Squat Theatre (1977–1991) was a Hungarian theatre company from Budapest which left Hungary for Paris and then New York City , where they performed experimental theatre .
124-756: Living in Paris in 1977, a friend of the company, Tamas Szentjoby, suggested that they change the name from Kassák Haz Studió to Squat Theatre. The first play was created for a Western audience: Pig, Child, Fire! [1] It was set in a storefront in Rotterdam , a setting that became their trademark. [2] After touring Nancy, France , Shiraz , Baltimore, Paris, the company arrived at the Hotel Chelsea in July, they settled in New York City. Several members left
248-515: A New York City landmark in May 1989, it is an irregularly-shaped district consisting of 440 buildings on 28 blocks and parts of blocks, from roughly 15th Street to 24th Street and from Park Avenue South to west of Sixth Avenue. East 23rd Street, which runs between Fifth Avenue and the East River ( FDR Drive ), is one of the main thoroughfares of Gramercy Park . The 22-story Flatiron Building
372-526: A public park called the Thomas F. Smith Park, later the Chelsea Waterside Park . In 2000, the westernmost block of 23rd Street was demolished as part of a reorganization of traffic patterns and an expansion of the park. The expanded 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) park contains a dog run, children's playground, basketball court, and soccer green. Just west of Tenth Avenue, the street passes under
496-850: A Grand Prix at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival (BITEF), and the Italian Critics’ Award for the Best Foreign Performance. In 1981 Mr Dead & Mrs Free premiered in Cologne, Germany. Commissioned by Ivan Nagel director of Theater der Welt and shown at Cologne ’s "Theatres of the World" festival, Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free was filmed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as part of his first and only documentary Theater in Trance. It
620-655: A Jewish song as the Virgin Mary holding Can Togay on her lap in the position of Michelangelo's Pieta . The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov was performed for the first time at Dohány utca 20, Budapest. They used as text the abridged version of the original play limited to the lines of the three sisters. The company left Hungary for the West. Andy Warhol's Last Love was collectively created and opened on 23rd Street in 1978. The Company went on tour to Hamburg, Rome. Milan, Florence, Belgrade, Rotterdam and Brussels. It won
744-695: A book, he was prosecuted because of its chapters concerning the Hungarian Soviet Republic. He regularly published in leftist newspapers. From 1945 to 1947, he edited the journal Kortárs (Contemporary), which closed when it was banned. In 1947 he returned to political duties, as the communists had taken over the Hungarian government. He was appointed as the head of the Social Democratic Party's Art Commission. In 1948 he became an MP. A year later he had to change seats in
868-453: A distinctive sort of Dadaism. Képarchitektúra, or Image Architecture was first defined in pamphlet by Kassák in late 1921. The manifesto was reprinted in MA 7, no. 4 (March 1922), pp. 52–54. Although integrated into the collective notion of national culture, avantgardism developed as an independent assertion of politically enthused artistic expression in the heat of internationalism which
992-698: A factory worker. As he worked in Angyalföld and Újpest, he participated in political struggles related to trade unions from 1904 to 1908. After partaking actively in the organization of strikes, rallies, protests and even joining the Hungarian Social Democratic Party, Kassák was fired from his job and totally blacklisted. Before then, one of his poems had already gotten published by the Weekly Újpest and he had gotten to meet Jolán Simon who would later be his wife. Through self-education on
1116-497: A folk-song choir. There was also a painting group which mostly constituted students of the Academy of Fine Arts. Even more, there were usually organized rambling programs as well as summertime bathing organized at the beach, adventurous camping trips to sites in places like Horány close to Szentendre; most of the participants were workers of all kinds including civil servants, corporate workers, craftsmen and sole proprietors. Given how
1240-415: A four-bedroom penthouse apartment sold for $ 6.44 million. Every New York City Subway line that crosses 23rd Street has a local station there: There is also a PATH station at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue . In the past, every former IRT elevated line had a station at 23rd Street, most of which were local stations: MTA New York City Transit 's M23 route runs the length of 23rd Street. In 2003,
1364-421: A hostile Interior Ministry decree and unavoidable tension which surfaced within the group itself. Apart from his involvement in his own thriving projects, Kassák was also invested in using the medium of other papers and journals like Népszava and Szocializmus . Kassák was successful as a writer, with several decades of productive writing, publishing and literary acclaim. One of his most defining literary outputs
SECTION 10
#17327799670331488-416: A large window on the sidewalk with a street entrance this provided the possibility of having two audiences, one inside and one outside. The spectators sat in the back of the space facing the storefront window and 23rd street beyond. Events took place with the street as a backdrop, with the intention of unsettling the events, the relationship among the members of the theatre group, and the audience. This set-up
1612-465: A long while because his political and artistic activities were shrouded by the government of the Iron Curtain and by the activities of others. He started out not as an artist but as a locksmith and then moved on to become a political activist, writer, editor and painter. Kassák's artistic and political involvement actively started in the 1910s after he left off working as a locksmith. In 1920, due to
1736-695: A member of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party. Even more, he was a key leader in the Journalists Association, the Hungarian Writers’ Association as well as the co-president of the PEN Club. In 1948, Alkotás and Kortárs stopped because of the increasing political oppression and Kassák was marginalized within the Hungarian Writer's Association in 1953 after he clashed with its members over the cultural policies of
1860-465: A member of the special Writers Directorate. After fierce debates with the republic's leader, Béla Kun , he distanced himself from Bolshevism whilst always remaining a leftist. He never distinguished between being a socially responsible individual and an artist: his art was part of his self-definition as a "socialist man". György Lukács criticized Kassák for wanting to be the "official court poet of communism" yet simultaneously denying any affiliation to
1984-460: A modern artistic outlook gained traction within the presentation of the new MA model, causing it to gain traction amongst many modern artists like Tristan Tzara , Kurt Schwitters , El Lissitzky and Hans Jean Arp , many of whom Kassák forged lasting relationships with. The new framework embodied by MA caused it to last longer than it did during its domestic presence in Hungary. The journal MA
