The multimedia exhibition “DAYS OF PUNK” by American photographer Michael Grecco presents in Cascais photographs of music icons such as The Clash, Johnny Rotten, Ramones, Wendy O. Williams (from Plasmatics), The Dead Keneddys, Billy Idol, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam Ant, Lene Lovich, Aimee Mann and many others, photographed without filters or artifice by photographer and filmmaker Michael Grecco, at the height of the punk scene in the United States.
“DAYS OF PUNK” will be on display from October 15, 2023, to January 28, 2024, at the Centro Cultural de Cascais, in Cascais, Portugal. The exhibition is a production of the D. Luís I Foundation, with the collaboration of the Cascais City Council, as part of the city’s Museum Quarter program. The opening is scheduled for October 14th, with the presence of the photographer.
The more than 100 photographs featured in “DAYS OF PUNK” date from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, when Michael Grecco witnessed the explosion of the punk, post-punk and new wave scenes at concerts and nightclubs in Boston and New York. In the midst of the events, on stage and behind the scenes, the photographer had the unique opportunity to document for posteriority a frenetic moment in the history of music, translating into images the rebellion, raw energy, emotional power and outrageous irreverence that characterized the alternative music of that time.
In addition to the photographs, visitors will be able to experience soundscapes specially created for “DAYS OF PUNK”, in collaboration with Roger Miller and Peter Prescott from the cult band Mission of Burma. The video component of the exhibition includes archive images captured by Grecco himself and the testimony of some of the characters who, at the time the photos were taken, were also participating in the North American punk scene. In addition, objects from Michael Grecco’s personal collection will be displayed, including facsimiles of the Boston Rock magazine and original posters created by artist and former Human Sexual Response member Dini Lamot, who will also be in Cascais for the opening of the exhibition.
Michael Grecco is an award-winning photographer and director, internationally recognized for his iconic celebrity portraits, magazine covers and advertisements. His photographs appear in publications such as Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire and Rolling Stone, among many others. His book Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face 1978-1991, which revealed for the first time the photographs that make up the exhibition, was published in 2020 to great success.
“DAYS OF PUNK” is organized by Michael Grecco in collaboration with the Portuguese cultural producer company Terra Esplêndida, which is also responsible for the exhibition’s international tour.
Michael Grecco
Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face
15 October 2023 – 28 January 2024
Centro Cultural de Cascais
Av. Rei Humberto II de Itália,
2750-642 Cascais,
Portugal
https://bairrodosmuseus.cascais.pt/list/museu/centro-cultural-de-cascais
Punk rock band lead singer Wendy O Williams and the Plasmatics performing on stage on November 13, 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Punk rock band lead singer Wendy O Williams of the Plasmatics takes a sledge hammer to a TV back stage in Boston, Massachusetts. © Michael Grecco
Talking Heads #4, Boston, Massachusetts, 1981 © Michael Grecco
Jello Biafra, lead singer of the punk rock group “Dead Kennedys”, performing on stage at the Channel in April 1981 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Members of the English punk rock band The Clash; Nicky, “Topper” Headon, Joe Strummer, Bassist Paul Simonon, and Mick Jones pose for a portrait backstage at The Bond in New York, NY on May 31, 1981. (Photo By Michael Grecco)
Members of the punk rock group “Bow Wow Wow” performing on stage at the Paradise Theater in Boston. Members include Annabella Lu Win (lead singer), David Barbarossa (Dave Barbe) on drums, Matthew Ashman (guitar), Lee Gorman on bass in Septemeber 1981 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
