Weekend Lock Up, 2012

The Male Fantasy Icon series, by Pacifico Silano, appropriates images of Al Parker, a famous gay porn star in the 1970s. Sometimes Silano works with magazine pages with their edges turned down or staple bindings showing; other times, with pages that are torn or crumpled or with parts of the image removed. In doing so, he not only examines Parker’s persona but also confronts his own consumption of the imagery. The series showcases the dichotomy of the images as public cultural icons meant for private use. In the photograph, Weekend Lock Up, 2012, we see pieces of Parker with a Tom Selleck-esque mustache in poses reminiscent of a more carefree time, before the AIDS epidemic. Without the worry of sexually transmitted infections, Parker is erotically intertwined with a companion, lost in ecstasy. Silano’s work fuses the fantasy of an earlier moment in the culture and a poignant recollection of what has been lost.

Pigment Print
Image Size: 13 x 16 1/2 inches
Paper Size: 16 x 20 inches
Edition of 10 + 2 Artist Proofs
Signed and numbered by the artist

Pacifico Silano (b. 1986, Brooklyn, New York) is a lens-based artist exploring print culture, the circulation of imagery, and LGBTQ identity. He received a BFA from the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design and an MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has exhibited internationally, including group shows at the Bronx Museum of the Arts; CONTEXT art fair, Miami; Pride Photo Award, Amsterdam; and ClampArt, New York. Awards given to Silano include the 2012 Individual Photographer’s Fellowship from the Aaron Siskind Foundation and First Prize in the Open Category at the 2012 Pride Photo Award in Amsterdam.