Former mayor Rudy Giuliani tried to scrub New York City clean in the 1990s, but nostalgia for notoriously gritty New York in the ‘70s and ‘80s remains at an all-time high. An exhibition at Lot 180 remembers a city that was, with a collection of photos, vinyl cover art, posters, and more. Cultural icons like Andy Warhol, Debbie Harry, and Jean-Michel Basquiat (and his graffiti tag SAMO) populate the collection. This isn’t the “Disneyfied” New York City of today. Street photography from artists such as Robert Herman and Fernando Natalici depict the city’s graffiti-filled trains, the XXX theaters of Times Square, and other relics of a bygone era. The exhibition, which you can preview in our photo gallery, runs through September 1.
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
Iggy Pop, 1968 by Leni Sinclair
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
Andy Warhol at the Halston Fashion Show, 1978, by Fernando Natalici
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
Debbie Harry in Unmade Beds, 1976 by Fernando Natalici
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
John & Yoko (1974) by Leni Sinclair
Courtesy of Lot 180
Diana Ross, Silk Electric, 1982 by Andy Warhol
Courtesy artist and Lot 180
Times Square (1978) by Fernando Natalici
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
Robert Herman, Woman on the Train, Long Island City, 1984
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SAMO IS DEAD (1981) by Robert Herman
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
Patti Astor (1977) by Fernando Natalici
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
SoHo Fire Escape, 1982, by Fernando Natalici
Courtesy of artist and Lot 180
El Dorado (1983) by Robert Herman
Courtesy of Lot 180
Emanon – The Baby Beat Box, 1986 by Keith Haring