Gerard H. Gaskin''s radiant color and black-and-white photographs take us inside the culture of house balls, underground events where gay and transgender men and women, mostly African American and Latino, come together to see and be seen. At balls, high-spirited late-night pageants, members of particular 'houses'—the House of Blahnik, the House of Xtravaganza—'walk,' competing for trophies in categories based on costume, attitude, dance moves, and 'realness.' In this exuberant world of artistry and self-fashioning, people often marginalized for being who they are can flaunt and celebrate their most vibrant, spectacular selves.
From the quiet backstage, to the shimmering energies of the runway. to the electricity of the crowd, Gaskin''s photographs take us to the ball. Legendary, comprised of photos taken at events in the New York city area, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Washington, D.C., is a collaboration between Gaskin, a camera-laden outsider who has been
Trade Review
“Tens across the board! Photographer Gerard H. Gaskin's new book Legendary provides a vivid pictorial examination of contemporary ball culture.” * Lambda Literary Review *
“On one hand, Legendary is a beautiful showcase of Gaskin’s talent for capturing moments and, in this case, a movement — his vibrant and stunning images bring us into the ballroom scene, and face-to-face with those who inhabit it. On the other hand, that sense of pulling away isn’t there. Not with me, when viewing the work; it doesn’t feel exploitative, nor opportunistic — there is no sense of discomfort. Instead, the work is marked by intimacy. The faces that are looking at us (and those that aren’t) show no sense of wanting to pull away. Perhaps it is Gaskin’s empathy and his skill at connecting to an individual and then to the viewer that make us want to lean in even closer.” -- Melanie Archer * Caribbean Review of Books *
“A lovingly devised coffee table book, winner of a now well established photography prize, Legendary, welcomes you into a fabulous world. This hall of mirrors is akin to the dazzling Emerald City of ‘some where over the rainbow’ fame.” -- Kay Bourne * Edge *
“Photographer Gerard H. Gaskin has put on a gorgeous show in his impressive new photo book. . . . Gaskin's collection of portraits of the primarily African-American and Latino queer competitive drag scene is both a work of art and of history, documenting drag ‘houses’ (or families) in New York and across the country as they strive for the most ‘realness’ in categories ranging from butch to femme and beyond.” -- Brian Lowder * NY1 and Slate *
“Legendary is a beautiful, lavish portrayal of underground house ball culture . . . . For the ball walkers, who are limited in how they can express themselves in their everyday lives, Legendary honors the possibility of a truer self, performed.” -- Leo Hsu * Fraction Magazine *