2108-591: A number of progressive journals like Alkotás and subsequently became a member of the Parliament of the Social Democratic Party in connection to which he edited a literary journal. His participation in these political spheres affected his reception and treatment as a writer after the journals were discontinued after the Communist regime was installed after the Second World War. For the second time, Kassák
2232-833: A public confrontation with Béla Kun, the commissioner of the Hungarian commune. At the time, Kassák was a member of the Writer's Directory but he soon withdrew following his clash with Béla Kun. The polemics he rendered in this first public debate was published as one of the editions of MA under the title, “Letter to Béla Kun, in the Name of Art”. After the collapse of the Republic of Councils, to avoid counter-revolutionary backlash, and to escape an arrest warrant issued against him, Kassák emigrated to Vienna in 1920. During his time in Vienna, Kassák embarked on an evolutionary turn of MA , revitalized
2356-489: A sense, the MA circle became a movement in itself on whose platform several artists rose to prominence, one of which is János Mattis-Teutsch whose works have been on display in the Kassák Museum since early 2020. All the efforts poured into MA culminated into the recognition of Kassák as a remarkable exemplar of a European avant-gardist. Despite the fact that the journal was presented as artistically oriented, MA
2480-535: A shorter German version of a longer manifesto in the 1922 Volume 1 edition of the MA journal under the title ‘Bildarchitectur’. His involvement in contemporary art movements caused him to be a figure to be reckoned with even during his time. Even in his literary activities, Kassák was very influenced by the Dadaist tradition. The journal MA founded by Kassák was said to “exhibit Dadaist features… which gives it great strength and an affirmative power... [and helped] in
2604-440: A signal to the world at a time when intervention of any sort was truly needed. This is the second journal that was begun by Kassák and his cohort of artistic activists. According to Kassák, the journal was specially founded to avoid the repressive control of the government by focusing on fine arts, music and other forms of artistry rather than just literature. The paper which means Today was channeled towards strong activism that
SECTION 20
#17327799670332728-419: A significant role in shaping the character of development along East 23rd Street in the early 20th century, constructing six buildings successively along the street and around the block to the corner of 24th. The tallest of these is the 700-foot (210 m) Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower , built in 1909 at the intersection of 24th Street and Madison Avenue. The tower, with its ornate clocktower faces,
2852-477: A sociopolitical activist and editor of several journals include his sister and brother-in-law. She committed suicide on September 24, 1938, and as a tribute, Kassak wrote the poem Requiem to a Woman 25 years after her death. In 1940, Kassak met and got involved with Klára Kárpáti whom he later married. List of avant-garde artists Jolán (actor) MA (journal) Béla Uitz Sándor Bortnyik - Work (journal) 23rd Street (Manhattan) 23rd Street
2976-490: A special label issued to express the socially engaged style of his artistic production. Functionality and social effectivity were the main characteristics of his works, which have to be implemented by the modern being in order to create a world of social equality. His works include concrete poetry , billboards, design, novels, and paintings, and were influenced by Expressionism , Dadaism , Futurism , Surrealism and Constructivist tendencies. In November 1915 – 1916, during
3100-405: A spectacular array of poems that poeticized his personal struggles and reflected on his immediate environments, his past life and psychological introspections. In addition to his fictional works, Kassák wrote several politically engaged articles, denouncing any act of political or even racial injustice such as the articles he published against the “ordinances of the third anti-Semitic law” made during
3224-469: A terminal on the shore of the Hudson River at Pier 63, which aligned with the western end of 23rd Street. The ferries traveled to Jersey City , located opposite Manhattan. By the beginning of the 20th century ferries were already aging and deteriorating under heavy use, and in 1942 the terminal itself was demolished. In the late 1980s, boat enthusiast John Krevey converted an old railroad barge on
3348-400: A total of 1,670 apartments, housing 5,000 total residents. At the time of construction it was the largest residential complex in the city. In 1857, the merchant Amos Eno bought a land parcel at the intersection with Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street. He built the luxury Fifth Avenue Hotel on this site by 1859. The six-story-high structure, which was designed to accommodate 800 guests, became
3472-456: A variety of cultures, including Thai , Italian , Spanish and French cuisine. 23rd Street contains some upper-class areas with expensive real estate. One 2,500-square-foot (230 m ) office space between Park and Lexington Avenues was leased for $ 240,000 per year in March 2017, while a 1,000-square-foot (93 m ) apartment three blocks east was being sold for $ 1 million. In July 2015,
3596-424: A well-acclaimed artistic virtuoso whose strong achievements and socially committed activities interlaced with a consistent artistic vibrancy. He set the pace for the development of the avant-garde artistic wing in Hungary. Kassák is also considered to be a pioneer of a number of new developments in the Hungarian avant-garde and modernist art scene. It has been said that Kassák's legacy was stunted and unrecognized for
3720-589: Is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan , one of the major two-way, east-west streets in the borough's grid . As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided into its east and west sections at Fifth Avenue . The street runs from Avenue C and FDR Drive in the east to Eleventh Avenue in the west. 23rd Street was created under the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 . The street hosts several famous hotels, including
3844-471: Is always modern. His spirit, thoughts, impulsiveness and style possess the unusually daring “tournures” (contours). What is more, Kassák collaborated with other writers and artists in Europe to create a synergy of avant-garde engagements that revolved several facets of art – poetry, literary criticism, painting, music etc. Just like in the countries of former Yugoslav and other ex-Socialist states, avantgardism
Squat Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue
3968-480: Is his autobiographical work titled Life of a Man , which he started writing when he was 36 years old. Kassák wrote several poems of avant-garde texture and also novels. His socially conscious novels helped propagate the purpose of the movement. In his early years during the period of exile and isolation, Kassák experimented with his poetic style, writing poems that were free versed and reflective of thematic multiplicity. During his later years, Kassák wrote and published
