Godlis

Godlis (David Godlis) is an American photographer best known for his photographs of New York City's downtown music scene during the late 1970s. Arriving in New York in 1976, he began documenting the emerging punk movement centered around CBGB, producing a body of work that has become one of the defining visual records of the era.

Working primarily at night and often using available light, Godlis developed a distinctive photographic style inspired by the street photography of Weegee and Brassaï. His images captured the atmosphere surrounding CBGB and the Bowery, documenting artists including the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, Richard Hell, Lydia Lunch, and many others at the moment they were reshaping contemporary music and culture.

Beyond the clubs and performances, Godlis photographed the streets, characters, and everyday life of downtown Manhattan, creating a broader portrait of New York during a period of profound artistic transformation. His photographs have been widely exhibited and published, and remain among the most important visual documents of the original punk movement.

Today, Godlis's archive stands as a unique record of the people, places, and energy that defined New York's underground music scene in the 1970s.