Left: Jo Watanabe, Watanabe Studios, Ltd. E. Williamsburg/Bushwick. Full set on flickr.
I thought these shots of 80s East Williamsburg/Bushwick -- back in the day, with its packs of wild dogs roaming the streets -- might be of interest to readers, considering the uber-trending trendiness of the Bushwick art scene.
My first real job in NY was working for the fabulous Jo Watanabe at Watanabe Studios, Ltd. in one of its earliest incarnations at 341 Scholes Street, in 'East Williamsburg', which is basically Bushwick above Flushing Ave. Later, Jo moved operations to a building at 644 Pacific St Brooklyn, which has since been demolished. At the Studios we printed museum editions and created maquettes mostly for Sol LeWitt, but also for the likes of Donald Sultan, Robert Motherwell, Sue Coe, etc.
I shot the B&W ones with my trusty Nikon FG. No idea who shot the color snapshots or how I ended up with them. I found the whole lot while packing to move last summer.
341 Scholes is a 5000 sqft space now rented out for events and such. Despite the ubiquitous mild-mannered bed hair airs, delectable sushi wateringholes, incredibly delicious overpriced pizza and girls in vegan-friendly tutus, Bushwick is actually still pretty dangerous. And poor. We've seen it all before.
Full set on flickr.
