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Mark Morrisroe
"It kills me to look at my old photographs of myself and my friends. We were such beautiful, sexy kids but we always felt bad because we thought we were ugly at the time. It was because we were such outcasts in high school and so unpopular. We believed what other people said. If any one of us could have seen how attractive we really were we might have made something better of our lives. I'm the only guy that I know who wanted to run away to be a prostitute." ―Mark Morrisroe (1959–1989)
- GenresArtPhotographyQueer
Hardcover
First published October 1, 1999
36 people want to read
About the author
Mark Morrisroe
5 books2 followersMark Morrisroe (January 10, 1959 - July 24, 1989) was an American performance artist and photographer. He is known for his performances and photographs, which were germane in the development of the punk scene in Boston in the 1970s and the art world boom of the mid to late 1980s in New York City. By the time of his death he had created some 2,000 pieces of work.[
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 19, 2023
"Turn Oprah off, I don't want her to see this." - Mark Morrisroe's last words
This collection is simultaneously stunningly beautiful and crushingly tragic, and fully encompassing in the emotion that it generates. There is a point where MM states "We were such beautiful, sexy kids but we always felt bad because we thought we were ugly at the time. We were such outcasts in high school and so unpopular. We believed what other people said." which transported me mentally to not only myself/my friends (all of us being gay weirdos making our way through our 20s), but a whole world of gay youth we can feel seen through the sentiment that he has managed to capture through his images. Mark's passing was and is tragic, but I hope his loved one's can rest assured that his body of work is still speaking to those we are listening nearly 30 years later.
This collection is simultaneously stunningly beautiful and crushingly tragic, and fully encompassing in the emotion that it generates. There is a point where MM states "We were such beautiful, sexy kids but we always felt bad because we thought we were ugly at the time. We were such outcasts in high school and so unpopular. We believed what other people said." which transported me mentally to not only myself/my friends (all of us being gay weirdos making our way through our 20s), but a whole world of gay youth we can feel seen through the sentiment that he has managed to capture through his images. Mark's passing was and is tragic, but I hope his loved one's can rest assured that his body of work is still speaking to those we are listening nearly 30 years later.
March 11, 2011
Rebel With A Cause
Mark Morrisroe (1959 - 1989) will likely go down in art history as one of the most amazingly odd and gifted 'outsiders' of his time. His own biography seems closer to fiction than fact: a runaway kid at age thirteen, he survived the streets as a hustler, performed as a drag queen, was involved in punk journalism, and eventually Art School. His career as an artist was only a brief ten years but in that time he gained international recognition as an artist unafraid to to try anything in the name of art.
This excellent book documents the facts of his life as well as the myths of his life, and provided the reader with page after page of his polaroid photographs of lovers, friends, street people, hustlers and any model he found controversial or simply interesting. Here also are the 'self portraits' that are actually radiographs of his body, many depicting the bullet lodged near his spine - a remembrance of his being shot by a john. His work in the art world was all embracing of the subcultures he explored and the writing that accompanies the many images in this book by Stuart Comer (as well as the comments and labors of editors Beatrix Ruf and Thomas Seelig) carefully explore the variations in Morrisroe's photographic output - the so called 'marginalia' of Morrisroe's silver prints and cyanotypes. Altogether this monograph provides a tremendous amount of information and atmosphere of the 1980s, a time forever altered by cutting-edge artists, sexual freedom, and the plague of AIDS which claimed Morrisroe's life far too soon.
Grady Harp
Mark Morrisroe (1959 - 1989) will likely go down in art history as one of the most amazingly odd and gifted 'outsiders' of his time. His own biography seems closer to fiction than fact: a runaway kid at age thirteen, he survived the streets as a hustler, performed as a drag queen, was involved in punk journalism, and eventually Art School. His career as an artist was only a brief ten years but in that time he gained international recognition as an artist unafraid to to try anything in the name of art.
This excellent book documents the facts of his life as well as the myths of his life, and provided the reader with page after page of his polaroid photographs of lovers, friends, street people, hustlers and any model he found controversial or simply interesting. Here also are the 'self portraits' that are actually radiographs of his body, many depicting the bullet lodged near his spine - a remembrance of his being shot by a john. His work in the art world was all embracing of the subcultures he explored and the writing that accompanies the many images in this book by Stuart Comer (as well as the comments and labors of editors Beatrix Ruf and Thomas Seelig) carefully explore the variations in Morrisroe's photographic output - the so called 'marginalia' of Morrisroe's silver prints and cyanotypes. Altogether this monograph provides a tremendous amount of information and atmosphere of the 1980s, a time forever altered by cutting-edge artists, sexual freedom, and the plague of AIDS which claimed Morrisroe's life far too soon.
Grady Harp
May 14, 2018
If one is going to "read" a photography book, perhaps it's better if there is some good writing in it, too. I wanted more of Mark's thoughts. I didn't even know he existed until I got into this book, and now I want to fall down his sordid rabbit hole of narcissistic glee a bit more. These photos encourage you to read between the lines and remember where the most life is truly lived: at the grittiest edge.
January 21, 2021
The best book on the artist!
January 5, 2009
I wish i had half the guts this crazy dude had... you must love mark for doing his thing
August 10, 2016
This is a collection of Mark Morrisroe's photography.
May 27, 2016
Live pretty, die young. Mark Morrisroe's photos will haunt you for a long time after viewing them.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews