THE VILLAGE VOICE, Greenwich Village, New York, Nov. 29, 1973  

* Adrian Piper's "The Mythic Being"
* Significant to The Village's contemporary art scene
* "The World Festival of Magic & Occult"
* Madison Square Garden

Page 37 of this highly sought-after issue features one of the rare, exceptionally collectible advertisements for Adrian Piper's groundbreaking conceptual art piece, "The Mythic Being." Further inside, page 72 contains a prominent 7 x 5 1/2 inch advertisement for "The World Festival of Magic & Occult" upcoming live performances at the Felt Forum inside Madison Square Garden.

The cultural and historical significance of this issue centers heavily on its inclusion of Adrian Piper's The Mythic Being, a legendary milestone in feminist, African American, and conceptual art. Beginning in September 1973, Piper challenged public perceptions of race, class, and gender by transforming herself into a working-class young man and walking the streets of New York. Crucially, her periodic advertisements in The Village Voice—which featured a photograph of her alter ego paired with thought bubbles containing intimate passages from her personal adolescent journals—were not merely announcements, but were the actual distributed medium of the artwork itself. This makes the original newsprint highly prized by contemporary art collectors. Sharing this unique cultural window is the advertisement for the World Festival of Magic & Occult. Marketed as “the greatest show of its kind,” this ambitious Madison Square Garden event perfectly captured the early 1970s countercultural obsession with the paranormal, bringing acts centered on witchcraft, voodoo, hypnosis, and telepathy to a mainstream stage. Together, these elements make this issue a spectacular artifact of New York City’s avant-garde and subculture history.

Other news, Greenwich Village lifestyle articles, music reviews, and period advertisements of the day are found throughout.

The complete issue, in very nice condition.

The Village Voice was an American counterculture newspaper known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. It introduced free-form, high-spirited, and passionate journalism into the public discourse - a tradition it maintained throughout its 60+ year history. It is quite common to find great political cartoons, satirical cartoons and articles, thought-provoking editorials, and ads and reviews for both concerts and theater productions - both on and off Broadway. Many iconic writers and musicians credit their appearance in The Village Voice for at least a portion of their success.
Complete in 112 pages, tabloid-size, folded at the center, nice condition.

Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive and has never been in circulation. Rare as such.

Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.