Post by petrolino on Apr 13, 2024 2:55:47 GMT
Patti Astor has died at the age of 74. Punk, choreographer, actress, model, artist, radical; child of Ohio, sister of New York.
"Patti Astor moved to New York from Ohio in the late ’60s. She’d been accepted to Barnard, but she dropped out to become active in the anti-war movement. Astor calls herself a young revolutionary and punk rocker, and though arguably the quintessential East Villager of her time, she’s not of any clear relation to the Astors who made the East Village what it is. Then, being a party-goer, she found herself in a very particular East Village Scene, moved from her previous work in dance onto the screen, and ultimately was crowned Queen of Downtown Screen. Her best-known role was in Charlie Ahearn’s Wild Style, in which Astor starred as a reporter who brings uptown hip-hop culture to the downtown art world. How art mimics life!"
- Ariel Kates, Village Preservation
Patti Astor & Keith Haring
'Street Waves' - Pere Ubu | 'Praying Hands' - Devo
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"The FUN Gallery came out of punk rock. I’m a punk rocker. When I first moved to the East Village in 1975, ’76, we were all punk rockers. Something else people don’t recognize is how small the scene was when we first started. There was one club, it was CBGBs. I didn’t meet Fred [Brathwaite, aka Fab 5 Freddy] until end of ’80, beginning of ’81.
The East Village was so burned out, you didn’t really want to hang out in your apartment. We were in the streets. Also, it was such an exploding, pioneering scene so everybody was supportive of each other, really encouraging. Things were moving very quickly so you wanted to be near the heartbeat.
The East Village was so burned out, you didn’t really want to hang out in your apartment. We were in the streets. Also, it was such an exploding, pioneering scene so everybody was supportive of each other, really encouraging. Things were moving very quickly so you wanted to be near the heartbeat.
It came out of that DIY ethic. Okay, we don’t have any money, but that doesn’t matter. We still want to do this, so how can we do this, you know? That’s why the whole uptown hip-hop scenario/downtown punk rock synthesis started. There’s not that much difference between making a Super 8 jungle movie in Central Park and hooking up your sound system to the streetlamp so you can get free power. We really understood each other on that level."
- Patti Astor, Artsy
Fab 5 Freddy & Patti Astor
'Pretty Baby' - Blondie | 'Friction' - Televison
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R.I.P.
