Boy's Club

I never became a regular at any of the nightclubs in New York City, but I did try to go to as many as I could at least once; in terms of the decor, Area in Tribeca, was the most memorable.  I'll never forget the animal theme night which included the display of a caged owl.  An outraged Audrey filed a complaint with the ASPCA but contemporary artists treated Area like a boy's club.  Look no further than this 1982 invitation for evidence.  What an assemblage of established and emerging mostly male talent!

 

Lévy Gorvy Dayan celebrates the scene with "Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties." I've seen several shows at the gallery but none were as popular as this seemed to be.  Kenny Scharf appropriated Hanna Barbera while Jean-Michel Basquiat paid homage to the "New Queen of the Art Scene." 

The fact that both Basquiat and Keith Haring died young--neither lived past the age of 31--has greatly increased their marketability.  They were firing on all cylinders when they created these untitled works.

1982

1984

Andy Warhol painted Basquiat

1984

. . . and he took this sweet Polaroid of Haring with his DJ boyfriend, Juan Dubose.  They met at the New St. Mark's Baths before the New York City Department of Health closed it down to prevent the spread of HIV, which killed both men. 

Robert Mapplethorpe took this portrait of Warhol in 1987.  By early 1990, all five men were dead.

I paid less attention to the work of their contemporaries whose reputations I would venture to say haven't fared as well, although each remains alive and well.

"Aborigine Painting" by Julian Schnabel (1980)

"Name" by Francesco Clemente (1983)

"King Kong" by David Salle (1983)

"The Pizza Eater" by Eric Fischl (1982)

"Fisherman Golfer" by Jeff Koons (1986)

"generic black and white #4" by Haim Steinbach (1987)

This sensual portrait by Clemente introduced me to an unfamiliar, biracial scenester from Far Rockway who gave up dentistry to walk the runway for Wilhelmina before becoming a graffiti artist.

Rammellzee (1982-87)

Rammellzee is credited with melding hip hop culture with the avant garde.  Now that's what I call an artistic journey.