These are images taken of me by photographer Hans Fahrmeyer in his little second story studio in the West Village in the mid-1990's. They represent a really funny, exciting, "halcyon daze" time in my life and I'm happy that many of them have remained popular over the years.
This is the first photo that Hans ever took of me.
Here's one of me
with a boot on my head - (I still have that boot)
It was used a lot
in the 1990's, here it is on the cover of In LA magazine
This one was taken
the same day as the boot one. This is a belt buckle that used to wear around
a lot during my club days. I had it custom made by a friend in 1994 (I
still have it!) This photo was, and still is, used all over the place.
Here it is (again) on the cover of In LA magazine. I have seen pirated
variations of this photo where the belt buckle is Photoshop-ed to read
"Nastyboy" or "I Like Boys" ...someone once sent me a clipping from a Japanese
magazine where they had changed it to read "Fussyboy" (haha!)
This one was taken
about six months earlier. I wore that shirt because I liked Iron Maiden
- it's not a prop! Like the above shot, this photo was, and still is, used
a lot ...it's become quite iconic. It has also been bootlegged to death.
I remember Hans was not really too keen on shooting this image when I put
the clothes on and a cigarette in my mouth. I think he kind of had a problem
with the rock t-shirt, and maybe thought the aesthetic was a little too
crass (for the time). But I liked it, and I asked him to shoot "just a
few" shots... which he did - and they turned out great! Photographing a
set-up that you don't necessarily like at the time, and still making it
look good, is the mark of a true pro photographer. I think my pants being
down was literally me taking them off to change into something else for
another set-up. One of these ragged, stained boots on my feet is the same
one in the photo above, with it on top of my head. These boots were my
weird "lucky" boots that I used to dance in all the time. I still have
them to this day, they were kind of like Dorothy's ruby slippers from "The
Wizard of Oz" ...considering what I felt my life was like at the time,
or maybe it was just the drugs.
Ok, ok I know...
another IN Los Angeles cover, but hey their covers look good! All
the other gay rags I was on the covers of in the 1990's always chose the
most embarrassingly awful photographs, framed in cheesy design. I think
Hans' photos are a great starting point to work from anyway though. This
photo was taken right around the same time as the Iron Maiden one, and
was totally directed and styled by Hans. Once I used this photo for my
club night at Webster Hall with the words "Your Host Mark Allen"
in a big fart bubble that was coming out of my ass. I thought
it was funny and everybody liked it... except for Hans (hey, he's German),
but he eventually came around.
*Click here to read the interview with me from this issue. Or here to read another one.
Here is a picture of me hitchhiking naked on Avenue A in Manhattan in 1991 (not by Hans). Some friends and I came up with the idea, and shot it right outside the Pyramid Club on a Saturday afternoon. I remember it was a clear day. We huddled inside the club, wrapped a sheet around me, lifted the security gate of the club and ran out, I threw the sheet off and stood there - he snapped the shot. The photo was taken by our DJ and actor friend Merritt, and used on lots of posters and ads.