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278:, a trio of young black men in uniform tease the camera. The man to the far right slyly smiles and sticks his tongue out while the man next to him throws a side glance. The third man to the far left is seen suppressing a laugh. Many of Baltrop's pictures from the pier use distance to enhance his voyeuristic approach. In
286:, Baltrop had positioned his camera inside a darkened area looking out at the shadowy foreground and a male figure looking down at another, who is crouched beneath him and performing a sexual act. Neither one of them acknowledges the presence of the nearby photographer and, by extension, the viewer. In another image,
177:
piers, where he was a well-known member of the community. Baltrop knew every person he photographed, and people often volunteered to be photographed. Younger boys and men at the piers often confided in him about their sexual orientation, their relationships with their families, their housing status,
170:, where he studied until 1975. Because he wanted to spend more time taking photos at the Hudson River piers, he quit his job as a cab driver to become a self-employed mover. He would park his van at the piers for days at a time, living out of his van to take pictures.
273:
that were shot between 1969 and 1980. The most captivating and intimate images in the show were shot while
Baltrop was in the Navy. These are dated between 1969 and 1972 and had an unmistakably erotic atmosphere. In his photograph called
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207:
Late in the 1990s, New York City artist John Drury, who knew
Baltrop from their shared neighborhood—Drury living on Third Street with his wife, and Baltrop on Second Street, in
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327:
According to one journalist, Baltrop came out as gay at fourteen years old. Baltrop had long-term relationships with men and women, but preferred identifying as gay.
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we see a man wearing a shirt and nothing from the waist down, except his boots, peering into a building through broken windowpanes. This act of
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Items from his personal archive (owned by the Bronx Museum) were shown to the public for the first time through this exhibit.
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from the white gay art world. Gay curators often rejected his work, accused him of stealing it, or stole his work themselves.
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and continued taking photos, mainly of his friends in sexually provocative poses. He built his own developing lab in the
215:
Award for the Arts. Baltrop had few exhibits in his lifetime; his work gained international fame only after his death.
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138:, learning different techniques from older photographers in his neighborhood and teaching himself to develop photos.
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1071:"Bronx Exhibition Spotlights Alvin Baltrop, Photographer Who Documented Manhattan's Underground Queer Community"
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186:. His photographs not only captured human personalities, but also the aesthetics of the dilapidated piers.
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attempted to exploit him for their own financial gain. He died on
February 1, 2004, at the age of 55.
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211:—befriended the artist and recognized the photographer's unique abilities, nominating him for a
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Wild Noise: Artwork from the Bronx Museum of the Arts and El Museo
Nacional de Bellas Artes
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Baltrop was diagnosed with cancer in the 1990s. Impoverished and without health insurance,
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312:(2019) includes extensive analysis of Baltrop's photography in and among the piers.
166:, a jewelry designer, a printer, and a cab driver. In 1973, Baltrop enrolled in the
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197:. His life work is a snapshot of gay, African-American, and New York City history.
107:
947:
Cruising the dead river : David
Wojnarowicz and New York's ruined waterfront
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151:
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Mixed Use, Manhattan: Photography and
Related Practices 1970s to the Present,
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Cruising the Dead River: David
Wojnarowicz and New York's Ruined Waterfront
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1045:"Alvin Baltrop: remembering New York's forgotten queer photographer"
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Dead
Flowers, Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2010)
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The Bronx Museum of the Arts: The Life and Times of Alvin
Baltrop
229:(2006), appearing posthumously alongside other gay artists like
158:, using medic trays for developing trays. After his time in the
821:"He Captured a Clandestine Gay Culture Amid the Derelict Piers"
513:
Baltrop's work is held in the following permanent collections:
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parallels the photographer's intention when taking this image.
869:"Desire & Documentary in the Photography of Alvin Baltrop"
732:"The GULLY | Gay Mundo | Another Black Experience: Gay Daddy"
671:"The GULLY | Gay Mundo | Another Black Experience: Gay Daddy"
646:"At 'Greater New York,' Rising Art Stars Meet the Old School"
353:, Yossi Milo Gallery, Chelsea, New York City, New York (2009)
617:"Manhattan's West Side Piers, When They Were Naked and Gay"
436:
Alvin
Baltrop & Gordon Matta-Clark: The Piers from Here
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Baltrop struggled to make his way in the art world, facing
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The Bronx Museum held a retrospective of his work in 2019
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From 1975 through 1986, Baltrop took photographs of the
478:
Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney's Collection
297:
In 2015, the Spanish publisher TF Editores published
102:(December 11, 1948 – February 1, 2004) was an
422:, Ambach & Rice, Los Angeles, California (2012)
420:
Lost and Found: Anonymous Photography in Reflection
406:, Greenwich Village, New York City, New York (2011)
377:
Queer Pier 40 Years: (re)Envisioning LGBTIQ Stories
366:, Greenwich Village, New York City, New York (2010)
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426:Perspectives 179: Alvin Baltrop: Dreams into Glass
263:Perspectives 179— Alvin Baltrop: Dreams into Glass
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1020:"Life and Death on the Piers with Alvin Baltrop"
416:, Hell's Kitchen, New York City, New York (2012)
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410:Every Exit is an Entrance: 30 Years of Exit Art
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438:, Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, England (2014)
261:In 2012, the artist's solo exhibition titled
258:that regenerated interest in Baltrop's work.
