Two years ago, COOPH did an article on the New York-based photographer Frankie Arduino. Recently we touched base with him to see what he has been up to—his new photography book, "Vertical Village," documents the historical Manhattan artist residence, Westbeth.
This year Westbeth is observing its 50th Anniversary. The building is formerly Bell Laboratories, in what was once considered part of the Meatpacking District. In the 1970's it was converted into affordable artist live-work spaces. Previously well-noted artists who used to occupy residencies are Diane Arbus, Merce Cunningham, and Martha Graham.
Frankie came up with the book's idea while he was living in West Village and working for Annie Leibovitz. He talks about it, "I would pass the behemoth maze called Westbeth for nearly four years on my daily walk to work. And in early 2017, I got curious about what exactly the building was, and I walked in. This has led to a three-year-long exploration of the building and the artists who call it home. And after years of photographing, I've edited this work together in my first monograph, Vertical Village."
Vertical Village is Frankie's first monograph. Buy the book here. Or follow Frankie on Instagram here.
If you want to check out the previous article we wrote on Frankie, you can find it here.
