I was homeschooled from the seventh to 12th grade.
OTTENBERG: So back to David’s question, how did you get started taking all these amazing pictures?īOAS: I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They’ve already fucked at Studio 54.īOAS: Exactly. What’s that like? How many people are there? What’s going on? Is everyone fucking?īOAS: No. So you danced and stuff, and then you would go to the afters. I was a dancer, so I had that lean body back in the day. OTTENBERG: So you’re wearing little blue shorts?īOAS: Blue, gold, whatever they chose that week, and knee-high gym socks. Ever since Andy Warhol handed me an issue.īOAS: I was one of those boys that ran around collecting the drinks. RIMANELLI: What drove you to start taking pictures?īOAS: So are we starting the interview now?īOAS: I have been a subscriber of your magazine forever. Anyway, there are reasons why we’re obsessed with you, Gary. OTTENBERG: And I’ve always been collecting celebrities too, but differently. OTTENBERG: I think that in a lot of ways, David has always been collecting really interesting art people, right David? You know what I mean?ĭAVID RIMANELLI: That’s the dream, isn’t it?īOAS: I collected people, and 57 years later I’m still doing it. For something you just did as a hobby that turned into a lifestyle, you can never hear that enough. MEL OTTENBERG: Hey Gary, for real, we’re two of your biggest fans. Gary’s parallel obsessions are also the obsessions of our editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg and Artforum contributing editor David Rimanelli, so the fans called their idol to talk about Leo & Lance, celebrity excess, and why they are lifelong devotees to Gary’s art. His two books are cult classics: Starstruck is a feverish recording of 1970s celebrity glitterati, while New York Sex is an unparalleled showcase of sleaze during the golden age of porn. Gary Lee Boas is a documentary photographer and a mega fan of America’s two greatest cultures: porn and celebrity.