Scope and Contents Shelley traces the poetic, musical, theatrical, and artistic history of "downtown NYC" over the 20th Century. On the recto of this print, several artists and poets provide short narratives on what it was like to live "downtown in NYC during the 1970's and early 1980's. On Shelley's WEB site, he comments: Downtown Body is a portrait of New York's avant garde cultural landscape. I choose to use the word portrait because I think it conveys a kind of subjective selectivity that my work brings to any subject I work with. I entered into this project with a raucous enthusiasm, but I am exiting the room on tip toes. Downtown-ness touches on the lives of nearly everyone I know and care about. Everyone's sense of who they are is wrapped up in what Downtown means. And what should Downtown mean? Downtown is the success story of New York's art world, both critical and commercial. It's valuable, so it's hyped. It's Downtown Story: the Movie. It's a nostalgic myth, but it is a self-fulfilling...