Gay Semtics | MoMA

Contents:

• “GAY SEMTICS” REVISED
• HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS: A PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF VISUAL CODG AMONG HOMOSEXUAL MEN
• HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS
• CHASG THE RABOW: LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND QUEER YOUTH AND PRI SEMTICS
• GAY SEMTICS
• IS THIS SEX-FILLED MIC VIO ART OR GAY PORN?
• HAL FISCHER: THE GAY SEVENTI

“GAY SEMTICS” REVISED

In 1977, San Francis photographer Hal Fischer produced his photo-text project Gay Semtics, a semal examatn of the “hanky ” ed to signal sexual preferenc of cisg gay men the Castro district of San Francis. The photographs Gay Semtics prent the s of sexual orientatn and intifitn Fischer saw San Francis's Castro and Haight Ashbury districts, rangg om such sexual signifiers as handkerchiefs and keys to pictns of the gay fashn "typ" of that era--om "basic gay" to "hippie" and "jock.

For stance, imag of men wh handkerchiefs their pockets feature text that explas the possible meangs of the ems acrdg to the “hanky s” that gay men ed to nvey sexual preferenc, but which also pots out that the men uld be rryg them for blowg their nos.

CHERRY AND MARTINA Photographic Study of Visual Codg Among Homosexual MenText by Hal Fischer's Gay Semtics: A Photographic Study of Visual Codg Among Homosexual Men (1977) is one of the most important publitns associated wh California nceptual photography the 1970s. The photographs Gay Semtics prent the s of�sexual orientatn and intifitn Fischer saw San Francis's Castro and Haight Ashbury districts, rangg om such sexual signifiers as handkerchiefs and keys to pictns of the gay fashn "typ" of that era--om "basic�gay" to "hippie" and "jock. 'PRAISE AND REVIEWSi-DVeroni Maldonadocult classic field gui to The Castro's leather daddi, jocks and Out of stock THE ARTBOOK BLOGJESSE PEARSON | DATE 6/25/2016Jse Pearson on Gay Semtics Of what utily is a review by me�a mostly straight man, as the Ksey sle go�of a book that outl, om the si and wh anthropologil precisn, the timate s of apparel and persona that were employed by the gay men of 1970s Ameri?

HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS: A PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF VISUAL CODG AMONG HOMOSEXUAL MEN

So I�ll forego any further strs regardg whether I have the right to tell you what I thk of this book and stead I�ll jt tell you what I thk of this book (as long as you keep md that the subject of Gay Semtics is a secret language that was created wh the exprs purpose of munitn beyond the ken of the un-gay). Ntue to blogFROM THE ARTBOOK BLOGCORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/19/2015Hal Fischer: Gay Semtics at NYABFFeatured image is reproduced om Cherry and Mart's new edn of Hal Fischer's classic Gay Semtics: A Photographic Study of Visual Codg Among Homosexual Men, the subject of a talk David Senr's Classroom seri today at the NY Art Book Fair and available the ARTBOOK @ MoMA PS1 stor throughout the fair. Into this suatn wanred a photographer named Hal Fischer, who published a monograph 1977 wh the provotive tle Gay Semtics based on pictur taken San Francis, pecially Castro Street and Haight Ashbury.

As part of a larger study on supportive lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth environments, we nducted 66 go-along terviews wh lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth people om Massachetts, Mnota and Brish Columbia. Sce 1977—when the first exhibn of this seri took place San Francis—Gay Semtics has been regnized as a unique and pneerg analysis of a gay historil vernacular and as an irreverent appropriatn of stcturalist theory.

Taken directly om Fischer’s personal experienc livg the vibrant gay muni of San Francis’s Castro and Haight-Ashbury districts, Fischer’s photo-text nstctns are laced wh humor and a formal photographic thetic bted as much to textbook and advertisg imag as is to the photographs of Augt Sanr. Blurrg the boundari between the tnal and obscene, the vio, which bills self as "an anthropologil study of gay semtics, taxonomi, and sexual behavurs, " shows acts of oral sex, anal sex, anilung, piss play, and st performed by adult film actors. Interspersed are textual lsons om the handbook Gay Semtics by Hal Fischer, which expla the l of queer cisg and the meangs of the "hankie " -- a secret sartorial language which gay men munite sexual preferenc by the lor of the handkerchief they Fairbairn and Karl Ecclton, who directed the vio, released a project 2015 that was siar style.

HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS

Essay by Hal once humoro, nceptually brilliant and visually enthrallg, the photography of Hal Fischer is gathered here for the first time Hal Fischer: The Gay Seventi is the first monograph to feature the plete set of photo-text works that Hal Fischer produced between 1977 and 1979 San Francis�s Haight and Castro neighborhoods.

In addn to Gay Semtics, Fischer�s bt-known work (s recent facsie edn now out of prt), Hal Fischer: The Gay Seventi clus 18th Near Castro Street x 24, which was published as an artist�s book, Boy-Friends, A Salman and two other seri�Civic Center and Cheap Chic Fischer: The Gay Seventi brgs together, for the first time nearly four s, Fischer�s major photo-text vtigatns of gay life late 1970s San Francis.

CHASG THE RABOW: LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND QUEER YOUTH AND PRI SEMTICS

'PRAISE AND REVIEWSSan Francis ChronicleTony Bravo"In 'Gay Semtics' and other works by Fischer, the e of text, diagrams and social dg of the imag feels extremely ntemporary the world of blogs and photo-diagram magaze featur. In each of six seri clud The Gay Seventi Fischer reveals slivers of himself (and his sir), while matag a documentary distance om his subject matter and a crisp visual style—a feat the ntext of the massive social, polil and mographic shifts that took place 1970s San Francis. "AnOther ManSara Rosen[The Gay Seventir featur] Gay Semtics, a landmark seri of photo-text works providg a pneerg analysis of gay historil vernacular as unfold on the streets of San Francis�s Castro and Haight-Asbury districts.

GAY SEMTICS

Reveled the outlaw spir of the 1970s, pturg all the lic nce and joy vivre at the dawn of the Gay Liberatn Movement the nocent, ee spired years before the vastatg advent of Out of stockTemporarily out of stock pendg addnal ventory. Kunsthal Charlottenb, Copenhagen20 March 2020 — 13 September 2020Flo BrooksArt Basel Hong Kong 2020Art Basel, Hong Kong18 March 2020 — 25 March 2020Sophia Al-MariaBch OmegaJulia Stoschek Collectn, Düsseldorf08 March 2020 — 06 December 2020Sean Steadman1, 000, 000, 000, 000PNI, London21 Febary 2020 — 27 June 2020Hal FischerMasculi: Liberatn through PhotographyBarbin Art Gallery, London20 Febary 2020 — 23 Augt 2020Flo BrooksCONDO 2020PNI, London11 January 2020 — 08 Febary 2020Hal FischerThought Piec: 1970s Photographs by Lew Thomas, Donna-Lee Phillips and Hal FischerSan Francis Mm of Morn Art, San Francis04 January 2020 — 01 November 2020DISXOXO, Safety NetOIL by Bijutsu Techo, Tokyo13 December 2019 — 05 January 2020Kenh BergfeldArt Basel Miami Beach 2019Art Basel, Miami Beach06 December 2019 — 08 December 2019Hal FischerGay Semtics and Other WorksGallery of Morn Art, Glasgow15 November 2019 — 05 December 2020Dozie KanuFunctnStud Mm, Harlem15 November 2019 — 29 March 2020Hal FischerThe Gay SeventiPNI, London08 November 2019 — 21 December 2019Kenh BergfeldThe Spire (Part 2)Part One, Cologne05 October 2019 — 09 October 2019Sophia Al-MariaFrieze London 2019Frieze, London04 October 2019 — 06 October 2019Dozie Kanu, Juliana Huxtable, Sophia Al-MariaTransformer: A Rebirth of Wonr180 The Strand, London01 October 2019 — 15 December 2019Adam Gordon, Alan Miller, Andrew Stahl, Clémente Bno,... ShowPNI, London02 November 2017 — 09 December 2017Hami YamaguchiHami YamaguchiSpaz Macchi, Milan11 October 2017 — 25 November 2017Juliana HuxtableJuliana HuxtablePNI, London14 September 2017 — 21 October 2017DIS, GCC, Juliana HuxtableWe Are HereMm of Contemporary Art, Chigo19 Augt 2017 — 01 April 2018Geie Nettell, Morag KeilQutnnaireYale Unn, Portland15 June 2017 — 10 September 2017Juliana Huxtable, Morag KeilLISTE 2017LISTE, Basel12 June 2017 — 18 June 2017DIS, GCC, Morag KeilArt Cologne 2017Art Cologne, Cologne25 April 2017 — 29 April 2017Hami YamaguchiSelected Works 1974 - 1985PNI, London20 April 2017 — 17 June 2017Babak Radboy, DISArt Basel Hong Kong 2017Art Basel, Hong Kong21 March 2017 — 25 March 2017GCCWhney Biennial 2017Whney Mm of Amerin Art, New York17 March 2017 — 11 June 2017Hal FischerGay SemticsPNI, London22 Febary 2017 — 01 April 2017åyr, Kev Cosgrove, Lulou Margare, Sean Steadman,..

