![]() No other industry in New York is so completely dominated by women. Even in the rare case where the CEO title is held by a man, the top salesperson is not. If you search New York’s major residential real estate brokerage firms, in every instance, “the man in charge” is, in fact, a woman. You may not feel it – you may feel very dark and very sad, but you’re here for a reason.Elliman. Every one of us has a part in it, in history. “Life has a lot of tragedy and a lot of sadness in it, but here we are. On her philosophy, and finding the joy in life… You could just hop from one place to the next.” It’s a good thing that the doorman at Studio 54 liked us, but if the guy at the door that liked you wasn’t there, you’d go to another club. ![]() You jumped from one place to the next, and all those red ropes you hear about, that’s true. When I was photographing the club scene, my inspiration was Brassaï – the photographer who took nightlife pictures of Paris. There are people in my show that are totally naked, yet they’re very comfortable with being photographed, because I danced with them on the weekends. I was in it when I was very young, and the people I saw were friendly, you could dance with people you didn’t know. Then of course, when I got a full-time job, the nightlife had to change – I couldn’t be out till 4 in the morning! That changed, and then the club scene itself changed. At that point, my friend got a job waitressing at a go-go bar, and I was like, ‘oh okay, they play the same music here, and I can make some money on the side’. They did get very funky at one point, there are some pictures in my book that are really not safe for work. Everyone seemed very accepting, or, not accepting, but like ‘yeah, we’re all here!’ Celebrities, hairdressers, someone from down the block… Everyone was very friendly, warm, joyful, having a ball and finding themselves. I didn’t go to only gay nights, or only lesbian nights. I liked dancing – I’d dance with my camera – and l liked that it was very mixed. I really preferred the music in the clubs, so we went to all the hot clubs in Manhattan. In 1977 I went to Mardi Gras and CBGBs, and that was fun, but later I went with a friend to Studio 54, and I loved it! From then on, I would only go back CBGBs if there was like a good name act I wanted to see, like Patti Smith or someone. ![]() On the flourishing club scene of the 1970s and 80s. Here she talks self-portraits, moving to New York, and befriending the right Studio 54 doormen. The exhibition spans cheeky self-portraits made as a young woman trying on her old girl scout and dance outfits (a bit on the small side, but excellently comedic) through to scenes from go-go bars and club nights of the 80s – presenting a deliciously entertaining series. ![]() Instead, she worked as a freelance illustrator for much of her life, and spent 30 years teaching art to children in Bushwick, then a distinctly impoverished area which had been all but destroyed by the fires and looting which tore throughout the city during the blackout of 1977. In Meisler’s case, aside from an early commission to document her Jewish identity for the American Jewish Congress, and a stint studying under Lisette Model at the New School, she has mainly stayed outside of the medium. Meisler counts French photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue among her great inspirations, and the name presents an interesting parallel: Lartigue kept a photo journal throughout his life as a painter, but did not come to be recognised for his photographic work until the age of 69. ![]()
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