Seeing Red at MoMA

Say the word “communism” and chances are most people will conjure images of the Soviet Union, the Cuban Missile Crisis, or Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe at the United Nations. It is far less likely that anyone will recall the unassuming brick structure that stands on the corner of Forsyth and Broome Streets in downtown Manhattan, the site of some of the earliest socialist and communist meetings held in the United States (back in the 19th century). For artist Yevgeniy Fiks, however, this type of place has inspired works that examine the often overlooked history of communism in the West.