Lower East Side artist has
unique marketing style
BY BOB KRASNER
Ed Higgins III has always had an
unconventional approach to marketing
his artwork. His first show was
in a bathroom – the first gallery space of
renowned art dealer Gracie Mansion – and
his latest is in a hallway, courtesy of the Apt.
Gallery. Much of his work is Mail Art, so
many of his more unique pieces are scattered
around the world.
Since arriving in New York in 1976,
where he found a small apartment on Ludlow
Street for $100 a month, Higgins has
been steadily creating work in that same
apartment.
“I’ve probably done more than 2000
paintings right there,” he says, pointing to
the only clear spot in the somewhat cramped
bedroom/studio.
The paintings are not the final product,
though. The portraits end up reproduced as
a sheet of stamps, printed as a color xerox
and perforated like actual stamps. These
sheets are generally printed in a signed and
numbered edition of 100, but they don’t
always stay intact. Some are sold, some
traded to friends and many end up decorating
correspondence and other art.
Following the lead of Mail Art pioneer
Ray Johnson, Higgins began corresponding
with artists like Buster Cleveland, Anna
Banana, G. A. Cavellini and Johnson himself
to create a body of work that collaborated
with the Postal Service to create the final
piece, as it isn’t really complete until there
is a postmark on the work.
There was a time when the USPS did
not have stringent rules about what could
be delivered to one’s mailbox and Higgins
happily recalls that “the wackiest thing I
ever got was a coconut from Hawaii – no
box – with the stamps and address on the
coconut!”
Higgins declared his end of the bargain to
be the “Doo Da Post” and created his own
zip code – 10000 – as part of his mailing
address. As it turns out, this was all just
a step in a direction that started as a teen,
when he carved a set of erasers into rubber
stamp feet and stamped a set of marching
footprints onto envelopes that were sent off
to his girlfriend.
Since the Mail Art movement was more
about communication than commerce, Higgins
stayed solvent by working for moving
companies, construction companies and art
galleries, notably hanging exhibits at the Leo
Castelli gallery. But, as he put it, “you don’t
have to make a lot of money when your rent
is a hundred dollars a month.”
Higgins learned to weld in high school in
Ann Arbor, Michigan – which he attended
with Iggy Pop – and brought that skill to the
Rivington School, where he helped build
their (long gone) sculpture garden. He also
spent some time involved with Performance
Art, appearing at Club 57 and the Pyramid
Club, among others.
Ed Higgins III, left. Apt. Gallery owner
Brendan Brulon, right. Large painting
is a Higgins self portrait.
Those shows are fondly remembered
by longtime East Village resident and performer
Phoebe Legere, who recalls that “he
was a huge presence – we all looked up to
him as a hero.” She further muses on the
art in the current show, stating that, “his
work is so beautiful and strong. It should
be in MOMA.”
After a string of one-man shows and
participation in many group exhibitions, he
decided that the best way to send his many
portraits out into the world would be with
auctions, which he set up himself.
After the first two, which were run by a
professional auctioneer, Higgins thought,
“hey, I can do that myself!” And he did,
for six more.
Not all of the art left, though. Luckily
for gallerist Brendan Brulon, there was
“a time capsule” waiting for him when
he contacted the artist about showing his
work. His Apt. Gallery, which exists in
the hallway of Brulon’s apartment, just
opened a one man show of Higgins’ work
– “Kool Club” – which includes work that
1/4 of Ed Higgins bedroom/studio. Higgins estimates that he created about
2000 paintings in that chair.
the artist himself says he “hadn’t seen in
forty years.”
“I buy and sell ephemera,” explains Brulon.
“I had bought a collection of mail art
and I found some of Ed’s pieces in there. I
was intrigued, so I found his number, called
him and he invited me over.”
Included in the show is a set of portraits,
both executed in Higgins’ apartment. One
is Higgins’ portrait of Ray Johnson, the
other is Johnson’s portrait of Higgins,
which they subsequently traded. The portrait
of Johnson is on loan from his estate,
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
Ed Higgins III in his bedroom/studio,
where he has lived since 1976.
the other is for sale.
Artist Mark Bloch, who has been corresponding
with Higgins for a very long time,
pondered the overall effect of the show at
the opening. “I’ve seen a lot of this before
in different places,” he said. ” But it’s so
rewarding to see it all in one place. This is
who Ed Higgins is to me.”
More info on the artist: www.doodapost.
com
To make an appointment to see the show
at the Apt. Gallery, send an email to info@
driftprojects.com
18 February 6, 2020 Schneps Media
/www.doodapost
/www.doodapost
/driftprojects.com
