You might remember the first time we talked about Jay Maisel's house, one of the more famous buildings in Manhattan.
First, Jay: he was one of the top advertising photographers in America in the '70s and '80s and into the '90s. Since then he's been revealed as an actual lover of photography as well, having continued to do personal work and teaching, and publishing books such as Light, Gesture, and Color and It's Not About the F-Stop (both of which are good and worth reading).
That first comment wasn't intended to be demeaning; it's just that lots of photographers who made as much money as Jay did are mainly interested in making money, not necessarily in photography. A normal person can only do so much. Jay had enough energy, not to mention the skill and talent, for both.
The Germania Bank building at the corner of Bowery and Spring, a cornerstone of Manhattan's former Kleindeutschland ("Little Germany"), in about 1975. Jay Maisel already owned it at that time. Photo by Edmund V. Gillon, courtesy Museum of the City of New York.
Jay's famous "house": he bought 190 Bowery, the former Germania Bank building, for $102,000 in 1966, when the area was a dreadful slum. He rented parts of it for a while but eventually just lived in it, filling it with interesting things and hanging out on the rooftop garden. Although definitely bohemian and not all fancy-rich, it was for a period the largest private residence in New York, with 72 rooms. The outside got covered with graffiti (including some by artist Keith Haring, late friend of our friend Hugh Crawford who comments here) and for years, New Yorkers assumed the building was abandoned.
Jay, meanwhile, had an indoor basketball court.
Jay is now 85, and although I once opined that he should be allowed to live forever, he apparently isn't planning for that to happen, because he recently sold 190 Bowery...to Manhattan "he's-everywhere" developer Aby Rosen. For 55 million dollars, which, you've got to admit, is a nice rate of real estate appreciation.
And he got to live there for 50 years, too.
I'm a little concerned about Jay now. He no longer has a place to live! We might have to pass the hat to help him get a place. Anyone have a 72-room bohemian hangout to rent? Maybe at his age he'd be satisfied with 40 or 50 rooms. You know, downsizing. But I digress.
[UPDATE: He's landed okay, and now has the nicest house in Brooklyn. Those photographers sure do well, don't they? Thanks to Techfan for this. —Ed.]
The News [buried lede dept.]: The point of this post is that Untapped Cities found its way inside 190 Bowery and has posted a series of picture-posts. Start here but if you're interested, be sure to follow the links for further dimensions of the story. A great story and great fun.
Finally: Here's Jay on "How to Be a Better Photographer." Note that although it's nothing pretentious at all, pretty much every word he says in this is profound. Listen to and consider every sentence and you'll take away something good.
Mike
(Thanks to Grant Williams)
Original contents copyright 2016 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
Hmbl. Ed. just pines for a place to put his pool table.
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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Mark Hobson: "I was able to visit the basketball court and, more impressively, view the large display of large dye transfer prints (30x40–40x60) of his work ringing the basketball court. I gained entrance simply by knocking on that corner door.
"My next encounter with Jay was in the early '80s when I was asked to be the backup choice for doing the Corning Annual Report (10 countries around the globe picturing Corning products in real world use). They wanted Jay but weren't sure they could afford his fee. When told of the project budget, Jay wouldn't even send his portfolio because the project budget number (US$60,000 in early '80s dollars!) was not even in the same neighborhood as his fee would be.
"Next month I have been invited to accompany a good friend and fellow photographer and close friend of Jay for a visit to his new digs. Looking forward to it."
Mike replies: I heard a story from a guy who lost a job to Jay. It was for a series of brochures for a cruise line. My friend was sure he would get the job because his fee, although high, was much lower than Jay's. But they hired Jay. When asked for an explanation, the agency person said, "I had to be able to tell the client that we hired the very best."
Tom Foster: "In 2007, Luminous-Landscape published a video in 'Luminous Landscape Video Journal—Issue 17' that contains a one-hour interview of Jay Maisel by Michael Reichmann. This includes a half-hour tour of his building at 190 Bowery. A fascinating interview and video tour."
Have no fear, Jay is not homeless. He has found some nice digs in Brooklyn which will comfortably house him and his family. See the attached link from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/realestate/15-5-million-arecord-for-brooklyn-real-estate.html
Posted by: Techfan | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 09:35 AM
"You have no obligation to...the camera or its damned histograms"
Like it Mike.
