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Andy Kaufman's Friends, Family & Personal Items On Display Through Saturday
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 20, 2013
Modified Feb 20, 2013
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 20, 2013
Modified Feb 20, 2013
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There are a few days left to see the "On Creating Reality" exhibit at Maccarone gallery—which brings together an extensive collection of ephemera and artifacts from Andy Kaufman's life. The project is unique, and was pulled together by artist Jonathan Berger in collaboration with the Estate of Andy Kaufman, Lynne Margulies, Bob Zmuda, and Tony Clifton.
The show features photographs, correspondence, performance notation, scripts, props and costumes including the original Tony Clifton jacket, record collections, transcendental meditation materials, hand written drafts of his novel The Huey Williams Story, hundreds of pieces of hate mail he received from women challenging him to wrestle, in addition to numerous personal effects. The exhibition will act as a portrait of an unclassifiable figure in American cultural history whose work has been seminal in the evolution of performance art, new media and relational aesthetics.
You will not find traditional labels explaining what each item is, rather "a rotating series of Kaufman's friends, family, and collaborators will be physically present in the exhibition at all times" to talk with visitors. These guests include Gina Acre, Bill Boggs, Tony Clifton, Prudence Farrow Bruns (Don't know the name? She's the subject of the Beatles song "Dear Prudence"), Carol Kane, Michael Kaufman, Carol Kaufman-Kerman, Johnny Legend, Lena Dunham's mom, Bob Zmuda and many more. But not Andy Kaufman himself, who died in 1984 and would have returned 20 years later if he had in fact faked his own death.
In conjunction with the exhibit is the Andy Kaufman 99cent Tour (which is actually free of charge) through the 24th—get more info on that here. The gallery (located at 630 Greenwich Street) is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the closing of the exhibit on Saturday. Here's a glimpse at what's inside:
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andy Kaufman
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maccarone
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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