“GoNightclubbing captures the rarest of contemporary attributes: authenticity.”
The Gonightclubbing Archive is the definitive visual record of the New York punk scene from 1977-1981. It is an unparalleled collection of 82 bands videotaped during 112 performances, as well as 27 on-camera interviews, video art installations and thousands of photographs and pages of ephemera that chronicle the era. It is housed at New York University’s Fales Library/Downtown collection.
GoNightclubbing Archive
WHO WE ARE
“Lucky for us, two women put in the work and captured some of the all-time greatest rock acts in their prime.”
Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong began documenting punk music together in 1977. Shooting in clubs from CBGBs to Irving Plaza to Mudd Club, they amassed a huge body of work and produced a cable program, “Nightclubbing”, the first weekly tv show to feature bands like The Cramps, Richard Hell and the Vodoids and the Dead Kennedys. In 1980, they created the Video Lounge at Danceteria, a video installation that became a permanent feature at the club and pioneered the concept of the video DJ. They have screened their work in museums, independent cinemas and universities, nationally and internationally. In 2010, New York University, Fales Library /Downtown Collection acquired and digitally restored their archive, where it is available for study and research by scholars and interested parties.
Interview with Document Journal, July 2019
VIDEO
“The Lewis and Clark of rock video.”
The GoNightclubbing Archive houses over 200 hours of live performances of bands and interviews. Seven 1-hour programs are available for screenings.
Greatest Hits
The Cramps 1980
Night of the Living Dead Boys
Dead Boys 1977
No Lies: The Interviews
Richard Lloyd 2002
Suicide
1980/2002
New Wave
Pylon 1980
Punk
Bad Brains 1980
No Wave
Lounge Lizards 1979
PHOTOS
“The ultimate wish-I-was-there documentation of gigs at CBGB’s and other Big Apple clubs, a virtual who’s who of groundbreaking punk, New Wave and hardcore artists.”
Hundreds of 35mm and digital photos create a comprehensive record of New York’s punk scene.
EPHEMERA
“Flyers, clippings and a thank you note from an 18 year old Jello Biafra who stayed in Ivers’ apartment during the Dead Kennedys’ first NYC trip.”
An eclectic collection of flyers, poster, buttons, and personal memorabilia offers a graphic record of how a new kind of visual aesthetic shaped downtown NY in the 70’s and 80’s.
VIDEO ART
“Where is a good pervert supposed to go? Apparently into a gallery if Alone at Last, an interactive ode to sexual fluidity and erotic possibilities, is any indication.”
Ivers and Armstrong create site specific video installations that explore how media can disrupt when content undermines viewers expectations.
By placing challenging material in a familiar context, viewers are forced to reevaluate their notions of what is “normal” and what is “television” .
Alone At Last
Alone at Last was conceived in 1981 (and completed in 2015) as a video installation that explores issues of gender and fantasy.
Designed in the pre-AIDS era when bath houses and back rooms, no-strings sex and role playing were all part of life in downtown New York, Alone at Last invited artists, musicians, and locals with an offer of self-representation, a chance to enact what desire, romance, and even manipulation meant to them.
Video Lounge
A recreation of the historic Danceteria Video Lounge is a deconstruction of the family rec room for a new era of media viewing. With a mashup of found footage, artists videos and punk music that upended the staid broadcasting of the past, it anticipates the new era of DIY video and YouTube.
BOOK A SHOW
“We recommend becoming better acquainted with primary resources on New York’s Recent Past. Emily Armstrong and Pat Ivers have unleashed a vast video trove of seminal and rare New Wave, No Wave, and Punk video from their Go Nightclubbing Archive.”
The Gonightclubbing Archive has been curated nationally and internationally at museums, independent cinemas and universities.
It is available as seven hour-long programs, as well as shows tailor made for local interest. Ivers and Armstrong present Artists Talks as well as gallery shows of their photography, ephemera and installations. Video performances and photographs from the archive are available for licensing from Gonightclubing Ltd.
EVENTS
June 11, 2021 to April, 2022
GoNightclubbing Video Lounge,
Performance Videos and Photographs
“New York, New Music 1980-86”
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY