Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights

Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights, organized by Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington,^[1] was the first major museum exhibition to explore the rich, complex world of disco.^[2] Pulsating with light and sound, the exhibit followed disco from its beginnings in New York club culture to the fad created by Saturday Night Fever, the ensuing backlash, and disco's influential afterlife.^[3]

The show included the drum kit used by Earl Young, the inventor of the disco beat; the Plexiglas guitar played by Nile Rodgers of Chic; one of Saturday Night Fever's famous white suits; a selection of photographs taken by Andy Warhol at Studio 54; video clips of Disco Step-by-Step Television Show, and rare artifacts from legendary nightspots ranging from The Loft to the Paradise Garage. Artists represented Donna Summer, Grace Jones, the Bee Gees, Sylvester James, A Taste of Honey, and many more.^[4][5] With help from a group of expert consultants (Marty Angelo, Nicky Siano, etc.) led by Vince Aletti, the first journalist to write nationally about disco in 1973, the exhibit helped to change people's thinking about a musical genre that has been hugely important and hugely misunderstood.^[6]

The exhibit made stops at the Henry Ford Museum^[7] in Dearborn, Michigan in 2004 and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City in 2005.^[3] The exhibit is currently retired.

References

1. ^ "Seattle Celebrates Disco?". Chicago Sun-Times. 2003-03-23. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F9FAC0299DF29FE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
2. ^ Gene Stout (2002-11-23). "EMP Exhibit Revives Disco and an Era of Social Change". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/96867_disco23.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Stephen Williams (2005-02-11). "Duck! It's 'Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights' at NYC Library". Newsday. http://www.staugustine.com/stories/021105/com_2880557.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
4. ^ Bernard Weinraub (2002-12-10). "Arts in America; Here's to Disco, It Never Could Say Goodbye". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EFDF163AF933A25751C1A9649C8B63. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
5. ^ Pia Catton (2005-02-01). "Disco Dos & Disco Don'ts". The New York Sun. http://www.nysun.com/article/8567. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
6. ^ Kim Campbell (2005-02-18). "Disco Music - What Were We Thinking?". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0218/p15s01-almp.html. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
7. ^ Klint Lowry (2004-06-23). "DISCO: A Decade of Saturday Nights". The News-Herald. http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/062304/lif_20040623009.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-19. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Experience Music Project (EMP)
• Henry Ford Museum Disco Exhibit
• New York Public Library Disco Exhibit