Vintage photographs that capture the drama and exuberance of New York in the 1970s

From the kitsch-filled living rooms of "Matzoh Pizza" to the sweat and strobe of disco-era New York, Meryl Meisler's earliest pictures catch the 1970s mid-party – and they're now on show at New York's Steven Kasher Gallery.

Written By: Katy Cowan

19 February 2016

Via direct submission. All images courtesy and copyright of Meryl Meisler

Everyone, in the 1970s, was being told to let it all out. Pop psychology had reached the suburbs, and whether you were a Long Island housewife, a drag queen or a disco queen, the message was the same: self-actualise, express yourself, and act out. Meryl Meisler was there with a camera to capture it all.

In this series of her earliest work, she catches those party days in full swing – the photographs drifting from the kitsch-filled front rooms of her hometown on Long Island to the gritty clubs and streets of disco-era New York.

Meisler takes her stylistic cues from the snapshot aesthetic that had sat at the centre of New York's photography debates since John Szarkowski's 'New Documents' show at MoMA in 1967. She was inspired, too, by Jacques Henri Lartigue's decades-long photo diary, Diane Arbus's 1972 retrospective at MoMA, and Brassaï's effervescent 'Paris by Night' photographs from the 1930s. You can see all three in her approach: the personal diary, the snapshot, the pull of nightlife. Her borough-spanning vision of the Big Apple in the '70s puts her in the company of the great chroniclers of Americana.

Two young women posing in front of a door covered in graffiti and handwritten notes in black and white photograph from 1970s New York

Two people wearing studded leather jackets kiss against a graffiti-covered wall in a black and white photograph from 1970s New York

Black and white photograph of a woman in a dark turtleneck posing thoughtfully in front of signs with rules for dancers, waitresses and customers at a 1970s New York establishment

Man in glasses and waistcoat jumps with arms raised on a dance floor surrounded by party guests in a 1970s disco setting

Now you can see the whole lot in a solo show at New York's Steven Kasher Gallery, from 25 February 2016 until early April. The earliest pictures, from 1973, are self-portraits – Meisler posed as a Girl Scout, a ballerina and other childhood selves. She then turned her lens on her friends, parents, relatives and neighbours, a quirky bunch by anyone's measure.

Meisler's hometown of Massapequa was nicknamed "Matzoh Pizza" for its many Jewish and Italian families. Outlandish décor ruled – everything from French Empire to Mid-Century Modern – and a cast of lively characters stood ready to ham it up at the drop of a hat. "Homes are dramas," Meisler says, and the people of "Matzoh Pizza" were in on the joke, eager for their moment in the spotlight.

Many of the photos document members of "The Mystery Club", a group of 11 couples from nearby neighbourhoods who took turns planning mystery outings. These took them everywhere – haunted houses, recording studios, hypnotists, the Continental Baths in New York City, a nudist camp in South Jersey. Posing coyly in front of their matching wallpaper and bedspreads, surrounded by ornately arranged tchotchkes, her subjects capture the pride and delight of people for whom the suburbs meant an affordable home and an escape from streets that had turned increasingly mean.

A young child sits on a toilet in a vintage 1970s bathroom with black and white tile, white fixtures and a shower enclosure with decorative screen behind them

A group of people gathered around a dining table with bottles and plates during a 1970s dinner party, beneath an ornate chandelier and pleated curtains

Woman sitting on a floral patterned sofa holding a camera, with dumbbells on the floor in front of her, in a black and white photograph from 1970s New York

Black and white photograph by Meryl Meisler showing a woman lying on the floor with legs up against a dark cabinet, surrounded by framed artworks and decorative objects on the wall behind her

Moving back to the city from Wisconsin in 1975, Meisler worked as a freelance illustrator and threw herself into New York's clubs and discos, following a close-knit, diverse community of artists, feminists, drag queens, musicians and writers. She photographed the punks at CBGB, the revellers at Studio 54, and the dancers at Playmates, Winks and The Magic Carpet, where she worked as a hostess. Her nightlife pictures put her, and us, right in the middle of the no-holds-barred hedonism of Hurrah, Les Mouches, Xenon and every other cathartic hotspot.

Born in 1951 in the South Bronx and raised in North Massapequa, Meisler took her first photography class in 1973 while studying illustration at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She bought her first camera and started shooting at home over the Christmas break. In 1975, she returned to New York City to study with Lisette Model and never stopped photographing her hometown and the surrounding city.

An absolute must-see. Details at stevenkasher.com.