I was thinking of Steven Parrino the other day.I met Steven at Parsons, in the Fine Arts Department, where he was a few years ahead of me. He inspired a cartoon character for my animation class, where I did a short film, The Amazing Adventures of Bugman. When I told him about the character he wasn't sure whether to be flattered or insulted, but was OK with it and wanted to see the results.
He helped me get my first (paying) job (I worked for my dad's newspaper as a layout artist, typesetter, etc. when I was in high school), at Canal Jean Co., in New York.
One day Parrino, my friend Mary and I went out for our lunch break from Canal to the nearby Greek diner and ordered our usual cheeseburgers and fries. Parrino was telling a story and as he was talking, a large cockroach walked sideways on the wall beside him. Mary and I were struck dumb with horror, but he nonchalantly picked up the ketchup bottle, squashed the roach, and finished the story, without missing a beat. Mary and I were beyond impressed.Once at a party Parrino and I danced to Elvis Costello's Mystery Dance. He was a wild man on the dance floor, but never took off his leather jacket, even though the party was crowded and it was hot. Sometimes I wondered if he slept in that jacket.
I had a dream once with Parrino in it, where he was constructing an elaborate sculptural piece that would shoot a knife blade across a room to cut someone's throat (I had just been reading Kafka and was probably under the influence.) In the dream the knife went in slow motion and I saw it heading towards him, but then the perspective shifted and I was looking down at blood flowing very slowly - down my neck, my chest. I woke up, gasping. The next day at Parsons I looked for Parrino everywhere, but he wasn't around. Finally after classes were over he showed up, wearing a white wind breaker. It was the only time I ever saw him in white. This vivid dream inspired a set of red paintings and an installation where Parrino, at my request, supplied the music. Of course he did it on his terms. I was very much into the Clash and had even contacted someone at Clash, Inc. (the band had an office in New York) to ask permission to use their music as background for my installation. Their representative said yes and even came to the show at Parsons on the day it was open. Of course what she heard when she arrived didn't sound much like the Clash - Steven had sampled the tape of songs I gave him and distorted them until they became a wall of noise.I'm not sure when I last saw Parrino, but I recall a v
isit to his Brooklyn studio. Later we went out to a local diner and he had french fries, but ordered them with mayo, as he was still jazzed having just come back from Amsterdam.I was really upset last year to hear that he had died in a motorcycle accident. And that was more than a year after the fact. I hadn't seen or heard about him in years, but he was someone from my life, my past. And he was an individual and a painter. And an inspiration.
3 comments:
Wow, I remember having a nickname for Steven in school. We used to call him "the fly" because he always wore black and had those big black rimmed glasses. He was like a cartoon character. I loved when people had the personality and courage to really create a strong style for themselves. I remember you were friends with Steven and actually thought of the two of you while reading your post about Danceteria. I was also shocked and saddened to learn about his death. I think I was Googling him around the time he was in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and saw that a date of death was listed along with his birth year. How strange to see that and find out how he died riding his motorcycle on Kent Avenue on New Years Day. It all seemed so sad and senseless. I guess that is the nature of death and even more so when someone dies so young with so much left to do.
I ran across the notice about his death by chance too, and was shocked. Made no sense at all. He was definitely an individual with a strong sense of identity and style. Take him or leave him. He was also a dude from Hicksville, Long Island, which, being a kid from Joisey, probably was another reason I liked him.
Today, I was just thinking of Steven, his work and his group of friends at Parsons... He was a great guy that was generous and inspirational to many.
Nice article xoxoxo e
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