Last Wednesday New London bade a Whaling City farewell to The Muse. An eclectic fixture in the arts scene for the last three years, Muse was a gallery, shoe store, skateboard shop and venue for live music.
The Golden Street gem was forced to close its doors because of economic troubles inherent to businesses focused on the arts.
“There’s just not much money in the town, plus I’m tired,” said Muse owner Frank Lo Marchany.
Fatigue aside, in a final flurry of activity this sneakerheads’ paradise managed to pull together a final in-store performance on the eve of its demise. The show featured a New York artist who goes by the name of DickChicken.
“This was good karma, for real,” said Frank Lo. “I got lucky enough to meet the guy a few days before.”
With the help of employee Amy Jean Pupillo, a friend of DickChicken, Muse was packed to the brim with a variety of pieces featuring either the artist’s moniker or his trademark chicken with, you may have guessed it, a penis for a head.
The display consisted of a variety of prints, paintings, and drawings, all featuring the eponymous creature, as well as piles of boxes and vast rows of cans labeled as “Dickchicken Noodle Soup,” with everything from the ingredients to the directions edited to refer to these inglorious, mythical animals.
The atmosphere was supplemented by DJ Rob Vaughn Guess, who kept the space feeling like it always did, funky and outlandish.
Not only did DickChicken throw the show together to help properly shut down Muse, but upon hearing about the recent, brutal attack on Matt Potter (front man of New London band Fatal Film), the artist also offered up the profits from the first sale of a series to support fundraising efforts.
Frank Lo was happy to go out in style with this final exhibit.
“What better way to shut down than with a great show,” he said.
The final farewell took place at the El N Gee Club, in the wee hours of April Fool’s Day.
“I want to see Twitter and Facebook posts about how much people’s feet are hurting afterwards,” Frank Lo said. “Everyone better be having a good time.”
Though Muse has to step down from its spot as one of the integral spaces for creative expression in New London, Frank Lo is hopeful that his work will inspire a new generation of artists to action.
“The reason I’m closing is because we need new blood,” he said. “People need to get involved.”
When asked about Connecticut College’s relationship with the store he explained that things were good, but they can always be better.
“I’d really like to see more students living in the city,” he said.
Overall, Frank Lo hopes the end of Muse will provide enough of a jolt throughout New London to begin restructuring the way everyone relates to the city as one with a unique scene.
“The city needs to wake up, and everyone’s got to get involved,” Marchany said.
