New York City
An intimate window into New York’s ’70s lesbian scene
We Others — An exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery combines Donna Gottschalk’s unearthed photographs of LGBTQ+ activists and friends, along with Hélène Gianneccini’s written histories.
Written by: Miss Rosen
When the Chelsea Hotel was New York’s countercultural epicentre
Closed doors, open minds — Albert Scopin’s new photobook collects photographs that were once thought to be lost, documenting the city’s creative scene that gathered during the building’s 1969 to 1971 heyday.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The stripped, DIY experimentalism of SHOOT zine
Zine Scene — Conceived by photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya in the ’00s, the publication’s photos injected vulnerability into gay portraiture, and provided a window into the characters of the Brooklyn arts scene. A new photobook collates work made across its seven issues.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Defiant photos of New York’s ’80s & ’90s queer activists
Arresting Images — Dona Ann McAdams’ photographs document the AIDS crisis, lesbian organising and civil disobedience from one of the most fraught eras in American LGBTQ+ history. A sale of her archive takes place later this month.
Written by: Sydney Lobe
When David Wojnarowicz became Arthur Rimbaud
Arthur Rimbaud in New York — In 1978, the American artist and his friends donned masks to pay tribute to the French poet, who was born a century before him. Miss Rosen traces the differing yet parallel lives of the queer revolutionaries.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Wu-Tang Clan forever, and ever
The Final Chamber — RZA, the spiritual leader of one of the most important hip hop groups of all time explains why they won’t rest until their legacy is secured.
Written by: Yoh Phillips
Lisette Model’s ’50s jazz pictures were nearly lost to McCarthyism
The Jazz Pictures — A landmark new book edited by Audrey Sands uncovers nearly 1,500 photographs from the genre’s golden age previously thought to be lost. Featuring the likes of Billie Holliday, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong, they tell both a story of music and resistance in the face of oppression.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Greer Lankton’s dolls are more human than you think
Could It Be Love — A staple figure in New York’s ’80s East Village scene, her art shocked and confronted. Now, three decades after her death, a new monograph anthologises her work, which explores the darker sides of human life, but also finds beauty within the strange.
Written by: Miss Rosen
“I have always been consistent in my insanity”: Vaginal Davis is a countercultural treasure
Magnificent Product — An expansive retrospective diving into the work of the artist, Blacktress and trailblazer in modern queercore is showing at the MoMA PS1. We took a look inside.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Coreen Simpson’s sweeping, half-century archive of Black America
A Monograph — A go-to photographer for several outlets, she captured stars such Grace Jones and Jean-Michel Basquiat, but also church ladies, club partygoers and b-boys. Her debut photobook provides a wide-ranging survey of her work.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In photos: ’00s Brooklyn on the cusp of gentrification
I Give You Power — Rulx Thork began photographing in his local borough in 2005, after a stint living and hanging out in the East and West Villages. His new photobook revisits his archive, and preserves a slice of New York City life and history.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Who was the real Jean-Michel Basquiat?
The Making of an Icon — A new book by art world insider Doug Woodham aims to illuminate the near-mythical artist’s life, via the friends, family and collaborators who knew him best.
Written by: Miss Rosen
