East Village Eye. 1980: The Year of Death. Vol. III, No. 17
New York: Eye Productions, 1981. Tabloid, newsprint printed in black-and-white and color.
"It had an influence on the Soho News, Village Voice and other papers to come. It brought a lot of different people together and motivated and inspired them enormously" (art director Christof Kohlhofer). Issue 18 of the legendary downtown arts and culture monthly mag. Established in 1979 during the alternative publishing zeitgeist, the East Village Eye touted itself as "a newspaper for new culture" and covered all aspects of the downtown scene including art, music, books, politics, fashion, street culture, and more. Founded by Fordham dropout Leonard Abrams when he was only 24 years-old, the Eye put out a total of 72 issues from 1979 to 1987. Over its run, it published work by an array of downtown luminaries such as Richard Hell, Cookie Mueller, Glenn O’Brien, Robert Mapplethorpe, and David Wojnarowicz, as well as exclusive interviews with writers and creatives, book, film, record and gallery reviews, and more. Each issue included a color centerfold of work by artists commissioned by the magazine’s art director Cristof Kohlhofer, a student of Joseph Beuys. (Notably, the Eye is considered the first publication to print and define the term "hip hop,” the result of an interview between Michael Holman and Afrika Bambaataa.) This issue features interviews with Ronnie Spector, the Au Pairs, and Gore Vidal, a letter to the editor from Lester Bangs ("I invented punk. Everybody knows that"), a recap of rock in 1980, a feature on Republican fashion, and more. Profusely illustrated in black-and-white and color with photos, art, and contemporary ads for long-vanished clubs, restaurants, bars and boutiques. Moderate edgewear to newsprint. Very good. Item #5453
$100.00