AREA The Legendary Nightclub: Cards and Invitations, 1983 – 1987

New York’s nightclub scene in the 1970s and 1980s is legendary today for its creativity, as well, its hedonism and debauchery. Studio 54 (1977), the Mudd Club (1978), Club 57 (1979), Danceteria (1979), and the Limelight (1983) were the early clubs that set the tone. AREA opened in September 1983 and was part of a second wave, yet seemingly overnight it attracted A-list celebrities and long lines at the door. It’s historic importance was secured in 2013 with the publication of Area: 1983-1987, a luxurious picture book edited by the club’s co-founder Eric Goode and his sister Jennifer Goode, from the club’s art department.

Eric Goode was the founder of AREA, together with Shawn Hausman, Christopher Goode, and Darius Azari, childhood friends from California who were inspired by Happenings, and regarded the club not only as a business but also as an art project. To the general delight of the patrons, the founders tapped into their abundant energy, and made AREA distinct by completely transforming it every six weeks in keeping with themes such as Science Fiction, Suburbia, Faith, Fashion, Art, Natural History, and Childhood.

Apart from the changing décor, the AREA team also favored the creation of unusual invitations. Among the large collection of AREA invites that Gallery 98 has recently acquired is a card for “Let There Be Religion” to which an actual communion wafer was attached; other cards included condoms and pills. In addition to theme party cards, there were also invitations to promotional events involving art, music, book, fashion, and theater, which constituted the backbone of a successful club in the 1980s.

Over 80 cards are posted in our special AREA Collection.

Fashion with a Group Portrait of Participants by Michael Halsband, October 17, 1984

Sex: Introducing The New Male Contraceptive, July 9, 1984

Celebrating Designer Betsey Johnson’s Birthday and the 6th Anniversary of Her Company, August 9, 1984

A Party for Marc Jacobs and his 1985 Fall/Winter Collection, April 24, 1985

Birthday Breakfast in Bed with Boy George, June 14, 1985, 3:00 AM

Grace Jones celebrates Richard Bernstein’s Book Megastar, December 21, 1984

Celebrate the Dedication of Strawberry Fields with Yoko Ono, October 9, 1985

Let There Be Religion: Holy Communion Corpus Christi, August 6, 1984

Body Map, With Two Temporary Tattoos Attached, May 9, 1985

Champagne and Continental Breakfast, New Years Eve, December 31, 1984