Spike Waltzer - Picture This A Public Image Book

Title: Picture This A Public Image Hardback Book 

Year Printed: 2026

About the Artwork

This collection documents legendary performances and intimate backstage moments from a defining era in music history. Artists featured include Blondie, John Lydon & PiL, The Clash, Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, Sham 69, Patti Smith, The Go-Go’s, The Cramps, X and many more. The book serves as both historical archive and visual time capsule, preserving the urgency and rebellion of the late ’70s LA music scene.

About the Artist:

Spike is a photographer whose work documents Punk, SKA and New Wave in Los Angeles between 1978–1980. The exhibition and accompanying book present a collection of previously unseen photographs taken in L.A. venues, featuring artists including Blondie, John Lydon & PiL, The Clash, Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, 999, Sham 69, The Undertones, The Go-Go’s, Patti Smith, The Cramps, X, and many more.

Raised in New York, Spike moved to Los Angeles to study photography, where he was introduced to professional celebrity photographers and began working as a paparazzo with Michelson Photos, alongside figures such as Ron Galella. Through his neighbour Don Snowden, a music critic for LA Weekly, Spike was introduced to punk music and first heard The Clash’s second album, Give ’Em Enough Rope, the moment his love of punk began.

Abandoning commercial photography, Spike immersed himself in the anarchist, punk, and queer scenes of Los Angeles and San Francisco, documenting bands, venues, and communities from the inside. His photographs capture the energy, politics, and intimacy of a scene that would go on to shape global music culture.