4092-568: Is located across FDR Drive, along the East River coast. Stretching south to 18th Street, the 2-acre (0.81 ha) public space is built on the site of a concrete plant and parking lot. The street ends at the New York Skyports Seaplane Base , which opened in 1962. The seaplane base, which is part of a marina , also contains a parking lot whose entrance and exit is located at the eastern end of 23rd Street. On
4216-543: Is located on the south side of East 23rd Street at the street's intersection with Fifth Avenue and Broadway, occupying the triangular parcel bounded by these two avenues and 22nd Street. The origin of the term " 23 skidoo " is said to be from wind gusts caused by the building's triangular shape or hot air from a shaft through which immense volumes of air escaped, producing gusts that supposedly lifted women's skirts. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), headquartered at 1 Madison Avenue at East 23rd Street, played
4340-669: The City University of New York system, was a successor to the Free Academy. Founded by businessman and City College alumnus Bernard Baruch , the campus includes the Lawrence and Eris Field Building at the southeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street in Gramercy. The 16-story building, opened in 1929, is the oldest structure that is part of Baruch College. The New York Public Library contains two branches on
4464-775: The Fifth Avenue Hotel and Hotel Chelsea , as well as many theaters. Several skyscrapers are located on 23rd Street, including the Flatiron Building , the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower , and One Madison . As with other numbered streets in Manhattan , Fifth Avenue separates West and East 23rd Street. This intersection occurs in Madison Square, near Madison Square Park , both of which are part of
4588-542: The Flatiron District . West of Sixth Avenue, West 23rd Street passes through Chelsea . East of Lexington Avenue , East 23rd Street runs along the southern boundary of Kips Bay and the northern boundaries of Gramercy and Peter Cooper Village . Since 1999, an area north of 23rd Street around the park has been referred to as NoMad . West 23rd Street, which runs through the heart of Chelsea, contains many art galleries and several theaters. For much of
4712-528: The High Line , a 1.45-mile (2.33 km) elevated linear park built on the structure of the former West Side Line railroad. The High Line contains both a staircase and an elevator entrance from 23rd Street. On the north side of 23rd Street, just west of the High Line, is "HL23", a residential building that hangs over the narrow linear park. London Terrace is located across Tenth Avenue, occupying
4836-604: The Straphangers Campaign listed the M23 as one of the slowest in the city, winning its "Pokey Award" for going at an average speed of 3.7 miles per hour (6.0 km/h). In 2016 it was converted to a Select Bus Service route, with bus rapid transit components such as exclusive bus lanes and all-door bus boarding, to speed up service. Additional service is provided by the M9 and M34A SBS east of Second Avenue, both in
4960-608: The 1950s led to a drop in rail traffic throughout the United States, and the viaduct was effectively abandoned in 1980. The Twenty-third Street Railway , a street railway originally operated as horse cars and later electric traction , was chartered on January 29, 1872. In 1893, the Twenty-third Street Railway was leased to the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad , which in turn
5084-695: The Cell Theatre, across the street from the SVA Theatre. In 1849, James Renwick Jr. constructed the Free Academy Building for the City College of New York , following a statewide referendum two years prior that had allowed the construction of the school. The Gothic Revival building was located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street. The building was demolished in 1928. Baruch College , an institution within
Squat Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-571: The First World War, Kassák started his first journal A Tett (The Action) which launched an artistically oriented backlash against the war-mongering political dealings in his time especially in Central and Eastern Europe. It is telling that the periodical A Tett was named in reference to a German anti-war journal whose title was Die Aktion . Kassák had always expressed antipathy for war through his poems published in newspapers; among others
5332-801: The Hotel Chelsea from August 1978. The building has been a designated New York City landmark since 1966, and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. The emergence of many new hotels after the American Civil War contributed to the increase of prostitution in the area. By 1876, there were so many brothels in the area bounded by 23rd and 57th Streets , between Fifth and Seventh Avenues, that New York City Police Department captain Alexander S. Williams nicknamed this strip of land " Tenderloin ". Referring to
5456-772: The Hudson River to a floating jetty called Pier 63 . A restaurant was opened on the pier. The lightship Frying Pan and the fire vessel John J. Harvey were also originally moored to Pier 63, with both listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 2007, the barge was moved to Pier 66 on 26th Street. On January 1, 1825, the New York House of Refuge , a jail for juvenile delinquents, opened on Broadway between 22nd and 23rd Streets. The jail housed prisoners up to 16 years old who were serving long jail sentences, including boys who were being imprisoned until at least age 21 and girls until at least age 18. During
5580-563: The Hungarian Democratic Party. This made it difficult for him to find publishers and his creative works were stifled for a very long time. He was, however, able to continue publishing and trade his later poems and paintings on international platforms like galleries and museums in Paris, Vienna, Israel as well as Locarno and Zurich museums in Switzerland. Despite the state-orchestrated inhibition of his works, Kassák
5704-524: The Hungarian authorities for "political and esthetic radicalism", and banned from performing in public. In the next four years they wrote 36 performance events: plays, sketches and improvisations. These were shown in apartments, staircases, streets, beaches, and in the countryside. "Manifesto" by István Bálint ( Stephan Balint ) on behalf of Studio Kassak was published in Schmuck, Hungary, March–April, 1973 issue. [3] The building at 256 West 23rd Street had
5828-403: The Hungarian avant-garde and its visual artistic developments is tied to “the four avant-garde journals edited by Kassák between 1915 and 1927 – A Tett (The Action), Ma (Today), 2×2 , Dokumentum (Document).” The significance of these journals in shaping Hungarian avant-gardism is embodied by how they served as mediums for researching on, presenting, interpreting and debating on the issues of
