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D e b o ra h P o p e, a rtis tic D ire c to r o f th e N e w T h e a te r in B o e ru m H ill in her o ffic e on D eanS tre e t. A g ro w in g n u m b e r o f p ro fe s s io n a l th e a te r c o m p a n ie s a re fin d in g B ro o k ly na u d ie n c e s g ro w in g in n u m b e rs an d s o p h is tic a tio n . (P h o e n ix /K irk P hoto )Continuedhere you have to have the ability to be apioneer.%u201dOne such pioneer is Nancy Buff urn, a painter who lives in a Williamsburg loft.Like many others, she came to Brooklyn sixyears ago, not because it was %u201ca place tobe,%u201d but because she couldn%u2019t afford to livein Manhattan anymore. The decision shenow feels was costly but therapeutic.CRITICS DON%u2019T COME%u201cA lot of gallery dealers don%u2019t come here,the critics don't come here,%u201d she admits.But on the other hand she is free to createthe kind of art she wants without the perpetual pressure of keeping up with Manhattan trends.Are Brooklyn artists as serious as Manhattan ones? %u2018%u2018That depends on how youmean what is serious,%u201d Buffum says.%u201cThere are not nearly so many people hereas in downtown who say they are artistsand aren%u2019t artists.%u201dMore importantly, Buffum thinks that although there is no developing %u201cBrooklynschool%u201d of visual arts, the larger spacesavailable to artists here have a clear impact on how the art appears.%u201cThe kind of art that is made in the EastVillage,%u201d she says, %u201cis specifically the artthat is made in small apartments andshown in small galleries.%u201d The spaciousnessand lighting of a workspace have an effecton the work of art, no matter what its size,she adds: %u201cA four-by-eight painting paintedin a 1500-foot loft is very different from afour-by-eight painting painted in a studioapartment.%u201dBecause artists are driven to Brooklyn foreconomic rather than aesthetic reasons, shesays, their distinguishing features are independence and freedom from the %u201cherd mentality.%u201d While refreshing to live with, thisdiversity can become a nightmare for planners of exhibitions.Many Brooklyn shows%u2014especially thoseput on by geographically-defined groupslike the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists%u2019 Coalition, the Park Slope Artists%u2019 Council, andthe Association of Williamsburg-GreenpointArtists%u2014become incoherent potpourris thatleave the non-expert visitor overwhelmedand confused. %u201cThere%u2019s a tendency out hereto go overboard because getting to Brooklynis such a big deal and because the artists%u2019organizations have such big memberships,%u201dBuffum says.SOME REJECT MANHATTANNot all agree, however, that the diversityof Brooklyn artists stems from their common status as economic refugees. CarolBrys, who runs Park Slope%u2019s year-old Chameleon Gallery, asserts, %u201c I know artistswho are here because they actively rejectthe Manhattan social scene and the marketing of art in Manhattan. People are herebecause they want to grow as artists.%u201dIn consequence of this orneriness, Bryssays, %u201cThere is no cohesive arts scene inBrooklyn%u2014it%u2019s not held together by clubs orby a string of galleries as it is in Manhattan.%u201d As a gallery owner, she says, shefinds the atmosphere more congenial. %u201cI enjoy dealing with arts and artists%u2014I don%u2019tlike having to say the right thing at theright time at the right party to the rightcritic.%u201dAnother benefit Brys sees to working inBrooklyn is her ability to service the%u201cprimal need%u201d that Deborah Pope talkedabout in reference to theater.%u201cI can bring art to a neighborhood thatdoesn%u2019t normally see it,%u201d she says. %u201cThepeople that buy works at my gallery aren%u2019tjaded Manhattan art buyers or very affluent people. They%u2019re people of more modest means who have to rearrange their budgets to buy a work of art but who are verypleased that there%u2019s something they likethat they can afford.