He became involved in the downtown art and music scenes of the late 70s and early 80s which led to his participation in the New York/New Wave exhibition at the MoMA PS1 gallery in Long Island City in 1981.
[1][2] During this time, Bertoglio took photos of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Debbie Harry, David Bowie, Grace Jones and Madonna among others.
One of his most iconic photographs shows the then-unknown Jean-Michel Basquiat wearing an American football helmet with his characteristic crown symbol and the name "AARON" emblazoned on the front.
[4] Basquiat stands in front of one of his earliest drawings, "Gringo Pilot (Anola Gay)", which he had produced in the loft of Bertoglio and his then-wife, fashion designer Maripol.
In 1980, Bertoglio and Maripol secured backing from Rizzoli, through Fiorucci, to produce a film written by Glenn O'Brien about the No Wave music scene and the general Lower East Side milieu.
The film, entitled New York Beat, was directed by Bertoglio and starred the young graffiti writer and future artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Bertoglio embarks on a journey through the memories of New York in the punk era and talks about the past and the present with friends from back then (Maripol, Walter Steding, Deborah Harry, John Lurie, Glenn O’Brien, Wendy Whitelaw, James Nares, Victor Bockris and others).