From School of Visual Arts’ video of Meryl Meisler’s lecture:
MPS Digital Photography presents a talk with photographer Meryl Meisler (b. 1951). Inspired by Diane Arbus, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Brassaï, and her own dad, Meisler moved to New York City in 1975 to study with Lisette Model while documenting her life with a queer, quirky eye. After retiring from 31 years as an NYC Public School Art Teacher, Meisler began releasing her archives in exhibits and monographs. Meisler’s photographs are a simultaneous celebration of discos and strip clubs, her Jewish family and Long Island suburb, school life in one of Brooklyn’s toughest neighborhoods, and more. Pertinent and comical, Meisler captures moments of pure joy at the center of daily hardships, plunging into fascinating times and continues through to today.