Brunswick Street: Art & Revolution

"It had to happen. Carnaby Street was the centre of fashion in the 60s. The 70s belonged to Haight-Ashbury's flower children. Then in the 80s Melbourne gave birth to Brunswick Street - epicentre of an emerging arts movement. Three subcultures - grungers, bohemians and radical feminists collided and brought forth a dynamic that changed the face of the inner city. The meteoric rise of Brunswick Street was a cultural explosion of art, theatre, fashion, grunge, music, drugs, diverse sexuality, celebrity and politics."Maz WilsonBrunswick Street, Art & Revolution is the story of a street that became a culture. Written by Anne Rittman and Maz Wilson, it consists of a series of interviews and colour photographs with and of the people who brought about that transformation. It teems with characters: baristas, hair-cutters, potters, comedians, painters, singers, poets, restaurateurs and more.It evokes iconic places: the Black Cat, Pigtale Pottery, The Flying Trapeze, T F Much Ballroom, Bakers, Circus Oz , Scully & Trombone and the list goes on.-It bursts with visual impact: performances, artworks, architecture and the Waiters' Race for example. Here it is in its true form as a cultural, social and political history.It was a pioneering spirit which created its own centre of gravity. Early on the street had a frisson of excitement. Artists rubbing shoulders with criminals in a quarter acre block. -Rod Quantock.Laughter is the shock absorber of life! -Tim McKewIt was love at first coffee -Sandra Goldbloom Zurbo