Paranoia Man

At the Storefront for Art and Architecture, an immersive installation dissolves boundaries between architecture, art, and the subject into one continuous environment.

Storefront for Art and Architecture, in collaboration with the New York Comedy Festival (NYCF), has commissioned Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe to create “Paranoia Man in a Rat Fink Room” at Storefront’s gallery space.

Top: "Paranoia Man in a Rat Fink Room" by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe. Commissioned by Storefront for Art and Architecture and the New York Comedy Festival, 2016. Courtesy of the Artists. Above: "Paranoia Man in a Rat Fink Room" by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe. Commissioned by Storefront for Art and Architecture and the New York Comedy Festival, 2016

The exhibition follows a tradition of spatial experimentation at Storefront where the boundaries between architecture, art, and the subject are dissolved into one continuous environment.

"Paranoia Man in a Rat Fink Room" by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe. Commissioned by Storefront for Art and Architecture and the New York Comedy Festival, 2016

The installation is a historical pastiche of urban and architectural experiences linked through a mise-en-scène comprised of three architectural environments – a Canal Street style kiosk filled with the leftover DVDs and VHSs from Jungle Video (a now defunct media superstore in Los Angeles).

"Paranoia Man in a Rat Fink Room" by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe. Commissioned by Storefront for Art and Architecture and the New York Comedy Festival, 2016

The installation also features a comedy club partially inspired by the original Rat Fink Room (the world’s first dedicated stand-up comedy club, which opened in 1963) and a bathroom that has been converted into surveillance headquarters that will keep audio/video recordings of the last days of Storefront.

"Paranoia Man in a Rat Fink Room" by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe. Commissioned by Storefront for Art and Architecture and the New York Comedy Festival, 2016