At age 17, artist Mark Morrisroe was shot in the back. Their perspectives are vital records of this rapidly shifting landscape where art and sex were entering into popular culture.
Artists, like sex workers, tend to find themselves marginalised on the fringes of society. I believe this outsider status brings a familiarity and authenticity to the subject.
Over 30 years later, Rough Trade is a reminder that rights for sex workers still have a long way to go. In light of Rough Trade , here are six artists who documented sex work in late 20th century America. Born to a drug-addicted mother in Massachusetts, Morrisroe fled home at the age of 15, where he began hustling to buy make-up, food, and most importantly, art supplies.
It was during his degree that he published Dirt Zine a publication directly influenced by his time as Mark Dirt. His use of x-rays, photographs from his actual life of hustling and those that include his Johns all provide a glimpse into the psyche of a sex worker rarely seen in the arts. In , Morrisroe sadly passed from a battle with Aids — a struggle that impacted many queer hustlers at the time.
It seems fitting that the book is titled The Waterfront Journals , seeing as Wojnarowicz spent a lot of his time launching an art project at Pier The piers were synonymous with male cruising spots, and Wojnarowicz painted many erotic wall murals there, including one of a cow gagging, later shot by Peter Hujar for the Village Voice in , now featured in Rough Trade. This one addresses constitutional discrimination against queer people, one that would put queer hustlers in grave danger, such as the time Wojnarowicz was beaten on the waterfront as a teen hustler for being gay.
