Between You and Me
Queer Disclosures in the New York Art World, 1948ETH1963

In the decades preceding the Stonewall riots, in the wake of the 1948 publication of Alfred Kinsey's controversial report on male sexuality and in the midst of a cold war culture of suspicion and paranoia, discussions of homosexuality within the New York art world circulated via gossip and rumour. This book explores this informal, everyday talk.

He describes how the stories about Andy Warhol being too 'swish' to be taken seriously as an artist changed following his breakthrough success, reconstructing him as an asexual dandy.Butt also speculates on the meanings surrounding a MOMA curator's refusal in 1958 to buy Jasper John's "Target with Plaster Casts" on the grounds that it was too scandalous for the museum to acquire. "Between You and Me" sheds new light on a pivotal moment in American cultural production as it signals new directions for art historical inquiry. Gavin Butt is Lecturer in the Visual Cultures department at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He is the editor of "After Criticism: New Responses to Art and Performance".