Fashion
Hip Heats Up in a Cold Decade
Marti Bercaw: Socal.com Writer & Video Journalist |
 |
 If you are fascinated with pop-style and fashion history, you will want to add On The Street: 1980 - 1990 by Amy Arbus to your library. Throughout the 80's, more than five hundred of the photographer's black and white photographs were published in the Village Voice's monthly style column titled "On the Street". The exclusive assignment given to Ms. Arbus was to document "New York's most adventurous fashion and style trendsetters" in their very public lives. Over 70 of the most memorable images are included in the book.
If you are fascinated with the work of a gifted photographer who has the genius and honed craft to capture the vibrant textures and layers of the unusual with a gentle reverence for the individual posing before the camera, you will want to add the book On The Street: 1980 - 1990 by Amy Arbus to your collection. Amy Arbus is a photographer who celebrates the spirit of street style as much as she chronicles a time and place in cultural history.
 The hip, the daring, the quirky individuals who shun the trends and construct their own unique personal vision are not found in mainstream media or at fashion events. Their runway exists on the streets, in the clubs, at the concerts. For a decade, Amy Arbus sought out these characters on their own turf and compiled a remarkable archive that will never lose its aesthetic or historical value.
The rich cast within the pages ranges from the already famous and just about to be famous to performance artists, costume designers, shop owners, musicians, make-up artists, graffiti artists, and, simply put, those who are hip purely for the sake of being hip.
 Influences on street style in the 80's can be found in the confusion of music from the era. By 1980, Glam or Glitter rock had already waxed and waned and Punk rock had slammed into the US music scene. Michael Jackson released "Thriller", the best selling album of all time. Boy George and Culture Club carried on in the tradition of David Bowie and Iggy Pop and made androgyny a dinner table topic.
 The artist who, at the time, was named Prince jolted the world with his compelling music and explicit lyrics so much so that, in 1985, Tipper Gore, wife of then Senator Al Gore, founded the Parents Music Resource Center, a group that sought to censor and rate popular music which they blamed for increasing violence and promiscuity.
And then, there was Madonna, the "urban it" girl of the decade. Personal style had a lot of material to draw on. You will see it in the pages of On The Street.
 On The Street: 1980 - 1990 by Amy Arbus is published by Welcome Books and available through their website, as well as many other bookseller stores and websites.
http://www.welcomebooks.com
Silver Gelatin Prints in limited editions of 25 are available through the Stephen Cohen Gallery
http://www.stephencohengallery.com
For more information about Amy Arbus, please visit her website
http://www.amyarbus.com/
All photograph copyright Amy Arbus
|
