Larry Levan Live! pays homage to late 70s and early 80s underground dance culture, particularly the disco scene originating from the Bronx and legendary Brooklyn-born garage/disco DJ Larry Levan. In this Soul Train-style music video, participants wear printed fabric masks of Levan’s face, simultaneously concealing and manufacturing identity, while dancing in clubs around the Bronx. The uncanny performance celebrates sexuality and queer culture while manifesting Levan’s almost psychic connection to his audience as the distinctions between DJ and dancer become hazy.  

Larry Levan Live!, 2006
Video, RC Photographic prints, and photocopy transfers on muslin, fabric, thread, acrylic
Installation dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
Photo: Whitney Browne. Courtesy of No Longer Empty. 

www.eliaalba.net