THE STREET ARE HER CANVAS

I was immediately struck by Colette’s style when she walked into the door for our interview. She was wearing a top hat and a billowing, draped black dress, which made her look half witch, half Charlie Chaplin impersonator. We met the morning after Halloween, which Colette claims is the only day of the year that she doesn’t wear a costume. An artist famous for changing the character she impersonates frequently, she is a ubiquitous presence on the streets of the Meatpacking district. I have always been a big fan of her art, and I couldn’t wait to learn more about Colette Maison Lumiere, the name of the guise that she adopted after September 11, 2001.

Colette is something of a neighborhood legend. Best known for using anonymous urban spaces in her pioneering work, she claims that the streets are her canvas. She’s occupied her crowded basement atelier, which she refers to as her laboratory, in the Meatpacking District for more than 30 years. Her paintings, sculptures, photographs, mixed media works and installation pieces have been featured in most major exhibition spaces in New York, including the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art. Although her success has allowed her to live and work around the world, she is grateful that she still has her space on Washington Street. In a city that has made her famous, she still finds joy in the neighborhood where she first began to make her celebrated street paintings in the 1970s.

Colette’s favorite part of the Meat Market is its proximity to the water. Being able to walk down to the Hudson River brings her a lot of peace. She thinks that the opening of the High Line, which adds an element of wilderness to the water views, will make a huge impact on the cultural importance of the neighborhood.

In 1978, Colette staged her own death in an installation performance at the Downtown Whitney, entitled "The Last Stitch". The opening of the Whitney Museum on Gansevoort Street therefore seems particularly relevant to her career. I think it’s safe to say that I’m not the only one who hopes that they open with a retrospective of Colette on her home turf.
For more information about Colette please visit: www.colettetheartist.com.
To purchase her works, contact hpgrp gallery NY: www. hpgrpgallery.com

THE LAST GUY STANDING

John Jobbagy is one of eight butchers left in the Meatpacking district. Meeting him for the first time, I was reminded of my roots as the child of a working-class Bronx family. John is a real New Yorker, the type of guy who remembers the Meatpacking District when it was still actually cool. He has watched the neighborhood change from gritty to trendy. Although some would argue that it’s more fun now that the butchers are gone, I agree with John that the cobblestoned streets have lost a lot of their character. Today, it’s difficult to tell the difference between the Meatpacking District and any other upscale neighborhood in Manhattan.


That’s not to say that John resents the changes in the neighborhood. To him, they were inevitable. The meat packing businesses that flourished 50 years ago were small, family-owned shops. Today, the economies of running such businesses just aren’t the same. When the butchers were forced out of their spaces, it made sense that the landlords leased them to expensive clubs and restaurants that could afford to pay higher rents.

But John doesn’t want to philosophize too much about the past. He just wants to continue what he’s been doing for the past 25 years, on the streets that he’s come to know as his own. And in his opinion, there’s enough room for everyone. In fact, he enjoys an occasional walk on the High Line, where he can reminisce about the days trains full of meat pulled up to his father’s warehouse on 10th Avenue. He may miss the good old days, but business is still good and at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

BLACK COMME des GARÇONS

BLACK Comme Des Garçons Store is one of a gang of guerilla stores opened by Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo in New York, Tokyo, London and Paris, the store will be open for only 18 months.

112 10th Ave, New York, NY‎
Tel: 212-463-8100‎

THE EXPERT OF THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT

Ivy Brown is one of the long-time residents of the Meatpacking district. When she moved to the area in 1985, the neighborhood was filled with meat packing plants, sex stores and transvestite bars. Although most people considered the area to be too rough to live in, Ivy loved the casual grittiness of the streets outside of her loft. Twenty-five years ago, she felt comfortable walking to the corner deli in her bathrobe to buy a quart of milk. Today, she can’t leave the house without getting dressed up. In a world full of wealthy tourists, Ivy sometimes feels like she’s hiding in plain sight.

I was surprised to learn that Ivy is one of only 11 legal residents in the district. I had imagined that the area was full of expensive condominiums for the jetset, but zoning laws prevent new residents from moving into the commercial buildings. Ivy is a rare breed, a treasure of the neighborhood. I could have spent hours sitting in her gallery, listening to her tell me about New York city at the end of the 20th century. Professionally, she’s a mainstay in the art world, but Ivy’s true talent lies in her storytelling.

Despite all of the changes in recent years, Ivy still loves her neighborhood. She is a big fan of the High Line, a project that she thinks is both aesthetically beautiful and culturally important. If you were to ask her, she’d say it's the best thing that the neighborhood has gotten since she’s moved in.

If you’re in the Meatpacking district and want a dose of history, stop by Ivy Brown Gallery on 675 Hudson Street. Or download Sound Walk, an audio guide to the neighborhood recorded with her voice. We think that a conversation with Ivy is a cultural experience that can’t be missed.

WHITNEY MUSEUM

Last year, the Whitney Museum announced the opening of a new, six-floor, 185,000 square-foot building in downtown Manhattan. Located on Gansevoort Street between West Street and the High Line, the building will be designed by Renzo Piano, the Pritzer-Prize winning architect best known for constructing the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. His strongly asymmetrical design responds to the industrial character of the loft buildings that surround the site and the majesty of the Hudson River visible from the top floors of the building.

Although the two projects are not related, there will be a clear dialogue between the Whitney building and the High Line. The plans of the museum include over 15,000 square feet of rooftop galleries that will interact and compliment the park along the High Line. A large outdoor plaza at the front of the building will create a public space at the entrance on Washington Street, inviting local residents, tourists, artists, students, educators and gallerists to gather together for public events.

The Whitney Museum will add a completely new dimension to the already blossoming Meatpacking district. We can’t wait for the construction to begin sometime in the next year.

UPDATE

The Meatpacking district is the part of the city that never sleeps. Located below 14th street, west of the Hudson River, the neighborhood is only about 10 blocks large. Despite its size, it’s packed with some of the most exclusive nightclubs, restaurants, stores and galleries in the world. Few would argue that it is one of the chicest areas in New York City, the Soho of the 21st century.

In 1900, the Meatpacking District was home to 250 slaughterhouses and packing plants. Butchers and railway workers filled the streets in the early mornings. At night the area was mostly desolate. Today, jet setters and fashionistas flock to the neighborhood at all hours, drawn by the restaurants, luxury stores and trendy bars. The outdoor cafes and entrances to nightclubs are thronged with well-dressed visitors, hoping to see and be seen. If you walk around the neighborhood at the right time of the day, there’s a good chance you’ll be a subject in one of the television shows or movies that are regularly filmed on the cobblestoned streets.

The neighborhood became even more popular when the High Line opened on June 7, 2009. During the summer weekends, over 50,000 people flocked to the park in the sky to sunbathe and enjoy the elevated views of the Hudson River.