Photographer Steven Menendez shares a new “Fire Island: Bohemian Queer Art Paradise” portfolio with The Queer Review shot in and around Cherry Grove, Fire Island.
Steven Menendez: I spent over a decade living in Cherry Grove on Fire Island and fell in love with its history as a natural sanctuary that has inspired queer artists for over a century. I loved hearing stories about the island before there was electricity or phone lines. It was a place and time when societal constraints and judgements could melt away, allowing one to merge into the majesty and creative freedom offered by this bohemian queer sanctuary.
Some of my favorite legendary artists from earlier times who created on the island include Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Walt Whitman and George Platt Lynes. I was inspired to create this series of portraits of beautiful Randall to pay homage to the simpler bohemian times on the island where queer art and nature collided on this little magical strip of Gay paradise.
Model: Randall Kohn @r.ans photographed on Fire Island at Nikki Tits’ bungalow in Cherry Grove decorated with found objects; the Meat Rack; and at the ruins of the legendary Carrington House where Truman Capote wrote Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Photographer @steven_menendez_official.
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