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Letter from the Hotel Chelsea Page 2
Letter from the Hotel Chelsea Page 2
Letter from the Hotel Chelsea Page 2

Letter from the Hotel Chelsea Page 2

Artist (American, born 1940)
Printer (American, 1938 - 2007)
Date1979
Mediumphotoscreenprints
ClassificationsGraphic
Credit LineGift of Betty Hahn, 2015
Object number2015.2.17
DescriptionPrint of handwritten letter on Chelsea Hotel stationery against blue background.
Text Entries

The prints in this portfolio are five-color (blue, grey, black, tan, and orange) printed on Arches 88 paper, bon a tirer, in an edition of seven, each including 7 photo silkscreens, a portfolio case, a T-shirt (unlimited edition), and a print of a blank sheet of Hotel Chelsea stationery (edition of 10). The edition was printed by Jim Kraft at Unified Arts, Albuquerque, New Mexico. See “Betty Hahn, Photography or Maybe Not,” (UNM Press, 1995), p. 188.

 

The text in the images are from a letter written from the Chelsea Hotel in New York City by Diane Luppi, a former student of Betty Hahn’s at the University of New Mexico.

 

This image shows a blue background with an image of a handwritten letter on Hotel Chelsea letterhead, to Betty Hahn from Diane Luppi.

 

Letterhead reads: “ ‘A LANDMARK OF N.Y.C.’ / HOTEL CHELSEA/New York/

AT SEVENTH AVENUE/WEST TWENTY THIRD STREET/NEW YORK, N.Y. 10011/CABLE ADDRESS.HOCHELSEA.NEW YORK/TELEPHONE CHELSEA 3-3700” with image of hotel and clouds above it at top, and at bottom: “LARGE and SOUND-PROOF ROOMS”.

 

Text of letter reads: “2/civilization unfolding in this [small crossed-out area]/the best of all possible/cities.1/Jan is driving a cab, making/$500 a week, losing her mind and/concerned about losing her/brain cells breathing carbon/monoxide all day. I assured/her that when it happened/she wouldn’t mind at all/for there would [small crossed-out area] surely/be little to mind with./I’m sitting at the Blarney Stone/Bar listening, for the fifteenth time, to Danny Boy. By the/way, say hello to Danny for/us. He would be a wonderful/addition to the Chelsea if/he wouldn’t mind the competition./[series of broken lines divides letter from text of footnote]/1. Wasn’t that Voltaire? Candide peut-etre?” in handwriting of Diane Luppi.
Using a letter she received from a former student, Diane Luppi, as a starting point, Betty Hahn created prints that reproduce each handwritten page and the envelope in which the letter was mailed. Each sheet bears the prominent logo of the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, the historic home of many well-known artists, actors, writers, and musicians -- and thus a pilgrimage site for their fans and admirers. The letter offers a vivid verbal snapshot of Luppi’s visit to New York in the late 1970s.
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