Gordon’s Fake Estates. was making art or just fooling around. Gordon always thought he was making art, but he had no idea if such art would one day be At the time, I was still overwhelmed recovering from Gordon’s death deemed worthwhile, if it might have a value beyond the moment. I and trying to organize and inventory his estate, so upon discovering was so daunted by trying to make any sense out of the contents of that the box contained many tiny, loose, close-up photos of grass the box that I stuck them away in a closet. When the three or four tax and dirt and cement, and innumerable legal documents, I was bills arrived addressed to Gordon, I knew he didn’t own property. We completely dumbfounded. Around that time, and possibly before I were broke. I probably didn’t have even that small amount of money received the box, several property tax bills arrived at the loft. Having needed to pay the bills. I thought the city had made a mistake. All of had no experience in paying property taxes, or even realizing what the properties were taken back by the city. they were for, I ignored them. Norman had paid the taxes on all of the properties through 1977, but in the confusion between his death and SN: Would you have paid the taxes if you had known? Gordon’s, many of the tax slips went into the abyss. By 1980 or sometime thereafter, I received several rather nasty letters saying Of course I would have! I would have found a way. the properties were being confiscated by the city for nonpayment of taxes. Again, I had no idea what they were talking about. As it was, I just shoved the box in a closet and thought, “Well, I’ll save that for a rainy day…” Then, in 1992, a museum curator came Sina Najafi: Was the piece a compensation for the taxes being from IVAM in Valencia, Spain. Corinne Diserens: She was my rainy paid? Was he basically selling the work to Norman Fisher, do you day! Corinne looked in the box and said, “Jane, this looks very think? interesting; I think you need to assemble these photographs and see what you have here.” Easier said than done, but I did it.

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