Overview

""Do we want to simply retreat to our studios and make art, or do we want to jump in and try to do something about this?"" Hysterical Coney Island is a unique, personal story of how two artists and their colleagues made an impact on the cultural life of New York City, and helped pull America's great historic amusement beach out of a nosedive. It is a chronicle of a ""handmade"" time in the worlds of art and amusement that will never be seen again. As the 1970s came to an end, Coney Island was at its worst- the old timers were retiring or dying, and the beloved Pavilion of Fun at Steeplechase Park had been torn down by speculator Fred Trump in his race against the Landmarks Commission. The authors, both native Brooklyn visual artists, formed the Coney Island Hysterical Society in 1981 as a response to this community in crisis. In concert with Dick Zigun's Coney Island USA, the Hysterical Society struck a spark that would grow to become what historian Charles Denson calls ""The Artists' Renaissance"" in Coney Island. With contributions from Playwright Harvey Fierstein, Historian Richard Snow, and critic/curators Ann Aptaker and Aaron Beebe, Hysterical Coney Island is a personal account of the authors' years working in both Coney Island and in the studio- work that took on greater depth and resonance for having been seasoned in the daily life of Coney Island itself.

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Reviews

It is impossible to overstate the significance of the contributions made by the Coney Island Hysterical Society to the rebirth of the iconic amusement district. With passion, creativity, humor and wit, Philomena & Richard channeled their genuine love for the nostalgic imagery of Coney Island's past into a successful campaign to renew the public's interest in the faded seaside resort. The story of their journey is a must- read for all aficionados of Coney Island history, and everyone with ""sand in their shoes"" -Lisa Mangels- Schaefer, Director, Coney Island Museum

Author Information

Philomena grew up just six stops from Coney Island. As a very young child she imagined that the elevated train WAS the roller coaster and it came to pick her up each day (along with her mom, sister Chris, Aunt Dottie & cousin Alfred ) and chauffeured them to the beach. That same imagination sparked a lifetime of Coney Island inspired cut paper works and limited edition prints. Philomena learned the elegant cut paper technique she uses while working as an assistant to Robert Indiana but insists she inherited her father's DNA for precise cutting.She attended the High School of Art & Design in NYC. and earned a BFA from Pratt Institute. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues including: Tabla Rasa Gallery, ACA Galleries, Ringling College of the Arts, Arts Advocates Gallery and is in many public and private collections including the Brooklyn Museum. She lives in Sarasota, Florida with her husband Eugene In the late 1970s, after a series of dreams about his childhood days at Coney Island, RICHARD EAGAN turned his Brooklyn woodworking shop into an artist's studio. He and studio mate Philomena Marano soon formed The Coney Island Hysterical Society, which became one of the prime drivers of the 1980s' turnaround of Coney Island's historic amusement beach. Over the years Richard's work has ranged from sculpture through constructed painting and into pure painting, chiefly addressing the issue of the turmoil that lies beneath the seeming complacency of outward appearances. In addition to his visual work, he has acted in in film, chiefly in the short films of Todd Gordon. As the charismatic and lovely entertainer Miss Kay Sera, he co-hosted the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade for over fifteen years as well as hosting award-winning karaoke nights in Red Hook, Brooklyn. His Coney Island monologue performance Alive on the Inside, has recently transitioned from the stage to become a ""theater of the mind"" audio play. Richard's work has been shown at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, OK Harris Works of Art (NYC), U.S. State Department's Art in the Embassies program (Mexico City), Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (Brooklyn), 440 Gallery (Brooklyn), the Coney Island Museum, and various other venues. He lives in Croton on Hudson, NY with his wife Liz and their dog Millie.

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