Justice
The Conceptual Artist Who Saved a Struggling Town
When Raivo Puusemp arrived in Rosendale, New York, in the mid-1970s, he turned politics into art.
In 1973, the village of Rosendale, New York, was in the throes of a civic identity crisis.
Situated in (but separate from) the larger Rosendale township, the tiny community was practically broke. The long decline of its cement mining industry had pushed most families away. Overtaxed businesses fled. Hippie newcomers from New York City clashed with more conservative old-timers, while village and town leaders sparred over noise complaints and snow-plowing rights. Water and sewer bills skyrocketed. Rosendale’s center could not hold.