Photograph by
Gaskin, Gerard H., Trinidadian American, born 1965
Subject of
GMHC, American, founded 1981
Date
August 2007
Medium
digital
Dimensions
H x W: 2912 pixels × 4368 pixels
109.34 MB
Caption
"The balls are a celebration of black and Latino urban gay life. They were born in Harlem out of a need for black and Latino gays to have a safe space to express themselves. Balls are constructed like beauty and talent pageants. The participants work to redefine and critique gender and sexual identity through an extravagant fashion masquerade. Women and men become fluid, interchangeable points of departure and reference, disrupting the notion of a fixed and rigid gender and sexual self. My images try to show a more personal and intimate beauty, pride, dignity, courage, and grace that have been painfully challenged by mainstream society. All of this happens at night in small halls in cities all over the country. These photographs, taken in New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Washington, D.C., show us different views of these spaces as they are reflected in the eyes of house and ball members who perform what they wish these cities could be." – Gerard H. Gaskin
Description
A color digital image of the audience at the House of Latex Ball held at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan in August 2007. The image depicts a large, colorful crowd of people standing and facing forward, most with their attention just to the left of the camera. Some individuals are cheering. Round tables with colorful tablecloths are partially visible throughout the crowd. On one table near the center of the image is a vase of bright red flowers. Rows of white folding chairs are visible in the back. A person on the right-hand side of the photo holds a GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis) sign that is shaped like a STOP sign and reads [HIV AND AIDS ATTENTION NEEDED HERE AND NOW]. There is a person at the bottom of the photo who holds a video camera. At the bottom left edge of hte image is a table covered in an orange cloth with a statue of a gold hand in the center and papers and multi-colored feathers spread across it.
Place captured
Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Portfolio/Series
Legendary
Classification
Photographs and Still Images
Movement
HIV/AIDS Activist Movement
Type
digital images
digital media - born digital
Topic
Communities
Dance
Fashion
Gender
Health
Identity
LGBTQ
Men
Music
Nightlife
Photography
Sexuality
Urban life
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gerard H. Gaskin
Object number
2019.44.3
Restrictions & Rights
© Gerard H. Gaskin
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5829216eb-ba9a-4e7a-9827-64c25bfec3c6

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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