Then and Now

Heading up to the Whitney this afternoon to check out the Gordon Matta-Clark show. From what I’ve been reading in the New York Times Matta-Clark’s art included not just visual pieces but bringing groups of people together for joint creative endeavors, that magical alchemy, and food. Food, the restaurant he co-founded, still existed in SoHo in 1985 when I arrived in New York, but it had passed on to other owners, and that incredible wave of artists and inspiration was being co-opted and the neighborhood gentrified. When I was in East London the  Hoxton Square area struck me as having a similar art scene and a wave of sleek restaurants and bars growing up around it-will they eclipse the art, and the funkiness? It certainly happened in SoHo, but East London is a bit more durable and real, or at least I hope it is.