On Saturday I went to Patti Astor’s long awaited book launch for the ‘Fun Gallery ..the true story’, it was jammed with her friends, artists  from back in the days : Bill Stelling (co owner of the gallery), Jane Dickson, Collette, Charlie Ahearn (above) and many more.

Patti Astor started the Fun Gallery with Bill Stelling in 1981, they gave the first shows to many artists including Basquiat, Lee Quinones, SHARP, Keith Haring, Fab 5 Freddy, Cey One, Zephyr, and Revolt. It got it’s name when Kenny Scharf’s show “Atoms Can Be Fun” filled the front window with doomed, melting figures. The space was constantly changing – Dondi White flooded the Fun with graffiti heads collected from every borough in New York, Jane Dickson painted the space neon green to hang her gritty cityscapes on vinyl and Lee Quinones covered the front with a huge sprayed “MOM.

I first encountered graffiti artists in London while working for Melody Maker in 1981 where I photographed Futura and Dondi (below) at the first hip hop event to come to the UK. A month later I shot rapper/artist J Water Negro (below) for the Christmas cover of the magazine.  In 1982 I moved to New York and a few years later I was living on Avenue B and 8th Street, riding on graff covered trains and going to art shows at the Fun Gallery, Gracie Mansion, PPOW et al.  Patti’s book is a great read, it totally captures the crazy early 80’s East Village art scene.