5952-582: The M23 in 1989. During the 1870s, the Sixth Avenue Elevated was built, significantly increasing the number of customers who shopped at stores along the route. Elevated lines with stations on 23rd Street were also constructed along Ninth Avenue in 1867, Third Avenue in 1878, and Second Avenue in 1880. By the middle of the 20th century, they were all demolished. Several New York City Subway stations now serve 23rd Street (see § Public transit ). In 1869, Pavonia Ferry opened
6076-404: The Manhattan street grid , as one of 15 east-west streets that would be 100 feet (30 m) in width, as opposed to minor side streets that were designated as 60 feet (18 m) in width. The plan also reserved the 240 acres (97 ha) of land bounded by 23rd Street, Third Avenue , 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue as the "Grand Parade", an area upon which development was prohibited. Instead,
6200-750: The Manhattan Campus of the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, is located at 423 East 23rd Street, near the northeast corner of the intersection with First Avenue. Near 23rd Street's eastern end is the Asser Levy Public Baths . Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the baths were named after Asser Levy , one of the city's first Jewish settlers. In 1980, the baths were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Stuyvesant Cove Park
6324-617: The Mask of Wagner). That same year, he launched his first journal, entitled A Tett (The Action) , which was soon censored and banned for being "pacifist". He was part of the intellectual movement that included the group of painters known as The Eight whose work he supported in his journals. He started Ma (Today) in Budapest and later published it from Vienna. During the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, he became
SECTION 50
#17327799670336448-506: The Munka Circle. Kassák pioneered distinct trends of artistic productions which are transmedia in nature. For one, he was known for his image-poems which he wrote within the period of 1920–1929. Not only did Kassák design the cover pages of his numerous books, but he also worked hand in hand with other contributors to design and produce the artworks on the cover pages of his edited journals most of which were carefully created to reflect
6572-538: The Parliament, and later he had to resign, and finally retire because of the change of the political climate. In 1953, Kassák criticised the Party's cultural politics and was expelled from the party. Because of this, he was not allowed to publish for years, until 1956, when he was elected to be a chair in the Writers Association, an influential organization of the era. From 1957 he became practically muted by
6696-562: The Second World War. Given his literary achievements, Kassák took up vital positions in several literary-oriented publications. After WWII, he was the editor of Új Idők (New Times) as well the vice-chairman of the Arts Council, a parastatal which operated under the body of the Ministry of Religion and Education. During this time, he edited the periodical Alkotás and also was the editor of a periodical named Kortárs during his time as
6820-563: The age of 17 to János Pál Nagy, a carpenter's assistant, for whom she bore three children, Jolan met Kassak after leaving this marriage during an event organised by the Ujpest Worker's Home. At the time, she was working as a worker at the United Bulb, an Austro-Hungarian electrical company. She later went on to attend acting school and take up acting as a professional career. Simon Jolan was a strong pillar of support for Kassak during
6944-518: The ambition to catch the global eye. However, the novelty of the avant-gardist approaches used in Dokumentum made it to be unpopular amongst many, causing it to fade out over the period of half a year. This journal founded by Kassák took a different shape from the previous journals set up by him. It had a more social outlook and was construed as an educative platform for the workers of the time whom Kassák made to share in his transformative vision of
7068-461: The area was to be used as an open space for military training, as well as an assembly point in the event the city was invaded. At the time, some thought that the Grand Parade might become a "central park" for the city, but the grounds were gradually reduced over the course of time. By 1847, the open area was 7 acres (2.8 ha), comprising the land of the current Madison Square Park. By
7192-400: The artist that he was during his lifetime. In recognition of all his politically enthused and artistically significant efforts, Kassák was awarded a state medal on his 80th birthday in 1967. He died on July 22 of the same year and was a tributary honour by his colleagues, friends and supporters. Kassák was born in Érsekújvár, Austria-Hungary (present-day Nové Zámky , Slovakia ). His father
7316-443: The artistic audience in those territories. Although most people know Kassák as a literary virtuoso whose involvement in founding several social and critically enthused journals gained the attention of the public, he is also a painter with some interesting artworks to his credit/name. Kassák's visual explorations were born out of the need to communicate his message(s) through whatever available means of communication there is; knowing that
7440-492: The attack of the Hungarian government against intellectuals like Lajos Kassák which intensified following the collapse of the Republic of Councils in Hungary, he escaped into exile in Vienna. Paradoxically, this attack on Kassák's intellectual activism led to a flourishing literary lifestyle which included exhibitions, readings, culturally-spirited events and the journal editing enterprises that were soon to be transported back to Hungary where an underground trend of social campaigning
7564-465: The authorities; for one, it had a varied number of subtitles. From being a periodical of literature and arts, it became an activist periodical; then, it was tagged a periodical of activist art and society. The journal was even associated with theater houses and a popular publishing house, thus broadening its reach and giving it that much-wanted artistic outlook. In fact, MA spread its tentacles to publishing important books and postcard series constituting
SECTION 60
#17327799670337688-522: The budding socio-photographic form of artistry in Hungary and worked with music in a defining way with his partner Jolán Simon heading a speaking choir which performed regularly at Munka Circle gatherings. Even more, Kassák delved into film production as well as dance. He is credited for integrating Russian artistry into the rather exclusive Hungarian art setting. The reception of Kassák's works has changed in contemporary times with several reprints of his books and an acknowledgement of other facets that makes him
7812-606: The building into a movie theater in 1938. By 1960, it was demolished to make room for the Penn South residential complex. Booth's Theatre was opened in 1869 at the intersection with Sixth Avenue. It was sold in 1881 for half the cost of its construction, becoming a dry-goods store. In 1889, the entrepreneur Frederick Freeman Proctor opened Proctor's Theatre , a theater between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Proctor used innovations such as electric lighting and phonographs in his "continuous daily vaudeville" theater. In 1907,
