The Benefits of Gentrification

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These are views from the Empire Stores, the red brick warehouse on Water St., owned by coffee magnates Arbuckle Bros, before it was sold and left abandoned for most of the second half of the 20th century. As Brooklyn gradually dropped its industrial features for a gentrified, trendier look, the building too received a total facelift, and was restored to an urban food and market place.

PS: the last two images are from the ferry back to Manhattan.

Dumbo, Brooklyn, NYC

September 15th, 2019

Legends of Cool

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Iggy was in town, so where else could we be?

Iggy Pop joined longtime collaborator and friend, Jim Jarmusch to discuss the release of ”Free”, Iggy’s 18th studio album. There were stories to be shared, cool music to be heard, golf moves to be taught. By the way, the man in front of me with that gorgeous ”eye” vest I wish I’d owned, is another friend of Iggy’s and a legendary character of New York, Jimmy Webb who sadly passed away in April 2020 just seven months after the event.

92nd Street Y

September 11th, 2019

Weyes Blood, pronounced ”Wise Blood”

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On her ”Something to Believe Tour” in support of her -then- newly released album ”Titanic Rising”, Natalie Laura Merin played in Webster Hall. An intriguing young artist that somehow manages to sound nostalgic and pragmatic, contemporary and retro – ageless, in equal measure. That, and her rich, mesmerizing voice singing lyrics like:

”No one’s ever gonna give you a trophy for all the pain and things you’ve been through…”

It was not long before Webster Hall fell under her spell.

Weyes Blood in NYC, September 7th, 2019

Cosmic Latte & Earthy Shades

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”Cosmic Latte, refers to the name of the average color of the universe, which in 2009 was determined to be more beige than what has been traditionally thought of as blue. Two American astrophysicists studied the color of the light emitted by 200,000 galaxies and created a cosmic spectrum, which they then blended according to the light spectrum visible to human eyes. Finch represents that specific warm, yellowish-white shade of light with LED lights (designed to look like incandescent bulbs), which are then arranged in the shape of the molecular models of the pigments needed to create this “cosmic latte” color: titanium white, Mars yellow, chrome yellow, and a touch of cadmium red.” [source]

  • Spencer Finch || Cosmic Latte, 2017 ||
    150 light fixtures and 417 incandescent bulbs, dimensions variable, one of 3 versions
  • Louise Bourgeois || The Couple, 2007-09 || Cast and polished aluminum, edition of six

”North Adams is still an ideal place to live and to bring up children. We have the mountains. In the summertime, it’s not as hot as in the big cities. You have the change of seasons. You can see the change of scenery on the mountains. You see the trees blossoming, which is a beautiful sight. In the wintertime, the woods have a tremendous attraction. There’s a lot of noise in the woods in the winter. You see the footprints of so many animals. Of course, we get accustomed to this and don’t notice it as much. But those people who left North Adams miss the mountains. That’s the first thing they mention when they come back.”

– Benjamin Apkin, 78 years old (1996)

From a series of interviews with local residents, gathered and edited by author and historian Joe Manning

MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA

September 2nd, 2019