In 1975, the then 20-year-old Nicoletta worked in Milk’s famous camera store in the Castro district, one of the first gay districts in the US at all. Nicoletta's photographs of equally convincing and charismatic human rights activist, Harvey Milk, who became one of the world's first officials to openly express his homosexuality, are probably among his most famous photographs.
Milk dedicated his work to a world with equal rights and that at a time when the growing visibility of the LGBT movement was up against widespread hostility and systematic discrimination. Milk himself was murdered in his office in the City Hall in 1978, only one year after being elected. Despite the tragic death of Harvey Milk and the impending tragedy of the AIDS epidemic, Nicoletta remained faithful to his commitment as an unrelenting documenter of the LGBT movement. The illustrated book documents the chaos on the streets of San Francisco in this pioneer era – which ultimately led to the right to marriage for everyone almost all over Europe, another important step towards the final equality of all people regardless of their age, sex, color, or sexuality.
Nicoletta captured the most exciting moments within the alternative theater scene, the loud drag queens and drag kings, the rise of the anti-AIDS movement, and the unwavering determination of the fighters of all genders for the right to marry for homosexual. In 2008, Nicoletta was invited to particpate in Gus Van Sant's feature film "Milk" as an actor, consultant and set photographer. During this time, he produced some of his most remarkable works, which are also presented in the illustrated book.
Nicoletta documents to this day the reverberation of Milk's legacy. He is considered a key figure for the scientific review of the LGBT civil rights movement and the life history of Harvey Milk. Chuck Mobley puts it like this: “The value of Daniel Nicoletta's work comes from his unconditional honoring of the history of the LGBT movement in 20th century America. The result of his work is an invaluable chronicle of the movement, showing the inviolable unity of time and space. But above all, it shows us the protagonists who made it all possible.”
Quote from Gus van Sant: “Danny's photos are an artistic treasure. They are records of people who have initiated a movement from their own backyards. In this book, the exuberance of the time is combined with the general history of the LGBT movement. This book is a great addition to our permanent collective memory.”
The book shows you people with a message, people with courage, people with a joie de vivre, people who unnoticedly managed to make the world a little more equal and therfore more just. An absolute GoSee recommendation.
LGBT: San Francisco The Daniel Nicoletta Photographs published by Tony Nourmand, preface by Gus Van Sant, introduction by Chuck Mobley English 24.5 x 29 cm, hardcover 304 pages, more than 300 illustrations € 50 July, 2017 ISBN 978-1-909526-39-6 Reel Art Press . reelartpress.com////lgbt:-san-francisco
