Dear Hudson, NY Historic Preservation Commission

Video by Mark Allen

Hudson resident Mark Allen produced the above video, “Dear Hudson, NY Historic Preservation Commission”. Trixie’s List got a chance to catch up with Mark and ask the artist a few questions.

‘Snuff said!

Q: How long have you lived in Hudson, and really, why do you live here?

A: Too long (obviously). And because it’s such an easy mark.

Q: What was your inspiration for the video?

A: I’m making broad, satirical strokes with this video. I’m having fun with things I’ve heard every resident of Hudson complain or laugh about a thousand times. On the surface, what I’m mocking here is the type of person that registers a complaint through the city about something they personally don’t like, and then gets lost in overthinking it or lost in their own ego – viewing the process through a madman’s eye (my own).

Behind that, really I think I’m having fun with the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and Hudson itself. The HPC is a good organization, put in place to prevent Hudson from turning into an ex-urban parking lot, or succumb to the disposable cardboard minimalism of modern-day middle America. I would say so far they’ve been successful!

While researching for this video, Carole Osterink of Gossips of Rivertown and the HPC shared with me that James Marston Fitch used to bring his graduate students from the School of Architecture at Columbia to Hudson on field trips because here, in a very small geographic area, could be found examples of all the types of American architecture styles from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. There is no single “theme” on Warren Street. I found this interesting, and… that’s great!

However, you could also make the same claim about Disneyland, or an A.I. “Metaverse.” Especially since many of HPC’s rules only apply to the fronts of buildings. Plus, there’s the nagging existence of buildings, particularly on Warren, that appear to be exceptions to the rules of organizations like the HPC – and those “exceptions” seem to lean towards the older, wealthy and well-connected.

I’m getting a little weary of hearing about how Hudson was this destitute “crack town” in the 1970s, and that a new wave of hip (gay), white artist-types made a pilgrimage from downtown NYC to Hudson, bravely swooping in and heroically rescuing the town. Let’s call them, I don’t know… “nouveau settlers?” They did accomplished things. They helped put Hudson on the map, helped revitalizing the infrastructure, helped mobilize to keep that St. Lawrence Cement plant thing from taking over the town; they brought in real cultural cache. But later, as they grew older, it appears they began establishing a bunch of rules for what everyone in Hudson can and can’t do. Now it’s decades after that. Who died and made them kings (or queens, I should say)? Who exactly were the original settlers in Hudson? Wasn’t the “reclaimed” land already reclaimed? Twice, or three times now? In the video where I’m supplanting myself as a white, Colonial American, appropriating (aka stealing) the teary-eyed Native American’s place from the “Keep America Beautiful” television ad from the 1970’s and making it about Hudson… that’s not an unintentional gag.

There’s a great article by Herbert Muschamp from The New York Times from 2006, titled The Secret History of 2 Columbus Circle. It concerns the fate of the iconic “gay poodle” building and surrounding area on the southwest corner of Central Park in the mid-00’s. All now gone. The article is a sort of a bible of critiquing this kind of thinking about urban preservation in a changing world. Herbert was a friend and was fascinating to have conversations with. We would have hours-long dinners at Odeon and talk and talk. He spoke just like he wrote. Herbert believed there were ties to underground gay culture (which he saw as an ‘audience’) to most artistic movements or collective cultural theories throughout history, even architecture and urban development. You could accurately apply that connection in Hudson! (in today’s more enlightened times, Herbert might re-think that tie as gay ‘white male’ culture, which I think he’d be on board with… but I digress). There was a large age difference between Herbert and I and we didn’t see eye to eye on things… I was more the gay “punk” generation and he was more the gay “Boys In the Band” generation. I’m pointing out this age difference for a reason here. He believed things should be inherently beautiful, new and old. I was more into the aesthetic of the burgeoning Williamsburg, Brooklyn at the time (mid-00’s), a mix of young bohemian DIY, mixed with traditional old buildings, and also original locals. I saw this as ideal. He appreciated it, but saw it as an unfortunate. I claimed urban design that is too “perfect” or upscale attracted predatory commerce, and that edgier, eclectic neighborhoods kept those forces at bay for a while at least. He said the exact opposite was true. By my logic, 00’s-era Hudson attracted Marina Abramovic’s Performance Art Institute. By Herbert’s logic, 2010’s-era attracted Galvan swooping in and buying it after she’d renovated the space. It turns out Herbert had been right. Mostly. One thing we did come to terms on though was the idea that all cultural theory, in time, becomes a tool for commerce. Theory for artistic analysis ends up instead as just another mechanism for grinding out dissertations, art criticism bylines, careers, product. Likewise, urban preservation theory can end up instead as just another mechanism for real estate moguls, contractors, landlords, and tax collectors. They simply learn to adapt. When we look back on how cities developed through the distance of history, the timeline appears erratic but logical. But viewing them through the micro-lens of the everyday present, we see impossible corruption, exhausting mistakes, and poor decisions in the details all around us. It’s all going to hell! In this video I’m trying to step backwards and look at Hudson from a distance, but the humor comes from the micro-lens view.

