"From the 1950s until his death in 1987, Hujar documented the creative lodestars of downtown New York, many of whom were his friends, lovers, or sometimes both. He photographed the likes of Susan Sontag and John Waters stretched in repose, or the Warholian legend Candy Darling, encircled by flowers and solemn chiaroscuro on her deathbed. He often photographed himself, too, but the rarest shots of Hujar are those taken by others, candid glimpses that divulge some secret relation."
"Rosenkrantz had asked Hujar to set down all the ins and outs of any 24 hours in his life-in this case, the 18th of December. Recorded in her apartment the following day, Hujar's account is filled with the names of cultural heavyweights, alongside a whole lot of nothing that language spins into something. There's a morning phone call from Sontag, another from Fran Lebowitz, and then the day's central event: a portrait session with Allen Ginsberg for The New York Times."
Peter Hujar's portraits expose subjects without refuge, using shadow and tonal contrast to reveal quietude and candid surrender. From the 1950s through 1987, Hujar documented downtown New York creatives — friends and lovers alike — including Susan Sontag, John Waters, and Candy Darling, often photographing himself as well. A rare Polaroid from the 1970s shows Hujar reclined with Linda Rosenkrantz, heads tilted conspiratorially in a harsh flash. A detailed account of December 18, 1974, lists morning calls from Sontag and Fran Lebowitz, a New York Times portrait session with Allen Ginsberg, naps, simple meals, erotic fantasies, and freelance bookkeeping.
Read at The Nation
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