7936-549: The city was attracting artists and intellectuals from throughout eastern Europe. He was expelled to Hungary in 1910. The experiences of this journey were later covered in his autobiography entitled Egy ember élete (A Man's Life) . Despite his lack of formal education and inadequate writing skills, Kassák fought fiercely to publish his works. His first poem was published in 1908, and his first collections of short stories in 1912, titled Életsiratás . In 1915 he published his first collection of poems, Éposz Wagner maszkjában (Epic in
8060-532: The communists during the onset of the White Terror . After the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, Kassák emigrated to Vienna. There he continued publishing his second journal, MA ("Today" but also "Magyar Aktivizmus"= Hungarian Activism] ). He also published an anthology, Buch neuer Künstler , a project in which László Moholy-Nagy was to help him by gathering material for him from Berlin . However, in May 1922 Béla Uitz and Aladár Komját published
8184-946: The company in 1985 when they lost the lease to their space on 23rd Street including Anna Koós, Péter Halász , Eric Daille, and Agnes Santha. The rest of the company continued until 1991, Squat Theatre's last play was Full Moon Killer , 1991, performed at The Kitchen in New York City. The six founding members of Squat Theatre (shown left to right in the 1976 Paris photograph) are Peter (Breznyik) Berg, Marianne Kollar (3rd), Péter Halász , Anna Koós, Stephan Balint and Eva Buchmuller. Other members of Squat Theatre were: Eric Daillie, Agnes Santha, Klara Palotai, Eszter Balint , Boris Major, Rebecca Major, and Judith Galus Halasz. Important contributing actors were Sheryl Sutton, Sandi Fiddler, Kathleen Kendall, Nico , Yossi Gutmann (viola), Shirley Clarke , Richard Leacock , August Darnell , Mark Boone Junior , Sue Williams, Jane Smith , Larry Solomon, Ivan Jakovits and Jan Gontarczyk. Boris and Rebecca Major are
8308-479: The cultural censorship of the Party, and for the rest of his life was not allowed to travel, exhibit and publish. However, even in his silence, he influenced a large number of artist both in Hungary and internationally. He died in Budapest on July 22, 1967. Kassák is considered to be the main father figure of literary Hungarian Avant-garde , and one of the first poet/writer/artists from a working-class background. His views on historical avant-garde movements influenced
8432-496: The daughters of János Major . Originally, the company was known as Kassák Haz Studió and was located at Uzsoki-utca 57, Budapest . For political and aesthetic reasons, the company emigrated to Paris and then to the United States. In 1969 Anna Koós, Péter Halász and Stephan Balint from the University Theatre of Budapest created an independent theatre group called Kassák Haz Studió. In 1972 they were censored by
8556-439: The different portions of 23rd Street: the Muhlenberg branch on West 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue, and the Epiphany branch on East 23rd Street west of Second Avenue. The Epiphany branch, which is located in Gramercy/Kips Bay, opened in 1887 and moved to its current location, a Carnegie library on 23rd Street, in 1907. It was renovated from 1982 to 1984. The Muhlenberg branch, also a Carnegie library, opened in Chelsea in 1906 and
8680-412: The dismay and anger of local critics. Some of the themes mostly explored in the supposedly literary and artistic journal including the criticism of pro-war ideologists and cultural events supporting war efforts, the demystification of supposed war heroes, a denouncement of the targeted antagonism against assumed enemies. A Tett also pointed a torch on the mutilation or killing of the human body, especially
8804-405: The establishing of a new atmosphere.” Between the years 1920 and 1929, Kassák wrote a collection of numerated poems numbered 100, most of which, like Poem 8 and Poem 32, were considered to be infused with a “graphic display of letters and lines” as well as a “free play with words’ and an absurdist quality. It was even said that, at a later age, Kassák's avant-garde activism began to metamorphose into
8928-440: The first 10 years, the jail held 1,120 prisoners. In 1854, the prison moved to Randall's Island in the East River . A collection of four-story houses called London Terrace was built on the block bounded by 23rd Street, 24th Streets, Ninth Avenue, and Tenth Avenue in 1845. London Terrace was rebuilt in 1930, with the houses being replaced with 14 apartment buildings that each had sixteen to eighteen floors. The new complex had
9052-476: The first issue of Egység , a rival journal, critical of Kassak. In 1926, Kassák returned to Hungary. He continued editing and publishing journals such as Munka (Work) (1927–1938) and Dokumentum (Document) (1927), both of which were independent leftist avant-garde journals. His autobiography, Egy ember élete (A Man's Life) was published in sections periodically in the Hungarian literary journal, Nyugat , between 1923 and 1937. After he published it as
9176-514: The flaming cellar, while two more firefighters were killed by the blast of flame and heat on the first floor. The site is now the location of Madison Green , a 31-story apartment building. On September 17, 2016, several bombs detonated in New York and New Jersey . One of these was a pressure cooker bomb that exploded on West 23rd Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue , injuring 31 people. A New Jersey resident, Ahmed Khan Rahimi,
9300-485: The full block to Ninth Avenue between 23rd and 24th Streets. The Hotel Chelsea, New York City's first co-op apartment complex, was built at 222 West 23rd Street in 1883. The Emunah Israel synagogue, built in the 1860s as a Presbyterian church , is located a few doors to the west at 236 West 23rd. The block of 23rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues is part of the Ladies' Mile Historic District . Designated
9424-403: The functions of entertainment, the projection of experimental artistic works as well a conscious re-orientation of the political attitude of attendants and members which increased in numbers due to the status of Munka as an open group. Within this very embracing circle, there were several kinds of choirs from the speaking choir led by Kassák's partner Simon Jolán, a modern-music chamber chorus and
9548-399: The increased number of bribes he would receive for police protection of both legitimate and illegitimate businesses there – especially the many brothels – Williams said, "I've been having chuck steak ever since I've been on the force, and now I'm going to have a bit of tenderloin ." There were several Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters being built along West 23rd Street beginning in
9672-556: The intersection of 23rd Street and Fourth (now Park) Avenue . The building was designed by Peter Bonnett Wight in a style evocative of Doge's Palace in Venice . However, by the beginning of the 20th century, it had been demolished and replaced with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower . In 1878, the Stern Brothers department store opened between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The building, designed by Henry Fernbach ,
