South Bronx-born, but raised in Long Island, Meryl Meisler returned to New York City in 1975 and fell in love with the place. Known for her intimate and evocative photography of New York’s late-night pavements and clubs, Meisler’s immersive work captures an America unlike today. In recent years, the renowned snapper has released a string of photo books from her early days: A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick (2014), Paradise & Purgatory: SASSY ’70s Suburbia & The City (2015), and New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco (2021).
Her latest limited edition book, Street Walker, features vivid images of NYC and other US cities taken in the 70s and 80s, and will be available on a made-to-order basis from November 1st via Italian publishers Eyeshot, so preorder before September 30 or miss out forever.
VICE chatted to Meisler about the latest book and the virtues of sticking at it.
VICE: Is it strange to keep revisiting your youth through these shots?
Meryl Meisler: I didn’t really look at the photographs seriously before doing the books. This time, I looked through and discovered things I never even peeked at before. It’s like New York City: You sit on the subway, you could see someone reading the Bible, the Torah, whatever, and they’re reading it again and again and again, and they’re finding new meanings. I feel like I’m looking at my work and finding new meanings. I have barely touched upon my archival work from ‘73 till now.
So there’s a whole treasure trove of further books, you just have to find the links between the images to tell a coherent story?
Yes. It’s like having lots of words in your head and putting them together to make a story.
New York City was very different back in the 70s and 80s, right?
The New York City I moved to was a very exciting time. I still find excitement here, but I didn’t know it was a radical excitement—like in England, things originated, punk, this and that… In New York City, the disco scene flew out of it. It was a change in music and culture and acceptance of people who weren’t exactly living the mainstream life—but could have a life. It was a good time; a good time for me.
Does anything specific about New York’s built environment lend itself to photography?
New York City is a treasure trove. As soon as I moved here in 1975, I realized, ‘Oh, this is where I belong.’ It’s an invigorating place. It’s got energy. Visually it’s very stimulating because some things are so familiar—you’ve seen them in movies, stories, and everything else—and then you’re always discovering something new. There’s so much there.
Do you still know many of the people pictured in these photographs?
All my family, friends, and friends’ friends and photographs of people in my neighborhood, yes, I know them. But people have also reached out to me who’ve found themselves in the pictures. Former students who have found themselves in my Bushwick pictures. Strangers have found themselves, and what’s very nice is, everybody always likes the picture; nobody’s angry with it. I captured their joy. I think that’s something I didn’t understand while photographing, but I tend to want to photograph people in places expressing joy and confidence and laughter. Even those who grew up in rough neighborhoods like Bushwick, you also saw the beauty.
Is there anything else you feel people should know about your practice, or this book?
Number one is that it’s from different places, and it’s diverse. I’ve never photographed or hung around with just one kind of people. It’s a little parade of life as I saw it. I made my living doing something else [Meryl was a public school art teacher in NYC], so they’re very unconstrained. It’s what I found fascinating. Whatever it is you enjoy doing, just keep doing it, whether or not you find the proper outlets. I was always showing my work, using photography with mixed media, exhibiting, but I was getting rejections a lot. But I kept on doing it anyway because it’s the way I see—you can’t force yourself to do something else.
If you’re doing it because it makes you feel connected with the world, that’s enough reason—not everybody gets awarded immediately with big shows or fellowships or hires, but if you want to do it, you have a right to do it. It’s a surprise to me how powerful my photographs are. Editing and time only improve things. And I think the most important thing is to stay healthy—find a balance that nurtures you. Dying young doesn’t work.
Finding community, other people who share passions and encourage each other, is very important because without that I might have stopped. And for that I’m grateful. I’m very grateful that you, whoever you are, have a vision, a voice that will help somebody else understand a little bit more about why they’re here on this Earth, and make this time a little better. It makes a big difference.
It’s…
Preachy?
No, it’s very inspiring. I’m just thinking about my writing and stuff. No, it’s great. I think I needed that today.
I needed something too. It’s hard.
Yeah.
Most of it’s hard.
Yeah.
And everybody else lives a charmed life. No, but you have your life, and sometimes there’s a reason for it.
Preorder a copy of STREET WALKER by MERYL MEISLER here.
Follow Nick Thompson on X @niche_t_
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