This is Alec Rubin in performance at The Theater Within in a very characteristic pose of his, focused simultaneously inward and outward, likely in process of making his artistic choices at that very moment; what feelings to follow and reveal, which to ignore.
Stoni, my Swiss buddy, friend and New York room mate. Later he would have his own dance company in Berlin. Together we were able to afford an apartment on the 'very lower east side' of Manhattan.
717 East 5th Street (Avenue C - D)
New York, NY 10023
A seriously rough and tough neighborhood.
This particular building resisted gentrification for long.
Odd that later I would move in to 717 Manhattan Ave..
Out of the drab neighborhood, inside my first home of my own (Stoni, a dancer soon moved on to study Skinner Releasing Technique in Seattle) cheerful colors pleased me.
I was happy in my abode despite the roaches that were aplenty, and one freaking rat next door.
What I left behind was my dear friend Joe,
artisan, actor, and painter
with a truly artistic, sensitive soul.
Here he posed for me in front of his store
with one of his own, gorgeous carpet shoulder bags
(so like the bag that held my belongings
when I first entered the US.)
Joe was able to create anything he put his mind to, so it seemed. Joe's Creations were masterly crafted pieces of practical art, be they furnishings, as he was so generous in gifting our The Stuebli with, or clothing as with his intricate vests and house shoes or accessories like hand and shoulder bags with secret compartments created with the use of recycled silken ties.
These pictures are WONDERFUL. Did you take the Alec Rubin portrait? It's superb. All of these, the colors, the energy, the style call up that whole wonderful decade. What is Joe doing now? It sounds like he's very present in your heart this last week or two.
ReplyDeleteFor me too, the seventies were a coming of age decade. They began, for me, with dreams of becoming a photojournalist, and ended with me slipping back into the mainstream through study to begin a career that endured almost 30 years. I have no regrets; but I sometimes wonder what might have been if I had stayed on the road less taken.
ReplyDeleteI have wondered the other way round. If I had received the acceptance of my application to a school in Zuerich to become an Ergo therapist, I surely would not be in the financial situation I am in now. I likely would be sitting pretty, but would have had a life time of working within institutions that would have driven me crazy. But there were no cell phones then and contact across borders was a lot more challenging. I learned of this acceptance only by chance when I was looking after my Dad and inside the nursing home a woman recognized me from 30-some years ago. Thanks for reading and commenting Xpat.
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