Today, Michael Joseph launches a Kickstarter campaign for his upcoming photography book Wild West of the East: A Portrait of Provincetown, available for pre-order now.
Wild West of the East is an ongoing street portrait series by photographer Michael Joseph that celebrates the artistic, egalitarian, and subversive spirit of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Begun in 2018, the project captures the distinct subcultures of the famous LGBTQ+ haven and artist colony located at the tip of Cape Cod.
The project’s name stems from an August 1960 quote by author Norman Mailer. When Jacqueline Kennedy asked him what Provincetown was like, Mailer famously replied, “It’s the Wild West of the East,” describing it as an egalitarian oasis.
Joseph frames Provincetown as a “found Neverland” where societal constraints are stripped away and residents and visitors can embrace their most authentic selves, from artists and performers to eccentrics and wanderers. His portraits honor the town’s historical evolution from a Portuguese fishing village and artist colony into a thriving epicenter of creative, sexual, and exploratory freedom.
Joseph approaches strangers on the street in real-time, engaging them in spontaneous conversations to capture their essence.He uses a vintage 1971 Polaroid Big Shot camera, a unique analog format that forces a direct, up-close engagement with his subjects. The resulting large-format Polaroid portraits are raw, intimate, and stripped of societal pretenses. The portraits are up-close, tight, and vibrant color frames typically focusing from the chest up or chest down. This method demands a highly collaborative interaction between the photographer and the stranger on the street or the sitter.
The series leans into overarching explorations of identity formation, found families, and the search for human equality and authenticity. It acts as a visual timeline of a town that has evolved from a Pilgrim landing site and Portuguese fishing village to a vibrant, transformative queer sanctuary.
“I am so happy to be working with MW Editions, a book publisher specializing in photo books, located in New York City”, shares Joseph. “Because the manufacturing costs of a well designed photography book are high, the goal of this Kickstarter is to raise the funds to make the best possible product. Your contribution will help to cover the expenses for paper, design, and printing… and ultimately help document the people of Provincetown.”
Raised just outside of New York City, Joseph’s work has been exhibited nationally, with solo shows at Daniel Cooney Fine Art (New York, NY), the Soho Photo Gallery (New York, NY), and the FP3 Gallery (Boston, MA). Group exhibitions include the notable Aperture Gallery (New York, NY), the Getty Images Gallery (London, UK), and the Griffin Museum of Photography (Massachusetts). He has lectured at the International Center of Photography (New York, NY), the Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA), in portraiture classes at the New England School of Photography (Boston, MA), and taught at the Light Factory (Charlotte, NC).
Joseph’s portraits are held in the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston, TX) Fort Wayne Museum of Art (Fort Wayne, Indiana), the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts (Rochester, NH), and the Jack Sheer Collection, Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery (Saratoga Springs, NY).
For more details and to contribute to Michael Joseph’s Wild West of the East: A Portrait of Provincetown Kickstarter campaign visit kickstarter.com.
See more preview images from Michael Joseph’s Wild West of the East: A Portrait of Provincetown below.
Leave a Reply