Inspired by ’60s alternative movements such as Fluxus—which devoted much energy to the production of multiples, self-published magazines, and mail art—Downtown artists sought to circumvent commercial galleries with new modes of   artistic production and distribution. Often working collaboratively, they created retail outlets such as A More Store or Vendart, whose creators adapted commercial vending machines to sell inexpensive artworks. Artists such as Jeff Koons considered shopping an essential part of the artmaking process. Fashion designers like Betsey Johnson and Stephen Sprouse created wearable art, while venues like Franklin Furnace and Printed Matter championed artists’ books. Similarly, the Real Estate Show’s sly, sarcastic take on capitalism merged exhibition and sales techniques during one frenzied New Year’s Eve, and the Times Square Show featured a successful and affordable shop offering artists’ multiples during the exhibition’s month-long run on Forty-first Street. Ironically, such artworks set the stage for the Downtown branding of mass-produced fashion products, as well as the marketing of urban youth culture, which swung into high gear during the 1980s.

Installation views of Colab, A More Store at White Columns, New York, December 1981. Photo: Lisa Kahane. Copyright © 1981 Lisa Kahane, NYC

Founded in 1980 by Alan Moore, A More Store  (whose name plays on his) appeared annually, usually at Christmastime. The shop offered small, affordable works by Colab artists to a broad public, countering the trend among SoHo galleries toward big commercial ventures selling oversized art.