Abstract

“New Intimacies” is a photographic study situated in environments known for gay cruising and public sex. Taking influence from Peter Hujar and the photographs he created in the cruising areas around Manhattan’s meatpacking district, I made experimental images that sought to envision the intangible and fleeting qualities of these geographic spaces. The inclusion of various photographic strategies (such as landscapes, portraits, and abstraction) implores the audience to consider the social and cultural elements that contributed to the formation of these sites as spaces of community and public intimacy. The work is also influenced by queer zines, experimental cinema, and other ephemeral elements of this subculture. Throughout the research for this project, reference is made to scholars, artists, activists, and queer theorists such as Douglas Crimp, José Esteban Muñoz, Lauren Berlant, David Wojnarowicz, Michael Warner, Esther Newton, Fiona Anderson, and others. In compiling this research and production, the project contributes to visual representations of cruising culture by examining the development of these geographies of desire and liberation.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Photography, Artistic--Themes, motives; Photography, Artistic--Technique; Cruising (Sexual behavior)--Pictorial works; Photography, Abstract

Publication Date

5-1-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Photography and Related Media (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (CAD)

Advisor

Ahndraya Parlato

Advisor/Committee Member

Catherine Zuromskis

Advisor/Committee Member

Eduardo Rivera

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

IMGART-MFA

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