The BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Podcast

Before liberation had found its language, Arthur Tress was photographing hidden queer worlds in New York City.

Born in 1940, Tress is regarded as one of the masters of modern American photography, his work held in many of the major museum collections in the United States. His photographs trace seismic shifts in social history while exploring desire, sexuality and the complexities of human encounter, alongside an extraordinary body of ethnographic work.

In this special extended episode of The BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Podcast, Graeme Smith speaks with the legendary 85-year-old photographer about a life spent documenting dream imagery, underground culture and social change.

Best known for work moving between documentary, surrealism and homoerotic fantasy, Tress reflects on photographing men in The Ramble in 1969, the subject of his extraordinary new book The Ramble, published by Stanley Barker.

The conversation ranges from cruising culture before Stonewall, Coney Island ruins and ethnographic travels, to 1980s New York, Robert Mapplethorpe, queer visual history, masculinity, fantasy and the underground worlds that shaped modern queer photography.

A rare long-form conversation with one of the great, if still too little-known, figures in American photography.
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On this episode, American photographer Christopher Makos reflects on a legendary career spanning decades, including his iconic collaborations with Andy Warhol and his lasting impact on queer photography. He shares insights on the people, places, and images that continue to define his work, and what he’s looking forward to next.

New York-based artist Jordan Eagles discusses his provocative and politically charged practice using blood. In a conversation focused on identity, stigma, and the realities around blood donation for the LGBTQ+ community, Jordan explains how his art confronts systems and challenges perceptions.

And we hear from our very own photographer AdeY, who introduces his latest series and book, JOY, offering a short look at his newest work.
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QUEER BRITAIN brings together standout moments from our BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! MEETS recorded live at our BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery Café in London.
Intimate conversations in front of a live audience with creatives shaping queer culture in the UK today.

Composer Iain Bell, described by the BBC as one of the most compelling musical dramatists of his generation, reflects on opera, audiences, and the question of elitism. Actor and his husband, the writer Michael Batten, discusses his critically acclaimed theatre work, including Remembrance Monday, and the journey from concept to sold-out runs in London and Mexico.

Kitty Scott-Claus (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK) brings humour, warmth, and insight into performance and identity.

Comedian and broadcaster James Barr talks candidly about being out on the radio, comedy, and navigating being a regular on the Piers Morgan show.
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Graeme Smith speaks with two filmmakers whose work has been part of this year’s Academy Awards conversation, each telling a very different story about queer lives and history.

First we cross to New York to meet Matt Nadel, the documentary filmmaker behind Cashing Out, an Oscar shortlisted short documentary produced by The New Yorker. The film uncovers a little known and unsettling chapter of queer history during the AIDS crisis, when investors began buying life insurance policies from dying gay men, turning tragedy into a financial market. It is a powerful and complex story about capitalism, mortality and a moment in LGBTQ history that is often overlooked.

Then we head to the BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery Café to meet Lee Knight. His short film A Friend of Dorothy earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short. The film stars two beloved queer icons, Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Fry, and Lee joins us in front of a live audience to talk about the remarkable journey from writing the script to finding himself in the Oscars race.
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Triple Booker Prize nominated author Tash Aw joins us to discuss his latest novel, The South — named one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Books of the Year.

We talk about what it means to be recognised at the highest level of global literature, and how The South explores identity, immigration, queer lives and globalisation from a perspective rarely centred in Western publishing.

A precise, intelligent conversation with one of the most critically respected writers working today.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.