Michael Lavine

Who is Michael Lavine?

Michael Lavine is a portrait photographer based in New York City. He grew up in Denver, Colorado, and graduated from Denver's South High School in 1981.

After graduating high school, Lavine headed to the Pacific Northwest and attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, graduating in 1985. He then moved to New York City, attending Parson's School of Design, where he received a B.F.A..

While in the state of Washington, Lavine became one of the "photographers of record" of the then nascent grunge music scene. His first work on a record was the front cover of Psycho-Head Blowout by White Zombie in 1987. His personal friendships with Kurt Cobain and other members of the group Nirvana gave him unparalleled access to create a visual record of that iconic group. He also photographed other grunge era bands such as White Zombie, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Monster Magnet, Sonic Youth and The Flaming Lips. Many of his photographs from this era were compiled in a 1996 Simon and Schuster book entitled Noise From the Underground.