New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco
Bushwick of the late '70s to the early '90s — the rise of the disco culture, nightlife at the renowned places as Studio 54 — sees the light in Meryl Meisler’s latest book, soon to be sold out, New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco. We encounter the juxtaposition between the nightlife and the routine of a neighborhood where Meisler worked as a public school art teacher.
We are offered a time machine and an opportunity to observe some of the intimate moments, extravagant characters, and an ordinary student life with its ups and downs in a touching photographic experience. This is a third book released after the success of its predecessors: Purgatory & Paradise Sassy ‘70s Suburbia & the City (2015) and A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick (2014).
Meryl Meisler is a New York-based photographer currently working on her massive archives dating back to the early '70s. With her previously unseen work, Meryl reveals the day-to-day life of the city, unfamiliar to the viewer today: from depicting the life of her students, capturing their authentic selves, to raising the curtain on the nightlife of the area photographing discos, LGBT community, and Go-Go bars (images too edgy to be released before). In this conversation with Meryl, we discuss her recent photo book New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco in an attempt to recreate the scenery of that time and allow the reader to become fully immersed in the aesthetic of the period. Meryl shares with us stories from the '80s when she worked as an art teacher in a school in Bushwick. We also discuss the change in attitudes towards diversity and inclusion, as Meryl says, “It was unimaginable to me, as lesbian teaching in 1980s Bushwick, that the neighborhood would become an epicenter for the drag, burlesque, and LGBTQ community decades later.”
‘In December 1981, rising from the subway for my interview for a teaching job at Intermediate School 291 in Bushwick, I wondered if the previous art teacher was killed. All around me was a wasteland of broken bricks, crumbling concrete, and fallen timber–cooled ember vestiges.’
New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco
the 1970s and 1990s, and the scenery of the Bushwick neighborhood? What was Bushwick for you at the time?
In December 1981, rising from the subway for my interview for a teaching job at Intermediate School 291 in Bushwick, I wondered if the previous art teacher was killed. All around me was a wasteland of broken bricks, crumbling concrete, and fallen timber–cooled ember vestiges after the ashes of arson had blown away. I.S. 291 was one of the few functional structures on the block. It was bewildering kids trying to learn and enjoy the day–to–day childhood life amid chaos and despair; amazing teachers whose sense of duty provided structure and purpose within the cinder block fortress of a shattered neighborhood. To me, the natural light of the area was so beautiful, the kids were kids, and the vacant buildings practically whispered stories. I stayed and taught in Bushwick from 1981 to 1994. Carrying a point-and-shoot camera on my walks to and from school to the subway or my parked car, sometimes during class or through the windows, I photographed what I saw.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, I witnessed a transformation in the neighborhood. Individuals, small groups, local and city governments started demolishing the burnt-out buildings and clearing the garbage-strewn lots. In their place, community members and the city government formulated successful plans for affordable housing and community centers. Flash forward four decades, and Bushwick is a hub of new music, art, fashion, literature, nightlife, and creative thinking. Along with it arose ‘luxury’ condominiums and rentals and soaring property values. Many bemoan the gentrification of neighborhoods like Bushwick. Long-time residents, newer residents, and unique small businesses are being priced out of the community. There is nostalgia and sorrow for what is lost in the process of change.
How did you perceive the place and the people: their dreams and stories you observed and captured?
I always felt a sense of welcome in the neighborhood, then and now. Among my greatest joys is when people find themselves, family, or friends in my 1980s and ‘90s and contact me. The responses have been positive and heartwarming. Vanessa Mártir, a writer, who found her seven-year-old self in one of my photos, contacted me in 2012. We collaborated on two exhibits at The Living Gallery in Bushwick — her writing paired with my photos. In 2014, BIZARRE, a drag burlesque club in Bushwick, became the publisher of my first two books. It was unimaginable to me, as lesbian teaching in 1980s Bushwick, that the neighborhood would become an epicenter for the drag, burlesque, and LGBTQ community decades later.
‘A friend of hers was fatally shot at a house party over the weekend. I taught photography at the school as part of a dropout prevention program. Damaris asked to borrow a camera to photograph her friend’s funeral.’
Roland Hayes Intermediate School 291
Working as an art teacher in the 1980s in Bushwick, you probably have a lot of memories of occurrences in the school. Could you share a story that has to do with one of your students that is most memorable to you?
One of my students, Damaris, was usually very boisterous. She came into class quietly, sullen, and put her head down, crying. She stayed behind when class was over to talk in private. A friend of hers was fatally shot at a house party over the weekend. I taught photography at the school as part of a dropout prevention program. Damaris asked to borrow a camera to photograph her friend’s funeral. Damaris showed her photographs as part of an ongoing slideshow within a facsimile of tenement the students built. The piece, Welcome to Bushwick, Our Neighborhood, was installed at PS 122 Gallery in the Lower East Side. It helped Damaris honor her friend while mourning for him.
In what way do you think that generation of students differs from the following one?
A change from the 1980s generation of students growing up in NYC occurred because of two major shifts — the introduction of computers and the internet into their lives and the tragedy of September 11th. The 1980s students were the last generation of kids who came of age in an analog society. After 9/11 — students and their parents/guardians needed to be in more constant communication.
‘Since I started digging into my archive, my focus is editing and putting the unseen work into the context of cultural history and art in the form of exhibitions and books.’
Photography
You studied photography at The University of Wisconsin–Madison; later on, it seems you never stopped taking images of your surroundings and people. Illustrating nightlife, STUDIO 54, discos, LGBT community, Go-Go bars in juxtaposition to the day-life of students, friends, and family, how do you think your approach to photography or storytelling changed with the years?
I still carry a camera device with me most of the time and use it when I see something that looks either very familiar, almost iconic, or something I have never seen before. Since I started digging into my archive, my focus is editing and putting the unseen work into the context of cultural history and art in the form of exhibitions and books. As a result, I am increasingly more selective of what and when I photograph.
‘For me, photography is a form of memoir. It helps me appreciate and cope with everyday joys and sorrows, meaningful relationships, curiosities, and adventures near and far.’
The Drive
What is your main passion in photography or what drives you to continue working?
For me, photography is a form of memoir. It helps me appreciate and cope with everyday joys and sorrows, meaningful relationships, curiosities, and adventures near and far. The positive reactions to my work help keep the flame stay lit.
Upcoming Projects
What’s the next thing we’ll see from you? What is the stage this project is in today?
During the pandemic, I built a darkroom in my basement. Returning to my analog roots, using my medium format film camera, and printing never-seen and new work will keep me busy for years to come.
Once my exhibit is ready at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, I have to get to work on a deadline for my fourth book. EYESHOT will be publishing a monograph of my street photography from 1973–2021. Again, most of the work has never been seen in any form before. For this book, the editor is currently making final choices for the images. Then, in July, all the hi-res scans need to be completed, the photos retouched and readied for pre-press.
October 2021, I am scheduled for my first solo show in Europe at Fotogalerie Friedrichshain in Berlin. The curator will be choosing images that I have to print. Hopefully, the gallery will be able to stay open after the long pause of the pandemic. While in Berlin, I will be celebrating a 'mile marker' birthday. It’s time to do a series of new self-portraits upon my return. I have a fifth book on the back burner — several hot spots of small towns and cities across the USA from the USA in the 1970s.
December 2021 marks forty years since I started that teaching job in Bushwick. I think about finding the people in my early images and photographing them and their survivors. That idea keeps resurfacing. I think it’s time to do it. Most importantly, my focus is on health and well-being. So with that foremost in mind, I will strive to continue going forth.