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360:Looking Back: The Fifth White Columns Annual
223:Baltrop was interviewed for Joseph Lovett's
189:Baltrop captured the gay cruising spots and
106:. Baltrop's work focused on the dilapidated
873:The Gotham Center for New York City History
639:
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400:Looking Back - The 6th White Columns Annual
134:. He discovered his love of photography in
978:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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454:, Buchholz, New York City, New York (2015)
146:Baltrop enlisted in the Navy in 1969 as a
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371:Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina SofĂa
193:that existed in New York City before the
488:Alvin Baltrop: At the Hudson River Piers
384:Homomuseum: Heroes and Monuments exhibit
114:during the 1970s and 1980s prior to the
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474:, Bronx, New York City, New York (2015)
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526:, New York: 4 prints (as of June 2021)
382:"Ashes from a Flame" displayed in the
301:, edited by James Reid, Tom Watt, and
1180:21st-century African-American artists
1170:20th-century African-American artists
994:"The Life and Times of Alvin Baltrop"
858:, vol. 36, no. 6, Nov/Dec2012, p. 55.
850:
848:
819:Cotter, Holland (19 September 2019).
588:"Down and Out on the West Side Piers"
7:
317:The Life and Times of Alvin Baltrop.
126:Baltrop was born in 1948 at the old
1175:21st-century American photographers
1155:20th-century American photographers
1018:Massara, Kathleen (27 April 2011).
644:Cotter, Holland (15 October 2015).
498:The Life and Times of Alvin Baltrop
464:, Long Island City, New York (2015)
252:wrote an article about Baltrop for
615:Swanson, Carl (18 November 2015).
14:
1190:21st-century American LGBT people
1185:20th-century American LGBT people
1150:LGBT people from New York (state)
16:American photographer (1948–2004)
895:"Douglas Crimp on Alvin Baltrop"
484:, New York City, New York (2016)
430:Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
213:Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation
182:, anonymous sex, and occasional
926:from the original on 2018-12-08
267:Contemporary Art Museum Houston
162:, Baltrop worked odd jobs as a
1140:African-American photographers
950:. David Wojnarowicz. Chicago.
854:Green, Kate. "Alvin Baltrop."
524:Whitney Museum of American Art
482:Whitney Museum of American Art
452:Douglas Crimp: Before Pictures
446:Whitney Museum of American Art
379:, FIERCE, New York City (2010)
178:and their work. The piers saw
1:
490:, selected by Douglas Crimp,
390:Alvin Baltrop: Selected Works
282:published in his book called
76:New York City, New York, U.S.
1145:African-American LGBT people
1135:Photographers from the Bronx
396:, Watermill, New York (2011)
347:Alvin Baltrop, Glines (1977)
1160:American LGBT photographers
705:Atoe, Osa (24 March 2009).
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73:February 1, 2004 (aged 55)
781:"The Alvin Baltrop Trust"
28:
944:Anderson, Fiona (2019).
504:, Bronx, New York (2019)
502:Bronx Museum of the Arts
472:Bronx Museum of the Arts
299:Alvin Baltrop: The Piers
288:Man looking in a window,
432:, Houston, Texas (2012)
280:Don't let them see you,
246:University of Rochester
448:, USA, New York (2015)
442:America is Hard to See
373:, Madrid, Spain (2010)
271:gelatin silver prints
168:School of Visual Arts
104:American photographer
85:School of Visual Arts
1165:American gay artists
1075:Smithsonian Magazine
920:"Three Navy Sailors"
518:Museum of Modern Art
394:The Watermill Center
269:included almost 100
219:Posthumous attention
875:. 24 September 2019
856:Art Papers Magazine
825:The New York Times
650:The New York Times
428:, Zilkha Gallery,
276:Three Navy Sailors
226:Gay Sex in the 70s
136:junior high school
957:978-0-226-60361-2
594:. 24 October 2019
351:Sexy and the City
308:Fiona Anderson's
255:ARTFORUM Magazine
184:art interventions
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48:December 11, 1948
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761:4columns.org
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108:Hudson River
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1130:2004 deaths
1125:1948 births
1099:whitney.org
509:Collections
342:Exhibitions
231:Tom Bianchi
152:Vietnam War
150:during the
116:AIDS crisis
93:Photography
1119:Categories
1104:2021-06-13
1080:2021-06-13
1055:2022-09-03
1029:28 January
1024:L Magazine
1004:2024-04-11
966:1082181020
930:2018-12-08
904:29 January
879:2021-04-12
838:2021-06-13
790:2021-04-06
766:2021-04-06
741:2024-04-11
716:28 January
711:Colorlines
680:2024-04-11
626:28 January
598:2021-06-13
543:References
520:, New York
336:filmmakers
122:Early life
110:piers and
69:2004-02-01
44:1948-12-11
974:cite book
899:MutualArt
833:0362-4331
292:voyeurism
284:The Piers
244:In 2008,
175:West Side
132:the Bronx
82:Education
52:The Bronx
924:Archived
655:13 March
621:New York
592:Aperture
531:See also
462:MoMA PS1
414:Exit Art
332:curators
180:cruising
156:sick bay
265:in the
112:gay men
964:
954:
831:
386:(2005)
237:, and
202:racism
142:Career
148:medic
1031:2017
980:link
962:OCLC
952:ISBN
906:2017
829:ISSN
718:2017
657:2017
628:2017
334:and
160:Navy
63:Died
38:Born
130:in
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