American photographer (1954–2019)
Paula Grimaldi-Reardon (born Paula Jeanne Frances Marie Grimaldi, October 17, 1954 – December 3, 2019) was an American photographer who primarily documented the motorcycle, tattoo, and outlaw subcultures. She was a self-taught photographer known for her black-and-white film images portraying the 1980s and 1990s counterculture.
Life and career.
Grimaldi-Reardon was born on October 17, 1954, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to the late Joseph Grimaldi and the late RosaRia (née Cascino) Grimaldi. Her parents moved the family, which also included Paula's brothers Michael and Joseph, to New Brunswick, New Jersey. The same year, she first picked up a camera and discovered her talent, which led to her eventual vocation of documentary photography. Five years later, the family moved again to North Brunswick, New Jersey, where Grimaldi-Reardon lived until her marriage to Jeff Miluszewski in 1973.
At the age of 22, Grimaldi-Reardon was introduced to the world of go-go bars, and shortly thereafter, she began to dance at various clubs near her home in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Her experiences during the 18 years she performed in go-go bars helped inform her subsequent photography work.
In the early 1980s, Grimaldi-Reardon began photographing the biker lifestyle, documenting parties, swap meets, motorcycle runs, and other events. She submitted photos from a swap meet to "Biker Lifestyle" magazine, using the pseudonym Pulsating Paula in a professional capacity for the first time. The photos were accepted, and she became a frequent, and popular, contributor for the next two decades. She also became a contributor to some of magazines of Paisano Publication, whose flagship was Easyriders Magazine.
Grimaldi-Reardon's subjects also included tattoo artists and their subjects, as well as the shows and exhibitions that supported the tattoo lifestyle, with her photography featured in "Tattoo Magazine", the pre-eminent skin art publication of its time. "History" network used Grimaldi-Reardon's photographs in its series "Outlaw Chronicles: Hells Angels" which ran from August 18, 2015 to September 22, 2015. Her photography work continues to be featured in innumerable print publications, websites, blogs, and other media outlets.
Grimaldi-Reardon was a fixture as one of the key photographers at the NYC International Tattoo Convention, organized and managed by NYC Lower East Side photographer, historian, and author Clayton Patterson, who, along with artist and filmmaker Ari Roussimoff founded the Tattoo Society of New York. Grimaldi-Reardon’s photographs also showcased go-go dancers, gothic fantasy, and other alternative lifestyle milieus.
When Grimaldi-Reardon ended her photography assignments with magazines in the 1990s, she continued to utilize her photography skills by accepting work involving photo restorations, enhancements, and “then-and-now” photographic collages.
Awards and appearances.
For her photography, Grimaldi-Reardon was a winner of the inaugural New York Acker Awards in 2013. in 2019.
References.
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[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:American women photographers]]
[[Category:Photographers from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Artists from Jersey City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]