The underground classic of Ken Werner, Halloweenis being reissued for the first time in decades by Anthology Editions.
Originally released in limited quantities in 1981, Halloween: A Fantasy in Three Acts collects photographs taken by Ken Werner during adult Halloween celebrations in San Francisco from 1976 to 1980, creating a visual narrative of American consciousness and popular culture as seen through the lenses of queerness, dark humor, and the macabre. Once billed as the “Mardi Gras of the West,” the raunchy, mostly outdoor costume parties documented by Werner were wildly popular events, organized primarily by LGBT advocates and sex workers, drawing tens of thousands of curious attendees as well as the ire of conservatives from across the country.
Reissued for the first time in decades, this underground classic explores a bacchanalia worthy of the pagan and occult roots of Halloween ritual: a magical dreamland/nightmare of terror and joy, with uninhibited celebrants reveling in stunning homemade costumes that combine comic book logic, sexual extravagance, and a highly irreverent take on American mythologies.
Ken Werner is a professional photographer currently splitting his time between the United States and Australia. His photographs have been featured in publications such as Camera 35, Modern Photography, and Asahi Camera, and are also in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. For many years he lived in San Francisco, where he founded and served as editorial director of the award-winning magazine Darkroom Photography, providing an influential resource for the development of traditional film photography as a craft and art form. He has also worked as a commercial travel photographer, producing photo essays for in-flight magazines and hotel chains, and has consulted for the radical Bay Area publisher RE/SEARCH.
Anthology Editions is an independent book publisher based in Brooklyn, New York. An imprint of the Mexican Summer label, Anthology is dedicated to discovering and presenting new narratives through thoughtful and exceptionally designed publications in the fields of art, music, and pop culture history.
Ken Werner : Halloween
Anthology Editions
9″ x 10.875″ / 22.8 x 27.6 cm
64 pages
US$40.00 / £35.00 / €38.00
ISBN: 9781944860639
https://anthology.net/books/
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