Glimpse Studio 54 In all Its Glory at this Unmissable Opposite House Exhibit
If you’re hooked on TMZ, can’t get enough of glossy photo spreads of glamorous celebs, or find yourself scrolling through superstars’ Instagram accounts again and again, then here’s an exhibit for you.
While the exhibition of the works of photographer Rose Hardman, featuring a who's-who of stars at New York’s hottest nightclubs like Studio 54 showing at Opposite House right now doesn’t really reflect the current omnipresence of celebrity culture, it does harken back to a golden era that gave birth to it.
Be it Diana Ross, Andy Warhol or Bianca Jagger, Hartman’s camera captured a who’s who of 1970’s big names. The subject of a 2016 documentary The Incomparable Rose Hartman that drew rave reviews, this New York born and bred shutterbug trained her lens on a wide swath of the city’s fashion scene, claiming more than a few iconic portraits in the process. Earlier this year equally glamorous magazine Vanity Fair dubbed her a “Relentless” Photographer of Studio 54 Excess” that “Refuses to Slow Down” in an article that included vaunted photos of Bianca Jagger, famed model and beau of the Rolling Stones frontman, riding into that notoriously raucous club on a white horse in 1977; beloved singer Diana Ross rowdily serenading the crowd while crouched atop Studio 54’s DJ booth; Debbie Harry, Truman Capote and Andy Warhol in 1979 and many, many more.
During that period, Hartman enjoyed unusually unfettered access to the celebrity hotspot, recalling during one interview how “I could come in without having to wait in line or beg the door person to let me in.”
Then there’s, of course, her best anecdote of all: the night in 1976 when, around 2 a.m., Jagger trotted into the nightclub atop a white horse, for which Hartman was equipped to quickly capture. “She was only there for a moment because I imagine it would have been very dangerous to keep a horse in Studio 54,” said Hartman of the iconic moment, adding with clear nonchalance, as if it was a matter of widely known fact: “I can take a picture quickly based on 30 years of experience.”
The VF piece, meanwhile, goes on to feature quotes from Hartman that are as eye-popping as her photos, including this cool bit of shade:
“Hartman is vocal about her disappointment in the current crop of ‘It girls’ and next-gen catwalkers. ‘Models nowadays are so boring. I can’t believe it,’ she says. How can they be more super, you dare ask? ‘I think they have to have what is known as a personality.’”
You can catch a glimpse of this legendary photographer’s portraits on display at The Opposite House until Oct 7.
Don't miss an opening: click here for the most comprehensive and up-to-date listing of culture and arts events in Beijing.
Photos: Rose Hartman (via Vanity Fair)
