Central park gay cruise

There were all kinds of trees falling down, but it was still very interesting and had a certain mood in itself. At the time, were you considering these photographs just for yourself, as kind of a private collection?

TRESS: Well, at that time, there really was no audience or publications that would show gay photography. I brought the camera, and some of the photographs of people just walking around were taken a little surreptitiously. They were mostly for myself, but I had a sense that they were historically important.

They seem to be a combination of posed photographs and some that are more kind of documentary in nature.

From Central Park to : overview Central Park has had numerous associations with the LGBT community since its creation in , including many areas popular for meeting and cruising, associations with Gay Pride Marches, its restoration in the s, and location of some sporting events for the Gay Games

Central Park (The Ramble) Central Park is not only a must-see for tourists but it’s home to a classic cruising spot. And of course, I did a lot of work in Central Park, and I happened to live not too far away, at 72nd Street and Riverside Drive, so it was a minute walk.

From Central Park to gallery walls ‘Cruising in the Shadows’ explores NYC’s hidden gay history. So I think I just made people feel comfortable with being photographed. In a way, the guys that I met were willing participants.

The images of The Ramble are so evocative. I felt somehow it was an appropriate leitmotif for the series, so the images had all these kinds of film noir shadow areas in them. How did the impulse to begin photographing The Ramble emerge?

All photos by Arthur Tress, courtesy of Clamp Gallery. The Ramble, located in the park’s cruise section near 72nd Street, has a long history within the gay community. One day I just thought it would make an interesting little sociological gay on its own.

That part of the park was very overgrown and derelict. They knew this was something that needed to be recorded. TRESS: AroundI began a project called Open Space in the Inner Citywhere you could make parks in different neglected areas of the city, like along the waterfront and old roadways and trails.

It turns out that it was one of the first documents of gay cruising at a very important fulcrum in time. To what extent do you think that was part of the emergence of the park as a cruising space? You mentioned a number of men were comfortable with it.

How concerned might they have been about their image being associated with a gay cruising spot? Here are some of the best-known cruising areas in the city that never sleeps. I had been using The Ramble for my own central cruising grounds in a way over the years.

Photo: Arthur Tress. Maybe it was a nod of the head, or a mischievous grin that led one party to believe the other was interested in more than a friendly hello. Before we had Grindr, we had our eyes. There were different cruising areas.

Not that it’s ever not been gay—the wild, windy Ramble in Central Park has long been a site for cruising, cottaging, and all kinds of gay park up action. Or did you imagine that they would be shared at some point?

Would they have been comfortable being sort of openly gay men? The Ramble, Central Park, circa s.