History of SoHo Revealed in Illegal Living

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Illegal Living: 80 Wooster Street and the Evolution of SoHo is a new book about the first successful artists' cooperative located in the area of New York City now known as SoHo.  Reborn after seven decades of life as a manufacturing building, it assumed a vibrant new identity when it became the headquarters for George Maciunas, Lithuanian-American founder of the FLUXUS avant-garde art movement.  Maciunas bought the building in 1967 and transformed it into the first of sixteen live-work coop loft buildings.

The building became a hub for art world events. Avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas' Cinematheque was based there, as was Anthology Film Archives. Yoko Ono and John Lennon created and executed many projects in its space. Trisha Brown danced there, Robert Watts lived and created FLUXUS art at 80 Wooster Street and Charles Ross did solar burns on the roof.  It was the place where Philip Glass first performed his own compositions.

"It seems to be a maxim that when economic times are tough, conditions become optimal for ingenuity and innovation. We need to remember that the new, the adventurous, the avant-garde need to be encouraged at all times," stated Arturas Zuokas, Chairman of the Board of the Jonas Mekas Foundation USA.

Through the prism of one building, Illegal Living provides readers with insights into the phenomenon of neighborhood change as it relates to a group of people who were central to the process.  Drawing upon original photographs, archival papers, architectural floor plans, and in-depth interviews with artists and activists, Illegal Living vividly illuminates the evolution of SoHo as an arts community.

About the authors:

Roslyn Bernstein is a professor of journalism, creative and feature writing at CUNY's Baruch College and Graduate School of Journalism.  Bernstein has published news and feature articles, catalogue essays and opinion pieces on education, neighborhood development, media, culture and the arts.

Shael Shapiro is an architect who was a pioneer of SoHo and was personally involved in many of the events covered in Illegal Living. He specializes in the adaptive reuse of buildings and has guided the conversion of hundreds of loft buildings to residential use. He was the architect for the PS1 artist studios and museum.

Illegal Living, published by the Jonas Mekas Foundation in Vilnius, Lithuania and is available in the United States at bookstores and through amazon.com.  

SOURCE Jonas Mekas Foundation