Shalom Neuman’s FusionArts Van
The flamboyant minivan was initially parked outside 169 Allen Street last Thursday afternoon. Straight from the playbook of Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, the vehicle is a Mazda MPV tricked out with an eclectic assortment of pop culture images, painted motifs, and salvaged randomness. Just as we began snapping some photos, the driver told us to follow him to the gallery on Stanton Street. He had to quickly swap spots. We obliged, natch.
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The driver is veteran artist Shalom Neuman, whose career in multidisciplinary arts spans more than forty years. It was the Czech-born Neuman who allegedly coined the descriptor “fusion arts” and who founded the FusionArts Museum at 57 Stanton, the only contemporary gallery/archive of its kind in the city. In fact, the property has been an important fixture on the local arts scene ever since he purchased the building in 1984. A time when the block was occupied by other like-minded artists and characters, like Adam Purple (“Garden of Eden”).
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