Edited by David Hill & Tony Nourmand. Introduction by Nona Hendryx. Foreword by James Hillard. Photographs by Bill Bernstein.
Between 1978 and1980, Manhattan was the epicenter of disco, and Bill Bernstein captured it all
Containing many previously unpublished photographs, Disco takes the viewer on an access-all-areas tour of late-'70s New York nightlife. “Who were these people of the night? It was the Posers. The Watchers. The Posers watching other Posers watching the Watchers, watching the Dancers, watching themselves.” Bill Bernstein’s eye was drawn, not to the celebrities, but to the characters that lived for the night, the unknown men and women who were transformed by the nightclub haze, and this is one reason his photographs from this time feel so authentic and immersive. As James Hillard writes in his foreword, “These shots capture the very essence of what going out was, is, and should be, all about. They showed the true democracy of the dance floor where anyone could be a star, as long as they had the right attitude and flair ... The pictures in this book are a document of an incredibly exciting and creative time, not only in music, but also in social, political and fashion history too.” All the photographs featured were shot by Bernstein between 1978 and 1980. Manhattan was the epicenter of disco and Bill Bernstein captured it all.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Disco: The Bill Bernstein Photographs.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New Yorker
Lauretta Charlton
Bernstein’s exuberant black-and-white photographs from that time…feature scenes from the city’s most beloved clubs, including Studio 54, GG Barnum’s, Le Cirque, Paradise Garage, Electric Circus, and Hurrah, among others… This was post-“Saturday Night Fever,” post-Stonewall, and pre-aids; disco, which hadn’t yet succumbed to punk rock’s counterpunch, was at its glorious height.
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.5 x 12 in. / 176 pgs / 150 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $60.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $79 ISBN: 9781909526228 PUBLISHER: Reel Art Press AVAILABLE: 10/15/2015 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AFR ME
Published by Reel Art Press. Edited by David Hill & Tony Nourmand. Introduction by Nona Hendryx. Foreword by James Hillard. Photographs by Bill Bernstein.
Between 1978 and1980, Manhattan was the epicenter of disco, and Bill Bernstein captured it all
Containing many previously unpublished photographs, Disco takes the viewer on an access-all-areas tour of late-'70s New York nightlife. “Who were these people of the night? It was the Posers. The Watchers. The Posers watching other Posers watching the Watchers, watching the Dancers, watching themselves.” Bill Bernstein’s eye was drawn, not to the celebrities, but to the characters that lived for the night, the unknown men and women who were transformed by the nightclub haze, and this is one reason his photographs from this time feel so authentic and immersive. As James Hillard writes in his foreword, “These shots capture the very essence of what going out was, is, and should be, all about. They showed the true democracy of the dance floor where anyone could be a star, as long as they had the right attitude and flair ... The pictures in this book are a document of an incredibly exciting and creative time, not only in music, but also in social, political and fashion history too.” All the photographs featured were shot by Bernstein between 1978 and 1980. Manhattan was the epicenter of disco and Bill Bernstein captured it all.
