Exploring Bobby Busnach’s Queer world through ‘All of Us Stars’

The newly published book All of Us Stars resurrects the work of Bobby Busnach, a visionary American photographer who, from 1974 to 1980, transformed a decaying Upper West Side apartment into a stage for theatrical self-expression. This photographic archive, largely unseen for decades, offers a rare glimpse into the intimate world of Busnach and his circle of friends, blending high glamour, performance, and queer domesticity.

Bobby Busnach and his photographic archive

Busnach’s work documents a group of friends and collaborators, including his closest confidante Geraldine Visco, who together staged intricate tableaux of style, identity, and fantasy. Through meticulous styling, dramatic lighting, and cinematic angles, he turned everyday interiors into transformative spaces where identities could be explored and performed. The resulting photographs navigate the fluid boundaries between life and art, intimacy and spectacle, and survival and celebration.

Staged glamour and intimate portraiture

Among the most striking projects in Busnach’s archive is the collaboration with Visco, who not only co-created many of the images but also financed their domestic utopia. Their portraits juxtapose vintage Hollywood glamour with contemporary fashion, sourced from boutiques like Fiorucci and Vivienne Westwood, as well as thrift and flea markets. In these images, friends recline beneath velvet curtains or interact with mirrored walls, creating scenes that are both stylized and deeply personal.

Another highlight is Busnach’s use of domestic objects and familiar spaces to craft theatrical narratives. Ordinary interiors—cracked plaster, dusty chandeliers, and modest furnishings—become stages for performances of identity, where clothing, makeup, and gesture transform participants into stars of their own private world. Each photograph captures not only how subjects wished to be seen but also how they perceived each other, reflecting bonds of chosen family, friendship, and creative kinship.

All of Us Stars: Preserving a Queer Legacy

All of Us Stars, organised and edited by Seana Redmond, brings together over one hundred never-before-published images from Busnach’s archive, supplemented with essays by Amelia Abraham and Jackson Davidow. These texts situate the work in its historical context, offering reflections on queer domestic nightlife, artistic performance, and the enduring significance of collaborative creativity. The book serves as the first comprehensive reference to Busnach’s oeuvre, documenting an era of self-invention, resilience, and glamour on the margins of mainstream fame.