It’s hard not to be nostalgic for when 315 Bowery was the home of underground rock and not upscale menswear. Now the neighborhood that used to house the monumental CBGB’s is home to John Varvatos, Blue and Cream, and a Daniel Boulud restaurant. The Bowery has lost some of its dangerous edge, but there is delicate irony in the small way it is preserved; its fashion. The skinny black jeans and leather jackets that used to be seen as red flags of the misfits of society are now mass produced and sold in the windows of stores like Blue and Cream and John Varvatos.
‘Bowery Boys,’ an exhibition of paintings by Rosson Crow, explores the way that culture and art have been influenced by these groundbreaking ‘bad boys’ of days past. One painting pairs trendy nightclub Boom Boom Room with a gritty sex club of old NYC, Plato’s Retreat. The juxtaposition is off-putting, but in the same way that the old Bowery and the new Bowery would look if they were superimposed into one singular picture. Rosson, interested in the manifestation of masculinity, focuses on the iconic and alluring ‘bad boys’ – those who were written off as dangers to society and yet were still celebrated by their cult followings and who are remembered even today. Rosson’s paintings explore the lawless and exciting NYC that was thoroughly laced with rebellion. By paying homage to those who paved an unthinkable way, Rosson’s exhibit provides inspiration for current artists and a fascinating look back into our city’s often-misremembered punk culture.
Rosson Crow
Bowery Boys
March 04 — March 27, 2010
Deitch Projects
18 Wooster Street, New York
Crow's previous work: Rosson Crow, in the flesh