9796-409: The journal (a derivative of the movement) constructed itself around cultural and socially relevant issues affecting Hungary at the time and was deliberately made affordable, it gained immense popularity and increased in leaps and bounds so much that it lasted between the years 1928 to 1939 until it faced opposition and became subject to censorship from the government. It was eventually dissolved following
9920-501: The journal in terms of design, content, human resources and imbued it with a new, revamped orientation which embraced the internationalist-bent aura that was dominating the era. Kassák's conscious fashioning of the journal as internationally inclined allowed him to feature a significant number of artists from other European countries and also collaborate with other international publications in terms of intellectual exchange, distribution and marketization. In light of this, constructivism as
10044-508: The journal publication of A Tett by gathering together writers and artists of like-minded passion like him. These intellectuals moved from being mere commenters of the war to being critics with anti-war outlooks. In 1904 Kassák moved to Budapest , where he worked in a factory on the outskirts of the city. He participated in the labour union movement and organized several strikes. In 1905 he was fired several times for organizing strikes. In 1907 he left for Paris – on foot and without any money;
10168-518: The largest hotel in the world at that time. The hotel served as the headquarters of the Republican Party and was used by Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Chester A. Arthur . When the Prince of Wales , Edward VII , visited the hotel in 1860, the commercial appeal of the adjacent neighborhood was greatly increased. The area bounded by 14th and 23rd Streets between Sixth Avenue and Broadway
10292-615: The late 19th century and early 20th century its western end was the site of the Pavonia Ferry at Pier 63, just north of the current Chelsea Piers . In 1907, a small lot of land on the north side of 23rd Street, between Twelfth and Eleventh Avenues , was acquired by the Commissioner of Docks and Ferries . The land was transferred to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in 1915, becoming
10416-665: The late 19th century. By the turn of the century, the street contained a "Theater Row", which was a prominent fixture in American theater . 23rd Street remained New York's main theater strip until the Empire Theatre opened on Broadway some twenty blocks uptown, ushering in a new era of theater. In 1868, Pike's Opera House (later the Grand Opera House) was built at Eighth Avenue and 23rd Street for several million dollars. The film company RKO Pictures converted
10540-423: The maiming of men during the war, and the adverse effects this has on women, both psychologically and sexually. Although the journal was meant to engage in anti-militarism as opposed to the aestheticized presentations of war prevalent amongst intellectuals and the popular press of the time. The paper did survive for nearly a year but was cut short on October 2, 1916, by the government on account of certain articles in
10664-655: The middle of the 19th century, there was a railroad, the Hudson (later West Side) Line , running from the current Hudson Yards area between 30th and 32nd Streets south to Chambers Street . At the time, the city prohibited steam locomotives from operating below 30th Street because of the risk of the train's steam boiler exploding, so passengers from points north were forced to switch to horse-drawn trains . The horse-drawn line's stops were located at 23rd, 14th , Christopher and Chambers Streets. The West Side Line caused so many accidents between freight trains and other traffic that
10788-455: The mood of the issues. He and other contributors painstakingly designed these cover pages in a way that projected the theme of the issue or volume and this is a noteworthy undertaking that enunciates the distinctive quality of intricately aligning words and images in an interdependent fashion. Apart from actively engaging in painting, he also formed theoretical concepts about contemporary art and constructivism. The core around which constructivism
10912-417: The movement [as his] poetry carried the stamp of a revolutionary experience and of hope in the human race, in the ideal of the human community.” Apart from his poetry, Kassák's avant-garde participation was foregrounded by his founding of the “main Hungarian activist journal Ma [which] spanned several years and was very productive.” In essence, it is considered a matter of fact that the historical trajectory of
11036-489: The movements and publications set up by Kassák upon his return to Hungary, but most of them managed to thrive in spite of this. For one, although the Munka group was banned, it only yielded to an eventual dissolution due to internal strife and conflicts. To say that Kassák was extremely anti-political would not be completely correct as Kassák, during his lifetime, acted as the chairman of the Arts Council during which time he edited
11160-543: The nickname " Death Avenue " was given to Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. In 1929 the city, the state, and New York Central agreed on the West Side Improvement Project, a 13-mile (21 km) project that eliminated 105 street-level railroad crossings and cost more than US$ 150 million (about US$ 2,661,628,000 today). A viaduct, the High Line , replaced the street-level tracks and was dedicated on June 29, 1934. The growth of interstate trucking during
11284-426: The pages of A Tett . Hence, the journal was considered as one bestowed with the mission of politically and artistically criticizing ‘war culture’, especially the accompanying character of enemy-camp stigmatization. The anti-war journal strongly accommodated the politically exuberant views of international writers and incorporated them into its journalistic culture not just as mere observers but as active participants to
11408-469: The periodical Új Nemzedék. So, for A Tett , he joined hands with artistic activists from countries in the heat of WWI whose aim was to attack the militarism going on in Hungary, France, Germany and the whole Europe at the time. As it has been often said, his viewpoints and projected ideologies about war and soldiery were anti-militarian and ambivalent; he was, in fact, an ‘anti-war intellectual’ and his antagonistic perspectives on war were best expressed within
11532-439: The political future as it should be. The journal Munka in itself means Work. Munka went from being the name of a socially conscious, proletarian-oriented journal to being a movement that attracted different workers and students into a Circle that fostered a bond amongst its members. The Kultúrstúdió (Cultural Studio) became a spatial space of activism and artistry all at once with several organized events simultaneously performing
11656-657: The prevalent sociopolitical anomalies of his time, Kassák became even more determined to engage in vibrant activism. Due to his hostile situation he found himself in, Kassák journeyed to Paris on foot and illicitly entered the country after getting ejected from Belgium and Germany. In Paris, Kassák found himself visiting several museums, writing leisurely and living the life of a wanderer. Upon coming back to Budapest in 1910, Kassák started participating in political-literary causes and also getting his poems and short stories published by newspaper houses, modernist literary press and socialist publications. From 1915, Kassák started to engage in
