Regarding Gem Spa (Basquiat), how does the Analysis's The Symbolism of Words incorporate the The Reference to the East Village Gem Spa?
The Reference to the East Village Gem Spa The words "Gem Spa" refer to the 24/7 newsstand and smoke shop of the same name that was at the center of the Beat movement in Manhattan's East Village and frequented by the likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Andy Warhol. As a newsstand distributing marginal publications, Gem Spa was influential in disseminating the Beat movement's ideas and influencing writers of the time. Allen Ginsberg, whom Basquiat knew personally, mentions Gem Spa in one of his most famous poems, Rain-wet asphalt heat, garbage curbed cans overflowing.
In 1966, The Village Voice awarded Gem Spa the name "official oasis of the East Village". By this time it had also become known as the "hippie hangout". Ginsberg called this shop the "nerve center" of the city.
Gem Spa retained its influential status throughout the 1970s and 1980s, spreading both the psychedelic and punk culture of New York. The store appears on the very first punk album in history by the New York Dolls, whom Basquiat knew and appreciated.
Basquiat created dense work that played a role in the advent of punk visual art.
Gem Spa was located at 36 St Marks Place on the corner of 2nd Avenue. It was open 24/7 and became a meeting point for the marginalized, night owls, and was at the center of the places frequented by Basquiat in 1982. Basquiat exhibited his first works at gallery 51X, located at 51 St Marks Place, next to Gem Spa.
Allen Ginsberg Gem Spa punk visual art Jack Kerouac East Village The Village Voice New York St Marks Place Beat movement New York Dolls punk culture Andy Warhol