East Village Eye

The East Village Eye was a cultural magazine, published by editor-in-chief Leonard Abrams, in circulation from May, 1979 until January, 1987. Based in the East Village section of New York City, the publication covered a range of locally focused topics, including art, politics and gentrification.^[1] The East Village Eye, colloquially referred to as The Eye, covered topics such as the emergence of punk rock, hip-hop and fashion as fringe pop culture, as well as the burgeoning art and nightlife scenes that highlighted NYC's East Village neighborhood during the 1980s.^[2] The paper represented a confluence of popular culture, leftist politics and the artistically innovative.

History

Leonard Abrams started the East Village Eye after moving to the East Village in the mid-1970s. Its first office was at 167 Ludlow Street, moving repeatedly in and around this relatively inexpensive pocket of downtown Manhattan. Abrams' decision to feature artists from these emerging scenes, eschewing more established institutions, made The Eye a valuable cultural counterpoint. Over its span of 72 issues, the magazine was a platform to examine the contributions of visual and performance artists, musicians, cutting edge fashion design and photography, and neighborhood issues. The Eye was laced with wit, satire, sarcasm and written in a distinctly New York vernacular.

The Eye reached a peak circulation of 10,000 copies per month, available throughout New York City and outposts in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. The magazine became a marketplace for the local economy, with neighborhood businesses purchasing ad space.^[3] Groundbreaking small clubs, small arts publications and performance spaces like 8BC, ABC No Rio, Drink, Colab's A More Store, World War III Illustrated and Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine advertised in The Eye.

Editorial contributors

The list of East Village Eye contributors included Allen Ginsberg, Edit deAk, David Wojnarowicz, Glenn O'Brien, Cookie Mueller, Richard Hell, Lucy Lippard, and Rene Ricard, along with art direction and commissioned contributions by Christof Kohlhofer, Christy Rupp, Ellen Berkenblit and Futura 2000.

Featured visual artists

Artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Vito Acconci, Judy Rifka, Chris Burden, Walter Robinson, Joseph Nechvatal, Keith Haring, Christof Kohlhofer, Nam June Paik, Rammellzee, Nancy Spero, Rick Prol, Tom Otterness, Steven Parrino, Barbara Kruger and Jean-Michel Basquiat received space in the magazine to publish their artwork, sometimes in a double page spread.

Featured musicians

Stalwarts and pioneers of the developing punk, post-punk, no wave, new wave and hip-hop scenes were also featured, including acts such as Run-D.M.C., Iggy Pop, John Cale, Fab 5 Freddy, Annie Lennox, Nina Hagen, Beastie Boys, The Feelies, Billy Idol, Lounge Lizards. John Zorn, Diamanda Galas, Kurtis Blow, Lou Reed and Debbie Harry (Blondie), among others. The Eye was the first publication to print and define the term "hip hop" in an interview between writer/subculturalist Michael Holman and one of the founding fathers of the movement, DJ Afrika Bambaataa.^[4]

Featured fashion designers

The cutting edge of fashion took form in the pages of The Eye with the active participation of couturiers Animal X, Betsy Johnson, Manic Panic, Natasha, Patricia Field, Trash & Vaudeville and many others from the South Bronx to the Lower East Side.

Featured filmmakers

Filmmakers highlighted included David Lynch, Dennis Hopper, Charlie Ahearn, Scott B and Beth B, Nick Zedd, Rainer Fassbinder, John Waters, Eric Mitchell, and Jim Jarmusch.

References

External links

• East Village Eye archives