'He was my camera.' Artist Laurie Simmons remembers the pioneering queer photographer Jimmy DeSana, whose work is finally being recognized:
Jimmy DeSana saw the world through his camera. His surreal staged photos captured the very real risk, liberation and subversion of queer subculture of 70s and 80s New York City. Yet for years, DeSana’s work was largely left out of conversations around LGBTQ photography and the Pictures Generation.
Artnet spoke with Simmons leading up to the opening of DeSana’s exhibition along with her own solo show, “Color Pictures/Deep Photos” at 56 Henry gallery. She shares how, like all artists of the past, DeSana’s work has finally taken on a life of its own. What has your relationship been with the work over the years since it was created, and can you explain your role as the executor of his trust?
From Jimmy DeSana’s series “Suburban.” Photo: Courtesy and copyright the Jimmy DeSana Estate and PPOW Gallery. He was a very small, very handsome Southern gentleman. He was wearing a white button-down shirt and khakis, a white panama hat, A Yashica Electro 35 GT camera around his neck which was spray painted white. He was also wearing a skinny little rhinestone necklace. I’m pretty tall, so we were a pretty Mutt and Jeff kind of couple.
When I put Jimmy in the big camera with white tights and white ballet slippers, he loved the costume, he was very proud. He was one of the first people I knew who worked out a lot. He was super proud of his physicality and really proud of his legs. He had beautiful legs. He was really excited to be in the photograph and I think he knew it was an homage. I knew what I was doing. I knew that I was trying to preserve him in some way for myself because I knew what was coming.
You’ve spoken about how it has become increasingly difficult to shock people. At the time you and Jimmy were starting out, shock had a great value and was really subversive. How were Jimmy’s nudes originally received? I surprised some people with that work when I made it in 2007. I had just finished making my first movie,. It was a huge undertaking for me to make that film and when it was done, I felt like I wanted to start over. I needed a rebirth.
But at the same time, you could use that disjointed signifier to great effect. I’ve always felt that the inherent limitations of working the way I mostly work — finding things of similar scale to put together when I set up scenes — was actually making my pictures what they are, which is always slightly off-balance, disjointed even if you don’t get that right away. I know I can’t make it perfect. I never could, but goddamn, I try so hard for perfection.
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