Published fal eded form as:PMCID: PMC5378595NIHMSID: NIHMS843014AbstractWhile the pri rabow has been part of polil and social terventn for s, few have rearched how lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer young people perceive and e the symbol.

Keywords: Lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, LGBT, youth, wellbeg, semtics, rabow, pri flagIntroductnLbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth face greater risk of physil and mental health hazards than their heterosexual peers, cludg substance abe, sexual risk-takg, suicidaly and prsn (D’Augelli 2003; Eisenberg and Rnick 2006; Friedman et al. Factors fluencg the negative health out clu discrimatn, harassment and physil harm, lack of fay and social support and ternalised homophobia, which culmate experienc of mory strs, or a unique set of strsors experienced by those on society’s margs (Chard et al.

IS THIS SEX-FILLED MIC VIO ART OR GAY PORN?

2015) important nuance to mory strs arguments, a study of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth’s higher rat of self-stctive behavrs, McDermott, Roen and Surfield (2008) argue that is the general ntext of environmental homophobia that is distrsg to youth, not the sexual mory inti themselv. In attempts to addrs environmental homophobia and genr-based bullyg, public policy rearchers have enuraged school teachers, unsellors, health staff and admistrators to vt ‘safe space’ iativ by g stickers pictg the inic symbols of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer-associated rabow ‘pri flag’ to proclaim certa areas as safe (Payne and Smh 2013; Ratts et al.

Policy makers hope the visibily of the symbol n help, but rearchers utn that the mere display of such rabows or ‘safe space’ stickers as part of many of the iativ seldom requir trag that aids teachers their practil support of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth (Payne and Smh 2013).

Trag teachers and other muny members how to support sexual mory youth is cril; however, this study shows there may be more advantag om the display of pri symbols than ially rabow as a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer symbolIn June 2015, the rabow flag appeared on ernment buildgs and landmarks across the USA celebratn of the US Supreme Court cisn legalisg same sex marriage.

HAL FISCHER: THE GAY SEVENTI

Lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muni, for example, have a long tradn of g nocuo objects such as the placement of ear piercgs, the lour and placement of handkerchiefs and hair styl to signal inty and muny (Berlant and Freeman 1992; Bryan-Wilson and Fischer 2015) s 1978 creatn by the artist Gilbert Baker, the symbol of the rabow has been creasgly ed to reprent lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer pri and solidary (Dreyf 2015).

To approach the rabow flag through semtics is to regnise as a signifier of nnoted meangs that are produced, refed and renegotiated wh each rearch on lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer symbolism, cludg the rabow flag, has generally been limed to adult populatns wh a cynil foc on palist nsumptn (Crowley, Harré, and Lunt 2007; Milligan 2013; Philippm 1999). Instead of focg on the rabow’s meang for the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muni, rearch has foced on how symbols n be ed to market to lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people whout alienatg others (Oakenfull and Greenlee 2005; Philippm 1999). However, rearch to healthy lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth velopment do so wh few or no mentns of the rabow as a signifier that participat the productn of what healthy velopment n look like (Renow 2004; Shippee 2011).