Hal Fischer speaks about his semal 1970s-era examatn of the “hanky ” ed to signal sexual preferenc of gay men.
Contents:
- “GAY SEMTICS” REVISED
- HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS
- HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS
- HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS AND OTHER MAJOR WORKS
“GAY SEMTICS” REVISED
* gay semiotics hal *
Exhibns of the Gay Semtics seri and a reprt of the 1978 monograph renewed tert his art and generated numero articl, published terviews, and reviews.
Hal Fischer: The Gay Seventi, which featur his major works, was published by Gallery 16 Edns 2019. 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. He also photographed a seri of “gay looks”—om hippie to leather to wboy to jock—wh text that poted out key elements of queer street-style.
Bryan-Wilson: What strik me now about Gay Semtics is how nceptual is, how important the photo-text relatnship is. Bryan-Wilson: Gay Semtics is an attempt to map some of the disurse of stcturalism onto the visual s of male queer life the Castro.
HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS
Hal Fischer. Gay Semtics. 1977. Inkjet prts, prted 2014. Each 20 × 16" (50.8 × 40.6 cm). Geralde Murphy Fund. 714.2017.1-24. © 2023 Hal Fischer. Portfol. Photography * gay semiotics hal *
Bryan-Wilson: In your biblgraphy for Gay Semtics, you ce Walter Benjam, but not Roland Barth. Bryan-Wilson: You’re dog several thgs Gay Semtics.
On the one hand, you’re parsg a signifitn system that arose out of a nonverbal, erotic exchange, and you’re also nstctg gay male self-fashng and photographg “archetyp. There’s fely a fairly homogeno i that’s beg taloged.
HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS
A Photographic Study of Visual Codg Among Homosexual Men. Published by Cherry and Mart, 2015. Text by Hal Fischer. Hal Fischer's Gay Semtics: A Photographic Study of Visual Codg Among Homosexual Men (1977) is one of the most important publitns... ARTBOOK | D.A.P. Catalog SPRING 2016 Photography Monographs. Distributor Availabily: . ISBN: 9780976184171 * gay semiotics hal *
For both the good and the bad, actually reprented gay male masculy the Castro this time, which was not diverse.
For stance, the Village People buted 1977, the same year as Gay Semtics, and they embodied but also parodied gay archetyp. I was myself, at that pot, very cril of the gay photographers who were workg the cy.
For stance, Gayle Rub starts her work 1978 at the Castro, studyg and theorizg leather subcultur.
HAL FISCHER: GAY SEMTICS AND OTHER MAJOR WORKS
When Hal Fischer published his wry, straightforward Gay Semtics photographs 1977, he wrote an say to acpany them. “Tradnally wtern societi have utilized signifiers for non-accsibily,” he explaed, cg weddg and engagement rgs. “Signs for availabily simply do not exist.” But gay culture, the reverse is te, he… * gay semiotics hal *
Bryan-Wilson: You ma a few projects after Gay Semtics but then stopped takg photographs. Bryan-Wilson: How do you feel about the way Gay Semtics has been received more recently?
All imag by Hal Fischer om Gay Semtics, 1977© and urty Hal Fischer, and Cherry and Mart, Los Angel. The gay utopia that seemed to beckon 1969 lasted only a , but mt have been wild to be part of the 1970s.