The West Side piers on the Hudson River achieved a level of infamy in the 1970s and early 1980s as a gathering place for gay men in pursuit of public, yet anonymous, sex. Its reputation included the danger inherent in public exposure, libidinous activity and the dilapidated state of the structures. The area is now the site of the new Whitney Museum, Hudson Yards, the High Line and many multi-million dollar condos.
Until now, what has been less known was the amazing work performed by artists using the structures as a canvas for their art. Not all of the artists were avowedly gay but much of the work was homoerotic, even pornographic.
This book is a thorough art history lesson with nods to the personalities of the artists and the sociological forces that drove their work.
Originally, the structures were impressive and mammoth buildings in the Beaux-Arts style. By the 1970s, they were abandoned by the shifts in the waterfront business and fell into utter disrepair. Huge open spaces were in the buildings along with warrens of rooms that were likely old office spaces. Depending on the scale of the artwork, some was actually on the outside, while smaller works would be presented in the more intimate spaces. Was it artwork or graffiti? It was both. Some of the installations were temporary or tended more toward performance art for which no record of the work exists, other than anecdotally.
Perhaps the most interesting artist who produced work at the piers was David Wojnarowicz. He was always fascinating to me because of the incredible obstacles he overcame, only to succumb at a young age to complications from AIDS. One of the most noted gay photographers of the day was his lover Peter Hujar. Though Hujar had some connection to the piers, Wojnarowicz’s work was much more prolific. The son of dysfunctional parents, Wojnarowicz father was a merchant seaman who was subjected his son to violence. An obsessed fan of William Burroughs and Jean Genet, he associated the piers with their work.
A famous photo series by Wojnarowicz was titled “Arthur Rimbaud in New York.” The subjects were photographed with a mask of Rimbaud’s face obscuring their own, while often engaged in sexual activity. Many artists of the time were greatly influenced by the French poet, including Patti Smith, Dennis Cooper and Edmund White. Like Rimbaud, artists escaped from their provincial upbringings to flee to the city. Rimbaud fled to Paris while the other artists fled to New York.
Artists wanted to photograph the elegant decay of the piers. Andrew Holleran is quoted for his questions “Why do gays love ruins?…Why is there that strange axis between the extremely aesthetic …and the extremely sleazy?” Symbolism is rife. The area included the meatpacking district while being a meat market for gay men. Glory holes were reminiscent of the confessional. The waterfront setting suggested sailors and the “On the Waterfront” machismo of Brando.
The piers were raided by the police on occasion but the larger danger was from the criminal element, often younger men, who preyed on visitors who did not take precautions. The derelict state of the structures meant that one misplaced step could send a person falling through a hole into the Hudson. Men mostly visited for the purpose of sex but may sometimes noticed the artwork.
Gordon Matta-Clark was considered the most influential artist at the piers but many other artists never knew who he was. The work was produced as a rebellion to the gallery system. The art was not for sale. Anyone could see it, no one could buy it.
Weinberg is not a fan of what the area has become. The High Line is elevated and allows no interaction with urban settings and people that give a city is character. The commodification of former gay spaces, gussied up into tourist-friendly vistas is indicative of much bigger things. “New York becomes something to look at rather than something to be in.” Well said.
Pier Groups: Art and Sex Along the New York Waterfront by Jonathan Weinberg is published by Penn State University Press
Author Jonathan Weinberg, Ph.D. is an artist and art historian. He is Curator of the Maurice Sendak Foundation and he teaches at the Yale School of Art, and the Rhode Island School of Design. He is the author of several books including, Pier Groups: Art and Sex Along the New York Waterfront and Ambition and Love in American Art. He is the recipient of numerous grants, residencies and fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and he was an artist-in-residence at the J. Paul Getty Research Center and the Addison Gallery of American Art.
REVIEW: STEPHEN COYQueerguru Contributor STEPHEN COY has been an avid reader all his (very long) life ? and is finally putting his skills to good use. He lives in Provincetown full time with his husband Jim, having finally given up the bright lights of Boston and now haunts the streets mumbling to himself that no one reads anymore …
Labels: 2020, book review, Jonathan Weinberg, Stephen Coy
