Punk And Pictures At An Exhibition: Joe Stevens Plus Other Best Photographers Of The 1970s

I don’t consider Joe Stevens, the legendary photographer and raconteur, a close personal friend only because it is hard to have close personal friend you haven’t spoken to in 25 years old… but if I did!

Stevens was on the bus with McCartney when McCartney was touring colleges on his first solo tour, he was at the 100 club when punk broke, when the Sex Pistols broke up Johnny Rotten stayed with Stevens in New York. And that’s just three stories off the top of the head.

What Stevens has is almost a magical gift to make people absolutely love him. And as a photographer it gave him access and it gave him patience and the results have been breathtaking.

This is a case where I am totally biased, when I was doing New York Rocker, Stevens was right besides me and he and Richard Fantina were the only two people I trusted.

Over the years I have tried to track the wily Irishman down but it took him to find me after the Dropkick Murphy’s gig and I have received a couple of emails in the past month or so. Recently, I received this one. Bookmarc is Marc Jacobs foray into style and book selling on Bleeker Street and the day that the “Punk:  Chaos To Couture” exhibition opens at the Met. So the connection is self-evident.

Curated by Roberta Bayley, the list of photographers (and Chris Stein!) are legendary round our way, Marcia Reznick, Bob Gruen… well, you can read the poster. I am not sure what the May 9th artist reception is all about. It may be open to the public, it may be invite only. But I definitely plan to take the time and hopefully run into Stevens again after all these years!