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Point of View: Me, New York City and the Punk Scene
A new collection of unseen photographs of New York City's 1970s punk heyday, by one of the icons of the city's golden age of new wave, Blondie's Chris Stein.
For the duration of the 1970s - from his days as a student at the School of Visual Arts through the foundation of the era-defining New Wave-band Blondie and his subsequent reign as epicenter of punk's golden age - Chris Stein kept an unrivaled photographic record of the downtown New York City scene.
Following in the footsteps of the successful book Negative, this spectacular new book presents a more personal and more visceral collection of Stein's photographs of the era. Focusing on a single decade in Stein's own world, the images presented here take readers from self-portraits in his run-down East-Village apartment to candid photographs of pop-cultural icons of the time and evocative shots of New York City streetscapes in all their most longed-for romance and dereliction. An eclectic cast of cultural characters - from Richard Hell and William Burroughs to Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Andy Warhol, and Stephen Sprouse - appear here exactly as they were in the day, juxtaposed with children playing hopscotch on torn-down blocks, riding the graffiti-ridden subway, or cruising the burgeoning clubs of the Bowery.
At once a chronicle of one music icon's life among his punk and New-Wave heroes and peers, and a love letter to the city that was the backdrop and inspiration for those scenes, P.O.V. transports us to another place and time.
For the duration of the 1970s - from his days as a student at the School of Visual Arts through the foundation of the era-defining New Wave-band Blondie and his subsequent reign as epicenter of punk's golden age - Chris Stein kept an unrivaled photographic record of the downtown New York City scene.
Following in the footsteps of the successful book Negative, this spectacular new book presents a more personal and more visceral collection of Stein's photographs of the era. Focusing on a single decade in Stein's own world, the images presented here take readers from self-portraits in his run-down East-Village apartment to candid photographs of pop-cultural icons of the time and evocative shots of New York City streetscapes in all their most longed-for romance and dereliction. An eclectic cast of cultural characters - from Richard Hell and William Burroughs to Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Andy Warhol, and Stephen Sprouse - appear here exactly as they were in the day, juxtaposed with children playing hopscotch on torn-down blocks, riding the graffiti-ridden subway, or cruising the burgeoning clubs of the Bowery.
At once a chronicle of one music icon's life among his punk and New-Wave heroes and peers, and a love letter to the city that was the backdrop and inspiration for those scenes, P.O.V. transports us to another place and time.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published October 23, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 18, 2021
A very interesting look at New York during the 70s and 80s by Blondie's lead guitarist, Chris Stein.
What Chris proves here is that he is very much an artist himself. The photos in this book say so many words, and the descriptions and side stories from Chris are really interesting, and help to give you an even better idea of that time.
I read this in a day, as there isn't all that much writing involved, but the focus is more on the photos that I will refer to again in the future.
I also own Chris' other book, Negative which I will read, and I believe he is also in the process of writing a memior, that will match perfectly with this and Debbie Harry's 'Face It'.
What Chris proves here is that he is very much an artist himself. The photos in this book say so many words, and the descriptions and side stories from Chris are really interesting, and help to give you an even better idea of that time.
I read this in a day, as there isn't all that much writing involved, but the focus is more on the photos that I will refer to again in the future.
I also own Chris' other book, Negative which I will read, and I believe he is also in the process of writing a memior, that will match perfectly with this and Debbie Harry's 'Face It'.
March 10, 2019
Stein's photos capture the rundown, grimy NYC of the 70s. His reflections include stories of witnessing robberies, being mugged constantly, and hanging out with Warhol's crew. It's odd to nostalgically glorify such a dirty, crime-filled, teeming city -- what Stein terms “the decay and the danger,” which he admits to missing when he briefly moved away from the city -- but it certainly fostered great music and art. The photos are real and gritty, but rarely bleak. Amid all the squalor, Debbie Harry’s image occasionally appears, especially toward the end, like a goddess descending into the dreary realm of imperfect mortals. Her natural beauty and cool grace radiates from each photo and is such a stark contrast to the grittiness in the surrounding pages. Whereas the first half of the book focuses more on the city and anonymous people on the streets, the second half shifts to shots of punk personalities and some full color portraits of Harry in various locales throughout the city. The book ends with a few photos and reflections on 9/11, which Stein seems to suggest marked the official end of the old NYC.
In terms of the brief bits of text scattered throughout the book, Stein's captions are sometimes informative, but many photos are left to speak for themselves. Jon Ronson's foreword is amusing. He sounds like a fan who got a surprise chance to write an essay for the book and mostly just gushes about how cool it is to be writing about NYC and Blondie in the 70s, as someone who didn't get to experience it firsthand. (Full disclosure: I'm a Ronson fan, as well as a Blondie fan, so I understand his pleasure and enjoyed his foreword just for that reason.)
Not really an essential book in terms of photography or cultural studies, but an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours for fans of Blondie or music fans in general.
In terms of the brief bits of text scattered throughout the book, Stein's captions are sometimes informative, but many photos are left to speak for themselves. Jon Ronson's foreword is amusing. He sounds like a fan who got a surprise chance to write an essay for the book and mostly just gushes about how cool it is to be writing about NYC and Blondie in the 70s, as someone who didn't get to experience it firsthand. (Full disclosure: I'm a Ronson fan, as well as a Blondie fan, so I understand his pleasure and enjoyed his foreword just for that reason.)
Not really an essential book in terms of photography or cultural studies, but an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours for fans of Blondie or music fans in general.
May 10, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed this eclectic selection of photographs where the street scenes fascinate as much as those of well-known personalities. Chris gives sufficient commentary to engage but also allows the photos space to breathe and speak for him. It's well-designed and a good size. Of course, reading this makes me crave an actual memoir from Chris. He has a poetic way of phrasing memories as though he were framing them. Recommended.
February 23, 2019
New York artist and musician Chris Stein's photo collection from the 1970s (mostly). Though he is clearly fascinated with darkness and decay, what these photos truly reveal is an incredible personal quality. The joy and struggle of a DIY lifestyle.
December 27, 2020
It took me two months of picking this book up, basking in nostalgia, reflecting on a NYC long gone, to get to a point where I can say I am “done.” I’ll be revisiting this tremendous compendium of photos often, and with a smile.
December 11, 2020
Incredible photographs chronicling a a time and place that is long gone--1970s NYC. A great companion to Harry's memoir Face It.
May 2, 2020
I did not enjoy this as much as his previous book. The stories were interesting and I do love the look of NYC in the 70s - reminds me very much of my pop culture childhood - and he does a good job of capturing that. But while there are some really amazing pictures, many of them seem more like snapshots than art book photos. Good, but a bit underwhelming.
January 27, 2019
Photography I can get lost in, anecdotes from Stein and of course snaps of the most striking woman to ever walk the face of Earth. What’s not to love?!
March 30, 2019
About the time I started frequenting the city in middle school, some really interesting images and anecdotes.
October 24, 2022
Oh, old New York, how magical you were. Chris Stein grew up and lived through New York's transition and his camera lens and outlook perfectly capture the growth, the hope, and the nostalgia.
want-to-look-at
March 23, 2024CML: absolutely not
July 6, 2024
Take a few hours and travel back to a formative time and place in music history and bask in the ethereal beauty of Deborah Harry while you're there.
April 1, 2024
v cool! (my photo professor showed this to us and it was given to her by their dad in 2018 ;-;)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews