WOOSTER ON SPRING THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS December 9, 2006 The outside walls of 11 Spring St. have been a public canvas for local and visiting street artists for two decades. Recently the building was purchased by developers Caroline Cummings and Bill Elias who will be turning the space into condos. Realizing they had purchased a public gallery, and also because they admired the constantly changing walls, they wanted to give the work a final farewell. Collaborating with Marc and Sara Schiller who are long time street art documentarians and run the website woostercollective.com, they invited street artisits from all over the world to come and participate in a sort of final salute to the street art of 11 Spring. The three day open house attracted a huge crowd with people waiting in lines that snaked around the block for up to five hours just to get in the door. The doors are now closed to the public, and the renovations will begin on the soon to be luxury condominiums. CULTURE JAMMING | 62
As many of you now know, Wooster on Spring, the exhibition we have been working on with Elias Cummings, the new owners of 11 Spring Street, will open in Lower Manhattan in less then one week. The exhibition, a three celebration of 30 years of ephemeral art, will take place for three days only, and then all of the artwork will be destroyed. The artists who’s work will be showcased include Shepard Fairey, WK, Jace, Swoon, David Ellis, FAILE, Cycle, Lady Pink, London Police, Prune, JR, Speto, D*Face, JMR, Blek Le Rat, John Fekner, Bo and Microbo, Above, BAST, Momo, Howard Goldkrand, Borf, Gaetane Michaux, Skewville, Michael DeFeo, Will Barras, Kelly Burns, Abe Lincoln, Jr, Thubdercut, Judith Supine, Rekal, Maya Hayuk, Anthony Lister, Stikman, You Are Beautiful, Gore-B, Elboe-Toe, MCA, Jasmine Zimmerman, Plasma Slugs, Diego, RIPO, The Graffiti Research Lab, Txtual Healing, Mark Jenkins, Dan Witz, Iminendisaster, Rene Gagnon, and many other surprise guests. Questions to woostercollective Will the building be open to the public to view the artwork inside? Yes. The current plan is to open the building for three days in mid--December as an open house with panel discussions, film screenings, djs, and private walk-throughs. Because of the logistics, we won't be publishing the exact days and times until just before the event. Who are some of the artists that are painting inside the building? Artists involved in the show include WK, Blek Le Rat, Shepard Fairey, JACE, Bo and Microbo, D*Face, Maya Hayuk, Lister, Prune, JR, RIPO, Thundercut, Skewville, Elboe-Toe, Jasmine Zimmerman, You Are Beautiful, Dan Witz, Judith Supine, Above, Rekal, Gore-B, FAILE, The London Police, Rene Gagnon, Gaetane Michaux, Darkclouds... and many, many other surprise guests. 3. Will the artwork stay up in the building and outside after the event? No. In December and January, the new owners of the building will begin restoration and construction and all of the artwork will be destroyed. The only chance to see it will be during the three day event in December. Are you (Wooster) and the artists working with the new owners of the building on this project? Yes. A few weeks ago Sara and I met with Caroline Cummings, one of the new owners of 11 Spring. Caroline, who is a major supporter of the arts, wanted to let us know that she and her partners understood the rich history that the building has had, and they wanted to do something that celebrated the role the building has had in the neighborhood and with artists from all over the world. Sara and I suggested curating an art event in the building before construction began. Caroline and her partners agreed and the project began. Projects like this happen from time to time in Europe, but rarely in the United States, and never in the middle of one of the best neighborhoods in Manhattan. Can anyone paint inside the building? No, unfortunately not. All of the artwork inside the building is being organized and curated by the Wooster Collective. While we're adding new artists to the project each day, everyone involved has been part of the Wooster site over the last five years. Unfortunately, it's impossible to include all of the artists who we would like, but we're doing the best that we can. As we juggle space and access to the building, artists are being invited each day up until the actual event. CULTURE JAMMING | 63
Change language