Baird Jones, Party Invites, “Three Geniuses,” “Keith Haring vs. Mark Kostabi,” “The Nostalgic Nineties,” 1980s–90s

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Announcement for “Three Geniuses: Judy Rifka, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg” at Beauzo, 1987.

Announcement for “Keith Haring and Mark Kostabi” at Milk Bar, 1988.

Announcement for “Post-Modernism: the Nostalgic Nineties” at Uddoh Gallery, 1990.

Baird knew how to curate exhibitions in unusual and challenging ways, making evocative and puzzling pairings of artists.

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three-geniuses

Judy Rifka’s grouping with the better-known Warhol and Rauschenberg might not be so incongruous. In Rene Ricard’s 1981 Artforum essay “The Radiant Child” (widely considered to have launched the East Village art scene), she was a prominent figure along with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. 2016 has seen a resurgence of interest in her work.

haring-kostabi

The presentation of two “Contenders for the Downtown Heavyweight Crown,” Keith Haring and Mark Kostabi, perhaps took inspiration from the famous boxing poster of Warhol and Basquiat (1985).

post-modernism

Here, Baird includes two lesser-known artists: Ed Schlossberg, whose marriage to Caroline Kennedy had made front-page news in 1986, and Hoop, a close friend of Baird’s whose garishly decked-out “Hoopmobiles” could often be found parked outside Baird Jones parties.

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The Anomalous Baird Jones (1955–2008)

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Few people personify the free-wheeling, polymorphous spirit of fin-de-siècle downtown New York as well as the idiosyncratic curator, club party promoter, photographer, author, and celebrity gossip Baird Jones.