Gordon Matta-Clark is an artist best known for his artwork that cuts across film, photography and large scale sculptural interventions. He studied architecture at Cornell but moved toward something he called “Anarchitecture.” As part of this project he bought abandoned properties in NYC for as little as $25 and then carved into the buildings to create new forms.
In 1971, Matta-Clark chose to intersect with the public and public space in a different way, starting a restaurant called FOOD.
For three intense years from 1971 to 1973, New York’s SoHo neighborhood had a restaurant at the corner of Wooster and Prince Street that was founded on the principles of communal work and artistic living. The restaurant was called FOOD and it was run by a group of artists who conceived it as a place to mingle, work, and cherish the concept of SoHo as an artists’ quarter. Ironically of course the artists who moved into SoHo changed the neighborhood in a way that later lured the more affluent in and eventually displaced the artists.
The idea for FOOD came at a dinner party hosted by artist Carol Goodden (the eventual sponsor and manager of FOOD) when it was suggested to her by fellow artist Gordon Matta-Clark. A short time after, she took over the lease for a little eatery at 127 Prince Street. Gooden, Matta-Clark, and three more founding members set to fix up the space.
– from Untapped Cities – more info here
