Sporting a bright red zip-up and his signature skull cap, Clayton Patterson arrives at 161 Essex Street and leads the way into his gallery, the extensive archives that have made Patterson one of the most reputable folk historians of the Lower East Side. He has spent close to forty years now documenting the life and culture of the area through photography, film, and art. Even at 63 years old, it’s clear that he has no intentions of slowing down.
“A lot of it is built in your own intensity,” Patterson said, “ whether you have the love and dedication and ambition…because if you do that’s a disease…but it’s a good disease to have.”
Clayton Patterson is not a native of New York City but he is most certainly a figure of it. A proud city dweller, Patterson is extremely passionate about his work. The intimacy he feels with the Lower East Side is palpable. So while he may have not spent his adolescent days hanging out on city stoops, he has plenty of pictures of kids who have. He may have not grown up with the American government, but he cares about the fact that they’re cutting art programs in schools, and he has made documentaries exposing police brutality. Patterson believes the key to establishing a name for oneself is to develop something unique and to believe in its potential so wholeheartedly, that others believe in it too. So although Patterson spent the first thirty years of his life in a town he described as “primitive” and “isolated,” his philosophy is hardly reflective of the fact.
“A big part of ‘making it’ is creating an illusion,” Patterson said, “I mean, you want your illusion built on facts and reality but, you have to create an illusion…if you can’t create an illusion of how great it is…you’ve got nothing.”
Patterson touches briefly upon the topic of Occupy Wall Street, as well as Romney’s recent “47%” comment. Lines begin to appear on his forehead. “I hope the youth of today doesn’t lose sight of the advantages they have…when I was a kid growing up it used to be like NBC, CBS…they were far away, they were castles in the sky, impenetrable institutions…now with the new technology, everything is much closer.”
As someone who spent his first years in the U.S without a green card, and a more-than-limited budget, its clear that Patterson relates to the struggles youth are dealing with today. And the illusion idea was one he became familiar with. He had to build his reputation from scratch despite having already built one back in his hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Back home, Patterson was a fine art print maker, well-known for his skills. He also taught courses at several schools, including the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. Patterson was comfortable in Canada, but unfulfilled. He wanted more. At NSCAD, Patterson got a taste of New York through the artists who visited from Manhattan. Patterson was intrigued but it was not until he visited New York for a weekend on a school-funded trip that he decided to move.
“Coming here for the weekend you kind of had that feeling,” Patterson recalls, “at that time the Bowery was down and dirty… but it sort of gave you the point of view that you too could be here…welcoming, not too intimidating…enough to let you know that it wasn’t all just paved with gold or whatever.”
Despite being lured by the welcoming atmosphere of the Lower East Side, Patterson’s first gallery exhibits were in Soho, with a crowd he quickly grew tired. At the risk of losing money and stability, Patterson began to focus on the Lower East Side. To display his work, Patterson bought a building that was once a sewing factory and converted the space into two parts: a small storefront for his custom baseball caps, the other an art gallery. The gallery looks like something out of an I Spy book. Paintings, photos, books, stickers, dvds and posters flood the room with color and imagery. While the stimuli would surely prove overwhelming to some, it does not seem to faze Patterson. Upon entering the room he pulls two chairs from the clutter effortlessly. After extending an inviting palm towards one, he sits in the other and looks around the room the way people do when they realize someone is looking at their work for the first time.
“It’s all about doing what inspires you and makes you happy…” Patterson said, “That’s heaven.”
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