"“The only term I reject is being called a member of the paparazzi,” he says. “Because usually they do or say something to get the celebrity fired up and provoke a negative reaction. I'm there with my camera because I want to meet that person, not provoke them.”"
"Since it was first published in 1999, Boas' tome Starstruck: Photographs from a Fan has become a cult classic praised by A-list lensers including David LaChapelle, Annie Leibovitz and the late Herb Ritts. Boas' personal archive now extends to over 200,000 photographs that alternate between old-school glamour - Marlene Dietrich alighting a taxi, Bianca Jagger shadowed by Andy Warhol - and something more subversive."
"His 2003 photobook Gary Lee Boas - New York Sex, 1979-1985 collects the cream of his imagery depicting sex workers and porn actors from a bygone era, long before OnlyFans. As a gay man who relished the sexual liberation of the city before it was decimated by HIV/AIDS, Boas drew no distinction between mainstream movie stars and adult film stars. They all capitalised on the inextricable link between sex appeal and celebrity."
Boas began taking photographs at 14 after Miss Universe visited his Pennsylvania hometown, using a basic Brownie camera to capture celebrity. He later photographed major figures including David Bowie and Elizabeth Taylor, often waiting patiently outside restaurants and stage doors in New York City. He rejects being called a paparazzo, saying the goal is to meet the celebrity rather than provoke negative reactions. His 1999 book Starstruck: Photographs from a Fan became a cult classic and his archive has grown to over 200,000 images. His work alternates between old-school glamour and more subversive material, including a 2003 photobook focused on sex workers and porn actors from 1979 to 1985. He viewed mainstream and adult film stars as sharing the link between sex appeal and celebrity.
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