The music brand behind one of New York City’s most iconic nightclubs is releasing NFTs of art pieces paying homage to its legacy. Original Studio 54 Photos taken by prized NYC photographer Bill Bernstein will be released in successive drops to raise money for charity. The club was known for attracting celebrities and eccentrics into its doors at the height of New York’s disco scene.
Secret photos from an iconic NYC club
Studio 54 opened its doors in 1977 and quickly became one of the most popular night clubs playing disco music. Regulars at the club included David Bowie, Rick James, Calvin Klein, and Mick Jagger, among others. Existing photos show the wild and diverse crowds drawn to the cultural phenomenon taking place.
After closing its doors, the company behind the club reintegrated into a label called Studio 54 Music which also has its own Sirius XM radio station. The company partnered with NFT marketplace SuperRare for a unique release of never-before-seen artwork from the club’s history. The company is known as one of the best NFT marketplaces to buy & sell photography. These include artwork from Bill Bernstein, as well as an NFT 8-bit video game which animates the disco club with a curated list of music from the label’s own records.
Freelance photographer Bill Bernstein was charged with photographing the club’s trends during his time working at the Village Voice. Among the many documents he produced are four unseen Club Studio 54 photographs which include digitized film, collages, mixed media slide-shows, and contact sheets with outtakes. According to SuperRare, the pictures are highly valuable since they give “more context into the golden era of disco + New York City scene between 1977-1981.”
The company states that a portion of sales from Bernstein’s NFTs will go toward the Marsha P. Johnson Institute which works to preserve the rights of black transgender people. Similarly, a portion of proceeds from the 8-bit video game will benefit Sound Mind Live (SML) which aims to open dialogue around mental health through the power of music.
Viral Hawaiian Road picture sells as NFT
Another art piece making news in the NFT space is what is known as the Road in Hawaii Photograph by photographer Cath Simard. She shot the photo several years ago and posted it online. However, despite chasing down copyright infringements, she failed to receive any royalties from the widely shared picture.
To combat this she thought up a way to both gain money from her photo while sharing it with the rest of the world, for free. Her plan was that by selling the ownership rights to the photo and simultaneously making it available to download in high quality, it would increase in value and make it a worthwhile investment.
“The first NFT to have its usage rights released to the world after its purchase,” she wrote through her Twitter account. “This project originated from the idea that the virality and widespread use of an image increases the importance of provenance and therefore the value of the NFT. This project is also a statement on fair compensation and gaining back control over the use of our images.”
More artists are taking note of these types of digital transactions which involve minting an original artwork as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). This gives the token’s owner authentic ownership rights for digital media which can easily be reproduced, copied and shared.
The auction for the viral Road in Oahu photo received one bid from her friend @gmoneyNFT who purchased it for 100 Ether, which is valued roughly at above $3,000 USD per token. This makes the pegged value worth upwards of $300,000 USD.
Story by Fernando Acevedo
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