The Times Square Show was an influential collaborative, self-curated, and self-generated art exhibition held by New York artists' group Colab (aka Collaborative Projects, Inc) in Times Square in a shuttered massage parlor at 201 W. 41st and 7th Avenue during the entire month of June in 1980.[1][2] The Times Square Show was largely inspired by the more radical Colab show The Real Estate Show (that occurred in January 1980), but unlike it, was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in what was then a Times Square full of porno theaters, peep shows, and red light establishments.[3] In addition to experimental painting and sculpture, the exhibition incorporated music, fashion, and an ambitious program of performance and video. For many artists the exhibition served as a forum for the exchange of ideas, a testing-ground for social-directed figurative work in progress, and a catalyst for exploring new political-artistic directions.
- ^ Boch, Richard (2017). The Mudd Club. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House. p. 332. ISBN 978-1-62731-051-2. OCLC 972429558.
- ^ Julie Ault. Alternative Art, New York, 1965-1985 University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
- ^ Carlo McCormick, The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984, Princeton University Press, 2006