Portraits capturing the wild style of downtown New York
- Text by Miss Rosen
- Photography by Janette Beckman
After covering the first hip hop showcase in the UK for Melody Maker magazine in 1982, British photographer Janette Beckman became hooked to the newly emerging style and sound of New York street culture. That Christmas, she decided to see the scene for herself.
“I took the train from JFK airport and got off at West Fourth Street,” Beckman recalls of her first foray into the heart of downtown New York. “It was very exciting. Kids were carrying boomboxes on the train and people were breakdancing on the street. It was like everything I saw in the movies. I was a big Scorsese fan and here I was walking on those Mean Streets.”
Once she arrived, Beckman decided to call the city her home, settling down in the East Village and opening a photo studio on Lafayette Street. In 1984, Beckman got word that her good friend Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits were launching Paper, a black-and-white fold-out zine. “They asked if I wanted to take photos, and I did.”
As a leading photographer of the British punk, mod, ska, Two-Tone, and rockabilly scene, Beckman was highly attuned to the art of attitude. Her love of rebel culture in all its forms made her the perfect photographer to document New York’s burgeoning downtown scene in the 1980s.
“I didn’t know that much about studio photography but they knew what they wanted – silo shots – so I had to learn how to do it,” Beckman says. “We always shot at night because that’s when everybody had time because people were working during the day. I always had my white seamless setup and one week, Run-DMC would come, then Barry White, then Sheila E. We shot all these crazy fashion shoots because Kim had this wild sense of style.”
Beckman photographed Andre Walker, Robin Newland, and Pierre Francillon for Paper’s premier issue. “Andre was an up and coming fashion designer and Kim loved his work. She was always sponsoring young downtown stars and he was one of them,” Beckman says.
As the magazine made a name for itself, Beckman and Hasteriter got a weekly gig shooting a Paper-style “Hot Line” feature for the Daily News Sunday Magazine. Throughout it all, Beckman continued shooting for UK publications, becoming a seminal figure in helping artists crossover the pond.
“Everybody would come out and strut their stuff. Kate Pierson of the B-52’s was modelling
for the House of Paper. Her outfit is completely made of issues of Paper magazine; it was designed by Geoffrey Beene, who also designed for Nancy Reagan,” Beckman says.
“I did portraits of hundreds of incredible people. They knew how to dress back in the day. They would dress up and they weren’t scared. There were no rules and you can see that in these pictures.”
Follow Miss Rosen on Twitter.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
How Japan revolutionised art & photography in the ’60s and ’70s
From Angura to Provoke — A new photobook chronicles the radical avant-garde scene of the postwar period, whose subversion of the medium of image making remains shocking and groundbreaking to this day.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Artifaxing: “We’ve become so addicted to these supercomputers in our hands”
Framing the future — Predominantly publishing on Instagram and X, the account is one of social media’s most prominent archiving pages. We caught up with the mysterious figure behind it to chat about the internet’s past, present and future, finding inspiration and art in the age of AI.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The lacerating catharsis of body suspension in Hong Kong
Self-Ferrying — In one of the world’s most densely packed cities, an underground group of young people are piercing their skin and hanging their bodies with hooks in a shocking exploration of pain and pleasure. Sophie Liu goes to a session to understand why they partake in the extreme underground practice.
Written by: Sophie Liu
What we’re excited for at SXSW 2026
Austin 40 — For the festival’s 40th anniversary edition, we are heading to Texas to join one of the biggest global meetups of the year. We’ve selected a few things to highlight on your schedules.
Written by: Huck
Capturing the spirit of the ’90s surf scene with Volcom
Nineteen 90 Nowhere — The brand’s latest Featured Artist Series collection sees them tap three surfers and artists in Gony Zubizarretta, Seth Conboy and Issam Auptel, whose neo-grunge work blends the rawness of the decade with the present.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Wu-Tang Clan forever, and ever
The Final Chamber — RZA, the spiritual leader of one of the most important hip hop groups of all time explains why they won’t rest until their legacy is secured.
Written by: Yoh Phillips