%u201dMost Brooklyn artists seem to agree withBrys that they aren%u2019t interested in creatingan %u201carts scene%u201d in Brooklyn. Bill Nogosek,a painter who lives and works in the FultonFerry area and belongs to the Brooklyn Artists%u2019 Coalition, says %u201cOne of the reasonspeople aren%u2019t looking for the next galleryhere is that they remember what happenedin SoHo. We don%u2019t want to go through thatagain%u2014we just want a place where we canbe serious about our work.%u201dFERRY IS CLOSE TO COLONYFulton Ferry is the closest thing Brooklynhas to a real artists%u2019 colony, since most ofthe 300 or so loft tenants in this old manufacturing area are artists. But even here,Nogosek sees the unifying features of theneighborhood not as aesthetic but as geographical and political (many residents arefighting to legalize their lofts, many ofwhich violate current City zoning laws).%u201cWe don%u2019t have a movement startinghere,%u201d he says. %u201cWe aren%u2019t inventing Brooklyn pointillism. There is not an F.ast Villagetype of attitude where there are only four orfive different things going on. There isreally a broad spectrum.%u201dSince Brooklyn's very strength, culturallyspeaking, is that it stands distinct and apartfrom the high-energy arts center of Manhattan, it seems unlikely that it can ever domore than provide a home for a diversegroup of artists driven by dissatisfaction.But that role can be an important one, especially within the avant-garde, as is suggested by BACA Downtown%u2019s Greta Gundersen and BAM Next Wave producer JosephMelillo, who in less than five years havemade Brooklyn an important spot on themap of contemporary art.HAVE TO FIGHT%u201cI love the fact that we%u2019re in Brooklynand that people have to fight to get there,says Melillo. %u201cI love the fact that the ticketbuyer has to make the conscious decisionthat they%u2019re going to BAM and to the NextWave Festival.%u201d%u201cDowntown Brooklyn is never going tobecome a SoHo or an East Village,%u201d Gundersen declares, although she also says that%u201cBrooklyn has become less and less of anouter borough%u201d because of the increasingwillingness of Manhattan audiences to crossthe river for big events.But however far the arts develop inBrooklyn, Gundersen thinks the element ofsurprise will remain. %u201cThe fact is if you goto a gallery in the East Village or SoHo youpretty much know what you%u2019re going to get.That%u2019s not true in Brooklyn.%u201d And as longas innovation holds interest, audiences willcontinue to cross the river for something alittle out of the ordinary. %u201cEveryone is fascinated by the idea of the new,%u201d says Gundersen.%u201cWhether they like it or not, they find itfascinating.%u201dPart Two of this series on the changingarts scene in Brooklyn will appear in theOctober 9 edition of the Phoenix in a specialreal estate section. The story deals with thespace chase that leads many Manhattan artists across the river, as well as theatergroups that find it easier to produce programming at Brooklyn rents and forBrooklyn audiences.Brooklyn College Department of TheaterMAINSTAGE PRO DUCTIO NS 1986-87TH E TAMING OF T H E SHREWby W illiam Shakespeare O ct. 23 - Nov. 2TOP GIRLSBY Caryl C hurchill Dec. 11 - 21CH A R LEY%u2019S AUNTby Brandon T hom as Feb. 26 - Mar. 8A DO LL HO USEby Henrik Ibsen May 7 -17S e a s o n S u b s c rip tio n s : $ 1 2 , $15C all (718) 4 3 4 -4 2 4 2 to order or request brochureBeasharpshooter.Ask forqualityKODAK Color Processing.For bright, dearcolor.. .just the way you like It.th e M o s t C om prehensiveS ource of Art P hotoand F ra m e S upplies.321 D e k a lb A ven u e(N E A R PRA TT IN S T IT U T E )7 8 9 -9 5 14 , 9 2 1 9Jane Stanton, Artistic DirectorSally Forbes, ProducerDrama Classes For Young PeopleAges 6-16Call: (718)855-6346 * 858-9152The Gallery Playersof Park Slopepresentour popular Cabaret Revue%u201cSwingin%u2019 In The Breeze%u201donFriday, Sept. 26 at 8 pm Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8 pm Sunday, Sept. 28 at 3 pmBerkeley Carroll Street School181 Lincoln Place, B'.lyn, NY(betw. 7tn