Burnt-Out Bushwick : Photographs of Brooklyn In the ‘Discopian’ 1980s

Meryl Meisler was there when New York rattled like the bars on a monkey's cage

MRS Miesler IS A BictH IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. May 1990

‘MRS Miesler Is A Bicth’ – Bushwick,” Brooklyn, NY. May 1990

These photographs are from Meryl Meisler’s 3rd monograph, New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco.  If you don’t know Meryl’s work, well, you should. Her photographs are quintessential New York in the 1970s-1990, evocative of the period when the kinetic city rocked with cocaine, AIDs, White Russians, poverty, bankruptcy, muggers, punk, disco, graffiti, stress, fear, crime, hip-hop, and the water stank of human waste and any body parts the city’s fabled sewer-dwelling alligators found too tough to contemplate. This was when people brave enough, lost or criminally ambitious could bone up on the city’s latest murder rate by checking out the bodycount on a sign illuminated sign on dystopian Times Square.

From 1981, Meryl worked in burnt-out Bushwick as a public school art teacher at IS 291. She had the presence of mind to take pictures. “Walking back and forth from the subway to school,” she says, “I carried a small point and shoot camera with slide film to capture what I saw.” Her photos fizz with movement, expectation and energy. “The students were on the pulse of popular culture. They exuded pride, joy and could challenge one’s wits. Eventually, I taught photography with mixed media. ‘Meryl Meisler & The Drop-Ins’ created collaborative artwork exploring Bushwick and social issues.”

Is that you in the pictures? Did you write “MRS Miesler Is A Bicth” on the ground, dine at the Tasty Pretzel Bakeries on Starr Street, flee down Palmetto Street? As ever, imagine the stories between the pictures.

 

Nose Ring, Earring, Mustache and Hickey IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. April 1991

Nose Ring, Earring, Mustache and Hickey IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. April 1991

Spring Snowstorm Through Classroom Window Gates Ave., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. April 1982

Spring Snowstorm Through Classroom Window Gates Ave., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. April 1982

Tasty Pretzel Bakeries Starr St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. October 1983

Tasty Pretzel Bakeries Starr St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. October 1983

Family Picnic Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. September 1982

Family Picnic Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. September 1982

Cafeteria Finger Gesture IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. January 1990

Cafeteria Finger Gesture
IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. January 1990

Magnolia Tree Gates Ave, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. May 1983

Magnolia Tree Gates Ave, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. May 1983

Fix Bike Citadel of Hope Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. 1982

Fix Bike Citadel of Hope – Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. 1982

School Bus and Curbside Crushed Cars Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. May 1985

School Bus and Curbside Crushed Cars Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. May 1985

Shirtless Man Wearing Hood and Jeans Gates Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1982

Shirtless Man Wearing Hood and Jeans
Gates Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1982

Guardian Angel in My Classroom IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY February 1983

Guardian Angel in My Classroom IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY February 1983

Discussion During Gym IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1982

Discussion During Gym IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1982

Three IS 291 Grads Pose Near Cars Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1982

Three IS 291 Grads Pose Near Cars Palmetto St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1982

Bunnies Classroom Kiss IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY June 1984

Bunnies Classroom Kiss IS 291, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY June 1984

The Gospel Tabernacle and Linden Bakery Linden St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1983

The Gospel Tabernacle and Linden Bakery Linden St., Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. June 1983

All pictures ©Meryl Meisler
You can buy Meryl’s latest book at Strandbooks

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