Founded and edited by Anais Ngbanzo, Editions 1989 is a publishing project and platform dedicated to the telling of forgotten and erased stories from the 20th century arts scenes. Her two titles Who are You Dorothy Dean? and Everybody’s Head is Open to Sound: Writings on Tom Wilson break with the pervading cultural memories of two iconic moments: The 1960s New York underground scene, and the heyday of the Record Labels Columbia, MGM, and Transition. These titles illuminate the oft-retold histories of these scenes by highlighting the contributions of two groundbreaking Black artists, without whom any re-telling would be incomplete.
Who are You Dorothy Dean? Follows Dorothy Dean, a writer, socialite and frequent collaborator of Andy Warhol, part of 'The Factory’. Her practice was prolific and far-reaching; she contributed to Vogue and The New Yorker, alongside writing original screenplays and essays. Though she starred in many of Warhol's films and enjoyed close friendships with some of the most famous figures of the 1960s New York scene, Dean remains underrepresented in historical accounts of that time. In response, Ngbanzo collects Dean's letters and writings, painting a portrait of a woman with a searing wit, weaving together intimate correspondences and striking cultural criticism.
Everybody’s Head is Open to Sound: Writings on Tom Wilson
From another side of this scene, Everybody’s Head is Open to Sound follows the career of Tom Wilson, the pioneering music producer. In 1955, he founded Transition Records, where he produced and released the debut albums of Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor. He went on to become the first black staff producer at Columbia records, where he produced hits for Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel and later worked for MGM, where he produced The Velvet Underground & Nico. Through the pages of Everybody's Head is Open to Sound, we are introduced to Wilson as an under-sung figure whose influence continues to reverberate in the music industry today. Ngbanzo collects interviews, photos, and essays documenting Wilson's life and career, featuring a reproduction of a full length interview with Wilson himself.