11780-477: The rage for several years, the publication of MA waned and stopped altogether with Kassák's return to Hungary. Another journal which was founded by Kassák was the Dokumentum which was launched upon Kassák's return to Hungary in the autumn of 1926. Despite the short-lived nature of the journal, it really stood out and gained an international appeal. What really made this journal stand out was its multilingual nature. With Hungarian, French and German articles, it had
11904-599: The region's perception and artistic production. His journals Ma ("Today") and the Tett ("The Deed") were widely followed. He was heavily influenced by the international constructivist movement and issued several manifestos: Képarchitektúra ("Image Architecture", 1922), Vissza a kaptafához ("Back to the Basics", 1923), and A konstruktivizmusról ("On Constructivism", 1922). As he is associated with more than one style or movement, most art historians refer him as an "Activist",
12028-439: The reproductions of principal Hungarian artists like Nemes-Lampérth József , Lajos Tihanyi and Kassák's own brother-in-law Béla Uitz . Additionally, through the body of personnel that were active in MA -related activities, literary and exhibitionary programs came to be organized customarily which served a culturally conciliatory purpose in light of the highly dispersed avant-garde population in several parts of Eastern Europe. In
12152-435: The second issue that were considered blasphemous and anti-war propaganda. The fact that, in the second issue of A Tett , several contributors and reproductions of artworks came from ‘enemy camps’ like Russia, Belgium, Britain, Germany etc. was considered an endangerment to the country's war efforts. Regardless, it has been argued that, for the time it existed, A Tett through its domestic and international operations constituted
12276-468: The south side of East 23rd between First Avenue and Avenue C, Peter Cooper Village was one of MetLife's experiments in middle-income community building until it was bought by Tishman Speyer . Peter Cooper Village was a sister project to MetLife's Stuyvesant Town , which was built across 20th Street to the south. 23rd Street was designated in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which established
12400-490: The street, the sixty-story, 618-foot-tall (188 m) One Madison , was built in 2013. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch bought One Madison's top four floors for $ 57 million. The Woman's Press Club of New York City was located at 126 East 23rd Street. It existed from 1889 to 1980 as an organization for female journalists and authors. A large hospital run by the Veterans Health Administration ,
12524-614: The theater was converted to an RKO cinema, and 30 years later, it was destroyed in a fire. During the late 19th century, Bryant's Minstrels also performed a minstrel show in Proctor's Theatre. Modern theaters include the Chelsea Bow Tie Cinemas, on the south side of West 23rd between Seventh and Eighth Avenues; the SVA Theatre, operated by the School of Visual Arts on the north side of West 23rd one block west; and
12648-511: The time he was still unrecognised as a writer and artist; she supported his writings, publications even while working as an actress. She emigrated with him to Vienna in 1920 and helped administratively with his publishing of A Tett and MA. Upon returning to Budapest from Vienna with Kassak, she spearheaded the speaking choir which frequently performed during the meetings of the members of the Munka (Work Cycle) movement. Other closely related people who contributed to his success as an avant-garde artist,
12772-420: The time through a theoretical model of presentation called Periodical Studies, a distinct approach to research writing, visuals, and editing. In an appraisal of Kassák's role as the “heart and soul” of the avant-garde movement in Hungary, the activities which qualified him as thus were put forward. He was considered “a poet, novelist, painter, author of image-poems of unusual intensity and decisiveness. His thought
12896-467: The visual language is advantaged in its own right to publicize socially-conscious themes, he exploratively delved into the visual art in all its ramifications. He took to the constructivist aesthetics; painting geometry into meaning and carving a manifesto out of lines and shapes made from colours. One of the artworks for which he came to be known is titled Dynamic Construction which was created between 1922 and 1924. Aside from constructivist painting, Kassák
13020-591: Was a Hungarian poet, novelist, painter, essayist, editor, theoretician of the avant-garde , and occasional translator. He was among the first genuine working-class writers in Hungarian literature . Self-taught, he became a writer within the socialist movement and published journals important to the radical intellectual culture of Budapest in the early 1900s. Although he cannot be fully identified with any single avant-garde movement, he adopted elements of expressionism , futurism and dadaism . He has been described as
13144-710: Was also shown in New York City and Amsterdam. The show had a year-and-a-half performance run on 23rd Street . It was awarded an Obie Award (1982) for the Best New American Play . It received a The Villager (Manhattan) Award. An open-air version of the show, The Battle of Sirolo was performed in August in Polverigi , Italy. In the summer of 1985 the theatre lost the eight-year lease of their home and performance space on 23rd Street . Kass%C3%A1k Lajos Kassák (March 21, 1887 – July 22, 1967)
13268-439: Was an apothecary assistant and his mother a laundress. Although his parents wanted him to attend higher education, Kassák decided to quit his studies and started work as a locksmith assistant, gaining a letter of indenture as an apprentice . His sister was Erzsi Újvári who went on to marry Sándor Barta . After leaving grammar school in 1900, Kassák took part in an apprenticeship for four years and then moved to Budapest to work as
13392-403: Was an epoch-making Hungarian avant-garde publication that literalized revolutionary activism in 20th century Hungary. The journal's activities was only equaled by the Hungarian journal Nyugat which preceded it and other avant-garde journals like Zenit which shared similar creative aspirations with MA but was published in other Eastern European countries like Croatia and Serbia. After being all
13516-444: Was bolstered by the surge of modernism during the 20th century. Within the sphere of the highly significant, internationalist-bent artistic setting, Kassák proves to be quite a memorable figure whose vibrant participation in the avant-garde practice has stirred considerable attention in recent times. In fact, the Hungarian avant-garde scene was mostly centred around him; he was regarded by writer Bosko Tokin as “the strongest expression of
