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Ishai Shapira Kalter
(205 Hudson St.) From Occupation to the State of Immigration

Artist Book, 2016, 1 A.P. Unique
"(205 Hudson St.) From Occupation to the State of Immigration" (2016) is a deluxe compilation and artist’s book, of which only one artist proof was originally produced. It consists of an essay, fourteen digital drawings of Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665–1714), and fourteen analog photographs—inkjet printed—depicting real estate holdings owned by Trinity Church Inc. in Manhattan. The work seeks to give form to the invisible structures that underlie the seemingly mundane object of education.
 
This A.P. documents the circular—rather than direct—relationship between an artist-student enrolled in Hunter College MFA Studio Program and the idea that, at the core of every relationship, lies land. Tuition payments, then, ultimately flow from the renter of the property—Hunter College, which occupies floors 2–4 at 205 Hudson Street—to the landowner, Trinity Church. Since Hunter College rents the floor where my studio was located, I became interested in tracing where the bulk of my tuition money was actually going, even if only through a rough estimate. Notably, Trinity Church is one of the largest real estate holders in Manhattan.

205 Hudson Street conceals a layered history of business transactions and real estate agreements spanning decades—linking the City University of New York, Trinity Church, and Queen Anne, who ruled over New York as part of the British Empire between 1702 and 1714, prior to the democratic era of the United States.

In 1697, New York's Royal Governor, Benjamin Fletcher, acting on behalf of King William III, leased a parcel of land known as the King's Farm to the newly established Trinity Church. This land stretched from present-day Fulton Street north to Christopher Street, and from Greenwich Street east to Broadway.

In 1705, Queen Anne solidified Trinity Church's claim by granting the church 215 acres of this land, transforming the lease into a permanent endowment. This grant made Trinity Church one of the largest landowners in Manhattan, a status it maintains to this day.

The area now known as Hudson Square, where 205 Hudson Street is located, was part of the original land grant to Trinity Church by Queen Anne. Over the centuries, Trinity Church developed this land, leasing and selling parcels to fund its religious and philanthropic activities.

Since the founding of the U.S., only two women have been nominated for the presidency—both within the last decade—and both were defeated. This may echo or foreshadow the political atmosphere in which the book was created: the 2016 presidential campaign, in which Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump, whose brand is real estate.

 
This artist proof gestures—albeit indirectly—toward questions about the patriarchal foundations of land ownership and the persistent notion of landholding as a silent prerequisite for presidential power.
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(205 Hudson St.) From Occupation to the State of Immigration

2016

Essay, fourteen inkjet photographs, fourteen digital drawings printed on 300 gr paper
30x23x4 cm
A.P.

Ishai Shapira Kalter_ישי שפירא קלטר_edit
Ishai Shapira Kalter_ישי שפירא קלטר_edit
Ishai Shapira Kalter_ישי שפירא קלטר_edit
Ishai Shapira Kalter_ישי שפירא קלטר
Ishai Shapira Kalter_ישי שפירא קלטר_edit
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