Nat Finkelstein - Return To The U.S. & Drug Addiction

Return To The U.S. & Drug Addiction

Finkelstein returned to the United States in 1982 when he became aware that charges against him had been dropped. He became involved in the New York punk music scene, managing bands such as Khmer Rouge (feat. Phil Shoenfelt), whose members he used as photographic subjects. He made frequent visits to Bolivia to nourish an addiction to cocaine.

The death of Warhol in 1987 came as a wake-up call to Finkelstein and by 1989 he had weaned himself off the drugs and reignited his career in photography. He affinity for subcultures remained and he spent his time in the 1990s on the rave scene, first in London, then Amsterdam, and back to New York. He shot a generation of New York club kids, a group that he recorded in his 1993 book “Merry Monsters”. Finkelstein now found himself in constant demand, he had over seventy-five solo and group shows at museums and galleries worldwide. His images have appeared in magazines such as Life, Time, Sport’s Illustrated, Harper’s & Queen, Vogue, and The New York Times Magazine.