Eric V. Goode (born December 19, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, conservationist, and filmmaker. He is known as the creator of the art nightclub

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

, the Bowery Hotel and the Waverly Inn. Goode is also known for being the founder of the

Turtle Conservancy The Turtle Conservancy (TC) is a 501(c)3 organization with a focus on protecting threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide working toward improving turtle and tortoise populations in the wild. The TC is a conservation organiz ...

and for producing and directing ''

Tiger King The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

in 1957 and raised in New York City until the age of 8, Eric V. Goode relocated with his family to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He is the second of five children born to Marilyn Goode, a naturalist and conservationist, and Fredrick Goode, a painter and teacher. He has lived in New York City since 1977. Eric began his career as an artist, educated at the

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. S ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

. Much of his early work was displayed in group shows with other upcoming artists of the day, the earliest in 1981 which was curated by

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

. He continued to make and show his art throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. In 1983, Goode formed the nightclub

. Area was known for its constantly changing themes and collaboration with artists of the time (

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

, Keith Haring,

Kenny Scharf Kenny Scharf (born November 23, 1958) is an American painter known for his participation in New York City's interdisciplinary East Village art scene during the 1980s, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Scharf's do-it-yourself pract ...

, and others). Area was Goode's first business venture where he merged art into the context of a nightclub. In the early to mid-1990s, he directed several music videos for bands such as

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

and

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

. He and Serge Becker earned a music video production award for their work on "Pinion". Over the next two decades Goode transitioned into restaurants and hotels, many of which in collaboration with his partners Serge Becker and more recently Sean MacPherson. His most recent projects include the Bowery Hotel, the Jane Hotel and the Waverly Inn. Eric Goode currently lives in New York City and California.

Nightclubs, restaurants and hotels

*1981 – The Club with no Name *1983 –

*1988 – MK *1989 – BC (LA) *1990 – Time Cafe and Fez *1994 �
B Bar & Grill
*2000 �
The Park
*2001 �
The Maritime Hotel
*2003 – Matsuri (closed) *2003 – La Bottega (closed) *2003 – Hiro Ballroom (closed) *2006 �
Waverly Inn
*2006 �
Lafayette House
*2007 �
Bowery Hotel
*2007 – Gemma *2008 �
The Jane Hotel
*2014 – Ludlow Hotel

Philanthropy and land preservation

After a career in the hospitality business, Goode shifted his focus to wildlife philanthropy after being approached by John Behler of the Wildlife Conservation Society in 2003. Goode first created a rescue and breeding center for endangered turtles and tortoises under Behler's guidance. In 2005, Goode formed his own public charity the Turtle Conservancy. The mission of the Turtle Conservancy is to protect threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide. Goode's conservation philosophy centers around turtles as umbrella species, whereby thousands of species are saved by protecting land for turtles and tortoises. Since its inception, Turtle Conservancy has helped to protect over 60,000 acres of wild land around the world. The organization works to protect turtles, tortoises and other animals on five continents. Guerilla documentaries and public service announcements directed by Goode and the Turtle Conservancy have amassed millions of views across various social media platforms. These documentaries raise awareness of wildlife trafficking, habitat destruction, and the pet trade. Goode has personally donated over 10 million dollars towards wildlife conservation and land protection. His conservation work has been featured on 60 Minutes, Charlie Rose, ''Racing Extinction'', The New Yorker, NPR and CNN. Goode was recognized by the wildlife community for his efforts, with a tortoise named after him in 2016. The Goode's thornscrub tortoise (''Gopherus evgoodei'') is a desert species from Northern Mexico described by a team of American and Mexican biologists.

South Africa

In South Africa, the Turtle Conservancy, along with its partner organizations, has purchased over 900 acres of the last remaining habitat for the critically endangered

geometric tortoise The geometric tortoise (''Psammobates geometricus'') is a critically endangered species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus ''Psammobates''. It is found in a very small section in the South-Western Cape of South Africa. Identific ...

(''Psammobates geometricus'').

Sonora, Mexico

The Turtle Conservancy secured approximately 1,000 acres of tropical deciduous forest in southern Sonora, Mexico, for the protection of the Goode's thornscrub tortoise (''Gopherus evgoodei'').

