Chinatown Soup is excited to present 100 Nights (Calling Back), an exhibition that addresses intergenerational disruption as a catalyst for community resilience in response to current events. Recalling the 100 nights that shaped the Punk Movement at London’s Roxy Club in the 1970s and rooted in the inspirational work of The Clash (“The Only Band That Matters”), this show links seminal artists from the 1980s Lower East Side to a new generation of artists echoing their work today.
Organized by artist, architect, and farmer Michael McDonough in cooperation with gallerist Gracie Mansion and Lower East Side arts organization Chinatown Soup, the exhibition will coincide with a weekend of live music performance from November 13 - 14th. It will also feature a pop-up kitchen serving soup, dumplings, and other sweet & savory treats courtesy of our friends at Nom Wah and Kimika, plus various local chefs, with proceeds funding neighborhood food security initiatives Canal Cafeteria and Heart of Dinner.
Beyond November, this project is intended to launch an arts activist template for replication in 100 communities across the country, “calling back” to another era of crisis and civic engagement when, for 100 nights, PURE PUNK played non-stop IN PUBLIC!
The city was London, the West End streets were burning, and there was only one band that mattered…
On New Year’s Day in 1977, The Clash headlined The Roxy, a ramshackle club opened by a young, broke, and nervous couple who had borrowed money from their parents to stock the bar with little hope of anyone showing up. From that night forward, crowds and bands raged on until the landlord kicked them out—a birthing fit of the punk movement that would define generations of counterculture to come alongside humanitarian frontman Joe Strummer, who famously said, “Punk rock means exemplary manners to your fellow human beings.”
video: Aidan McManus visits the site of the original 1977 Punk Club, The Roxy on Neal Street in London. He tells the tale of how Andy Czezowski, Susan Carrington and Barry Jones turned a transvestite bar (called the Chaguaramas Club) into the crucible of London's Punk Rock music scene. The club itself was short-lived, but its influence on music and culture can still be felt today.
image left: London photographer Pennie Smith took the famous image which became the front cover for London Calling by The Clash. The photo of Paul Simonon smashing his bass was taken on stage at The Palladium in New York City on 20 September 1979.
image top right: Elvis Presley is the debut album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. The album spent ten weeks at number one on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in 1956, the first rock and roll album ever to make it to the top of the charts and the first million-selling album of that genre.
image middle right: London Calling is the third studio album by English rock band The Clash, released on 14 December 1979. Themes include social displacement, unemployment, racial conflict, drug use, and the responsibilities of adulthood. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide and was certified platinum in the United States.
image bottom right: This piece of street art by Banksy called London Calling was a take on the album cover of the same name by The Clash. It shows a figure smashing an office chair on the floor in place of the usual guitar.
Fast forward to 2020 New York: the Lower East Side streets are desolate, and musicians haven’t played at venues in months…
On Election Day, Chinatown Soup will install an exhibition of reinterpreted posters based on the famous Pennie Smith “too-blurry-to-use” image that became The Clash’s iconic London Calling album cover. The cover itself has a wonderfully rich history that ranges from Elvis’s first album cover to a reinterpretation by Banksy.
Participating artists were asked to alter the poster from a place of personal resonance, highlighting the activist and community-based themes of the project while also revisiting the London Calling lyrics in conversation with the history of the image as a basis for art. First wave resident artists each selected a younger artist whose work they admire to join the effort. The culmination of this dialogue will be on view at Soup Gallery from November 3 - 15, 2020, open 12-7pm Tuesday through Sunday.
Special thanks to artists:
Charlie Ahearn, Judy Glantzman, Rodney Alan Greenblat, Jeffrey Hargrave, Stephen Lack, Hwarim Lee, Gracie Mansion, Michael McDonough, Jessica Rubin, David Sandlin, Ruiz Stephinson, Marguerite Van Cook, Becca Van K, David West
Price list available here, please inquire!
STOP PRESS!
The Clash-inspired live music show on Orchard Street (outside of Soup Gallery’s storefront window) will happen on Friday, November 13th and Saturday, November 14th from 6 - 9pm.
FREE show, but come hungry so you can show your love by purchasing delicious hot meals and treats to support our beneficiary food security initiatives. Thanks to all our musicians for generously donating their time and talent!
From punk to electronica, this wildly diverse, intergenerational line-up features local musicians curated by our neighbor, Meena Ysanne, with performances by:
Legendary Rock Star Guest TBA
Uxö
…and more artists TBA!
Can't make it to the show in person? In lieu of purchasing a poster or hot meal, you may donate directly to Chinatown Soup, and we will match every dollar received through November 15th to support our grassroots network of food security initiatives, including Heart of Dinner and Canal Cafeteria. Thanks for your attention, and take care!
Meet Our Community Partners
