Artist Loses Home in NYC Building Collapse
 The Brooklyn building that collapsed on Sunday taken by photographer Geralyn Shukwit. See more photos here.
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ADAMS, Mass. — File this in the "it's a small world" folder: A New York artist who's exhibited at Greylock Arts has lost his home in a freak collapse.
Andrew Schneider lived above the Vesper Bar & Lounge in Brooklyn, the building that came tumbling down shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday. Schneider was in Los Angeles but lost all his possessions when the Myrtle Street building turned into rubble.
Matt Belanger and Marianne Petit, owners of the art gallery, are hoping to help out their old friend and are reaching out to the local arts community and others.
"We feel so badly for him. He was actually in LA when it happened yesterday and posted a video to Facebook asking any friends in Brooklyn to go by and see if they can find his bicycle, or his hard drives," the couple e-mailed iBerkshires.
Schneider, who experiments with audio/visual performance art, was among the first to exhibit at the gallery when it opened a couple years ago, bringing his "solar bikini" to the Berkshires for the "Sustainable Energy Art Show." He returned a few weeks ago with the performance piece "Wow and Flutter."
"Andrew has lost essentially all of his worldly possessions, including his art," Petit and Belanger wrote. "Many may remember his solar bikini, which was featured in an exhibition at Greylock Arts in 2007. If you have anything to offer Andrew (money, a new toothbrush, a replacement bike, words of encouragement) please contact us, and we will see that he gets it."
Petit said they've known Schneider since his involvement in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University, where she is an associate arts professor.
"Since then, Schneider has been working with the Wooster Group for the past two years and has been developing his own performance work using these 'experimental devices for performance' that he has created that allow him to control video and sound from his body when he performs," wrote Petit. "We asked him to come up and do a performance, and he did last month as part of the Storefront Artist Salon at Greylock Arts. It was great."
 The crack seen on Google Maps. |
On his Twitter page, Schneider seemed to be taking it in stride: "so my apt collapsed. I'm in LA. Haven't heard from roomie, but nypd says no injuries. Any experience with this? How to get my stuff? wow." He was being interviewed by Los Angeles news station KTLA before his flight back to New York.
A benefit for all the victims is in the works, say Petit and Belanger, who will post the details in the future. They can be reached at info@greylockarts.net.
"Andrew is a really great guy, and he needs your help!"
