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The ‘Stuff’ of a New York Legend, From Skateboards to $12,000 Sweaters

A new book collects the Paper Magazine co-founder Kim Hastreiter’s most treasured belongings, and friends.

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In 1984, the artist and editor (and John Baldessari protégée) Kim Hastreiter co-founded Paper Magazine with her friend David Hershkovits, to document the cultural explosion in downtown New York City at the time. What began as a D.I.Y. operation in her TriBeCa loft would run for 33 years as one of the most respected independent fashion and arts publications ever.

The first issue of Paper, in June 1984.Credit…Elena Saviano

Hastreiter, now 73, has worn many hats over the years — artist, journalist, curator — but her passion for collecting has remained a constant. Now she has immortalized all her favorite objects, friends and stories in STUFF: A New York Life of Cultural Chaos (Damiani, $75).

Manolo Blahnik boots tagged by Hastreiter’s favorite graffiti artists.Credit…Jeremy Liebman
On Hastreiter’s desk rests a signed photo of the comedian Phyllis Diller, who was Hastreiter’s friend.Credit…Jeremy Liebman

“More than a memoir,” she writes, this book collects everything from a $12,000 sweater to a Jeff Koons dinner plate, stickers, jewelry and just about every category of art you can think of, resulting in a “big chaotic archive” of a half-century’s worth of New York culture.

A selection of the many artist-designed skateboards Hastreiter has collected.Credit…Jeremy Liebman
The artist John Martin’s interpretation of Hastreiter’s signature red glasses.Credit…Jeremy Liebman
A sign hung on her favorite bench in Washington Square Park during the Covid pandemic in 2020.Credit…Max Rippon