Beat Generation author and one-time Northport resident referred to Allan Kaprow as “The Happenings Man.” Kaprow (1927-2006) was a pivotal and influential figure in the art world of the 1960s. Starting out as a painter, he had been influenced by abstract expressionism and later the action paintings of Jackson Pollack. His greatest legacy, though, was as the creator of art happenings: spontaneous, audience-participation works that contributed to the radical changes then occurring in the 20th century art world, paving the way for both pop art and performance art.
Born in New Jersey and raised in Tuscon, Arizona, Kaprow came to New York to study art and philosophy with such luminaries as painter Hans Hoffman and composer John Cage. Kaprow became a prolific art-writer and later taught at both Pratt Institute and SUNY at Stony Brook. During those years, he lived with his family on Glen Cove Avenue in Glen Head.
Kaprow would later move to California where he would spend the rest of his days. For those interested, several works by or about Kaprow are available in the collections of Long Island’s public libraries.