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\nPhotos: NANCY SMITH, NYC 1994.<\/p>\nNANCY SMITH, DIY PAPER CUT-OUT \/ SKELETON, 1994.
\nbrown paper bag, shipping paper, black craft paper, scissors, string, and glue.
\nunique & . . lost to the elements – a long time ago.
\nhanging in my gritty backyard,
\nat 5 Rivington St., we lived in the East Storefront, half a block up \/ from the Bowery.
\non the deep deep and raw LES \/ Lower East Side.
\nca. 1987-1996.
\nwhen drug & gun battles erupted on the roof, like pop corn,
\nand bums set fire to trash cans – for sport. <\/p>\n
in a time of big project \/ big ambition 90’s art – think: JEFF KOONS, and CINDY SHERMAN \/ ELI BROAD & Co.
\nI was<\/strong> cutting paper, making fragile one-of-a kind banners, as well as delicate Japanese-inspired ink line drawings on glassine tissue, which also wavered mighty – in the slightest breeze.
\nsome paper lanterns, too.<\/p>\nalways contrarian \/ to the last drop. that’s me.
\nand, so why<\/strong> did I feel like such an outsider, who everyone overlooked ?
\nhmmmm ???? \/ I wonder. <\/p>\nbut it’s funny, because that’s when I met Josh \/ Josh Harris of WE LIVE IN PUBLIC \/ the Andy Warhol of the new digital web \/ and of course, (initially) \/ he only wanted artists who weren’t in galleries !! go figure !!
\nso in the end – it pretty worked out . .
\nif . . ‘experience’ also known as ‘the journey’ \/ vs. the ‘anointed’ walls \/ are everything ?!! <\/p>\n
though as you can see – the going was a little rough. <\/p>\n
I was always<\/strong> very ‘light-handed’- with my art projects \/
\nnot, just in terms of materials, but re: ‘scale’, scale of size, and scale of . . ‘permanence’.
\nI absolutely hate<\/strong> the word . . studio ‘practice’ \/
\ngive me: skills !!!! vision. expression. folk art ? street art ? Edo period Japan ? <\/p>\na little later on, like 10 years later – I figured out I could glue stick my paper designs . . to mylar \/ in sheet format, they would still flutter and still be light-weight \/ but be more permanent, and perhaps – more collectable ?
\nnot that, that helped much . . .
\nart people especially . . were so<\/strong> staid, and close-minded \/ in that not <\/strong> so long ago past \/ where the lines between outsider art vs. formal ‘practice’ \/ ‘studio’ art – were so rigid \/
\nesp right before everything – totally, totally changed . . and, that would be – about 2002.
\nDIY broke so free and so big !! – just about the same time \/ as indie galleries & pop-ups – took over.
\ngraffiti, esp on subways and plastered to traffic poles, Gee’s Bend quilts at the Whitney in 2002 \/ Keith Haring & even Jean-Michel (painted refrigerator doors, anybody) . . helped put that revolution – over the top.
\njust at the same time as nascent social media \/ iPhones, and of course: self-publishing !!
\nput DIY – both indie art, galleries, and collabs \/ on speed dial.<\/p>\nI mean<\/strong>, it used to be: is<\/strong> there a sound of hands clapping \/ if you are<\/strong> alone in a forest \/
\nnow, it’s: is it art – if there’s no photo \/ never mind the gallery wall. <\/p>\nI was always, and still am – very light-handed in my art projects, but also, in my art – musings !!
\nbut, as you can plainly see from the Halloween skeleton hanging above . . :
\n‘ethereal’ doesn’t rule out . . . sinister, and foreboding \/
\nmy inner artist hardcore \/ true grit soul – twisting in the wind \/
\nand wondering, whatever was – to become of me ?<\/p>\n
ps:<\/strong> I still<\/strong> don’t have a gallery, not even of my photos ?!!!!
\nthough Jeffrey Tranchell, now of JEFF’S GALLERY, DETROIT . . has exhibited some of my work (quilts & paper pieces \/ light switches), here and there.
\nand, come to think of it – I did<\/strong> back into a starring<\/strong> role . in ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’. through no choice of my own, bye the way.
\nin fact my best buddy – from that time, Alfredo Martinez aka the Notorious Basquiat Forger – just might be my most mainstream claim to fame ?
\ntalk about .. wondering what the future – holds.
\ndon’t ask. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"from . . the Art Lot Nancy !! Rivington & The Bowery \/ Archive. Scissors, paper, SOUL. Photos: NANCY SMITH, NYC 1994. NANCY SMITH, DIY PAPER CUT-OUT \/ SKELETON, 1994. brown paper bag, shipping paper, black craft paper, scissors, string, and glue. unique & . . lost to the elements – a long time ago. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45913"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45921,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45913\/revisions\/45921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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