From: John Young <jya-AT-pipeline.com> Date: Sun, 20 Aug 1995 11:11:08 -0400 Subject: Rodent Assault Robert Reich's mention of "the food chain" in the garment industry, inspires this report on the food chain in the NY-Famous Artist Zabar's imperium. We've been architect for eight years on an artist's loft in Tribeca, the home and studio of a world-class very heavy metal sculptor, a well-respected but poor computer music composer, two fake-artists who weasled past the Artist-In- Residence requirements, a street level tony gallery, and two ever-changing artists illegally working in the cellar. A common tableau. Slowly we've been upgrading the pile to meet safety, health and construction codes, gradually eliminating deficiencies listed in a first-step survey. Hazardous conditions have been highlighted, but not corrected, as also common in this real-estate-midden -- good god, first improve the superficial amenities, the market-pumping features. Hazards to the artists in the cellar have been especially red-flagged, and the victims have been safety-preached by us. (We beaverly used our anti-architecture electro-demolition hammer to gnaw a safe second exit at the rear, and stashed a ladder for fleeing the pit.) The cellar artists said they were grateful for the cheap space, bobbed at our alarms, and continued feverish artwork. One has gone on to recent fame and the Venice Biennial, and a FNG has just happily moved in. All construction work has been done by illegal immigrant workers -- their employers submitted unrefusable bids. They have done excellent work, none English-speaking, all were scarred and missing body parts and good-humored at having work paid at near-prevailing rates and mandated benefits. Famous Artist is indifferent to this Darwinian, Malthusian, Dickensian, foofah, drama, pays his bills promptly, scowls for the camera and reigns at the top of the food chain -- for now -- for the cellar rats are doing amazing work that makes his look quaint. We archi-rodents admire his artful growling and protecting his rep while eyeballing his double-floor, 10,000sf loft handsomely designed by a Famous Architect. Ahem, our work on behalf of these inFamous artful noses is also amazingly different from theirs, camouflaged meticulously against their superpower-critic attack, and we couldn't be happier about hiding at the bottom of the food chain, chomping our way up surreptiously, thriving sub-rosa on their benevolent fees and vain indifference to our mega- vain designs to undermine the superstructure, like the illegal rodents who pantomimed-lower-educated us. --- from list avant-garde-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- ------------------
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