The John Giorno Foundation is pleased to announce its inaugural season of programming at The Bunker located at 222 Bowery. The Bunker’s program furthers The John Giorno Foundation’s mission of supporting living artists and the history of the avant-garde and queer communities in New York. Reflecting John Giorno’s ethos, activism, and artistic achievements, the program will present a diverse array of artist talks, film series, and performance. The Bunker provides a collaborative place for artists of all generations to meet.
John Giorno took up residence in his loft at 222 Bowery, originally the landmark Young Men’s Christian Institute (Bradford L. Gilbert, 1882-4, Patrick Walsh, builder) and reported to be the first YMCA in New York, in 1967, two years after founding Giorno Poetry Systems. William S. Burroughs made the Bunker his home in 1974 and lived there until 1983. The historic 222 Bowery housed the studios of Fernand Leger, James Brooks, Mark Rothko, Regina Bogat, John Chamberlain, Brion Gysin, Michael Goldberg, and Lynn Umlauf. Lynda Benglis maintains a studio in the building today. Drawing from the rich artistic history of the Bowery, the program at The Bunker renews John Giorno’s spirit of community and collaboration, bringing it to the next generation.
Just a Mirror at The Bunker is an inaugural series of talks and films organized by Bill Cournoyer for The John Giorno Foundation, taking place at its iconic historical site at 222 Bowery. Inspired by Giorno’s reflection of the poetic, personal, and social in contemporary society, this program will bring together luminaries and examine works from the American playbook of poetry, art, and experimental music and film. The series title was inspired by an interview with John Giorno, published in Artforum in 2009:
"I have this theory about when a poem works. When you perform a poem and the audience is enraptured, you just feel it. It's not necessarily that it's a great poem; the audience thinks that they're hearing these words, but in my mind that's not so. What they're hearing is the reflection of something in their mind. Any great poem - any great work - is just a mirror held up to someone else's mind."
Film programming curated by Julia Curl.
Event Schedule:
Monday, April 11 @ 7:00pm - Raque Ford, virgil b/g taylor and Nora Turato in conversation with Ebony L. Haynes
Monday, April 25 @ 7:00pm - Film Screening: Burroughs: The Movie (1983)
Monday, May 9 @ 7:00pm - Drew Sawyer on Jimmy DeSana moderated by Jarrett Earnest
Monday, May 23 @ 7:00pm - Film Screening: Flaming Creatures (1963)
Monday, June 6 @ 7:00pm - Deadlines and Divine Distractions
Monday, June 20 @ 7:00pm - Film Screening: Match Girl (1966) and Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol (1982) Double Feature
Monday, July 11 @ 7:00pm - Rochelle Feinstein in discussion with Bridget Donahue and Candice Macey
Monday, July 25 @ 7:00pm - Film Screening: Poetry In Motion (1982)
Monday, August 15 @ 7:00pm - Justin Hicks performance and discussion with Kyle Dacuyan