Couch Potato — Joachim Frank

On October 4, 2019 I donated an archive of material associated with Workspace to SUNY Library’s Special collection.  With the donation I hope that through open access, the unique period of wild, creative arts performance activities in the sleeping Albany, NY of the 70s and beginning of the 80s will be some day fully appreciated.   Since there has been no attempt to collect and consolidate the archival material in the hands of other former Workspace members, the gift probably represents just the tip of the iceberg.

Workspace was an Arts collective in Albany that existed roughly from 1976 to 1985. Workspace was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization (Workspace Loft, In.) with New York State’s Department of State and funded by membership fees and in-kind donations.

Roughly three partially overlapping phases can be distinguished:  I. 1976 – 1980 — an active phase with performances, happenings, and gallery shows; II.  1979 – 1983 (?) — Workspace as an Arts Service Organization receiving moderate amounts of funding from the New York State (NYS) Council of the Arts; 1983 – 1986 (?) — Workspace no longer with a physical space but still existing on paper as an organization associated with PROP, the magazine that was started in 1979.

Workspace had two physical locations in Albany:  first a small space on Ontario Street, corner of Central Avenue (next to first location of the Food Coop), then a big loft on Central Avenue, close to Lark Street.

It was founded by J.C. (“Jacy”) Garrett in 1976.  Open invitations were posted all over town.  The pamphlet opposed the established arts commerce and called for artists to organize in a free democratic way.  Having just arrived in Albany the year before, I joined in the fall of 1976.  Other members included Jan Galligan, Richard Kelly, Spencer Livingston, Ed Atkeson, Bob Durlach, and Richard Edson (yes, the movie actor).  The years 1976 to 1980 saw numerous performance art events and gallery shows organized by the Collective.

As an Arts Service Organization (the term defined by the NYS Council of the Arts), Workspace continued mainly by providing exhibit space to artists and by organizing visiting artists’ presentations and performances.  Among the artists invited was performance artist Carolee Schneemann.

Fairly recently, in the fall of 2006, Jan Galligan organized a retrospective of Workspace at the Albany Center Galleries.  I found the following trace on the internet:

“RAMBLIN JUG STOMPERS at ALBANY CENTER GALLERIES (on the second floor of the Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Ave., Albany. 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26. FREE!

The art world will never be the same after Thursday night! Ramblin Jug Stompers are stompin our way into the Albany Center Galleries from 7-9 p.m. (Oct. 26), and we’re takin no prisoners – abstract, impressionist or otherwise.

The bash is the final event for the exhibit, “Jan Galligan Presents: Workspacedout; 1976-2006, A Thirty Year Introspective,” curated for the gallery by Mr. Jan Galligan. It’s a pretty wild show, chockfull of old and new conceptual (and often text-heavy) work by members of the (very) loose Albany-based art collective, Workspace. Some of the spotlight artists on the walls and in the cases, as well as on film and in performance include Galligan, JC Garrett, Spencer Livingston, Richard Edson, Joachim Frank and Cathy Frank. Of special interest to RJS fans, Wild Bill and one-time Stomper (literally) Moanin Ed Atkeson were also members of the Workspace art squad and both are well-represented in the exhibit.

Anyway, RJS are throwin caution to the wind and playin this one by ear. Moanin Ed will likely make a guest appearance or two. And other special guests just might drop by, too. (Hey, Ryder, this one is perfect for you.)

Galligan has been discussing the possibility of playing all sorts of random video and film while the Stompers do our thing, harkening back to the Factory days (daze?) with us playing the part of the Velvet Underground to Galligan’s Warhol.

“The idea with the Stompers’ performance is that, hopefully, their music and our dancin will be so intense that we’ll knock all of the art off the walls,” Galligan explains.

Truthfully, we have no idea what might happen while we’re playing, but, of course, anything is possible when RJS crank up somethin like “KC Moan” or “Old Plank Road.” You might want to bring along an extra pair of underwear – just in case.

Oh yeah, I forgot the best part – it’s free.

Perhaps we’ll even get John Cirrin onstage to explain post-modernism while RJS blitz through “Fireball Mail” in the background. That would be simply delightful.”

PROP was a small esoteric literary and arts magazine with rotating editorship that was founded in 1979.  It had few subscribers (including, believe it or not, the Beaubourg in Paris) but was listed in the mail art review literature.  The result was that PROP wound up on the mailing lists of many artists at the time engaged in Mail Art.  As one of the main editors I received a flood of mail art, including original artwork in various media, at my home address in Albany.  After the last issue of PROP (#13) appeared, in 1985, I put the accumulated collection, and some of the correspondence into 6 boxes, labeled A – F.  Other boxes contain posters, event calendars, press releases, and other ephemera associated with Workspace.

During the summer of 2002, Kristina M. Spurgin, a student of Library Science at SUNY Albany, approached me for an independent study project centered on this archive.  With my assistance she compiled a finding aid for each of the boxes A through F.  The web version of this finding aid has been hosted and maintained by her at http://www.infomuse.net/mailart/jfrankarchive/index.html

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