Night Fever

Since beginning his career at the Village Voice in the 1970s the American photographer Bill Bernstein has captured a variety of subjects from celebrities and rock stars to urban subcultures. He first came to prominence through his candid photographic series on New York City’s nightlife of the late 1970s. Influenced by classic image makers such as Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, and Irving Penn, Bernstein broke new ground documenting the golden age of discos and nightclubs such as the famed Studio 54 where sexual liberation, freedom of expression, and inclusion of diversity reigned supreme. Through his open and unflinching lens each photograph takes the spectator into a secret world that was post-Stonewall and pre-AIDS, and chronicles a unique period in contemporary American history.