Q: How long did the video take you to produce?

A: Too long. I started it a year ago and kept procrastinating because, amongst other things that have kept me very busy this year, I’m currently in a very content romantic relationship. That tends to sap your ambition because many of your deeper needs are met. These videos are just a hobby for me, but I tend to be a perfectionist about them (even if they look amateur-ish, which is intentional). Finally I pulled myself together (my boyfriend Will helped) and wrapped it all up.

Q: The video, even though it’s satire, has quite a bit of research presented. What was your initial intent and did it veer during the research/production stages?

A: I thought the A. Colarusso and Son tie-in was interesting. I have a new understanding of roughcast and pebbledash techniques. LOL! Dennis McEvoy of Rogerson’s Hardware on Warren was a tremendous help. I just walked in there one day and asked what he knew about the building next door. He knew so much! So many details. He provided copies of those newspaper clippings I use in the video. The manager of CVS, John, was also very helpful and professional. He runs a tight ship! He wouldn’t allow us to film inside, but was very informative about the building’s history, and supportive. He had interesting stories about the supposed tunnels that run underneath Warren Street. He told me he’d been trying to get them to fix up the front of the CVS building for years. After we shot in front of the store the first time and we spoke, a month later there was scaffolding! So maybe it’s getting fixed up after all. Honestly I hope the pebble wall stays. Maybe? I’ve grown fond of it.

Q: What other buildings and facades do you think should be addressed in the future?

A: I think I’m worn out on this topic. But that damn “fountain” at the center of 7th Street Park is a funny target. That thing is beyond performance art at this point! How many steps of dysfunctional transformation can one object go through? It’s like a mind-bending H. P. Lovecraft story.

Q: Would you become a member of the Hudson Preservation Commission?

A: No. But the Historic Preservation Commission has been very kind to me. Years ago they secured me permits to film in the Oliver Bronson House at night, complete with power and lightning and thunder effects, for my (failed) feature film Sock Job. I still can’t believe they pulled that off. We carted the cast, crew and equipment through the prison. I was friends with the wonderful Timothy Dunleavey before he died. He used to work hard at what I think eventually became the HPC, but also had a sense of humor about some of their members and squabbles, and occasionally questioned their (and his own) approaches. And that was a long time ago. I think Timothy’s sense of humor is reflected in my video, that stayed with me.

Q: Any plans for future videos?

A: Yes I have two I’ve already shot that I’m finishing editing now. One is about the art galleries of Hudson. The other is about Hudson wildlife. I hope people don’t think I’m making these weird videos to be a mean jerk or cause trouble. Humor is a cornerstone, and a great equalizer. If Hudson doesn’t have a healthy sense of humor about itself, how can it possibly hope to have proper infrastructure, workable government, diversity awareness, and a welcoming community?