Punk Rock, Pop Art and C elebrity Culture Find a Home in New York | Max's Kansas City

THE 1960s NEW YORK ART SCENE CONVERGES ON MAX'S KANSAS CITY

Before legends like Blondie, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Bruce Springsteen played to crowds of thousands, they played in Mickey Ruskin's dingy living room on Park Ave South in Manhattan, also known as Max's Kansas City.

At no other time in history has there been such an important collision of art, music and fashion than Max's Kansas City in the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s. The great unknown became simply, The Great.

During its heyday, spending time at Max's Kansas City was the equivalent of getting a graduate art school education.

It was a place when you could stare at Andy Warhol, argue sculpture with John Chamberlain, piss off William S. Burroughs and get a record deal from Clive Davis just by showing up on a Tuesday night.

Every musician, it seemed, was also an artist, every artist a filmmaker and every filmmaker was in a band.

The synergy of art, music and fashion at Max's Kansas City produced an unparalleled number of influential collaborations exactly when the world was ready to embrace visionary creative leadership.

THE BACK ROOM: BE YOUR OWN CELEBRITY

This b-roll 35mm footage is the only known motion picture footage to exist of the inside of Max's. This video, narrated by David Weisman the co-director of Ciao Manhattan, goes inside the infamous Back Room, where Andy Warhol held court every night from midnight to dawn.

Drenched in the blood red from Dan Flavin's fluorescent light sculpture, the back room was where Warhol presided at the famous round table while Factory superstars, admirers and nobodies vied for his attention.

"I met Iggy Pop at Max's Kansas City in 1970 or 1971," recalled David Bowie. "Me, Iggy and Lou Reed at one table with absolutely nothing to say to each other, just looking at each other's eye makeup."

THE FRONT ROOM: WHERE THE NEW YORK ARTISTS DEFINED AND REFINED THEIR CRAFT

Painters, sculptors and poets initially took over Max's front room: John Chamberlain, Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Carl Andre, Larry Rivers, etc.

Max's famous art clientele were notorious for not paying their tab. Every so often Max's owner Mickey Ruskin would ask for money, and panicked artists would offer up one-of-a-kind pieces to cover their debts.

As a result, Max's ended up with original works of art made by some of the most famous artists of the time.

Perhaps because of Warhol's presence, Max's became the venue for new art and fashion. People didn't bother with showing their work at openings. They went straight to Max's.

"In the 60s," as Marian Javits recalls, "the art world was looser and more expressive. Max's was the place where artists could be themselves and exchange ideas. Everyone was infected by something, but it wasn't drink. They were infected by what was going on in society."

"People talked about art," says Philip Glass, "They threw each other through windows because they disagreed about art. To what extent the visual content was the real content or whether the ideas were the content - this is what people went through windows for."

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Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey<br />©Elliott Landy/<a href='http://www.landyvision.com/' target='_blank' >LandyVision.com</a>Joan BaezDavid Johansen and David BowieMick JaggerFrom Left to Right: Allen Ginsberg, Carl Coloman, Peter Orlovsky and William BurroughsWilliam Burroughs and Patti Smith
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THE PACK: LENNON, TWIGGY AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN

Sandwiched between front room and back room was the pack. The regular celebrities include Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Bob Dylan, Peter O'Toole, Jane Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Warren Beatty.

Models Verouschka, Twiggy, Apollonia and Andrea Portago also frequented the pack.

Photographers Toscani, Chris von Wangenheim and Claude Picasso were hangers-on, as well as politicos Ed Koch and Bobby Kennedy.

The fashion crowd including Maxime de la Falaise, Fernando Sanchez, Halston, Giorgio di Sant'Angelo and Betsey Johnson were frequent guests.

Writers Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs were popular mainstays.

It was at the pack that James Rosenquist discussed art with Jacob Javits, who was led to Max's by his wife, Marian.

The art dealer Leo Castelli was also taken on occasion, "Max's Kansas City?" he quipped, "No, I went to Max's in New York. The steak was terrible."

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Owner of Max's Kansas City, Mickey Ruskin and Artist John ChamberlainJohn Chamberlain, Ultra Yahoo, 1967. Galvanized Steel. Displayed at Max's in 1967Roy Liechtenstein at Max'sRoy Liechtenstein, Girl at Piano, 1963. Magna on CanvasRobert Rauschenberg at Max'sRobert Rauschenberg, Yellow Body, 1968Andy Warhol in Max's backroomAndy Warhol, John Lennon, 1985-86
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THE UPSTAIRS: HOME OF THE NEW YORK MUSIC SCENE

Max's was a party every night. It was not the kind of place you could buy your way into, you either belonged or you didn't.

Max's upstairs was home to the iconoclastic New York music scene, with performances by Max's house band The Velvet Underground, the irreverent New York Dolls, and undiscovered musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley and Billy Joel.

"Max's was the most democratic meeting ground imaginable," recalls Lou Reed. New Jersey implant and Max's waitress Debbie Harry returned to Max's upstairs years later to perform as the front woman for Blondie.

The notorious Max's stage also witnessed unforgettable performances by countless performers: The Ramones, Sid Vicious, Iggy Pop, Madonna, B52s, Devo, Squeeze, etc.

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Debbie Harry performing at Max'sIggy PopNew York Dolls performing at Max'sNew York Dolls outside of Max'sPatti SmithThe B52sSid ViciousTom WaitsEmmylou Harris and Gram ParsonBob MarleyDevoWaylon Jennings
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Helping young artists since 1996

Max's Kansas City may have closed but its spirit of helping those in need lives on. Founded by Yvonne R. Sewall in 1996 and incorporated in 2001, The Max's Kansas City Project embraces the Mickey Ruskin's philosophy that artists should never have to go hungry by providing emergency funding and support to those in need to help pay for rent, food or medical bills.

But the Max's Kansas City Project does more than just support current artists. Through their Fearless Youth program Max's Kansas City Projet empowers teens with substance abuse and suicide prevention programs and encourages exploration in the creative arts. The Max's Kansas City Project is supporting a whole new generation of artists the same way Mickey did decades ago.

Four decades after Max's first opened its doors to the starving artists of the world The Max's Kansas City Project is providing support to future generations of Andy Warhols and Lou Reeds for decades to come.