Forbidden Photographs / Charles Gatewood, 1981

Description

Forbidden Photographs

Forbidden Photographs is a 1981 photography book by American photographer Charles Gatewood. It collects his distinctive black-and-white images exploring the intersection of eroticism, counterculture, and ritual. The book is a key early example of Gatewood’s provocative documentation of fringe subcultures in the United States and Europe.

Key facts

• Photographer: Charles Gatewood

• Publication year: 1981

• Publisher: Flash Productions (San Francisco)

• Medium: Black-and-white photobook

• Notable theme: Eroticism and alternative culture

Background and creation

Gatewood developed Forbidden Photographs after more than a decade photographing social outsiders, fetish scenes, and bohemian milieus. Drawing from his archives of the 1960s–1970s, the book distilled his fascination with bodies, power, and taboo. Its design and sequencing reflected the underground press aesthetics of the time.

Style and themes

The images combine journalistic immediacy with formal composition, often juxtaposing sensuality and performance. Gatewood’s subjects include tattooed bodies, sadomasochistic rituals, and street celebrations. His empathetic yet unflinching approach positioned the work between documentary and art photography.

Reception and legacy

Upon release, Forbidden Photographs circulated primarily in art-book shops and the emerging fetish community. Though controversial, it established Gatewood’s reputation as a chronicler of sexual subculture and influenced later photographers of transgressive art scenes. Original editions are now sought after by collectors of 20th-century art photography.

Subsequent work

Gatewood continued exploring similar themes in later titles such as Primitives (1982) and Sidetripping (with William S. Burroughs), expanding his visual anthropology of fringe identity and performance. Forbidden Photographs remains a cornerstone in his career and in the documentation of modern body culture.