THE FINAL PROJECT IS A REFLECTION of my love and skepticism of New York Nightlife back in the 60s and 70s and now. The only way that I could possibly do this is a room installation. I thought about doing a film but that would not encompass the incredibly complex elements of a nightclub, of which there are many.
I was partially inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms for the atmosphere of being totally engulfed by the installation. When considering rooms for the installation, I instantly chose the spray paint room because when packed, it does mimic a closed, confined underground club. it’s uncomfortable and smells like alcohol.
The music in clubs now is incredibly loud, almost headache inducing. I will be working on making long playlists of remixed gay hits as well as some voguing beats. I will be mixing them myself.
Serving as a contrast to the scene back when it originated or was at its peak, I will also be interviewing Frank Holliday, a prominent artist, whose close association with Club 57 is well known. This will intercut with scenes of the parties I go to.
The room will also have posters of Instagram stories and posts from the profiles of club kids such as Kyle Farmery, Linux and Ryan Burke that promote such parties. Susanne Bartsch’s ongoing legendary party ‘ON TOP’ at Le Bain at the Standard will be a focus.
The room will be made to smell like alcohol from soaking fabric in rubbing alcohol and placed all around the room. In the flat table area, i will place an ice bucket with plastic champagne glasses, mixers and empty vodka bottles from brands like Smirnoff.
There will also be crushed glasses all over the floor
With reference to drugs, since cocaine is the most popular club drug, I will be placing imitation cocaine bumps and lines all over, from the tables, to little bags on the floor.
I will also have cigarettes and lighters scattered throughout.
When coming up for the interview questions for Frank Holliday, I considered several questions that would be informative as well as questions that could serve as a first-hand comparison to the scene of Club 54 which so many people try to emulate now.
Questions for Frank Holliday
Integrative Studio: 2
- when did you first get into the scene? was it because you were going out? or your art or both?
- Who are some people you met back then that history may not remember but should?
- do you think art and nightlife are as intertwined as they used to be?
- What was it about SVA that produced some of the most known talents in the art world at the time? Was there a snobbery about it like there is with elite art schools today?
- How much did popularity and fame mean to you as a student?
- can you tell me a particular story that sticks out to you from a night at club 57?
- there has been a change in nightlife recently, with fame and Instagram followers being the way most people are judged as successful. What are your thoughts on this new digital era of parties?
- Tell me about how drugs factored into the scene
- Is the genuineness of the scene missing now? do you see it as vapid?
- what is a club kid to you?
- how does it feel seeing your own work in a retrospective of the time when you were in the scene? is it strange?
- how can we archive this scene that is going on right now apart from social media and the digital?
The lighting for the interview will be a single spotlight shone on Frank, the camera will be in focus but off center. he will be seated on a stool on a pedestal. all the blinds will be closed and the room will be dark except for the light. It will be shot in black and white. after a series of test shots with a lighting kit, here are the final filters and positions.
I want the interview to look very unfiltered and not incredibly well set up, giving a more conversational and casual feel.
CORRECTION: this part of the project has taken a turn. I am now focusing more on the elitism in the scene. Emulating the famous piece where Warhol ate a burger and stared at the screen, I will be doing the same. Since he was almost a pioneer of the scene, I will be taking on the persona of a rich club kid, in full drag, eating a kale salad from By Chloé, a popular vegan restaurant.
FURTHER EDIT:
Thinking some more, i am going to be eating a McDonalds Burger instead. i think it will be more akin to the type of person i am trying to critique. The person who references an artist and somehow thinks that makes them intellectual and ‘edgy’ but really, it is just the most basic reference.
I had this idea when i was talking to someone about this project but before i said that it was supposed to make fun of the kind of person (That they were) they went on and on about how smart and ‘subversive’ it was, even though it was one of warhol’s most famous pieces.
upon doing some research, i found out that the reason warhol did that piece was almost like a love letter to massed produced american icons. we have seen in his work that he loves mass produced, american items suh as the soup cans and the marilyns. On a Quora page, some one put it perfectly.
“re consumed by people regardless of their status – the president will drink the same Coke is him. The clash of cultures deeply influenced the subject matter of his art”
- https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Andy-Warhol-eat-the-burger
I am very much connected to this as in India, there is a yearning for a sort of western mass-production,
MUSIC.
below are my notes for the music that I will mix into the final project.
I have chosen a selection of live mixes, artists, and songs that are iconic but increasing the bass so much that it will literally give a pounding headache when played loudly.
I have decided to make a playlist/ audio track cut in with scenes of parties that i have been to at an incredibly loud volume.
