Gay Cruising - John Trobaugh
The landscapes offer an external, social perspective. This series explores a social phenomenon that has slowly perpetuated my sense of personal fragmentation and isolation. Cruising is the act of men looking for brief sexual encounters. It is ironic that a rejected segment of society meets out of a common need which, at the same time, further isolates them from mainstream society. I’d like to think that cruising is not harmful, just against the law. However, I am convinced it’s ultimately destructive.
As I explored this subject, I found some basic commonalities of cruising areas everywhere. First, they need to be in a multi-use space, so that there would be another reason to be there if questioned. The spaces also need to be near a high pedestrian traffic area. The space needs to have at least partial obstruction from public view. This gives a sense of being alone in the midst of a lot of people. The benefit of an isolated space is a modest sense of protection from discovery. Finally, since most of the people cruising are men, it’s usually in a place where women don’t normally go.
Formal compositional elements define the cruising space in each landscape. For example, in the “Rambles, man,” the foreground has a path with a person to the side. The background has multiple layers of paths which separate the figure ‘normal’ society. Foreground-background interaction and disconnection symbolize social aspects of the cruising phenomenon. In addition to isolation, fear and paranoia are ever present because of the risk of being exposed by someone in authority. There’s also a risk of personal injury (whether intentional or not) from other outcasts in the same area.
The landscape provides a view from “without,” sociologically as well as physically. To enhance this feeling, I use timed exposure and available light to give a natural look with an unnatural feeling. The landscapes are printed with highly saturated colors. Formally constructed foreground-background interaction creates a space that invites viewers to put themselves in the scene. Although these images may provide aesthetic pleasure through overt content, the hidden content moves the work to a higher artistic level.
My photographs capture the isolation of a shunned segment of society engaging in illicit self-_expression. “The Rambles” presents imagery of leaves, darkened passages, and water against a cityscape background. At the same time the viewer is confronted with the perception of being in an isolated and dangerous place. The title then reveals that this is a cruising place. Serial in nature, one image certainly stands on its own, but together the photography from different geographic areas emphasize that cruising spaces are ubiquitous.
New York - Central Park Rambles
Brmingham - Rushton Cross
Brimingham Highland Market
New York - Christopher St Pier Goal
New York St Pier Landing
Brimingham Rhodes Bench
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