Jerry Tartaglia b. 1956
Ecce Homo (1989)

Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) interweaves images form Jean Genet’s masterpiece, Un Chant d’Amour with images from gay male sex films. It forces the viewer to question the point of view in looking at “pornographic” images. A.I.D.S. hysteria portrays gay sex as pornographic, politically incorrect, sinful, or, at best, a public health hazard. Ecce Homo asks whether the taboo is against gay sex or against seeing gay sex.

“Each of my films portrays some aspect of gay consciousness, sexual representation, or self-identity. At the same time, each film utilizes the medium’s unique potential as visual metaphor. I am not very interested in creating narrative forms, which generally are used to show how gay people are supposed to become lavender carbon copies of straight people. Instead, I work with short, personal, experimental forms which explore and celebrate another kind of conscious human identity.” - Jerry Tartaglia, NYC 1995