Rivington School
The Rivington School was an art group that grew out of the East Village scene in 1980s New York, started in 1983 by "Cowboy" Ray Kelly and named after an abandoned public schoolhouse on Rivington Street. Its artists welded and forged sculpture, staged performance art, and worked in the street, meeting near the clubs No Se No and A's where performances and exhibitions happened. The group is most noted for massive junk-sculpture installations on the Lower East Side and raw metal public sculpture. The Rivington Sculpture Garden, first built on Rivington Street near Forsyth, was repeatedly torn down by the city for its unpermitted character before finding a home on 6th Street; Linus Coraggio's studio "2B" was another hub, and women artists organized as W.A.R.S. Toyo Tsuchiya's photographs and Monty Cantsin's super-8 film ANTI CREDO record the scene.
Defining characteristics
- Welded and forged scrap metal assembled into rough, totemic junk sculpture
- Raw, unpolished finish: exposed welds, rust, and found industrial parts
- Large, walk-in outdoor installations built without city permits
- Guerilla public sculpture sited on vacant lots and sidewalks
- Sculpture fused with performance art, street art, and nightlife
Key figures
- "Cowboy" Ray Kelly — Founder who started the group in 1983 and gave it the Rivington Street schoolhouse name
- Linus Coraggio (born 1962) — Sculptor and early founder who ran the 2B studio and gallery
- Toyo Tsuchiya (1948-2017) — Photographer and organizer at club No Se No who documented the movement's early years
- Istvan Kantor (Monty Cantsin) (born 1949) — Performance artist who filmed the sculpture garden's construction and demolition in ANTI CREDO
Example works
- Rivington Sculpture Garden — Rivington School collective
- ANTI CREDO (super-8 film) — Istvan Kantor (Monty Cantsin)
Sources
- Rivington School - Wikipedia encyclopedia