Gay Pride and Queer Life, 1985-2019

Extent:

1 Linear Foot (3 boxes)

Scope and content:

This portfolio by photographer Vincent Cianni, titled "Gay Pride/Queer Life," documents gay pride parades and demonstrations in New York City. The majority were taken from 1985-1995 at the New York City Gay Pride March; a small series was shot at the 2019 Queer Liberation March, also in New York City. Subjects include marchers from the LGBTQ+ community and their allies; there are also a few images of police and anti-gay demonstrators. The images also document the many organizations and groups taking part in the marches, and the multitude of slogans and banners seen during the marches. A few additional prints are from Halloween celebrations on Christopher Street.

From the artist's statement: "From 1985 through 1995, I photographed the NYC Gay Pride March, which takes place the last weekend of June since 1970, the year after the Stonewall Riots. These years were defined by political activism and identity politics, particularly in response to the AIDS epidemic. The portfolio also depict the celebration of queer life and lifestyles, and the wide diversity of subcultures and identities within the LGBTQ+ community. The photographs were made over the course of a decade (although not consecutively each year,) during the height of political activism fueled by groups like ACT-UP and the Radical Faeries and organizations such as Gay Men's Health Crisis and the Bailey House, which provided grass roots housing, medical, and legal services to indigent, homeless and poor LGBTQ+ people (primarily of color). Shot on 35mm film with Leicaflex and Leica R cameras, the film was processed and proof sheets were printed when shot each year. Some proof sheets were marked with possible frames to print, however the work was not thoroughly edited and printed until the lockdown in 2020 due to the Corona 19 pandemic, calling attention to the parallels between the AIDS crisis and the Covid pandemic, primarily in regard to which communities were affected by them the most."

Arrangement:

Arranged as received from photographer, in rough chronological order.

Physical facet:

135 prints; 7 35 mm negatives

Dimensions:

Dimensions are recorded as height by width.

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