Pretty Gay I — Queer Photography by koitz
12 Portraits. 12 Sitters. New York City.
Pretty Gay I is a collectible photography book by koitz, a queer photographer whose work explores LGBTQ+ life, sexuality, portraiture, fashion, intimacy, and self-expression.
The book brings together 12 portraits of 12 different sitters, all photographed in New York City. Each portrait offers a distinct encounter, while the complete series creates a broader portrait of contemporary queer life, identity, and culture.
Known for his intimate approach to queer photography, koitz has photographed LGBTQ+ communities and individuals in places including New York City and Fire Island. His work as a gay photographer on Fire Island and his broader portrait practice are connected by an interest in people, place, sexuality, style, and personal expression.
Pretty Gay I brings that perspective to New York, presenting twelve different people through koitz’s distinctive photographic eye.
New York Queer Photography
Rather than focusing on a single subject, Pretty Gay I moves between 12 different sitters, each photographed in New York City.
The photographs explore the individuality of each person — their style, attitude, sexuality, intimacy, confidence, and self-expression. Together, the portraits form a varied and personal record of queer life in New York.
For koitz, portrait photography is about more than simply recording appearance. His photographs create encounters between photographer and subject, allowing personality and atmosphere to become part of the image.
This approach connects Pretty Gay I with the wider body of queer photography by koitz, including his celebrated photographs of LGBTQ+ life on Fire Island.
The Pretty Gay I Postcard Book
Pretty Gay I is published as a 5 × 7-inch postcard book containing 12 different postcards.
Each postcard features a different portrait, allowing the photographs to exist as individual collectible works as well as part of the complete series.
The postcard format gives the book a tactile and intimate quality. It functions simultaneously as a photography book, a collection of portraits, and an artist-made photographic object.
12 postcards. 12 sitters. One portrait of queer New York through the lens of koitz.
From New York to Fire Island
Pretty Gay I forms part of koitz’s larger photographic exploration of queer people and places.
His work includes Fire Island queer photography, documenting the people, atmosphere, sexuality, fashion, and distinctive LGBTQ+ culture of one of America's best-known queer destinations. As a gay photographer on Fire Island, koitz has developed an intimate visual language centered on the people and communities he encounters.
While Pretty Gay I is entirely photographed in New York City, it shares this same interest in queer identity, personal expression, intimacy, and place.
The result is a body of work that connects New York queer photography and Fire Island photography through koitz’s personal perspective.
Collect Pretty Gay I
For collectors of queer photography, gay photography, LGBTQ+ art, New York portrait photography, fashion photography, and artist-made books, Pretty Gay I offers twelve distinct photographic encounters.
The book is also an entry point into the wider photographic practice of koitz — from his portraits of queer life in New York to his photographs of Fire Island and its LGBTQ+ community.
Discover Pretty Gay I and explore 12 collectible portraits of queer New York by koitz.
Edition Details
Title: Pretty Gay I
Artist: koitz
Photographer: koitz
Subjects: 12 different sitters
Location: New York City
Format: Postcard book
Size: 5 × 7 inches
Contents: 12 different postcards
Category: Queer photography · Portrait photography · LGBTQ+ art · Artist publication
About koitz
koitz is a queer photographer whose work documents people, places, sexuality, fashion, intimacy, and LGBTQ+ culture.
His photographic practice includes portraits of queer life in New York City and Fire Island, creating an intimate visual record of the people and environments that have shaped contemporary queer culture.
From Fire Island queer photography to New York portraiture, koitz’s work explores the relationship between photographer and subject and the ways that identity, sexuality, style, and place come together in a photograph.
Explore koitz’s photography books and discover Pretty Gay I, a collectible 5 × 7-inch postcard book featuring 12 portraits of queer New York.