Image via Complex Original
This feature is a part of Complex's Futura Week.
The world knows Leonard McGurr as Futura, and Futura can divide the world into two distinct places that have impacted his career and his art. Both the Big Apple and the City of Lights have shaped Futura over his 40+ years in the game.
Raised on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Futura came of age during the '70s, eventually sharing a studio art space with Fab 5 Freddy, another pioneer. In 1981, Futura travelled to Paris with the Clash during the lead-up to the release of Combat Rock. Though his work is closely associated with the downtown scene, the gallery that reps him, la Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, is located in Paris, and the artist identifies with France heavily; after all, he met the mother of his children there.
Now, Futura is preparing for his first solo show in NYC in over a decade. Opening September 6, the "Future Shock" exhibition at 560 Washington St. will navigate our current dystopia. In the meantime, let the artist show you around his cities.
Grand Central Terminal
City: New York
Address: 87 East 42nd St.
Website: grandcentralterminal.com
Futura says: The oyster bar at Grand Central Terminal has been a personal routine for over 40 years. The exterior clock and sculpture grouping on Park Avenue with Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva is about as good as we've got.
The Cyclone
City: New York
Address: 834 Surf Ave., Brooklyn
Website: lunaparknyc.com/
Futura says: Way before The Warriors, I'd seen a picture of my mother and her crew, dated 1933, hanging at Coney. Good news, boppers. That would have made them all barely 20. Even now I get goosebumps...
The Central Park Bandshell and Skating Rink
City: New York
Address: Bethesda Terrace between 66th and 72nd streets.
Website: centralpark.com/guide/attractions/bandshell
Futura says: Too many reasons to invade the most precious real estate in Manhattan.
The Cloisters
City: New York
Address: 99 Margaret Corbin Dr.
Website: metmuseum.org
Futura says: Stop and smell the roses; plan your visit during off-peak hours and you might find yourself completely by yourself. A seemingly unknown zone, it's a trippystix experience, if you like long views of a river. Do it at dusk.
Hope Street, Brooklyn
City: New York
Address: Between Roebling St. and Union Ave., Brooklyn
Website: n/a
Futura says: Lenny from the block for more than a quarter century. What else do you need? An apartment number?
The Glass Pyramid at the Musée du Louvre
City: Paris
Address: Musée du Louvre, 75058
Website: louvre.fr/en
Futura says: I.M. Pei's design is the best in show. What can I say? I'm a sucker for culture. Read a book, and go to le Louvre.
Centre Pompidou
City: Paris
Address: Place Georges Pompidou, 75191
Website: centrepompidou.fr
Futura says: The geographical epicenter—the book store is a sleeper; it's all in there.
The Eiffel Tower as Seen from Trocadero
City: Paris
Address: 3 Avenue Raymond Poincaré, 75016
Website: n/a
Futura says: Outside of the Forbidden City, I don't think I've ever seen a more amazing alignment of architecture than from the viewing perspective at Trocadero.
La Défense
City: Paris
Address: 92800 Puteaux
Website: n/a
Futura says: It was here that I spent my first night in the City of Lights. The futuristic design of this early-'80s development and the numerous amount of cranes on location would forever shape my vision. Something about progress and movement. Voilà!
The Place de la Bastille
City: Paris
Address: 20 Place de la Bastille, 75011
Website: n/a
Futura says: The representation of independence, and the undisclosed location of my favorite restaurant in Paris, where the chef's special isn't on the menu.
