Legendary

“Tens across the board! Photographer Gerard H. Gaskin's new book Legendary provides a vivid pictorial examination of contemporary ball culture.” - Lambda Literary Review

“A lovingly devised coffee table book, winner of a now well established photography prize, Legendary, welcomes you into a fabulous world. This hall of mirrors is akin to the dazzling Emerald City of ‘some where over the rainbow’ fame.” - Kay Bourne, Edge

“Photographer Gerard H. Gaskin has put on a gorgeous show in his impressive new photo book. . . . Gaskin's collection of portraits of the primarily African-American and Latino queer competitive drag scene is both a work of art and of history, documenting drag ‘houses’ (or families) in New York and across the country as they strive for the most ‘realness’ in categories ranging from butch to femme and beyond.” - Brian Lowder, NY1 and Slate

“Legendary is a beautiful, lavish portrayal of underground house ball culture . . . . For the ball walkers, who are limited in how they can express themselves in their everyday lives, Legendary honors the possibility of a truer self, performed.” - Leo Hsu, Fraction Magazine

"Gaskin's awareness of the effect the performers have on the audience is a crucial aspect of his vision. Through his lens, he conveys the showmanship these actors and artists exude, their knowingness of the spectacle created by their flair. . . . He shows us the power the performers have to reveal themselves through spectacle, to challenge viewers to recognize this display of selfhood. Regardless of our walks of life, we are all looking for safe spaces to express ourselves. Legendary allows us to bear witness to a group of people who are courageous enough to create their safe space." - Deborah Willis, prize judge

“On one hand, Legendary is a beautiful showcase of Gaskin’s talent for capturing moments and, in this case, a movement — his vibrant and stunning images bring us into the ballroom scene, and face-to-face with those who inhabit it. On the other hand, that sense of pulling away isn’t there. Not with me, when viewing the work; it doesn’t feel exploitative, nor opportunistic — there is no sense of discomfort. Instead, the work is marked by intimacy. The faces that are looking at us (and those that aren’t) show no sense of wanting to pull away. Perhaps it is Gaskin’s empathy and his skill at connecting to an individual and then to the viewer that make us want to lean in even closer.” - Melanie Archer, Caribbean Review of Books

"[Gaskin's] pictures illustrate the drama and grandeur of these events, but they also convey the importance of the club as a place where dignity—elsewhere denied—may be claimed without apology, and freedom can be realized for the length of the catwalk." - Andrew Holter, The Atlantic