Gordon Matta-Clark
Open House

Matta arranged for a dumpster (a refuse container the size of a small tractor-trailer rig) to be delivered between 98 and 112 Greene Street.

With the help of poet Ted Greenwald, he divided the interior into thirds by building small rooms with doors between them. There was no roof; Matta placed umbrellas over the top when it rained. Greenwald installed a speaker and cassette tape recorder that played six and one-half hours of the sounds recorded on his newspaper delivery route around New York City. Matta also made a piece on the sidewalk with umbrellas and Caroline Goodden’s dog, Glaza. Barbara Dilley, Tina Girouard, Richard Landry, Suzanne Harris, and Robert Praddo performed while Matta made a big barbeque with a roast pig. Nourishment was an important aspect of the piece for Matta, who often made food for art events. This project was sponsored by Holly Solomon, whose own 98 Greene Street space was frequented by many of the artists who worked and performed at 112 (Matta may have made a second piece in a dumpster the following fall, but the details are unknown).

Excerpted from Brentano, R., & Savitt, M. (1981). 112 Workshop, 112 Greene Street: History, artists & artworks. New York: New York University Press.