Photo by Andy Cohen
Jim French
New York’s Venus Over Manhattan gallery this month is featuring the exhibit #Rawhide, celebrating the cowboy in art. So, in turn I got inspired to curate my own online exhibition #HeySailor!, here. Today’s the last day of Fleet Week in New York (see Andy Cohen‘s tribute to these 7 days, above) and these visuals tend to skew toward male camaraderie that months at sea must induce. I settled on this show moniker before I discovered there was a book by a similar name. According to Hello Sailor! The Hidden History of Homosexuality at Sea, from 1945 to 1985 British merchant ships were ‘gay heavens.’ Passenger, cargo and Royal Fleet ships were the main workplace where men could be out (and camp). Who knew? My little visual history runs the narrow gamut from vintage pics to Bruce Weber to Tom of Finland – sort of A to B and back again. Happy Memorial Day!
Vintage photo booth picture
Vintage photo booth
A gay stewards welcome gay stewards, photographer unknown
Vintage photo
Tom of Finland
Vintage tattooed sailor
Sailor tattoo by Geir
Stephen Tennant
David LaChapelle
Ginch Gonch ad
Wojciech
Pierre et Gilles
Pierre et Gilles
Bruce Weber
Richard Pier Petit
Brad Davis in Querelle
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