Durango, Mexico

The Turtle Conservancy has purchased a significant portion (over 60,000 acres) of the last remaining habitat of the

Bolson tortoise The Bolson tortoise (''Gopherus flavomarginatus''), also called the Mexican giant tortoise or yellow-margined tortoise, is a species of tortoise from North America. Of the six North American tortoise species, it is the largest, having a carapace ...

(''Gopherus flavomarginatus''). The largest of the North American terrestrial reptiles, this tortoise has been known to science only since 1959.

Palawan, Philippines

1,890 acres was secured for the protection of the critically endangered Palawan forest turtle ('' Siebenrockiella leytensis'') in the Philippines.

Other conservation projects

Other conservation projects that Eric Goode has spearheaded include: * Goode leads conservation for the

ploughshare tortoise The angonoka tortoise (''Astrochelys yniphora'') is a critically endangered species of tortoise severely threatened by poaching for the illegal pet trade. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is also known as the angonoka, ploughshare tortoise, Madag ...

, the world's rarest tortoise through a partnership with

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organization with a mission to save species from extinction. Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the dodo as its symbol. T ...

. Goode has supported conservation both in Madagascar and sits on the Angonoka Working Group Committee. * Goode supports emerging research for turtles and tortoises by funding the Turtle Conservation Fund, Chelonian Conservation & Biology Journal, and the Turtle Survival Alliance every year since 2005. * Goode has created a conservation center in Ojai, CA to support local education and wildlife protection.

Boards and councils

* Board membe
Turtle Conservancy
* Board membe
Global Wildlife Conservation
* Board member Rainforest Trust * Board membe
Chelonian Research Institute

Publications

''The Tortoise''

''The Tortoise'' is an annual magazine publication of the Turtle Conservancy dedicated to the conservation of turtles and tortoises. The wide scope of the magazine reaches readers from all over the world. Its audience includes everyone from world-renowned scientists and biologists, to travelers, naturalists, ecologists and conservationists, as well as a general audience interested in wildlife preservation and environmental protection. It is not a scientific journal. It is a publication about the wonder of turtles and tortoises and about the conservation challenges they face, and it is about the people who are devoted to saving these creatures from extinction.

''Area: 1983–1987''

In 2013 Abrams published a 360-page

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...

on the seminal nightclub AREA, authored by Eric and Jennifer Goode. Drawing from a rich archive of material, Eric and Jennifer tell the behind-the-scenes story of the club and its people, creating an illustrated memoir of an exciting time and place in the history of New York nightlife. To accompany the launch of the book Eric collaborated with

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ( ...

to curate an exhibition at The Hole gallery. The show consisted of original installations as well as pieces from many of the artists that participated or were influenced by the club.

Film and videos

Docuseries

In 2020, Netflix premiered ''

'', a seven-episode docuseries directed and produced by Eric Goode about people who own and breed lions, tigers, and other big cats. The show quickly became one of the most watched shows on the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

platform.

Natural history films

Music videos

Art

Most of Goode's art is created as a vitrine, or display case, with three-dimensional artwork inside. Similar to

Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and film-maker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of Assemblage (art), assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde e ...

, his work incorporates many aspects of assemblage. Goode's work also has notable similarities to

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

and Jeff Vaughan, especially his tendency to represent elements of the natural world in his mixed-media installations.

Exhibitions

*1981 – Group Show curated by Keith Haring, Mudd Club *1987 – "Subject Object", Group Show, 56 Bleecker Gallery *1988 – Group Show, Bess Butler Gallery *1989 – One Man Show, Bess Cutler Gallery *1989 – "American Pie", Group Show, Bess Cutler Gallery *1989 – "Don't Bungle the Jungle", Group Show, Tony Shafrazi Gallery *1989 – "New Work, New York", Group Show, Helander Gallery *1990 – "Amnesty International", Group Show, Tony Shafrazi Gallery *2013 – "AREA: The Exhibition", Group Show, The Hole Gallery, curated by

and

Glenn O'Brien Glenn O'Brien (March 2, 1947 – April 7, 2017) was an American writer who focused largely on the subjects of art, music, and fashion. He was featured for many years as "The Style Guy" in ''GQ'' magazine and published a book with that title. He ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goode, Eric Living people 1957 births Nightclub owners American hoteliers American restaurateurs American documentary filmmakers American conservationists Artists from Rhode Island Academy of Art University alumni American music video directors