By the end of the 17th Century, high heels were considered women’s shoes. Indeed, so strong was the connection between shoes and gender that a man wearing high heels could be arrested in New York under a law that forbade people from congregating in public while “disguised by unusual or unnatural attire.” First passed in 1845 to suppress masked political protests, this law was later used to justify the arrest of cross-dressing performers and bar patrons. Many similar laws persisted until the late twentieth century, when changing fashions and cultural norms rendered them unenforceable
Look How Excited Sue is to Ride the Merry Go Round! (All Photos By Gail)
Now that the snow and frigid cold are kicking off the New Year here in Manhattan, I am looking back fondly at my recent week long holiday trip to Southern California, where I enjoyed clear blue skies, bright sun and warm temperatures each and every day! California! Continue reading Historic Merry Go Round at Griffith Park→
“In September 2006, I spent 10 days shooting the interior of legendary NYC rock club CBGB. Six weeks later the club closed its doors forever, and the fabled walls and stage were dismantled. A year after that, as former owner Hilly Kristal succumbed to cancer, a high-end clothing store negotiated to take over the space.
The club had been a favorite venue for countless rock and punk acts, but for those few days my experience of the club was the exact opposite of most people’s. I came to look forward to my visits as a time of peaceful solitude. I arrived each morning at 11:00 with my tripod and camera, greeted Hilly at his desk, and then passed into a silent and empty club. During the following three to five hours of shooting, I rarely saw another human. The club was so dark, even during the day, that I had to carry a flashlight. After framing each shot, I took five to seven bracketed exposures, with each exposure lasting as long as 30 seconds, and I ended up with more than 1800 individual frames.
And that’s how I came to spend hour after hour sitting stock still in CBGB, alone in the dark among the empty beer bottles and broken guitar strings and abandoned drum sticks, waiting in the silence for the shutter to close.”
Limited edition prints of the CBGB Stage (Above, click This Link) and the venue’s Cash Register (Below click This Link) are available while supplies last via Jen Bekman’s 20X200. All prints are available framed or unframed, Artist-signed + numbered with a certificate of authenticity included. These prints are very reasonably priced and will sell out fast, so get them while you can!
I am a big fan of the work of maverick architect Frank Lloyd Wright; this much is no secret. When I was in Chicago in the Spring of 2010, I had the chance to take the train out to the suburb of Oak Park, where I toured Wright’s own family home and studio as well as a dozen or so other residences designed by Wright that still exist in that neighborhood. Wow, what a cool way to spend an afternoon is all I can say. Frank Lloyd Wright! Continue reading Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House in LEGOs→
On This Day, May 6th in 1937: The Hindenburg airship crashes in New Jersey, killing 36 people. A photograph from this incident would later be used as cover art for Led Zeppelin’s first album.
