Low Fidelity: Downtown New York 1975–85

When Bobby Grossman arrived in New York in 1976, the city was entering one of the most creatively explosive periods in its history. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he studied alongside future Talking Heads members Chris Frantz and David Byrne, Grossman quickly became immersed in the downtown art and music scene that would transform contemporary culture.

His first professional position in New York was assisting artist Richard Bernstein, whose iconic cover illustrations helped define the visual identity of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. Located at the legendary Chelsea Hotel, Bernstein’s studio placed Grossman inside one of the most important artistic crossroads of the era. Living at the Chelsea during this period, Grossman found himself surrounded by the artists, writers, musicians, and cultural figures who were shaping the future of downtown New York.

From the clubs of downtown Manhattan to countless informal gatherings, Grossman became both participant and observer, photographing the artists, musicians, and personalities who shaped the era. He was a familiar presence at CBGB, the Mudd Club, Max’s Kansas City, and other gathering places of the underground scene, creating intimate portraits of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Alex Chilton, Jackie Curtis, Claudia Summers, and many of the figures surrounding Andy Warhol’s Factory.

Grossman also served as the official photographer for Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party, the groundbreaking public-access television series that David Letterman famously described as “the greatest TV show anywhere, ever.” Broadcast between 1978 and 1982, TV Party became an essential document of New York’s creative underground, bringing together an extraordinary community of cultural innovators including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fab 5 Freddy, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Kate Simon, David Byrne, Walter Steding, James Chance, Patti Astor, Nile Rodgers, Klaus Nomi, and countless others.

In 1981, Grossman’s work was included in the landmark exhibition New York/New Wave at P.S.1, alongside more than one hundred artists including Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Kenny Scharf, Brian Eno, and Nan Goldin. Although his photographs have appeared in numerous publications, exhibitions, and documentaries over the years, the vast majority of Grossman’s archive has remained unpublished and unseen for decades.

Low Fidelity: Downtown New York 1975–85 is the first comprehensive publication devoted to this work. The 224-page book brings together rare and previously unpublished photographs of Andy Warhol, Talking Heads, Blondie, the Ramones, Lou Reed, David Bowie, the B-52s, Iggy Pop, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cookie Mueller, John Waters, Jackie Curtis, Lester Bangs, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Grace Jones, Glenn O’Brien, William S. Burroughs, and many others.

Accompanying Grossman’s photographs and personal recollections are contributions from an extraordinary group of friends, collaborators, and witnesses to this period, including Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore, Legs McNeil, Richard Boch, Walter Steding, Sylvia Reed, David Godlis, Vincent Fremont, Duncan Hannah, Victor Bockris, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Lisa Jane Persky, Robert Fripp, Lenny Kaye, Amos Poe, Suzanne Mallouk, Meg Griffin, Jamie Nares, Max Blagg, Kate Simon, Ed Stasium, Robyn Geddes, Guy Furrow, Paul Zone, Julia Gorton, Hal and Randy Ludacer, Claudia Summers, Chocomoo, and PUNK magazine publisher John Holmstrom.

The volume features a preface by Lisa Jane Persky, an introduction by Glenn O’Brien, and an afterword by Richard Boch.

More than a photography book, LOW FIDELITY serves as a visual history of one of the most influential creative communities of the twentieth century. Through Grossman’s camera, readers experience the artists, musicians, writers, and personalities who transformed downtown New York into a center of artistic experimentation and cultural innovation.

Every copy of LOW FIDELITY is individually numbered and hand signed by Bobby Grossman. The Deluxe edition is signed by the following 20 contributors: Bobby Grossman, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite, Shepard Fairey, Vincent Fremont, Robert Fripp, Duncan Hannah, Godlis, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Amos Poe, Sylvia Reed, Lisa Jane Persky, Richard Boch, Meg Griffin, John Holmstrom and Dagon James. The 20th signature is Glenn O'Brien's estate signature stamp.

SPECIFICATIONS

224 pages
Hardcover quarter-bound book
Silver-gilded page edges
Limited to 750 signed and numbered copies
Photography and personal accounts by Bobby Grossman

Edition details

COLLECTOR EDITION

• Hand-numbered
• Hardcover quarter-bound book with Debbie Harry cover
• Silver-gilded page edges
• Signed by Bobby Grossman
• $125

PREMIUM EDITION — 6 SIGNATURES

• Hand-numbered
• Hardcover quarter-bound book with Debbie Harry cover
• Silver-gilded page edges
• Signed by Bobby Grossman, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Shepard Fairey, and Fab 5 Freddy
• $295

DELUXE EDITION — 20 SIGNATURES

• Hand-numbered
• Hardcover quarter-bound book with Debbie Harry cover
• Premium slipcase
• Silver-gilded page edges
• Signed by Bobby Grossman, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite, Shepard Fairey, Vincent Fremont, Robert Fripp, Duncan Hannah, Godlis, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Amos Poe, Sylvia Reed, Lisa Jane Persky, Richard Boch, Meg Griffin, John Holmstrom and Dagon James. The 20th signature is Glenn O'Brien's estate signature stamp.
• $395

ARCHIVE EDITION — 20 SIGNATURES

• Books numbered 1–100
• Hardcover book with Debbie Harry cover artwork designed by Shepard Fairey
• Bespoke slipcase
• Gold-gilded page edges
• One signed 8 × 10-inch archival pigment print
• Signed by Bobby Grossman, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite, Shepard Fairey, Vincent Fremont, Robert Fripp, Duncan Hannah, Godlis, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Amos Poe, Sylvia Reed, Lisa Jane Persky, Richard Boch, Meg Griffin, John Holmstrom and Dagon James. The 20th signature is Glenn O'Brien's estate signature stamp.
• $495