"The Lower East Side was once frontier territory, where new immigrants settled alongside poets and artists, punk musicians and anarchists, everyone needing rock-bottom rent. In the 1980s, the neighborhood soaked up some of the limelight trained on the East Village art scene, and began the slow creep toward gentrification. A decade or so ago, when art dealers started to set up shop below East Houston Street, a vague hope beat in the hearts of some observers that the neighborhood might be an alternative, in art and attitude alike, to Chelsea. I doubt anyone harbors that hope today. Mostly, the Lower East Side gallery scene is Chelsea with more storefronts and cheaper retail. Still, it has a certain margin of flexibility, and sometimes it uses it. And that’s good to see. ..."
NY Times
No comments:
Post a Comment