Drew Sawyer, Phillip Leonian and Edith Rosenbaum Leonian Curator at the Brooklyn Museum, will discuss the work of Jimmy DeSana (1949-1990) with Jarrett Earnest, curator and writer. Jimmy DeSana emerged from the East Village art scene in the 1970’s and was recognized for work in photography. In 1980, DeSana’s collection of S&M photographs were published in his book Submission, which featured a fabled introduction by William S. Burroughs. DeSana’s later work depicted staged images of the human body in brilliant color and dramatic lighting in a surreal fashion, as well as images of the avant-garde culture of the East Village and downtown New York, specifically portraits of artists and cultural icons like John Giorno, William S. Burroughs, and Yoko Ono. In 1981, DeSana photographed the cover of John Giorno’s LP, You’re The Guy I Want To Share My Money With, a collaboration with Laurie Anderson and William S. Burroughs. Earnest, in conversation with Sawyer and Sur, will discuss the importance of DeSana’s queer perspectives in his work and how it distinguished him from his peers; DeSana’s representation of the body as the central focus in his practice; and DeSana’s use of documentation through portraiture.