13640-416: Was budding. After spending six years in exile, Kassák returned to Hungary and engaged in more literary activities including the founding of the Munka Circle and journal which lasted for almost ten years in a row and also stirred revivalism of a collectivized artistic avant-garde movement that were bonded by socio-politically oriented practices of artistry. The government of the era strongly antagonised most of
13764-407: Was built around the forte of artistic and visual commentaries and channeled towards criticizing all manner of politically oriented anomalies especially the infringement on artistic freedom by the state in the 1910s. To embody this objective, the journal constantly underwent a lot of changes during the period of November 1916 to July 1919 within which time 35 issues were published before it was banned by
13888-834: Was built was that the painting of shapes and colours should create a “constructed space”. To achieve this, dynamism (the forces of action and motion) and pull against gravity are taken into account during the process of creating art. Due to this contribution in constructivist theories in his time, Kassák declared himself a theoretician, participating in discourses about international and domestic contemporary art. He quite much lives up to this title as he experiments theoretically and practically with transferring constructivist patterns and blueprints from material objects like glass to images and developing by himself illustrative prints with linocuts (a concept also practised by László Moholy-Nagy which he included in his book on image architecture. To publicly communicate his constructivist vision, Kassák published
14012-661: Was consolidated into the Metropolitan Street Railway on December 12, 1893. The Metropolitan Street Railway was leased by the Interurban Street Railway on April 1, 1902, and the latter went bankrupt six years later. The Metropolitan Street Railway separated on July 31, 1908, becoming the 23rd Street crosstown bus route. Originally called the M18-15 and then the M26, the route was renamed
14136-631: Was first used in Rotterdam at 129a Van Oldenbarneveltstraat in the show Pig, Child, Fire! , which was commissioned by the Toneelraad Rotterdam . [4] On 23rd Street they lived, worked and performed from 1977 to 1985. Various plays were performed in 1973 including Alice and Her Sisters, Tribute to Miron Bialoszewski performed at the Polish Cultural Center in Budapest. Birds and Red Epaulets, Éva Buchmüller sings
14260-521: Was forced to retire into a solitary form of habitation in his Bekásmegyer home. It was not until 1956 that Kassák's reputation as a writer became established although it can be said, at the time, there was yet to be holistic regard for his intellectual and artistic legacies. Kassák mostly engaged in multimodality using different media forms that were both textual, aural, linguistic, spatial, and visual resources in order to articulate his socially-oriented messages. He wrote novels, painted extensively, supported
14384-514: Was later detained in connection with the bombings. 23rd Street was historically one of the city's fashion hubs, and the street still contains many clothing stores. There are also several major retailers with stores located on the street, such as Best Buy and The Home Depot . Restaurants, cafes, fast-food outlets and other eating establishments on 23rd Street are mostly oriented toward office workers, and many of these establishments provide catering services. These restaurants offer cuisine from
14508-406: Was massive by contemporary standards, standing seven stories high and measuring 200 feet (61 m) wide. It became one of the largest cast-iron structures in New York City. A second notable hotel on the street, the Hotel Chelsea , was built between 1883 and 1885, with the first portions opening in 1884. It was New York's tallest building until 1902. Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen lived in
14632-659: Was nationally acknowledged more as a writer and poet in Hungary and was, in 1965, even given the Kossuth Award in recognition of his poetry. During his young days, Kassák was rarely recognized as an avant-garde artist even though he was well appraised and honoured as a writer. It was not until his last years during the international recognition of the merit of Eastern European avant-garde art that Kassák's artistic works began to be exhibited in Western European spaces and some of his pieces even gained traction amongst
14756-523: Was one of Manhattan's first skyscrapers. For four years, until the construction of the Woolworth Building in 1913, it was the tallest building in the world. It also owned a building across the street, which was the location of the 23rd Street Fire that killed 12 firemen. A new apartment building, the current Madison Green , was announced for the site in the 1970s, but the building itself was not constructed until 1982. Another skyscraper on
14880-544: Was renovated in 2000. On October 17, 1966, the street was the location of New York's deadliest fire until the September 11 attacks , in terms of firefighters killed. The " 23rd Street Fire ", as it came to be called, began in a cellar at 7 East 22nd Street and soon spread to the basement of 6 East 23rd Street, a five-story commercial building that housed a drugstore at street level. Twelve firefighters were killed; two chiefs, two lieutenants, and six firefighters plunged into
15004-580: Was soon dubbed Ladies' Mile . In 1908, the hotel was demolished and replaced by the Toy Center . By about 1860, Irish immigrants had displaced African-Americans living in Five Points , the latter of whom later resettled all over Manhattan. A thousand African-Americans eventually settled in an area bordered by 23rd Street on the south, 40th Street on the north, and Sixth Avenue on the east. The National Academy of Design building opened in 1863 at
15128-513: Was tied to individual cultural efforts rather than nationalistic trends. Amidst the swell of individualized artistic productions, the avantgardism practised by Kassák and others was clearly defined by a strong urge to “find [humanistic], adequate means of expressing one’s inner world.” Kassak's first wife is rarely talked about or given attention in her own right but she is equally as important as Kassak as she contributed immensely to his success both as an artist and political activist. Married once at
15252-491: Was used as a touchstone to address specific political events of historic currency. There were open petitions for artistic independence and autonomy within the compass of the journal. Four special issues were published to reflect on the bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1918 and the subsequent eruption of the Communist Hungary Soviet Republic of 1919. Also, right before getting banned, Kassák had
15376-466: Was very immersed in photographic works, especially the socially conscious brand of photography and it was with this help that a monumental socio photographic exhibition was held which was then followed by a published book titled From Our Lives . His interest in photography launched him into creating photomontages in which he collages several pictures drawn from a theme to visually aestheticize the sociocultural causes that were paramountly upheld by workers in
#32967