{"product_id":"9798985170443","title":"William Howell: West Side Highway","description":"\u003cb\u003eAuthor: David Rimanelli, Brontez Purnell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout the 1970s and ’80s, the abandoned piers running along New York’s West Side Highway served as a hotbed of gay cruising activity as well as a haven for the broader LGBT community. Bythe mid-1990s, abutting neighborhoods were undergoing intense transformation through gentrification, with many dilapidated buildings and structures being demolished. The remaining piers were a gathering spot beyond the boundaries of daily life, where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people found a place to be openly themselves. For some, the piers were a place for hustlers and sex workers to meet with their patrons. For others, the piers were a place to simply “be” in the sunshine, relaxing, free of scorn, fear or judgment, in ways not possible elsewhere at that time. The series likewise documents a New York that doesn’t exist anymore: the World Trade Center stands proud in the background of many of these photos. The surrounding habitat of the piers themselves have since been replaced with luxury apartments and a family-friendly city park. The West Side Highway Pier series depicts that, even in New York City, people had to go to extremes—to the end of a pier, at the edge of a continent, treading on unsafe structures—to be free to be their authentic selves. This series documents the final days of this once-infamous gay playground, with reverence to the historical context in which it once existed.William Howell is a Brooklyn-based photographer and artist who earned his BFA in photography from Pratt Institute and currently resides in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN 9798985170443. Dark Entries Editions. hb. 96 pages. 8.5 x 11 in.\u003cbr\u003enot yet published\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Dark Entries Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47944615887078,"sku":"9798985170443","price":81.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0506\/2590\/4811\/files\/9798985170443.jpg?v=1783066635","url":"https:\/\/manic.com.au\/products\/9798985170443","provider":"Books at Manic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}