Images and Image-Makers

Angel Jack and the Kittens at Studio 54, 1983 Guy Trebay and I often went together scouring the city for his weekly column. This time we were in the basement dressing room of Studio 54 with the Kittens, young girl singers who were about to go on stage, when Angel Jack appeared at their door. Here is an excerpt of Angel Jack in Guy’s words, a “ towering vision in fishnet unitard that covered half his body with sequins, the other half not at all.”

The Circus Comes to Town, 1977 “Every end of March, Barnum & Bailey would parade through the streets of Manhattan with some of its stars. I was there when Gunther Gebel-Williams stopped the procession and gave a command. Suddenly, the two elephants lifted their bulk into the air. I dropped to the ground, focusing furiously. Unaware of the second command, I stayed down. Only when the elephants started lowering themselves and the people were shouting to me did I scamper to my feet.”

Under the Williamsburg Bridge, 1987 “It was the time of AIDS. It was late and I was heading home when this sign called out to me. I had to stop, set up my tripod, and take this image from thedarkness with me.”

Andy Warhol at Studio 54, 1983 “I covered parties, some glamorous, some grungy. This night was to honor Warhol.”

Wild Bikes, 1986 “This is what kids did on their bikes back then. A platform was built in an alley on the Lower East Side and the boys would pedal fast to the top, do a flip in the air, and scoot back down. For the best view I positioned myself on the ledge and asked them to be careful and they said they would.”

Africa Bambaataa of The Zulu Nation, 1982He is considered “Godfather of Hip Hop culture” I met him outside of the Bronx River Projects where he grew up.

Michael Musto, 1992 “After sixteen years of working with him every week on his column, I have so many photos of him that I love. This is an outtake I’ve never released before from the Madonna Sex book spoof we did to raise money for AIDS.”

Michael Alig, circa 1990s “How about this one for Michael Alig? I have to tell you, I’ve never released this one before to anyone, anywhere...it’s from Limelight. This one is of the Club Kids at one of Michael Musto’s birthday parties. Michael Alig is the one in the center, with his head turned. Ernie Glam is at the back on the left; he also once worked at the Voice.”

"Performer "BOB", a "drag" queen who in fact was really a woman!" At home in her East Village apt, NYC NY. 1999

Dancers voguing at Mars nightclub, 1988.

ROCKVILLE - OCTOBER 11: Members of AIDS activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) hold up signs of George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Jesse Helms and other with the word "Guilty" stamped on their foreheads, along with a banner stating "Silence Equals Death" at a protest at the headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 11, 1988 in Rockville, Maryland. The action, called SEIZE CONTROL OF THE FDA by the group, shut down the FDA for the day.

Graffiti artist Fab 5 Freddy (born Fred Brathwaite), drag queen RuPaul, and Tommy Boy Records executive Monica Lynch pose for a group portrait in Times Square, November 1992.

Filmmaker John Waters greets fans (among them artist Keith Haring) outside the Waverly Theater at the premiere of Waters’s Hairspray on February 26, 1988.

9-11 rescue workers south of Canal Street (from a series)

Clockwise from lower left: Karin Cook and Eileen Myles with Rosie; Reno with Lucy; Jennifer Monson with Remy; Manuel Pardo and Medardo Clavijo with Daisy, Lily, Rosie, and Chiqui; NYC; June 17, 1998 (from the “Doggie Style” feature by Richard Goldstein included in the 1998 Gay Pride supplement)

Divine (with newspaper) and (clockwise) producer, publicist, Tab Hunter’s boyfriend, and Paul Bartel, NYC, February 27, 1985 (for a film section piece on “Lust in the Dust”)

Taylor Mead, in his Orchard Street apartment, October 17, 2002 (for a piece by C. Carr)

Madonna, 1983 “The only direction I was given was to photograph anyone that made me turn my head,” Amy Arbus told the Voice in 2015 of her popular “On the Street” feature, which ran from 1980 to 1990. “The theory behind the whole ‘On the Street’ page for ten years was that these kids were inventing the styles that then were going to be borrowed by [designers such as] Marc Jacobs, Anna Sui.”

The Clash, 1981 “It was an excuse to talk to anybody,” Arbus said. “It was a way for me personally to be involved in a very hip scene, the downtown East Village scene, that I wasn’t initially a part of"

D Train, 1983

Hat and Men’s Tie, 1984

Moccasins, 1982

Sylvia Plachy. Staff Photographer, 1974-2004

Minerva Godoy and her daughters, Chrystal (left) and Amanda, wait for Richard Rosario to be freed from prison.

"I couldn't get the voices out of my head of people telling me I'll never be a woman."

Actress Janet Sovey holds portraits of herself as a young artist

Hanan, a fan of Haute Hijab, saw the event on Facebook. The dental student started wearing the headscarf at thirteen. “My mom told me not to, but I did anyway.” When asked where she got the one she was wearing, she laughed sheepishly. “Don’t tell Melanie, but it’s from hijab-ista.com.”

Taja Cheek, AKA: L'Rain

Linda Harvin became interested in stepping after a Seventies party in 2012, but she fell ill shortly after. She joined the group in 2015 once she became well and now says she can “dance with anybody.” Her favorite artists to dance to are Luther Vandross and Gerald Levert. “It’s really sensual,” she said. “I feel like I become music with them.”