New Wave is thrilled to invite you to a special Zoom artist talk with photographer Bill Bernstein moderated by Ty Cooperman. The two will discuss the cultural impact of Bernstein’s work highlighting the nightlife culture of Downtown New York in the 1970s, as well as many of the subjects he captured on film. The discussion will also put Bernstein’s practice into context and explore what it means to be a film photographer in a digital era.
This discussion is presented in collaboration with TW Fine Art on the Occasion of the gallery’s group exhibition: Saturday, in the park featuring works by Derrick Adams, Beth Stichter, John Chamberlain, Jacolby Satterwhite, Jack Tworkov, Richard Diebenkorn, Ida Ekblad and more, with a special showcase of photographs by Bill Bernstein, highlighting the nightlife culture of Downtown New York in the 1970s.
BILL BERNSTEIN ARTIST STATEMENT:
When I started out as a photographer back in the 1970s, I discovered a magical world of inclusion and freedom of expression in the nightclubs and discos of New York City. I spent many nights, often into the next morning, capturing images of marginalized cultures, subcultures, and mainstream cultures — all miraculously mixing with each other in the same space. Coexisting harmoniously within the walls of these clubs after dark was a certain kind of inclusion and diversity that wasn’t possible in daylight hours. I observed and photographed drag queens and trans-vestites (as they were called then), who otherwise would risk their lives on the streets of New York City; and the Punks and straights who considered these clubs their shared second home. I was an anthropologist with a camera, documenting the nocturnal characteristics and customs of the city that never sleeps.
Almost 40 years later I find myself equally fascinated by the nightlife of my city. And while the brief golden age of disco has long past, its quest for self-expression is still with us in the subcultures of today, which have become even more visible and influential to the mainstream. My recent work depicts the patrons of the clubs that have sprung up in Brooklyn and other boroughs, especially the LGBTQ and gender nonconforming communities. Their quest for authenticity and acceptance continues — as does my work, capturing the spectrum of humanity that makes New York City a beacon of light for creativity