Posted by: Patch | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 09:40 AM
I think I learned more about how to take photographs in that 2:43 video (How to be a better photographer) than I've learned from most books I've read. Basically, don't run around looking for photographs, be patient and let them happen in front of you.
Posted by: Malcolm | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 10:13 AM
Here's another inside look, this one more legitimate (and undoubtedly costly):
http://shoottokyo.com/blog/jay-maisel-workshop
Posted by: toto | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 10:43 AM
You can "see" the neighborhood vibe in many of Jay Maisel's photos. What a rich feast just by walking out the door. He has the "eye" for the graphically rich world full of color and shapes. Let's hope he keeps running workshops and continues teaching us his mantra: Light+Gesture+Color...This an image taken just outside the entrance to Jay's building.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sanwarzone/28479042500/in/dateposted-public/
Posted by: San Warzoné | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 10:51 AM
More 'roof' than 'rooftop garden' going by the photos I've been able to find.
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 11:19 AM
The Half Moon Tavern was a coupla blocks from there in the '70s. Never forget my first time walking in- everyone (and I mean, everyone) sported a quart of Bud. Apparently, the only item sold...
Posted by: Stan B. | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 11:26 AM
Wow. He's been a major figure in the field from when I was first paying any attention to photography (before I got into anything but the most basic snapshots myself) until...now, still, I guess. I wouldn't be shocked if he was part of the reason that the "standard" photographer people aspired to be changed from a photojournalist to a commercial photographer.
Posted by: David Dyer-Bennet | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 12:27 PM
Several years ago I had the inexpressible pleasure of experiencing Jay's course. The startling thing about it was that at the time it didn't seem like "much". He looked at my submissions and said "You are very good at this. Now go shoot people". But, Jay I don't photograph people! And didn't for some time after. Years later the lessons from that experience are still emerging. Today, I'm an inveterate Street Photographer who parks the "expectations" with the car, walks slowly and stays open to what's happening NOW. OH JOY!
Many Thanks Jay!
John W
Posted by: John Wilson | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 02:24 PM
If you inflation correct** the $102,000 cash in 1966 would buy you "household goods" to the tune $758,823 of in 2016. About 7.5 times.
So that's still a 7248% (72x) inflation corrected return on investment.
But it shows where the Bowery has ended up today. There's not a lot of funk or drunks there any more. Even the old CBGBs is a boutique. The Manhattan is dying under the weight of real estate money. It's happening in Seattle too.
** Using the CPI Inflator. There are several different measures you can use to correct for inflation.
http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl
Posted by: Kevin Purcell | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 03:27 PM
Over the Years he has been a speaker many times at PhotoPlus in NY
I don't know if I've caught them all, but probably at least a half dozen of them. Always the best part of that show for me. Over the years he seems only to get better.
One year someone did ask him if he had a 'Lens Baby' ? Long pause, he answered somthing about all his lenses being fully grown....
Posted by: Michael Perini | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 03:36 PM
Well done. I like to read about guys who are smart and successful. Good advice to be open and to look at art, not photography, too.
Posted by: bandbox | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 03:58 PM
it's good to be rich
Posted by: Dave | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 04:11 PM
Jay Maisel for President!
Posted by: Sarge | Thursday, 04 August 2016 at 10:34 PM
I met him while I was in college, when he came out to give a talk in Santa Fe. Great guy, and did a portfolio review right on the spot for me. Glad to hear he's still doing well.
Posted by: Matt | Friday, 05 August 2016 at 03:39 PM
Jay is (IMO) the Yoda of photography, a Jedi Master.
Posted by: Jim Bullard | Friday, 05 August 2016 at 11:02 PM
I grew up just a couple blocks from that building; I know it well — from the outside, that is.
Posted by: Ben Rosengart | Sunday, 07 August 2016 at 11:14 PM
Catching up from a nice long weekend off the grid, so to say, and saw this, ( http://bit.ly/2aHGkfD ), in the news just minutes before reading this post.
Posted by: Alex Mercado | Monday, 08 August 2016 at 09:23 PM