An Archive of Fabulous: Nelson Sullivan's New York City

Level: Undergraduate

Division: The New School for Public Engagement

School: School of Undergraduate Studies

Department: Humanities

Course Number: NCST 3310

Course Format: Lecture

Location: NYC campus

Permission Required: No

Topics:

• Civic Engagement
• Visual Culture
• Gender and Sexuality Studies

Description:
Throughout the 1980s, Nelson Sullivan walked all around New York City with a hand-held video camera, documenting significant moments in nightlife, fashion, art, and performance. As the central figure around which all things fabulous unfold, the now-deceased Sullivan survives in his video collection. He is a savvy tour guide, taking his viewers on intimate and glamorous journeys through creative worlds being devastated by gentrification and AIDS. Students in this course study Sullivan and his world through his archive, which was recently acquired by the Fales Library at New York University. We examine Sullivan's work as part of the larger history of downtown New York City performance and art production. Students also work hands-on in the Fales Library to develop a digital mapping application that will allow people to view Sullivan's videos by location on their mobile devices.