http://www.nypl.org/press/disco.cfm
http://www.discostepbystep.com/ny_library.htm
For Immediate Release
Disco. Seriously.
Exuberant Exhibition at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Brings Disco Back to the City that Spawned It, February 1
(New York, NY; December 20, 2004) Love it, hate it, or plead oblivious to
its insistent moment, disco was an undeniably ubiquitous and transformative
cultural phenomenon. "Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights" is the
first major exhibition to explore the historical context and continuing
influence of the rich, complex world of disco as it has affected the musical,
social, cultural (and polyester) fabric of America and the world. Created
and first presented by Seattle's Experience Music Project (EMP), this
multimedia, interactive extravaganza of an exhibition brings the disco
phenomenon back to where it all began, from February 1 through May 14, 2005 in
the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery of The New York Public Library for the
Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza.
Admission is free.
Disco started in the lofts of the lively but disenfranchised in New York
City-those who played and danced to what was, quite literally, a different
drumbeat. It spread like wildfire, revolutionizing the recording industry
and becoming along the way the liberator of the marginalized, the soundtrack to
the pre-AIDS spread of sexual liberation into the suburbs, and eventually the
backdrop for the flaunting of excess and exclusivity at clubs like Studio 54.
In the wake of Saturday Night Fever, it gave rise to an unprecedented commercial
tsunami, serving as the medium for marketing virtually anything and everything
marketable. And then it died, as seismically as it had begun. Or did
it?
"Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights" includes more than 200 artifacts
from the disco era, as well as a dozen video monitors showing a percussive
stream of vintage images, classic footage (such as "Disco
Step-by-Step," the first television show dedicated to disco music, dance
and instruction), and filmed interviews with disco pioneers; listening stations
and kiosks holding a wealth of songs (from early house party music to the funk
of "Soul Makossa" to the homogenized BeeGees megahits to Ethel Merman
getting a case of disco fever); and an interactive DJ booth at which visitors
may create their own dance mixes.
Among the dazzling array of historical materials are the drums Earl Young used
to invent the four-on-the-floor disco beat; examples of the sound equipment that
gave birth to the disco mix; and a collection of that disco innovation, the
12-inch single. There are stage costumes worn by Donna Summer, Nile
Rodgers, Patti Labelle, The BeeGees, and other performers, and of course, the
iconic white suit from Saturday Night Fever; and disco era fashions from
designers including Halston and Bonnie August for Danskin.
The collection continues with album covers; posters; club souvenirs and
membership cards; and photographs and film galore of the dancers and DJ's who
were the true stars of the phenomenon, and of the famous and infamous denizens
of the landmark clubs and worldwide scene. There is memorabilia from many
of the regional disco venues (which at one time outnumbered McDonald's outlets
in the United States); a letter from Barbra Streisand to DJ Nicky Siano;
documentation of the burgeoning of San Francisco's gay liberation movement; and
an exact replica of the Moon and Spoon sign regularly lowered over the dance
floor during Studio 54's heyday. And there is ample evidence of the
selling of disco, from a Sears Disco Pooh record player to Wolfman Jack's Disco
Party flying disc; as well as artifacts of the "disco sucks" reaction
to disco's pervasiveness, which culminated in the burning of 10,000 disco
records and an attendant riot at Chicago's Comiskey Park in 1979.
"When I saw Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights in Seattle I knew that I had
to bring it to New York," said Jacqueline Z. Davis, The Barbara G. and
Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director of The New York Public Library for the
Performing Arts. "What I didn't know was just how powerful and
widespread the appeal of disco remains. There is a groundswell of disco
dancers, DJ's, club owners, and veterans of the early days as well as new
aficionados that have come out of the woodwork en masse since news of our
hosting this exhibition was only a rumor. We are expecting a huge turnout
for the run of the exhibition and for its opening party on January 31st."
"Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights" was curated by Eric Weisbard, Ann
Powers, and Ben London. A series of free public programs complementing the
exhibition, yet to be announced, will be held in the Library's Bruno Walter
Auditorium.
"Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights" will be on view from February 1,
2005 through May 14, 2005 in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery, The New York
Public Library for the Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40
Lincoln Center Plaza, New York. Exhibition hours are Tuesday, Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday, 12 noon to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 12 noon to 8 p.m.; closed
Sundays, Mondays, and holidays. Admission is free. For further
information, telephone 212.870.1630 or visit www.nypl.org.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts houses the world's most
extensive combination of circulating, reference, and rare archival collections
in its field. Its divisions are the Circulating Collections, Jerome
Robbins Dance Division, Music Division, Billy Rose Theatre Collection, and the
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound. The materials in its
collections are available free of charge, along with a wide range of special
programs, including exhibitions, seminars, and performances. The Library
is known particularly for its prodigious collections of non-book materials such
as historic recordings, videotapes, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet
music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters and photographs.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the
leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. Additional support for
exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam
and Harold Steinberg Foundation.
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This press release is available on the web at www.nypl.org/press.
Contacts: Lindy Regan or Herb Scher at 212.704.8600 / lregan@nypl.org, hscher@nypl.org