I bought a digital camera off a friend months ago—best decision of my New School career. I took to the streets in search of geometric shapes that sparked my inspiration. At the intersection of First Ave and 12th Street, I stopped to shoot a large orange cone that bisected the middle lanes of First Ave. Some kind of gas blew from inside of that cone. I marveled at the curls of smoke that foregrounded the red brick buildings. That Thursday was bright and clear; Hurricane Jose loitered 500 miles off the Southwest of Wall Street. I stood there for about five minutes manipulating the different ways to let light in. Thankful for dry clothes and a well nourished body.
If I hadn’t stopped for those five minutes, if I had sped through the intersection as I normally do, at a New York pace, I wouldn’t have noticed the small, multi-colored umbrella across the avenue. If that umbrella hadn’t caught my eye I wouldn’t have walked over to see what it was all about. That’s how I met Jon, who was running a used bookstand.
Every book was crispy-mint condition. All the titles were obscure, even though most of the authors were heavy hitters. I was lucky to pick out a couple: The Poets of the New York School and Surrealists on Art. Sure, subjectivity comes into play when skimming a bookstand, and these books might not speak to you the way they did to me. But, I’m sure one will find a book that draws one closer by way of Jon’s curation.
Aside from selling beautiful used books, Jon Beachum is a seriously talented visual artist who also started his own publication imprint, The Brother In Elysium. I’m no expert art critic, but I’m drawn to his minimalist aesthetic, his use of lines, and the depth he creates in his collages and other works. Check him out for yourself: @brotherinelysium or www.brotherinelysium.com, or in person on an intersection corner somewhere in the city (you’ll have to follow his Instagram for that cause that’s where he lets the world know where he’ll be).
—Greg Levin-Rozenvayn, Managing Editor