Honcho (April 1978), Part Two

Born in Brooklyn in 1940 and obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Bard College in 1962, Arthur Tress spent the first decade of his photographic career documenting the tribal groups of the Dogons, Eskimos, Lapps, and Mayans and working with the United States government to chronicle ethnic poverty. His studies of Mircea Eliade's and Carl Jung's theories fed Tress’ fascination with the surreal in the 1970s and prompted him to undertake a three-year photographic project of male erotic fantasy which culminated into the publication of Facing Up in 1980. The April 1978 issue of Honcho (which has been broken into two parts) features many of the images taken for this project. In the second half (see the first half here), Tress’ photographs are paired with an editorial. Also included in this second half are showcases of Roy Dean’s photography.

Honcho (April 1978), Part One

Born in Brooklyn in 1940 and obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Bard College in 1962, Arthur Tress spent the first decade of his photographic career documenting the tribal groups of the Dogons, Eskimos, Lapps, and Mayans and working with the United States government to chronicle ethnic poverty. His studies of Mircea Eliade's and Carl Jung's theories fed Tress’ fascination with the surreal in the 1970s and prompted him to undertake a three-year photographic project of male erotic fantasy which culminated into the publication of Facing Up in 1980. The April 1978 issue of Honcho (which has been broken into two parts) features many of the images taken for this project. In the first half, Tress’ photographs are paired with an article about the impact of physical and psychological health on sexuality. Also included in this first half are the short story “Honcho Threesome” (about a threeway between a construction worker, a gas station attendant, and a state trooper) and an exposé on Edward Koch, the mayor of New York City who launched discrimination campaigns against homosexuals in the metropolis’ fire and police departments. 

Numbers (March 1981)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, leather and sadomasochism were still considered deviant subgroups in the homosexual community and much of their inner workings were steeped in both mystery and misunderstanding. In fact, as Steven Hogan and Lee Hudson highlight, even into the 1990s, leather and sadomasochistic activities were commonly barred in mainstream gay and lesbian events. In this March 1981 issue of Numbers, an interview with Fred DiMarco, a member of this subgroup, aims to dispel many of these misconceptions. Also included in this issue are a gay-themed connect-the-dots and crossword puzzle, a photo spread dedicated to athletes, and the short stories “Fucked to Death” (a comedic tale about a blow-up doll) and “Twenty Minutes” (a strangely lyrical homage to two men’s weekly meetings on Saturdays).