Legendary: Inside the House Ballroom Scene

Center for Documentary Studies/Honickman First Book Prize in Photography

by Gerald H. Gaskin

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 attending balls for twenty years, and the house members who let him enter the intimate world of ball culture. In addition to an introduction by Deborah Willis, Legendary includes an essay, "The Queer Undercommons," by Frank Roberts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, LGBT, Queer

120 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 2013

Reviews

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Legendary is a compilation of twenty years of photographer Gerald Gaskin's chronicling the underground House Ballroom scene. The joy of the house ballroom movement was to give gay and transgender individuals a chance to see and be seen among peers, and tends to include elaborate competitions.

The whole House Ballroom came to mainstream with the 1990 documentary film Paris Is Burning, when the scene was at its peak. It was especially notable for the prevalence of the "Vogue" scene - upon which Madonna based her song. Legendary includes images from this time as well as more modern images of how the Ballroom scene has evolved. But unlike the movie, which was shot by a white female heterosexual, the book was shot by a young African American who, although also heterosexual, made the work feel less exploitative since the scene tends to favor Latino and African Americans.

The book has both black/white and color images. What is notable about the book is the acceptance of the photographer by the community and the large time scale (20 years) of the work. He quietly and respectfully moved around the rooms to take his images. And honestly, while some images are utterly fascinating, others honestly feel more like a crazy wedding reception, with a lot of motion blurred images and odd angles.

The images are large and well presented for impact, laid out on a clean white background without clutter or words. Information about each image is presented at the back of the book.

My first impression was that I wish there had been more. It felt like I reached the end of the book very fast. I also wish the photographer had stuck with either color or BW film throughout. With the black and white, we see beyond the bright colors of the make up and outfits to the person underneath - with very revealing portraits and pathos. But at the same time, it feels almost disrespectful to strip the performers of all their glitter and gloss by 'removing' the color in a BW image - to take away all the artistry and love they put into their performances. So many of the images really needed that color to get the full impact of the scene.

The book is very professionally presented and with a compelling subject matter. My personal opinion is that I would have liked to see much more insight by the photographer himself - what the scene was like when he started, why he felt he was accepted to easily, and how it evolved over the years. Or, even better, interviews with the participants past and present. The visual is only part of the story - what also matters is the experience. I found I wanted to know the story of those photographed but their stories go as unexplored as they were in the Paris is Burning movie. And as such, feels somewhat exploitative as well.

Received as an ARC from the publisher.

[Jennifer Lavoie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book on my small Kindle app, which is unfortunate, because the photography in this book is gorgeous. The writing in the book explores the man behind the photography, the photos, and the ballroom scene. The photos on their own are worth this book, which I hope is a large volume. The photography ranges from color to black and white, from serious, portrait style photos to blurred images of people having a good time. And that's what makes this collection so special. Some of them feel like they belong in a private collection of friends, and others are simply gorgeous works of art worth hanging on any wall. They are truly simply stunning. Just look at the cover and you'll see a small portion of the diversity you'll find in the book.

[Shoshanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous!!!

[Queer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels a bit voyeuristic and yet also one of the few books documenting an important part of modern and contemporary culture.

[Craig Laurance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary is a gorgeous photography book that chronicles the vibrant underground Ballroom Scene. Gaskin captures black and Latino gay men in their finery. Their outfits exist somewhere beyond couture. They transform themselves into ephemeral creatures of their own imaginations. The balls themselves, held in NYC, DC and other urban areas, are alternate dimensions, where you can let your freak flags fly. Gender warriors become proud peacocks in bold colors. The sheer beauty of these photographic compositions are astounding. Gaskin has created a visual feast that reveals this magical subculture.

[Tia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rating is based from reading and viewing the ebook version. It was choppy and very difficult to view the pictures. The information and commentary was great. I would've, I'm sure, enjoyed a hard copy vs ebook.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unbelievably bad coffee table book. The photographer wanted to capture people in the house ballroom scene, but the photographs were just boring and surprisingly, given the subject, dull.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book with amazing photographs and commentary.