When Photography Hooked Up with Prostitution

by Chris Nelson

The modern history of prostitution is inextricably linked with that of photography. A new exhibit, Scarlet Muse, spans the last 150 years of sex work, as told through photographs from the late 19th century to the present. The show includes the work of more than 20 photographers who befriended, employed, or were themselves sex workers — a loving, stylish tribute to the oldest profession.

The exhibit portrays sex workers of multiple races, genders, and red-light districts. We see the work of Auguste Bruno Braquehais, the deaf photographer whose subject silences him with a finger to the lips and a parting of the legs; EJ Bellocq, so fascinated with New Orleans prostitutes; and Christer Stromholm, who affectionately immortalized trans-women in 1960s Paris. More modern artists in the show include Larry Clark, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, and Bob Mizer.

Scarlet Muse, June 9 – July 22, 2016, Daniel Cooney Fine Art, NYC

Auguste Bruno Braquehais