“I decided to shoot The Gay Essay for a variety of reasons,” Los Angeles-based photographer Anthony Friedkin tells Queerty in an exclusive interview. “I wanted to photograph gay people who were living an open gay life and where proud of it. It’s my personal belief that all human beings are unique when it comes to their sexual identity, as unique as our finger prints are.”
Related: 10 Iconic Images Of Love & Defiance Illustrate The Road To Equality
Fiedkin’s exhibition titled The Gay Essay will be on display at Daniel Cooney Fine Art, a contemporary art gallery in New York City, February 12 through March 4. The exhibition will feature a total of 70 photographs documenting the gay liberation movement in Los Angeles and San Francisco from 1969 to 1973.
Related: Dusty St. Amand’s Male Nudes May Cause Homoerotic Overload
“When I look back on the pictures, I’m reminded of all the reasons why I became a photographer in the first place,” he adds. “Portraits are pillars in the history of photography. It’s my hope that when people engage with these photographs they will remember how courageous many of the LGBTQ people were who allowed me to photograph and document their lives.”
Scroll down to see a sampling from The Gay Essay…
ChrisK
I love stuff like this. Almost 50 years ago and I was just a baby. If you liked masculine muscled guys you were sol back then.
crowebobby
There were plenty of masculine muscled guys back then (I was in my 30’s): they were mostly trade, but there enough garden-variety gay guys as well.
RIGay
Fantastic!
It’s so sad that, after 50 years, we are so close to being back at the beginning, again.
#ITMFA