More importantly, however, this grouping flattens hierarchical distinctions between the piers and the art world, allowing Weinberg to examine gay public culture and its bearing on avant-garde artists in the 1970s. In deeming this broad range of artists “peers,” Weinberg sheds light on the work of a number of “amateur” photographers he has championed over the last decade, such as Leonard Fink and Frank Hallam.
Pier Groups discusses avant-garde and conceptual artists such as Robert Whitman, Vito Acconci, and Gordon Matta-Clark members of the East Village scene like David Wojnarowicz, Luis Frangella, and David Finn and the many photographers who captured both candid and posed images of the sexual and artistic milieu on the waterfront.
As he seeks to clarify these questions, Weinberg simultaneously conflates, with intention, the various users and activities associated with the piers.
